Social Cost of Masks

I went back to the doctor
To get another shrink
I sit and tell him 'bout my weekend
But he never betrays what he thinks
--The Who

Thomas Massie notes another problem with masks. In addition to doing nothing from virus protection standpoint, masks impair social exchange. 

Being masked up, and being locked down for so long, has caused us to look at each other differently. The sooner we get this economy back open, and the sooner we get these masks off and become human again, the sooner we may start treating each other like human beings again.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 30, 2020

When faces are masked, we learn less about, and from, others.  Transaction costs increase. Social power declines.

That's what statists want.