Every chart shows a trend down from peak but still way up from 2019. Seems like what I’ll call a tee-up article - very fact-light with a provocative title so people can vent their preexisting frustrations after skimming it.
back
2 comments
This is my impression of Economist articles in general. They very rarely give you enough historical context (for me) to understand what they're talking about. It's why I ended my subscription with them.
> They very rarely give you enough historical context (for me) to understand what they're talking about
It gave the charts so you could make your own conclusion, so seems like the opposite of what you said for this article.
Giving charts is not the same as giving enough historical context to understand and I'm surprised you would make that claim.
Any alternatives?
Council on Foreign Relations is pretty good. Also longer-form documentaries on YouTube from DW, Al Jazeera, CNA Insider, Bloomberg Originals.
Council on Foreign Relations might have good content, but it is a special interest group. It is not equivalent to a news outlet, they are more like consultants.
DW is pretty reliable, don't know about CNA/Bloomberg.
Al Jazeera is very questionable to say the least. Worth it to read as you should also read biased news and validate content for yourself of course and on some topics their content is decent.
I think "woke" is the wrong word here.
I believe most Americans are aware of politicians and the media focusing on culture war divisions and are sick of it.
Agree. In the US in particular congress is by far the worst of the three federal branches. Most long term, strategic problems are due to their inaction whether taxes, current account deficits, operationally effective border control, gun laws. Even abortion: it was undone in the judicial branch but the same coterire of supporters know bans will never succeed as as an amendment .. so that's left in the air too without even the attempt to count votes publicly ... that's how chicken they are now that they've caught the bus.
Like a floundering company, the US congress spends most of its time in these modalities:
- trying to convince you they're not part of the DC establishment
- Fund raising off cultural divisions, and exasperation of same for the same goal
- blaming the other side
- blaming congress' culture as polarized hence can't get anything done
- US electorate laboring under the delusion that changing the president is a solution -- maybe helpful at the margins -- but fundamentally unable to permanently circumvent law.
- the far left and right are equally culpable in culture fights while the right is more criminally culpable in how it uses its agency.
And that's exactly right: we're sick of it.
In a floundering company with no product, poor quality control, cost overruns, disdain from existing customers, and non existent cross functional coordination the first thing upper management must do is fire the people unwilling to stop whining, blaming, and take responsibility.
The focus must emphasize customer satisfaction through quality of service/product. In short the BS had to stop. Second focus must emphasize cross functional coordination. In-fighting is a fireable offense. No complicated product is made by one team. It takes coordination.
(I can name any number of examples from books to personal experience where this was done in US corporate history to get people to understand the old way is out).
Right now the US congress far left and right like the BS; it serves their goals. The middle 4 std deviations over the center stand around with their head down, hands in pockets, hoping nobody notices them. It's institutional incompetence.
In the world of belief systems untied to natural law and empiricism, even the Bible reminds: faith (beliefs) without works is nothing but cheap symbolism.
The problem is that the number one job of every politician is getting elected. Politicians have discovered that by refusing to rock the vote and shaking some hands they can consistently win as incumbents. That means that there is little incentive for them to actually pass laws. Combine that with the filibuster which is an easy excuse for why they never pass laws and we arrive at the current situation where no matter who you elect they cant pass any laws.