whitmer
Michigan residents are speaking out over Governor Whitman’s decision to make what she deems “non essential” items no longer available at big retailers such as Walmart.
Back in Michigan, my parents have a few acres of land, a pond that looks more like a swamp, and a garden that sits behind a barn. The garden isn't very big, and it isn't very fruitful, either. But this will be the first year it yields nothing at all because it is no longer considered "essential," according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's latest executive order.

Michigan has been one of the states hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. Whitmer rightly issued a shelter-in-place order last month in an effort to flatten the curve, asking nonessential businesses to close temporarily. But Michiganders are now reaching the point where they need some sort of reassurance that the economic hit this health crisis has delivered will not be permanent. Instead, Whitmer has abruptly handed them even tighter restrictions that defy common sense and undermine what little public support mandatory isolation continues to enjoy.

Whitmer's new restrictions are arbitrary and confusing and thus wantonly applied. Stores are being ordered to "close areas of the store that are dedicated to carpeting, flooring, furniture, garden centers, plant nurseries, or paint," the order states. A friend of mine went to test this out, first at Lowe's, then at Walmart. At Lowe's, he was prevented from buying a can of paint, but he was allowed to purchase caulk. At Walmart, he was not allowed to buy a couch, but he could buy a brand new, flat-screen television. At both stores, home gardening supplies were completely off-limits.

This vague and nonsensical list of nonessential items has created confusion for retailers. A viral tweet this weekend showed child car seats roped off at an Upper Peninsula Walmart. But children's car seats are literally mandated by law. If Michiganders are now unable to purchase them, how are parents with small children, especially single parents, even supposed to go out to buy food?

Whitmer's office insisted that her order does not apply to car seats, according to the Detroit News, and that the Walmart had wrongly interpreted her guidelines. But Whitmer is the only one to blame for this mix-up. Her lack of specificity and her arbitrary, ham-handed use of nonsensical categories have forced retailers to make such judgments. The result has been over-the-top enforcement and understandable frustration.

Not only are Whitmer's new guidelines confusing, they're completely unnecessary. Home gardening is typically a solitary activity completed within the confines of one's property. How would it upset the federal government's social distancing guidelines?

Whitmer's executive order also prohibits visits to other residences, including visits to vacation homes, a neighbor's house, and to relatives. "All public and private gatherings of any size are prohibited," she said at a press conference. It's unclear how Whitmer plans on enforcing this ban, but this restriction opens the door to massive abuses of power. Will law enforcement stop cars to inquire where they're heading? Won't that just increase the opportunity to spread infection? And what kind of proof will Michiganders be required to provide to show that home in which they're staying isn't just a "vacation home"?

Understandably, these new restrictions have left people frustrated. Hundreds of thousands have even proposed a protest later this month, an idea that obviously violates both common sense and necessary social distancing measures. But again, lay this at the feet of Whitmer and the extreme steps she has taken. It is a longstanding tenet of philosophy of law that arbitrary, inconsistently enforced, and nonsensical laws erode support for law in general. Likewise, Whitmer's measures are eroding public support for rules needed to flatten the curve in Michigan.


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The sneaking suspicion in Michigan is that these restrictions represent a form of political performative retribution, coming less than a week after the Republican-controlled state legislature blocked her request to extend the state's shelter-in-place order by an absurd 70 days; that is, into the middle of June. Nor is it a coincidence that presidential candidate Joe Biden is considering tapping Whitmer as his running mate.


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Most likely, the only thing Whitmer's public-health theater will protect us from is her rise to the vice presidency. It has revealed her lack of prudence and humility, and thus her inability to lead. This was Whitmer's opportunity to prove she can govern and guide her state through an unprecedented crisis, and she's only taken advantage of her citizens' goodwill to restrict their rights needlessly. That's not leadership — it's petty authoritarianism.