The U.S. government's response to the coronavirus has been nothing less than catastrophic, including weak, delayed, and incompetent actions by its two main public health agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Alex Tabarrok, a professor of economics at George Mason University and one of the co-founders of the popular blog and online university Marginal Revolution, is an outspoken critic of the government's actions, including the FDA's refusal to allow for home testing of the coronavirus. Reason spoke with him about official responses to past pandemics, which countries are doing things right, and how the government can get a better handle on stopping the spread of this novel coronavirus.

Interview by Nick Gillespie. Edited by John Osterhoudt.

Photo credits: Zach D Roberts/ZUMA Press/Newscom; Congressional Quarterly/CQ Roll Call/Newscom; Ryu Seung-Il/ZUMA Press/Newscom; John Nacion/ZUMA Press/Newscom

'Modum' by Kai Engel is licensed under CC BY 4.0