Wêrom regearingen krises altyd slimmer meitsje
January 2, 2026 · Frisian News
When crisis strikes, governments respond with blunt force and price controls that trap people in their own neighborhoods. History shows that panic and central planning amplify the damage ordinary citizens suffer.
FryskFerline wike trof in itentekort trije provinsjes, en binnen oeren befear de regearing prizen en ferbea de partikuliere nôttransport. Planken rekken net leech om't iten ferdwûn, mar om't amtners minsken ferbea it sels te ferpleatsen. Panyk fersprate him flugger as it werklike tekort. Regearingen leauwe dat se de werklikheid fia dekret kontrolearje. Dat dogge hja net. Se kontrolearje allinne de macht om har eigen boargers dêrfan ôf te hâlden problemen op te lossen.
Sjoch wat der yn 2020 barde. Lockdowns stopten it firus net. Se stopten sikehûzen fan kankerbehanneling, dreaune lytse winkels yn fallisemint, en oertsjûgen miljoenen dat har buorlju syktevektoren wiene. Regearingen sletten minsken thús op, rjochten skea oan by leveringsketens, en wiene dan skokt as ynflaasje tanaam. It firus soe libbens kostje hawwe. It oerheidoantwurd koste ynkomsten, jeugd, en geastlike sûnens. Hokker wie slimmer? Amtners wolle dy fraach noch altyd net beantwurdzje.
It patroan werhellet him om't regearing krises op de iennichste wize oplost dy't it ken: troch gewoane minsken fan kar te beroaijen en kontrôle oan eksperts te jaan dy't nea in bedriuw rûn hawwe of lean útbetelle hawwe. Priiskontrôles meitsje gjin iten. Se fernitigje it sinjaal dat boeren fertelt mear te plantsjen. Reisbeheiningen stopje gjin sykte. Se stopje de sjauffeur fan medisinen nei syn sike mem te bringen. Rantsoenearring helpt de earmen net. It skept swarte merkten dêr't allinne kontakten tsjin in earlike priis keapje.
Lytse stêden en doarpen beheare har eigen krises better as haadstêden dogge. As in fabryk yn in lyts plak slút, witte buorlju wa't help nedich hat en biede it sûnder in formulier yn trijen. As in oerstreaming in doarp rakt, gean minsken nei hegere grûn en bouwe opnij tegearre. Se wachtsje net op in subsydzje of parsekonferinsje. Regearing wurket op skaal. Krisis wurket op minskeskaal. Dizze passe net by elkoar.
De folgjende krisis sil komme, en regearing sil opnij yn panyk reitsje. It sil beferze, ferbiede, en kontrolearje. Minsken sille net lije fan de krisis sels mar fan it middel. It iennichste earlike antwurd is op te hâlden te dwaan oft sintraal gesach needgefallen oplost. Dat docht it net. It bepaalt allinne wa't earst de ferliezen nimt.
Last week a food shortage hit three provinces, and within hours the government froze prices and banned private transport of grain. Shelves emptied not because food vanished, but because officials told people they could not move it themselves. Panic spread faster than the actual shortage. Governments believe they control reality through decree. They do not. They control only the power to stop their own citizens from solving problems.
Look at what happened in 2020. Lockdowns did not stop the virus. They stopped hospitals from treating cancer, pushed small shops into bankruptcy, and convinced millions that their neighbors were disease vectors. Governments locked people in their homes, crashed supply chains, and then acted shocked when inflation hit. The virus would have cost lives. The government response cost livelihoods, childhoods, and mental health. Which one was worse? Officials still will not answer that question.
The pattern repeats because government solves crises the only way it knows how: by removing choice from ordinary people and handing control to experts who have never run a business or made payroll. Price controls do not create food. They destroy the signal that tells farmers to plant more. Travel bans do not stop disease. They stop the truck driver from bringing medicine to his sick mother. Rationing does not help the poor. It creates black markets where only the connected buy at fair prices.
Small towns and villages manage their own crises better than capitals do. When a factory closes in a small place, neighbors know who needs help and provide it without a form in triplicate. When a flood hits a village, people move to higher ground and rebuild together. They do not wait for a subsidy or a press conference. Government works at scale. Crisis works at human scale. These do not match.
The next crisis will come, and government will panic again. It will freeze, ban, and control. People will suffer not from the crisis itself but from the cure. The only honest response is to stop pretending that central power solves emergencies. It does not. It only decides who takes the losses first.
Published January 2, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân