It was all I could do not to devote today’s column to a fiery criticism of President Biden’s abrupt decision to pull US troops and vital air support out of Afghanistan earlier this month – even though I believe historians will record it as one of the worst decisions by a US president in America’s history!
For the record, I happen to believe we should get out of Afghanistan. I just don’t believe this is the way to do it – leaving hundreds of Americans and tens of thousands of people who supported our troops at the mercy (or lack thereof) of the ruthless Taliban.
And, sadly, we don’t yet know how much worse this tragedy will get before it’s over, but I think it is safe to say, it will get even worse. Rather than spending today’s column lambasting President Biden for making an unforgivable decision, which could cost of thousands of lives, I have provided you a link to one of the best analyses I’ve seen on Afghanistan.
This one is written by conservative columnist Ben Shapiro and was posted on The Daily Wire website earlier this week. I encourage you to read it. Now let’s move on to our main topic.
As you are no doubt aware, private sector businesses are increasingly imposing so-called “vaccine mandates” (proof of vaccination) on their customers, even though they know it may not be in their best interest. I want to explain why this is happening.
You see, the Biden administration would like to impose a federal vaccine mandate on the entire country, but they know it would be wildly unpopular with the public and likely doom any chances the president has for re-election. So, he won’t do it.
What he did instead was to require that all federal employees prove they have been vaccinated. This was a very carefully calculated decision. The Biden administration assumed that if the government required all employees and private contractors to provide proof of vaccination, then private sector businesses would do the same.
The plan is working exactly as it was designed. As you are well aware, more and more private businesses are imposing their own vaccine mandates on a daily basis. While this trend is not uniform across the country, it is becoming increasingly widespread. Restaurants, bars, movie theaters and many other retail establishments are requiring proof of vaccination in order to enter. This is exactly what the Biden administration wanted to happen.
Biden, in laying out the administration’s next efforts to get more Americans vaccinated last week, said he wants to see private companies, as well as local governments, schools and other private sector businesses move toward vaccine mandates.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio issued the first blanket requirement for a major city, mandating that people show proof of vaccination to dine at a restaurant, work out at a gym, go to a movie, etc., etc.
Following de Blasio’s announcement, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she would also consider requiring people show proof of vaccination for restaurants, bars and other private businesses in the nation’s capital.
Many restaurants say they are taking this step to bring back workers who worry they may get COVID if they return to their jobs. Full-service operators of retail businesses want to get back to full capacity and one big challenge they’re facing is labor. They need to have a labor pool they can rely on; they need to be able to expand their labor pool; and the way they can do that long-term is to make their employees feel safe, owners say.
Along with making workers comfortable, requiring vaccines to dine-in is also a way to get customers to feel safe.
The business review platform YELP announced this week it is adding COVID-19 guidelines to its business listings, which will allow people to filter companies based on whether they require proof of vaccination and whether staff are fully vaccinated.
The point is, this is working exactly the way the Biden administration had hoped, in lieu of a federal vaccine mandate, which would almost certainly dash the president’s chances (if he still has any) of being re-elected. Private businesses are cooperating in droves.
At the end of the day, this whole COVID crisis has resulted in Americans voluntarily giving up more freedoms than we’ve done in our lifetimes. That, of course, is a completely different issue from our main topic today, so I will revisit it in more detail at another time.
Be sure to read Ben Shapiro’s excellent article on President Biden’s disastrous decision on pulling out of Afghanistan.
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