The Millennial Democracy

Prior to the presidential election of 2016, a majority of Americans reasonably presumed politics would continue more-or-less as usual. After decades of frustrating yet rather consistent Neoliberal politics stretching back to the Reagan Administration of the 80s, wherein both major political parties seemed more like different sides of the same policy coin rather than ideological opposites, discontented populist wings within both parties were clearly growing in prominence. Yet, left-leaning progressives and rightwing nationalists alike remained unable to capture the majority of the vote from their respective sides, let alone coax enough moderates and independents in the ideological middle to win the White House. That all changed, however, with the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States. Since his ascension to the Oval Office, America's political discourse has been treading dangerously close to the edge of losing the democratic republic we hold dear. Sadly...

In the midst of America's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, our nation struggled with disruptions and bottlenecks in various supply chains to a degree not seen in most of our lifetimes. Construction materials, computer chips, automotive parts, a variety of foodstuffs and more all were either in short supply, having difficulty getting where they needed to go or both. Cargo ships sat waiting for weeks before docking and unloading in ports such as Long Beach and Los Angeles, a long-problematic short-supply of truck drivers left a lag time in goods being moved and distributed, a general labor-shortage resulted in long restock times and difficulties fulfilling goods and services ordered, and all of this was taking place while demand within the American economy was near all-time highs. As a result, the cost of shipping, trucking, labor and goods in general began to see unusually rapid increases. Shipping costs from Asia to North America increased by nearly 10 times, the cost ...