Thread by @financequant

The #Covid_19 crisis is an excellent example of how stress can make systems #Antifragile because it offers us a opportunity to see the weaknesses extant in global travel and supply chains and to develop policies and procedures for dealing with pandemic control and treatment. 1/6

I'm not one for Panglossian interpretations. I do assert, however, that we have a valuable opportunity and, therefore, a real duty to learn and to make definite changes in order that we are better prepared to handle the next--inevitable--pandemic. 2 /6

Despite COVID-19's viciousness it is relatively benign when compared to many alternatives. What if the next challenge is as infectious as a flu but has the rate of morbidity of a hemorrhagic fever? We must change. What we must not do is create a massive Federal program. 3/6

Centralized control has many essential roles to play, but the idea a bureaucrat in DC can direct local response better than those actually on the ground is a fantasy. Over-dependency on the Federal government only delays necessary action by those best able to undertake it. 4/6

One only has to recall the tragedy of Katrina when state and city governments appeared paralyzed waiting for FEMA. How many thousands could have been saved if, for example, local authorities used available transit and school buses to evacuate those stranded in place? 5/6

There is much the Federal gov can do to coordinate and empower local agencies. However, if we respond to this pandemic by creating a huge national bureaucracy that unnecessarily arrogates local authority and responsibility, that will leave us in worse shape than before. 6/6