1/Today& #39;s @bopinion post is about America in decline, and what it means for ordinary Americans. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-06-29/coronavirus-brings-american-decline-out-in-the-open">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...
2/Decline started with a bunch of little stuff that we learned to live with.
Like buildings and roads that took forever to build. https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/why-does-it-take-so-long-build-stuff-these-days/">https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-dru...
Like buildings and roads that took forever to build. https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/why-does-it-take-so-long-build-stuff-these-days/">https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-dru...
3/Or ridiculous, insane hospital bills that we grew used to paying (or avoiding). https://www.vox.com/health-care/2019/1/22/18188777/emergency-room-fees-health-care-costs">https://www.vox.com/health-ca...
4/Or huge pointless fees, like paying 6% real estate commissions when people in other countries were paying 2%. https://graphics.wsj.com/table/commish_1016">https://graphics.wsj.com/table/com...
5/These were all small harbingers of our decline. We learned to grumble and put up with them.
Then came coronavirus. And suddenly, decline was no longer a small, gradual force in our lives. Suddenly it was at our very throats. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-03-29/coronavirus-makes-america-seem-like-a-civilization-in-decline?sref=R8NfLgwS">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...
Then came coronavirus. And suddenly, decline was no longer a small, gradual force in our lives. Suddenly it was at our very throats. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-03-29/coronavirus-makes-america-seem-like-a-civilization-in-decline?sref=R8NfLgwS">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...
7/Texans and Floridians are cowering in their homes for fear of a virus that their leaders refused to suppress, while Italians are walking the streets and eating in cafes again. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/04/849989973/millions-return-to-work-in-italy-after-weeks-of-lockdown">https://www.npr.org/sections/...
8/But coronavirus is only one piece of American decline, I& #39;m afraid.
Another is our brutal, lawless police forces. https://policeabuses.info/#/ ">https://policeabuses.info/...
Another is our brutal, lawless police forces. https://policeabuses.info/#/ ">https://policeabuses.info/...
9/Now we are hell-bent on accelerating our decline.
We& #39;re kicking out the skilled immigrants who are the absolute indispensable LIFEBLOOD of our high-value knowledge industries and scientific research supremacy. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-29/trump-coronavirus-immigration-lockdown-will-weaken-u-s-economy?sref=R8NfLgwS">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...
We& #39;re kicking out the skilled immigrants who are the absolute indispensable LIFEBLOOD of our high-value knowledge industries and scientific research supremacy. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-29/trump-coronavirus-immigration-lockdown-will-weaken-u-s-economy?sref=R8NfLgwS">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...
10/And we& #39;re probably going to let much of our university system -- Number 1 in the world, the tentpole of our high-value industries and scientific leadership and thriving college towns -- wither on the vine. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-05-16/coronavirus-will-end-the-golden-age-for-college-towns?sref=R8NfLgwS">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...
12/Because if we don& #39;t, it& #39;s only a matter of time until the other shoe falls:
CAPITAL FLIGHT.
Maybe you haven& #39;t thought about the possibility of capital flight, or maybe you don& #39;t think it could ever happen here, but you had better worry about it.
CAPITAL FLIGHT.
Maybe you haven& #39;t thought about the possibility of capital flight, or maybe you don& #39;t think it could ever happen here, but you had better worry about it.
13/Capital flight means investors deciding that Europe, Asia, Canada, etc. are better places to put their money.
Just one consequence of that would be a crash in the dollar, making it harder to afford the cheap imports that sustain our lifestyles. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2020-06-13/u-s-dollar-s-exorbitant-privilege-is-about-to-end-kbdl8zcy">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/news...
Just one consequence of that would be a crash in the dollar, making it harder to afford the cheap imports that sustain our lifestyles. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2020-06-13/u-s-dollar-s-exorbitant-privilege-is-about-to-end-kbdl8zcy">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/news...
14/In order to keep capital in the country, the Fed would have to raise interest rates, choking off economic activity and creating stagflation.
Leaders -- especially idiots like the people who fumbled the coronavirus response -- would be tempted to impose price controls.
Leaders -- especially idiots like the people who fumbled the coronavirus response -- would be tempted to impose price controls.
15/The endgame of capital flight is a Venezuela-style collapse. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/world/americas/venezuela-economy.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/1...
16/We& #39;re not near a Venezuela-style collapse yet, but we are DEFINITELY heading in that direction.
We need a big change of leadership right now. And more than that, we need a big change in our national consciousness.
We need a big change of leadership right now. And more than that, we need a big change in our national consciousness.
17/If we do not accept the reality that our nation is headed in a disastrous direction, and the necessity of a huge effort and big changes to turn things around, we are in dire trouble.
Consider yourselves warned.
(end) https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-06-29/coronavirus-brings-american-decline-out-in-the-open">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...
Consider yourselves warned.
(end) https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-06-29/coronavirus-brings-american-decline-out-in-the-open">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...