| This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a small gathering of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. Today's AgendaOverconfidence Never Cured AnybodyFrom the very beginning, one defining trait of Covid-19 has been its capacity to surprise. Its spread, its effects and the best means of combating it have flabbergasted experts, governments and markets for months. And yet a recurring feature of humanity's response to the pandemic has been overconfidence. Sweden, for example, once seemed pretty sure minimal precautions were the best response. Many people unhappy with harsher measures hoped it would be proven right. It was not, writes Lionel Laurent; letting the coronavirus run almost free in the spring did not fortify Sweden against an ugly resurgence in the fall. Now the country is rethinking its approach.  Then again, some European countries that sneered at Sweden and were praised for their response — hint: rhymes with "Shmermany" — are dealing with their own new virus waves, Lionel writes. It's almost as if this pandemic has no easy answers. Of course, Draconian lockdowns can do the trick, as they seem to have done in China, helping that country once again be a global growth engine, notes Dan Moss. But then they aren't always replicable in free societies. And China also tried to stuff the pandemic under the rug at first, which helps explain how we got in this mess in the first place. Meanwhile, on-again/off-again restrictions with seemingly arbitrary triggers are eroding public confidence, warns Mervyn King. Sometimes it's better for governments to just admit they don't know exactly what to do. Openness and honesty are some of the best pandemic-fighting tools we have. Further Pandemic-Fighting Reading: Forcing employees to get vaccinated or lose their jobs is going too far. — Stephen Carter Trump Demands Electoral College Come Back and Fight Like ManIt only took six weeks and the imprimatur of the Electoral College, but Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders finally admit President-elect Joe Biden is actually the president-elect. President Donald Trump, of course, does not. He's still tweeting the election was stolen from him and promising it will be overturned any day now. This is terrible for democracy and will make Biden's job much harder. But it was probably a mistake for Biden to openly criticize Trump last night, writes Jonathan Bernstein. It gives the dead-end autogolpe attempt more oxygen and makes the transition even more partisan, if you can imagine. Also bailing on Trump is his former chief enabler Bill Barr, who last night resigned (if you believe his resignation letter) to spend the last few weeks of the Trump administration toadying with his family. Given how far he was willing to bend the law and his own reputation to help Trump, Noah Feldman writes, it's chilling to think what Trump might have coming that's so bad it made Barr call it quits. Community Colleges Need HelpMcConnell today also said the Senate should stay in Washington until it passes another Covid relief package. A deal may still be possible, if the knotty issues of corporate liability shields and state and local aid are set aside. Losing the latter would hurt the economy, and not just because of all the spending and hiring state and local governments do when times are good. Community colleges have ties to local governments, too, and they're suffering in this pandemic, Bloomberg's editorial board writes. People just aren't signing up for remote learning at community colleges. This could hamper the recovery by keeping people from getting the education they need for new careers. The federal government should help both the institutions and their would-be students. Further Pandemic-Recovery Reading: It's a little worrisome how much everybody in markets agrees everything's going to be great next year. — John Authers Telltale ChartsPandemic-fighting measures seem to have basically killed flu season this year, notes Justin Fox. Hey, maybe we could use them to fight the flu every year.  Further ReadingThe SolarWinds cyberattack is a reminder of how nobody is safe from state-sponsored hackers. — Tim O'Brien This year saw a rush of consolidation in asset management. This won't end in 2021. — Brian Chappatta A Facebook breakup would make no difference to the lives of consumers. — Cathy O'Neil A labor uprising at a Taiwanese iPhone supplier in India shows the difficulty of diversifying from China. — Tim Culpan The EU is on a slippery slope to irrelevance if it keeps letting Poland and Hungary get their way. — Mihir Sharma Israel's new Arab friends want progress toward permanent peace with Palestine. Israel's not listening. — Seth Frantzman John Le Carre's genius was in exploring our inner lives and the ways we deceive ourselves. — Noah Feldman ICYMIMacKenzie Scott gave away $4.2 billion in four months. Here are the cities Americans are moving to and from the most. Here are all the stories we wish we'd written. KickersBeer can takes photo with an eight-year exposure. (h/t Ellen Kominers) Lonely people have different brains, perhaps because of imaginary friends (seriously). A palm oil alternative could save rainforests. Futurists once tried to ban pasta in Italy. Note: Please send pasta and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. | 
Post a Comment