There's evidence out of Texas that the governor's lifting of the mask mandate has had no effect on public health outcomes.
Let's assume that's true. I would caution against drawing more generalized conclusions about the efficaciousness of public policy from this particular case.
Let's assume that's true. I would caution against drawing more generalized conclusions about the efficaciousness of public policy from this particular case.
Sometimes policy meaningfully determines behavior—as when the onerous penalties for smoking causes a decrease in cigarette use over time—but on other occasions it may be that a particular policy is epiphenomenal to social behavior. 
In other words, it's possible that people were wearing masks or not wearing masks irrespective of state policy. Which would mean the mandate wasn't doing all that much in *this particular case*.
And let's not forget, the fact that this became a highly polarized issue also affects things. As many have pointed out, it's not like liberals were waiting for the Republican governor's guidance to set their behavior; and conservatives were already de-masked.
Right, but the problem is people uncritically jump from *the mandate is useless* to *mask-wearing is useless*, which requires conflating state policy with social behavior on *this particular issue*.
https://twitter.com/August_Julii/status/1395407688234852352?s=20
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