Beware Of What Bureaucrats Try To Slide In In Emergencies
The 55 mph speed limit was an "emergency" measure.
— Marc J. Randazza (@marcorandazza) April 13, 2020
It lasted 20 years.
From Wikipedia:
The National Maximum Speed Law (NMSL) was a provision of the federal government of the United States 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act that prohibited speed limits higher than 55 miles per hour (89 km/h). It was drafted in response to oil price spikes and supply disruptions during the 1973 oil crisis and remained the law until 1995.While federal officials hoped gasoline consumption would fall by 2.2%, the actual savings were estimated at between 0.5% and 1%.
The law was widely disregarded by motorists nationwide, and some states opposed the law,[1][2] but many jurisdictions discovered it to be a major source of revenue. Actions ranged from proposing deals for an exemption to de-emphasizing speed limit enforcement. The NMSL was modified in 1987 and 1988 to allow up to 65 mph (105 km/h) limits on certain limited-access rural roads. Congress repealed the NMSL in 1995, fully returning speed limit-setting authority to the individual states.
The law's safety benefit is disputed as research found conflicting results.
The power to set speed limits historically belonged to the states. Prior to the NMSL, the sole exception to this occurred during World War II, when the U.S. Office of Defense Transportation established a national maximum "Victory Speed Limit" of 35 mph to conserve gasoline and rubber for the American war effort. The Victory Speed Limit lasted from May 1942 to August 14, 1945, when the war ended.[3][4] Immediately before the National Maximum Speed Law became effective, speed limits were as high as 75 mph (121 km/h).[5] (Kansas had lowered its turnpike speed limit from 80 mph (130 km/h) before 1974.) Montana and Nevada generally posted no speed limits on highways, limiting drivers to only whatever was safe for conditions.
From Marc's thread, there was a tax in 1898 to pay for the Spanish-American war. They finally rolled it back -- in 2006.
Consent of the governed is required. There just aren't enough cops out there to enforce things.
As I see things they've got about a month and a half to reopen the economy or people will reopen it anyways.
Open civil disobedience isn't a good thing. Before the 55 mph speed limit people in most of the US actually followed the law. Now most places the cops won't ticket you until you are 15-20 mph over the limit. If people reopen the economy instead of officials what happens the next time things need to close? Will it be like the speed limit with open disobedience right from the start?
Ben at April 14, 2020 6:17 AM
"Beware Of What governments Try To Slide In In Emergencies"
FIFY. Your welcome. Gretchen "Half" Whitmer hardest hit. Remember, as much as a danger she is to Michigan, she's also being seriously considered by the Quid Dementia Joe's brain trust to their Veep pick.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 14, 2020 6:35 AM
“As I see things they've got about a month and a half to reopen the economy or people will reopen it anyways”
I think they have about two more weeks max.
Curb side pick up has been a disaster. The only restaurants operating with any degree of efficiency have a drive through.
I can cook but so few people these days can do that. Lot of businesses aren’t coming back as it is.
Governors need a plan to quarantine the vulnerable as opposed to interning the healthy.
Isab at April 14, 2020 6:47 AM
Open civil disobedience isn't a good thing.
If it brings the government to heel, then it isn't necessarily a bad thing. It may not be the best way, but it's better some alternatives.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 14, 2020 6:48 AM
I agree IRA. But it would be better to not need to bring the government to heel in the first place.
Isab, I'm looking at +10% unemployment after 3 weeks. It appears to be rising 5% per week now mainly due to that being the limit the states can process forms. So the real number is higher. In 3 weeks you will probably have over 1 in 4 Americans jobless. Those people will predominately be poorer and the very vast majority will not have any savings. Paying rent can be ignored for a bit but food is a different matter. So within a month you are looking at +25% of Americans facing hunger and food shortages. A few weeks of that without dead bodies visibly piled up and you are looking at a revolution.
Hence my month and a half prediction. (3 weeks + 3 weeks.)
As for the various bills being passed, the expansion to unemployment will help slow that down. But state unemployment offices are already overloaded. So many people who qualify won't get paid just because the states can't process their forms. A lot of people who've lost their jobs (and especially the poorer ones) won't qualify for unemployment.
As for the forgivable business loans, as best I can tell they've spent a lot of money to no real effect.
Just thought I'd lay out the math I was looking at. As I said without dead bodies in the streets government officials won't be able to keep things closed. ~20k deaths just doesn't make a difference in a nation of 350 million.
Ben at April 14, 2020 7:17 AM
I think they have about two more weeks max.
Indeed. On or about 1 May would be good. As it is, I'm guesstimating that most small business opened in the last 2-3 years will simply fold. They just don't have enough reserves to survive. If it goes another month, you'll be looking at the same but for anything opened in the last 6 years.
And you can write off almost all of the mom & pop restaurants. The only ones who might survive have a proper liquor license, or have rabid clients. There is opportunity, as everyone is out of the habit of going to "their" spot, if you can make your place their new spot.
Movie theaters are pretty much hosed for the rest of the year.
That's an awful lot of jobs just evaporating, and unlikely to come back any time soon.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 14, 2020 7:18 AM
With the advent of decent and inexpensive home theater systems, DVDs, streaming services, et al, movie theaters were a declining industry anyway. Social-distancing may accelerate the decline, but it won't be what destroyed that industry.
Conan the Grammarian at April 14, 2020 7:23 AM
This is what I expect to happen: A lot of people are going to be saying, "I didn't catch the virus and no one I knew caught the virus. But I know a lot of people who were adversely affected by this and it's going to take months or even years for them to recover."
And yes, it can be argued that the protective measures kept those people from getting sick. However, you'll never be able to convince everyone that wrecking the economy was completely worth it.
Fayd at April 14, 2020 7:26 AM
Obergruppenfurher Whitmer hardest hit.
https://newsthud.com/furious-michigan-residents-preparing-wednesday-protest-against-whitmers-stay-at-home-order/
I R A Darth Aggie at April 14, 2020 7:37 AM
With the advent of decent and inexpensive home theater systems, DVDs, streaming services, et al, movie theaters were a declining industry anyway.
Well, yes. That said, any recently updated movie theater was still superior to most home theater setups. But that's mostly due to size of the screen, and the quality of the sound.
But now that movie makers are willing to release first run movies to the home theater streaming market for a modest price, those advantages are not that significant.
Nail, hammer, coffin. Especially if you go to the dollar store to pick popcorn and other snackables.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 14, 2020 7:52 AM
In Ross Douthat's NYT column today, he has a link to this this tweet from the authorities in Central Bedfordshire, England.
I liked the guy who perceptively noticed the resemblance to the
album cover for Steely Dan's Two Against Nature.
JD at April 14, 2020 9:33 AM
"Beware Of What Bureaucrats Try To Slide In In Emergencies"
Should we be beware of this?
JD at April 14, 2020 9:36 AM
I just realized that if Trump wants to open the country up soonest, he simply needs to order the states to remain closed.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 14, 2020 1:01 PM
"Open civil disobedience isn't a good thing."
Correct on two counts: the legalization of alcohol and of marijuana.
In both cases, the public thumbed their noses at changing the law before violating it, preferring to act like juvenile offenders while enabling vast criminal enterprises that are still with us.
"Giggle, giggle", they tittered, sitting in Mom's basement. "We're SO radical!"
You got what happens every time you oblige someone else to decide what to do with the problem: an impersonal legal apparatus that does not, because it can not, care about ruining your life.
Radwaste at April 15, 2020 11:10 AM
Chillun's, there's no such thing as 'closed' civil disobedience.
Crid at April 16, 2020 9:23 AM
✓ Fayd at April 14, 2020 7:26 AM
Crid at April 16, 2020 9:26 AM
YOOHOO!
Personal services like therapists and hairdressers, as well as hobby shops, open the 27th!
School for little kids starts the 11th!
School for everyone starts the 8th of June, as well as museums, libraries, zoos etc!!!!
Only thing not on the schedule is concerts and assembles!!!!!
NicoleK at April 16, 2020 10:26 AM
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