Years ago, Leonard Read came up with a fine analogy for understanding what citizens want government to do for them. Now, it also provides insight into the current COVID circus.

Read’s analogy arises from the fact that since government has no resources that it does not extract from its citizenry, it can only benefit all citizens when it can make more efficient use of resources than they can. Consequently, we must ask where government has a comparative advantage over voluntary organizations.

As predicted by many, April’s employment numbers were the worst ever recorded since the US government began making these estimates in 1939.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released new estimates this morning, and unemployment surged to 14.4 percent. That’s below the Great Depression high of 24.9 in 1933, but it’s above the early 1980s depression peak of 11.3 percent.

On the list of things that the government should not do, there must be a spot for the $750 billion corporate bond buying that is slated to begin this month. Under the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility (PMCCF) and the Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF), the Fed will lend money to the US government, which will make the appropriate bond purchases.

In recent weeks, we’ve been keeping an eye on weekly total deaths as they are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Weekly deaths—as opposed to COVID-19 death totals—provide some needed context.