I've been doing some research on the history of the Defense Production Act, which Trump is refusing to use — basically telling us to rely on the kindness of corporations. What you need to know is that this has never worked 1/
The Act was introduced during the Korean War, but it reflected the experience of World War II, when business was *not* fully cooperative. For example, in the period before Pearl Harbor, the auto industry resisted calls to convert to military production 2/ jstor.org/stable/pdf/428…
True, America wasn't formally at war — but it was serving as the "arsenal of democracy," and was already engaging in massive mobilization. Yet the auto companies wanted to keep making personal cars 3/
In fact, they insisted on continuing to do so for several months *after* Pearl Harbor. 4/
Specific instances of industry non-cooperation aside, there was general concern about a scramble for scarce resources, both with civilian uses competing with the war effort and with different pieces of the war effort competing with each other 5/
This is exactly what's happening now, as states and even foreign buyers are competing for essential medical equipment, with no reason to believe that the winners of this competition are those who need the equipment most 6/ huffpost.com/entry/coronavi…
The point is that in wartime or its equivalent the federal government has to be exactly what Trump says he doesn't want to be — the "shipping clerk" for crucial supplies. This is no time for passing the buck 7/
