1) Braves
It’s been a magical postseason run for the Atlanta Braves. After taking game 1 in Houston, they dropped game two. Over the weekend, they won games three and four. However, as Frank Thomas said after game four, closeout games are the toughest games. Now the series heads back to Houston. Max Fried will try to shut down the powerful Astros and claim Atlanta’s first World Series title since 1995.
2) Cancel Culture and Courage
I haven’t written anything about cancel culture for a number of reasons, but I thought it worth pointing you toward what may be a solution to this nettlesome problem.
While there is certainly some on the right who have turned being cancelled into a money maker (i.e. Josh Hawley’s on again book deal), there are a growing number of people on the left and right who have had their reputations ruined, lost their jobs, or been otherwise shamed into silence. It’s also important to note, opposition to cancelling people has also come from the left.
Bari Weiss, not exactly a conservative, was a journalist with the New York Times until she found herself out of step with the newer journalists at the Times. Weiss felt she had no choice but to leave, but has landed on her feet, here on Substack. Weiss has written an article for Commentary Magazine where she makes the point that we’ve reached this point because of cowardice, and that courage is the way to get out of this mess.
Read her summary of the article at her Substack, and listen to her discuss it on the Commentary Magazine Podcast.
3) China troubling “social credit” system.
We all know Big Tech collects massive amounts of information on their customers. While this is troubling, and we may not fully understand what they collect and what they do with it, we have nobody to blame but ourselves, as we consent when we use their products.
While private businesses collecting and using this data is an issue we should be worried about, what about when governments attempt to use massive amounts of information to influence behavior? Well, that’s exactly what the Chinese communist government has begun doing. Wired provided a good overview a couple of years ago.
Last week a video surfaced of what is claimed to be a designer of the Chinese system. He’d love to see other government use a social credit system to do things like suppress dissent and free speech. Wonderful!
Buzz’s Thoughts: It’s time to reign in America’s Big Tech and better protect individual privacy. Additionally, we should resist any attempt by government at any level to create some sort of social credit system.
4) Build Back Better?
In Episode 2 we talked about the work disincentives in President Biden’s “Build Back Better” legislative framework. As you likely know, the framework has undergone a bit of a haircut, with Biden saying last week the overall package will be about $1.75T instead of $3.5T.
Economist Casey Mulligan has been tracking the new framework and still has concerns.
Buzz’s Thoughts: There has been a lot of Democratic consternation over this proposal. It has blown past numerous deadlines imposed by Democratic leadership. It’s tempting to think it will not ultimately pass. However, it is considered to be the cornerstone of Biden’s agenda. No matter their differences, I think Democrats will come together to pass something and declare victory. Sadly, it will likely contain many job-killing provisions, prolonging our post-covid economic misery.
5) Education a top issue in Virginia’s Governor’s race.
Tuesday Virginians will pick a new Governor. Former Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) is trying to make a comeback, facing Republican Glenn Youngkin. Early on, it appeared McAuliffe would cruise to a comfortable win. But recent polling shows the race to be a dead heat.
Education, normally a strong point for Democrats, has helped put wind in Younkin’s sails after McAuliffe said “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”
AEI’s Robert Pondiscio explains McAuliffe’s comment burst a dam that’s been building for a while now.
The relationship between parents and their local public schools is one of the most enduring and resilient relationships in civil society. Americans have long given poor marks to public education at large while still holding their local schools mostly in high regard. The most stalwart public school supporters tend to be suburban parents whose kids attend strong schools.
There are now unmistakable cracks in that sturdy foundation. With astonishing speed and intensity, an interest group is being born. It consists of angry parents whose patience has been exhausted, and whose trust in education professionals and the politicians who support them has been stretched to the breaking point, if not beyond repair. It resembles nothing as much as a parent-led, education-focused version of the Tea Party.
Buzz’s Thoughts: While there are unique factors in the Virginia race, Pondiscio is correct that we should all keep our eyes on Virginia. Even is McAuliffe pulls out a victory, Republicans across the country can lean valuable lessons from Youngkin’s campaign.
6) Alliance for Opportunity.
I’ll be in Washington DC this week with my colleagues at the Georgia Center for Opportunity as we announce a joint effort with the Pelican Institute, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The purpose is to advance policies in our states (Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) that will lift people out of poverty.
We’re calling the project the Alliance for Opportunity. More details to come.