A few responses. There are a number of different players

Posted on: March 13, 2020 at 22:41:30 CT

here. Whether the government is overreacting is a different issue than whether individuals are overreacting... or not doing enough. Also the government isn't a monolith. There are different levels of government, of course, and some might be overreacting while others may be underreacting or even being negligent in their duties. On any given level some individuals might be doing a great job while others are over or under reacting. Then too, individuals may not have done enough early on, but then adjust. Maybe some over reacted early & then did a superb job later... or didn't do enough later and so on.

Decisions made by leaders in private industry, schools, families etc. can also vary a lot from person to person and over time.

I personally agree with Peter Schiff that the economic carnage, which may get worse, perhaps a lot worse, is largely the result of a huge bubble blown by the Fed. This virus outbreak was the pin that *****ed the bubble. The fault is primarily due to mismanagement by the Fed that went unnoticed until exposed by this crisis. Sure, it has been exacerbated by some people doing stupid things, including the media and some people going into panic mode, but a healthy economy could absorb that and recover far easier than a sick economy that looked great before.

I think that much of economic fallout should be laid at the feet of the Fed, though I don't think we'll see the full extent of that for awhile.