[Genuine Realist]

The area that I agree with you is that I think this crisis has demonstrated the US should categorize more items as needing domestic production. It's clear more PPE should be manufactured, and even sourced, domestically, and the laws already exist for doing this. Additionally, even before Covid, it was clear that the US needed to manufacture more generic drugs domestically. In fact, with capitalism run amok, there were examples of unnecessary shortages of needed drugs, and in some cases, private equity firms *decreased* production to jack up prices. That kind of behavior needs to be made illegal, and the US needs to create incentives for more medical supplies and drugs to be made here.

Where I disagree is that some kind of "moral" thinking is going to guide this. So I guess the first step is that the whole world should stop buying oil from Saudia Arabia, Russia, Iraq and Iran because they "don't believe in supporting an authoritarian country that violates human rights." 

My thought is that bringing these operations back on shore is just good economic and national policy, never mind the dreadful government. If it helps bring down one of the few remaining Communist states, that's a plus.

[Genuine Realist]

The area that I agree with you is that I think this crisis has demonstrated the US should categorize more items as needing domestic production. It's clear more PPE should be manufactured, and even sourced, domestically, and the laws already exist for doing this. Additionally, even before Covid, it was clear that the US needed to manufacture more generic drugs domestically. In fact, with capitalism run amok, there were examples of unnecessary shortages of needed drugs, and in some cases, private equity firms *decreased* production to jack up prices. That kind of behavior needs to be made illegal, and the US needs to create incentives for more medical supplies and drugs to be made here.

Where I disagree is that some kind of "moral" thinking is going to guide this. So I guess the first step is that the whole world should stop buying oil from Saudia Arabia, Russia, Iraq and Iran because they "don't believe in supporting an authoritarian country that violates human rights." 

My thought is that bringing these operations back on shore is just good economic and national policy, never mind the dreadful government. If it helps bring down one of the few remaining Communist states, that's a plus.