The Masks Come Off
It was timed perfectly, to avoid us having to see the heads of so many on the left explode…late Friday afternoon, the governor signed a public health proclamation removing the mask mandates that were put into place in November, and loosening mask and capacity restrictions on many businesses.
For those of us who were sorry to see a mask mandate be put in place a couple of months ago because it’s bad public policy…this order was a great step. For those who still believe that masks make any difference, the mandate rescission was another sign of inept leadership by a Republican.
Many parts of Iowa are hurting economically, to be sure. But our state unemployment rate is barely more than it was when the pandemic started, and third lowest in the country. The state’s financial reserves have allowed us to not cut budgets and have cushion to allow public services to be provided without interruption…and without deficit spending. We can’t inoculate people if the feds don’t send the vaccine, and that’s starting to speed up. Hospitalizations are down, and while any death is one too many, the number in Iowa is not only below average in terms of per capita numbers, but not that much more than annual deaths in certain age groups from the flu.
All said, it’s therefore not a bad time to give getting back to normal a try…unless you’re one of those who likes hiding your face from everyone…and I’m beginning to think there are more of those than I want to believe.
There’s nothing that says you can’t wear a mask…or two or three…if you want. And if your business wants to require them in the workplace or retail areas, fine…you can do that. But from a state government standpoint, they are of questionable legality and impossible to consistently enforce. Local governments that have put them in place are only doing so for show and window dressing, since they’re not legal without state authorization, and again, practically unenforceable.
Granted, with this week’s weather, I’m wearing a face covering when I’m outside anyway…but it needs to be my choice, not the overreaching government’s.
