That appears to be the case. The Los Angeles Times calls it “seizing,” but it amounts to the same thing as these are legal products that the government did not order. The White House and FEMA are swooping in to grab masks, thermometers, and other items in a secretive process with apparently little recourse.

Related Event Webcast How much of the coming economic downturn will be driven by government shutdowns as opposed to the changing consumer and producer behavior we’d expect because of the coronavirus?

These actions are abusive from a civil liberties perspective, and such command‐​and‐​control methods make no practical sense either. As I discuss here, here, and here, central planning is the wrong way to go for disaster planning and response, as it will make the nation less safe and resilient.

Los Angeles Times reporter Noam M. Levey describes what is going on: