United States of America eSeries: Fareed: The US Plays a Strong Economic Hand Badly

Fareed: The US Plays a Strong Economic Hand Badly

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Insights, analysis and must reads from CNN's Fareed Zakaria and the Global Public Square team, compiled by Global Briefing editor Chris Good

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October 1, 2021

Fareed: The US Plays a Strong Economic Hand Badly

Look around the world, Fareed writes in his latest Washington Post column, and you'll find that nearly all large economies face fundamental challenges.

China's "export-driven model has become much harder to sustain as wages have risen," and its working population is aging. Germany has lagged in the digital age, the UK will suffer the consequences of Brexit, Japan's economy is growing "at a snail's pace," and India has fallen short of expectations.

Only the US appears strong on all economic fronts: Its private companies dominate, and immigration fills demographic holes. America's problem isn't economic, Fareed writes—it's that a broken political system squanders advantages.

"Congress has not passed a regular budget in 25 years," Fareed points out. "Hundreds of key posts in the administration lie vacant, with dozens held hostage by senators on unrelated issues. And one of our two major parties ... is busy seeking to disrupt the set of institutions, laws and norms that ensure free and fair elections, setting the country up for a massive political crisis in 2024. America has been dealt the world's best hand by far. As any poker player knows, though, if you play badly, you can still lose everything."

Are Universal Boosters Really Necessary?

As the US and other rich countries authorize Covid-19 booster shots for vulnerable citizens, some scientists have said not everyone needs them. The latest warning against universal boosters comes in a British Medical Journal op-ed by infectious-disease experts Jake Scott, Aaron Richterman, and Muge Cevik of Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of St. Andrews, respectively.

Reviewing recent studies, they note a lack of evidence that Covid-19 immunity wanes too drastically among those under 65 and without underlying vulnerabilities. Plasma antibodies fade over time—and resurge after boosters—but there's no evidence that boosters improve the memories of B and T cells, which could spur antibody production when the virus is encountered later, Scott, Richterman, and Cevik write. They conclude: "The risks of remaining unvaccinated are clear and far outweigh the unknown benefits of re-vaccinating the general population. Rapid scale-up of vaccination coverage globally remains the most urgent public health priority."

Lights Out on China's Coal Reliance?

Power outages in China are a "wake-up call" as the country seeks to rein in carbon emissions, the South China Morning Post writes in an editorial. With provincial officials under orders to slash emissions, a confluence of factors has led to electricity rationing, blackouts, and a power shortage affecting more than half the country. As President Xi Jinping eyes climate targets, the paper calls this a warning of difficulties ahead, as coal still supplies the bulk of China's energy. At Bloomberg, David Fickling suggests the blackouts might nudge China toward renewables.

How Pakistan Views the Taliban

Critical of the US war on terrorism and publicly in favor of giving the Taliban "time" before judging the militants on human rights, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken popular stances, Stephanie Findlay writes in a Financial Times essay. "[R]hetoric in support of the Taliban has broad sympathy," Findlay notes, as "a September Gallup poll found that 55 per cent of Pakistanis were 'happy' with the Islamists taking power in Afghanistan."

The Taliban takeover has given Pakistan an apparent strategic victory, in that it denies rival India the opportunity to influence Kabul, but Findlay explores the nuances: Pakistan won't like some of the other ramifications, as Islamabad could see the Taliban victory "emboldening other extremist groups in the region, alienating the west" from Pakistan, "and triggering a flood of refugees that could be a strain on the economy."