The last 18 months of struggling have taken a toll on a lot of Americans, particularly poor people. Many have lost their jobs and been forced to file for unemployment to make ends meet.

It has been hard to pay the rent.

But we have had a wrong solution to this problem. The Center’s for Disease Control, a federal agency that has no direct accountability to the people, ordered a moratorium on rents.

On the surface, this, like most liberal solutions, sounds good but ultimately is damaging.

Congress, not the CDC, should make these decisions. This is the problem with “ABCs” – authorities, boards and commissions – that make laws without the true power to do so.

Renters no doubt benefitted in the long run from this moratorium. But, guess what? When the moratorium is finally lifted, the renters will be subject to all that back rent. So, a renter who pays $1,000 for an apartment and who has not paid rent for 18 months, could someday get a bill for $18,000 in back rent.

Many people who rent live paycheck to paycheck and saving up several months of rent could be hard to overcome.

And the CDC moratorium ignores landlords. State Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, said studies show that more than 60% of the landlords are individuals who have purchased a house or duplex to help them in their retirement years. And they borrow money when they buy their properties. While there is a CDC moratorium on rents, the owners must still pay their mortgages.

Charities are helping renters and there are some subsidy programs from the federal, state and city governments. Having the CDC manage rental properties is a flawed policy.