It’s impossible to ignore the fact that the Omicron wave—and the reactions to Omicron from officials—has emboldened a group of Americans who were never really Anti-Vax but are now very, very Vaxxed And Done With All Of This.
It’s not like the Vaxxed And Dones were born yesterday. This group has simmered, flared, maybe tipped the VA election.
But I’m getting the sense that Omicron is going to be an inflection point in ppl demanding an overturning of COVID coverage, attitudes, and policy.
I’m not sure I’d count myself among the Vaxxed and Done. But I’m not trying to endorse or criticize their position here.
My larger point is the Omicron wave seems to be deepening a wedge within the pro-vax (and largely Democratic) cohort, and that’s interesting and important.
1. The inflation rate doesn't exist (as a singular entity) 2. The Great Resignation isn't about resignations 3. Robots *should* take our jobs 4. The "golden age" of retirement? Actually, it sucked
1. Some inflation rates
Gas +58%
Rental car 37%
Hotels 26%
Steak 25%
Bacon 21%
...
Rent 3.5%
Watches 1%
Girls apparel: -0.4%
Meat-lovin’ road trippers in rented cars and urban dads buying dresses for their young daughters are living in two different worlds right now.
2. The Great Resignation is really the Great Reshuffle. It's about job-hopping, not pure quitting.
In Hollywood, at the NIH/NSF, and in US energy policy, our markets are failing to promote new ideas that drive progress and growth.
Since 1999, the box office share of sequels, remakes, and adaptations has surged.
Did US screenwriters become less creative? Very unlikely.
What changed wasn't our minds, but our markets: The domestic/international market for blockbusters was transformed.
The box office globalized at the same time that cable and streaming welcome serialized original stories. Meanwhile, the rising cost of blockbusters pushed studios to bet safer projects, creating a self-perpetuating loop of audiences saving their scarce tickets for sequels.
“High transmissibility, high breakthrough rate, low observed severity per infection” has been the story for about a week—and I don’t think I’ve seen anything to change it yet.
- the latest data from South Africa
- the major findings from preliminary vaccine studies
- the lessons of specific outbreaks in Oslo and the NYC anime convention
Case growth is absolutely ferocious, and the evidence of breakthroughs is overwhelming. The estimated reproduction rate is higher than any other point of the pandemic. Omicron is spreading very, very fast right now.
SOUTH AFRICA p2
The share of hospitalized patients in the ICU or on O2 is 50% lower than during same stage of Delta. Some evidence that the avg hospital patient is being discharged faster, too.
1. It's not about "quitting", but low-wage job-switching (ht @JHWeissmann)
2. It actually has very little to do with professional burnout
3. It's more about early retirement than news reports suggest
(1) The Great Resignation isn't actually about what most people think of as "resignations."
The low-wage service-sector economy is experiencing the equivalent of “free agency” in a professional sports league. That makes it more like the Big Switch than the Big Quit.
Restaurants and hotels have been hardest hit by the Great Resignation.
So, are they shrinking?
No! Accommodations and food services added ~2 million employees in 2021! That's almost one out of every three net new jobs this year. They're raising wages and scrambling to hire.