THE LOCKDOWN SHOWDOWN
Reason magazine|February 2022
ALARMED BY UNILATERAL COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS, STATES ARE IMPOSING NEW LIMITS ON EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY. ERIC BOEHM
ERIC BOEHM
THE LOCKDOWN SHOWDOWN

BREWERY OWNER JORDAN Serulneck remembers feeling the pit in his stomach when he found out the state was ordering him to shut his doors—again. “Our rent was still full price,” recalls Serulneck, the co-owner of Seven Sirens Brewing Co. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “We have a loan with a bank, and that still had to be paid.”

It was November 23, 2020, three days before Thanksgiving. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, had just ordered a snap shutdown that required bars and restaurants to close on “Thanksgiving Eve” to prevent gatherings that might spread COVID-19. The fact that Seven Sirens had scraped together more than $10,000 to convert an outdoor space into a heated patio ahead of the winter didn’t matter; the governor’s order banned both indoor and outdoor dining.

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, just a few weeks after Seven Sirens had first opened in mid-February, Serulneck complied with the state’s shutdown order. The promised “15 days to slow the spread” turned into weeks, then longer. It wasn’t until months later that any bars, restaurants, or breweries were allowed to reopen for in-person service. Then came the Thanksgiving shutdown, and then another the following month, this time banning indoor dining from December 11 until after the start of the new year.

When Wolf imposed those new shutdowns late in 2020, Serulneck wasn’t the only business owner to groan—or to shrug. Hundreds of Pennsylvania businesses defied the edicts. Some were punished with fines and threatened with loss of their licenses. Serulneck recalls a TV news van that was parked outside Seven Sirens on the night before Thanksgiving “to see if we were going to be hauled out in handcuffs” for flouting the governor’s order.

Denne historien er fra February 2022-utgaven av Reason magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra February 2022-utgaven av Reason magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA REASON MAGAZINESe alt
Gimme Shelter  - The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?
Reason magazine

Gimme Shelter - The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?

The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
AI Is Coming for Hollywood's Jobs
Reason magazine

AI Is Coming for Hollywood's Jobs

But so is everyone else.

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 2024
AI Can Do Paperwork Doctors Hate
Reason magazine

AI Can Do Paperwork Doctors Hate

With help from AI, doctors can focus on patients.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2024
Antitrust May Smother the Power of AI
Reason magazine

Antitrust May Smother the Power of AI

Left alone, AI could actually help small firms compete with tech giants.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 2024
A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars
Reason magazine

A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars

THE FIRST PAR AGR APH of the book jacket lays it out: “There is a common belief that we live in unprecedented times, that people are too sensitive today, that nobody objected to the actions of actors, comedians, and filmmakers in the past.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2024
FAMILIES NEED A VIBE SHIFT
Reason magazine

FAMILIES NEED A VIBE SHIFT

THE AUTHORS OF FOUR NEW BOOKSWITH 24 KIDS BETWEEN THEM-SAY THE AMERICAN FAMILY NEEDS A COURSE CORRECTION.

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
"The Past Is There To Teach Us What Can Happen'
Reason magazine

"The Past Is There To Teach Us What Can Happen'

Hardcore History's Dan Carlin on hero worship and moral assumptions in the study of the past

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
Cutting Off Israel
Reason magazine

Cutting Off Israel

ENDING U.S. AID WOULD GIVE WASHINGTON LESS LEVERAGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THAT’S WHY IT’S WORTH DOING.

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
WHAT CAUSED THE D.C.CRIME WAVE?
Reason magazine

WHAT CAUSED THE D.C.CRIME WAVE?

GOVERNMENT MISMANAGEMENT, NOT SENTENCING REFORM OR SPARSE SOCIAL SPENDING, DESERVES THE BLAME.

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
States Turn Their Backs on Criminal Justice Reform
Reason magazine

States Turn Their Backs on Criminal Justice Reform

IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE to avoid the “strange bedfellows” cliché when reading about the criminal justice reform movement in the 2010s.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2024