Intentions shouldn’t actually be relevant to the actual, real-world effects of specific actions in most cases, including this one. You’re absolutely right about state and local governments vs federal, and about foreign borrowing and investment. Although frankly I tend to see foreign countries giving us real resources in exchange for an IOU denominated in a currency we control as being similar to tribute, with them trusting their success to our future decisions, and not the other way around.
None of that changes the fact that this (former?) army officer is an idiot, and that a very large supermajority of people arguing against vaccines or vaccine mandates are just flat out lying, both about the facts and about their beliefs and intentions.
Personally I’m not in favor of most vaccine or testing mandates, despite understanding that essentially everyone should get vaccinated. But, that’s because I think an actually sane society would be able to get better mileage, near-term and long-term, with other methods like extensive community outreach programs, honest and consistent communication from public institutions, and incentive programs so people can share in the positive externalities their actions create as well as suffer from the negative ones. I see mandates as, in most cases, a stop-gap measure at best that erodes long-term social trust and cohesion, and as a sign of our sustained failure to bother trying to fix out deeper societal problems.
