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Comment by bjtitus | Hacker News Reader

Doesn't really absolve the federal government in any way. The United States has a Federal Emergency Management Agency which historically has stepped up to the plate during these types of situations.

In what way is this case different?

There are plenty of cases where states have been trying to follow the approach you suggest and have had their orders seized by the federal government. It seems like it's still quite unclear which approach states are supposed to follow so it seems perfectly reasonable for governors to be pointing fingers where the blame lies.

Colorado: https://www.denverpost.com/2020/04/04/coronavirus-colorado-p...

Los Angeles: https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-04-07/hospitals-...

New Jersey: https://www.newjerseyhills.com/echoes-sentinel/news/somerset...

Broader piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/us/politics/coronavirus-f...

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If you want the feds to supply masks, they have to get them from somewhere. Furthermore, if you want the feds to supply masks, you'll get them at the discretion of the feds, not local authorities.

You're seeing what's wrong with centralized planning of things that don't need to be centralized.

> If you want the feds to supply masks, they have to get them from somewhere.

Just like the states, or counties or towns or households...

Except the federal government can order private businesses to manufacture whatever it needs, something no governor can do

> something no governor can do

The idea the governor of a $222 billion budget can't get some masks made is a bit absurd.

> The idea the governor of a $222 billion budget can’t get some masks is a bit absurd

The federal government just passed a $2 trillion stimulus package. And they’re thinking of doing another one.

And in addition to the power to print money, it can also order private industries to manufacture masks, tests, vaccines, ventilators, even tp

And it still can’t get the job done.

There are not enough masks or tests

The federal government can order ventilators, but you need the part.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-24/ventilato...

It can also order or overpay for the creation of a successful vaccine, but you need data and time to see if it works.

> There are not enough masks or tests

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/22/21189881/apple-donating-m...

Maybe Tim Cook should run for Governor. Cook knows how to get stuff done, and he has no legal powers whatsoever compared to the Governor.

Sure. But how does that spur a car manufacturer that's never made ventilators, yet is trying to make them, move faster? We are going to send an army general to GM and all of the sudden we are going to crank out 60,000 ventilators?

> You're seeing what's wrong with centralized planning of things that don't need to be centralized

Procuring masks on the market sure seemed to work out great for states in the earlier days of this incident:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2020/03/30/i-spent...

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1245501506205421570.html

We started out with decentralization and now we've switched to something in between. Neither have worked.

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