The thought of millions of Americans being evicted, made homeless overnight, is terrifying. An obvious solution is to simply ban all evictions; make themn illegal, or at least apply a long moratorium to their execution until this crisis is over.

But their landlords provide a useful service, they give people a place to live. They are not all faceless corporate empires, many of them are just plain, middle-class folks, even mom-and-pop operations. They have bills and expenses too, and they have invested their own labor and capital into providing this service. Most have debts of their own and face bankruptcy. This crisis is not their fault, it is unfair that they should be penalized for it.

So what are we to do? Sometimes, when in the jungle, the intrepid explorer has to chop off his own arm to avoid dying from the bite of a poisonous snake. Hard choices have to made, with little more guidance than "the greatest good for the greatest number".

Tenants outnumber landlords, and as a rule, they have much less in the way of financial resources. I say ban the evictions. Sure, renters knew they would be responsible for paying the rent, but landlords also are responsible for paying their bills, too.

C'mon. It can't be any worse than taking a mother's son and sending him off to die in war. Nobody told you life was supposed to be fair.