The few articles this past week that stoked my thinking fires, from my Pocket feed ...
1. T-Mobile and Sprint plan to combine @ The Economist
I continue to think that a severely underrated issue for our society is our ability to legislate on tough economic and financial issues. for me, one of the most primary of these issues is our ability to handle the size and scope of our large media corporations. In other words, will we ever have the guts to enforce our existing antitrust laws, or pass subsequent and more restrictive Anti-Trust legislation. I fear that we won't, and I fear the result of our lack of courage.
2. Behind the teacher strikes that have roiled five states @ The Economist
Being married to a teacher, and living in a state that has endured property tax caps and other cuts to funding, this rings all too true.
"In inflation-adjusted terms, teacher salaries are almost 5% lower than they were a decade ago, even as teachers’ retirement contributions and health-insurance premiums have gone up. Some teachers even pay from their own pockets for classroom supplies that state funding fails to cover."
3. The Reinvention of America @ The Atlantic
Interesting read. I agree with much of what Fallows says here - if you remove national political discourse from the equation, there are many things that speak to a hopeful future and continued progress. There are many success stories throughout the country, in cities of various size, politics, and demography.
That said, I think such is typically the case throughout history; in every time, there are successes and failures. National politics, as it has become increasingly distant and complex, leads itself to the base tribalism that we have today. Thus, whether that base tribalism eventually overtakes our states, and more importantly, our communities; or whether or local communities sense of, well, community, overtakes that base tribalism ... well, that seems to be pertinent question.
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