As the coronavirus death toll continues to rise in the United States, Americans have been told by conservative pundits, politicians and — more importantly — President Donald Trump that it’s time to loosen federal guidelines on social distancing to “open up” the economy by Easter Sunday.

Health officials — including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — have warned that encouraging people to go back to work would devastate efforts to slow the spread of the lethal virus.

Part of the problem is that these health officials seem to think that Trump and the rest of the talking heads making these public declarations don’t know that they’re putting people’s lives at risk.

They know. They just don’t care.

When Dan Patrick, Texas’s Republican lieutenant governor, suggested that the elderly go back to work to save the economy, he knew they’d be risking their lives to do so. “Those of us who are 70-plus, we’ll take care of ourselves. But don’t sacrifice the […]