A huge problem is coming soon.  Authoritarian blue-state governors and mayors thought they could conduct lockdowns without dire consequences.  But all that these fools have done is deferred disaster.  That disaster is the reduction in city and state taxes due to the business shutdowns that they ordered.

State and local government officials are starting to hear about this lack of income from their finance teams, and they are mighty concerned.  As a result, all across the country, panicked conference calls have been conducted and are probably still going on this weekend.

Specifically, the problem is balancing state and local budgets.  Sales taxes from closed businesses are way down, and expenses due to precautions for the coronavirus are way up.  There is no way to make these numbers balance.  As a result, governments are burning through their reserves, safety funds, slush funds, and rainy day set-asides that they had managed to squirrel away in better times.  But within weeks, if not months, the situation will become dire.

What will happen? 

The first casualty appears to be our schools.  School closures may be blamed on the coronavirus, but the actual reason has more to do with saving money.  Next to go will be the consultants, contractors, and temps.  After that will come the layoffs and furloughs of nonessential personnel such as secretaries, clerks, and construction and maintenance workers.  Social services, housing, public transportation, sanctuary policies, prisons, and medical services may be the next to be affected.  Outlandish management salaries and retiree benefits might get be looked at.  Finally, what will be left intact will be police, medical, and fire personnel plus essentials such as sewer and water — but bring your own garbage to the dump.  Most of these belt-tightening measures will not be popular with the general public, thus the impending disaster for state and local officials. 

The reason all this is happening is 99.9% politics and 0.1% science.  Our blue city and state officials, in their haste to virtue-signal to the media and to make President Trump look bad with lockdowns and business closures, have merely traded their short-term popularity for long-term disaster.  They may kick this can down the road for a brief period of time, but most won't make it through the next elections. 

It's ironic.  At a time when Democrats and radicals in our society are screaming to "defund the police" and attempting to expand government by putting more people on the dole by destroying our economy, most of America is moving in a conservative direction with greater focus on first responders and less government.  

A new social media trend could arise: #DefundtheGovernment!

Image: Pat Arnow via Flickr.