This is just a tweet to remind you that what we are doing to small businesses, especially restaurants, bars and gyms, is theft.

A number of particularly obtuse people replying seem to think that I am arguing that everything should be open without restrictions. That’s not what I’m arguing. But if the government is going to force a business out of business, the business owner should be compensated.

You break it, you buy it.

A number of people object to my use of the word “we.” We as a society are responsible for this. Where are the rallies and protests in defense of small business owners? Where are the relentless campaigns to our legislatures demanding they be compensated for their forced sacrifice?

We are expecting small business owners to accept the loss of their life savings and often the roofs over their own heads. We are forcing them to make the sacrifice and expecting they do so with a smile on their face for the sake of public health.

There is a middle ground between killing grandma and killing the livelihoods of millions of Americans. Instead we have punted on our responsibility to both.