S8 Ep771: John Tamny, editor of RealClearMarkets, argues that the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic represented a tragic lapse of reason where politicians panicked and replaced the collective wisdom of the marketplace with centralized planning. Tamny identif

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John Batchelor

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🗓️ 20 April 2026

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

John Tamny, editor of RealClearMarkets, argues that the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic represented a tragic lapse of reason where politicians panicked and replaced the collective wisdom of the marketplace with centralized planning. Tamny identifies March 20, 2020 — the day Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered a mandated "shelter in place" for New York — as a pivotal moment signaling a severe government-mandated contraction of the economy. He contends that the economy is not a "valve" that can be simply shut and reopened, as the sudden cessation of business activity forced investors to rethink the future value of all enterprises. (1)
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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm John Bachelor. This is the new John Bachelor show on CBS Audio Network, and I welcome my colleague and long informant of the economy, John Tamney, the editor of Real Clear Markets in addition to other distinguished
0:23.4	publications. However, it is the author, John Tamney, I welcome, with his new book,
0:29.5	when politicians panicked, the new coronavirus, expert opinion, and a tragic lapse of reason.
0:36.1	Mr. Tamney, congratulations. I take you immediately to the day
0:40.9	itself for New York City, where I live and work. This is March 20, 2020, the announcement from the
0:48.5	governor of New York, Mr. Cuomo. He says that he is closing down New York. When I talk about the most drastic
0:57.3	action we can take, this is the most drastic action we can take. We're going to take it to the
1:02.8	ultimate step, which is we're going to close the valve. The governor is thinking of the economy
1:08.6	as a valve that opens and shuts.
1:14.0	He then orders a mandated shelter and place.
1:20.1	He then orders a mandated closure for any business, not in compliance with the governor's orders to shut down, to lock down.
1:23.6	He adds, your actions can affect my health.
1:26.5	That's where we are, he stated, said the governor.
1:30.8	The question at that point was, how long? That question wasn't answered that day. There was the
1:37.0	impression it was not a lengthy shutdown. It was, however, a severe contraction immediately. Mr. Tamney, March 20th, 2020 for New York
1:48.4	City. I report that New York City is largely still under the governor's order of essential,
1:54.5	non-essential, of distancing, of how many people can be in a restaurant at the same time,
1:59.9	of how many people can be in a movie theater, how many people can gather in a restaurant at the same time, of how many people can be in a movie
2:01.4	theater, how many people can gather. And the office towers, as you know very well, Mr.
2:06.1	Tamney, are still largely shut. There's some volunteer return. There's more plan for April and
2:12.6	May, perhaps a opening up of the office towers in September, but New York remains closed.
2:19.0	John, what explains right now the severe contraction of our economy?
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