I wrote about why reopening the economy is not really about ending a government-imposed shutdown, and more about making people feel safe going back to work.

Feat. charts!

https://freebeacon.com/coronavirus/lawmakers-want-to-reopen-america-but-it-may-not-so-be-easy

That first chart is my favorite in the piece. Basically, I looked at how OpenTable reservations declined prior to official restaurant closures. People were already eating out much less before they were officially told to stop!

I also replicated a New York Times finding that showed how Italians stopped searching for loss of smell as a symptom once its significance was learned. People do actually read the news! You can change their behavior with information!

If we really want Americans to go back to work, it's less about cutting a giant ribbon, and much more about changing their risk assessments—meaning test, test, test!