34 capitol hill drama, auf wiedersehen Angela

loyal readers, it’s the end of an era. our favorite blond-haired celebrity is free from over a decade of scrutiny and limited freedom. and before you say anything, no we’re not talking about #freebritney. the leader of free europe, the bastion of democracy in the era of You-Know-Who, the german chancellor with a PhD in freaking quantum chemistry, Angela Merkel oversaw elections this week to choose her replacement. we’ll dig into the details, but for now - shame on you for thinking we’d ever talk about britney spears on TWR.

big idea: drama on the hill

1. all sorts of drama has been unfolding this week on capitol hill, with Joe scrambling to fund the government, extend the federal debt ceiling, pass an infrastructure bill, and pass the biggest expansion of welfare benefits since the 1960’s. phew, let us catch our breath for a second.
2. what’s happening boils down to dems not being able to overcome the difference between the moderate and progressive sides of the party, while the republicans laugh on the sidelines. in the next few weeks, the government will both run out of money to spend and out of debt it can issue. dems need to pass a budget and a debt ceiling extension to solve these problems.
3. dems are hoping to attach an expansion of welfare benefits to the budget, since they won’t need 60 votes in the senate to do so, the only chance this year for a partisan bill to pass. moderates and progressives can’t decide which bill should pass first (the budget or the infrastructure bill), or what the total cost should be.
4. there’s many other sideshows going on, and quite a few details we’ve glossed over, but expect continuing drama on capitol hill for the next month. we don’t know when C-SPAN started running soap operas, but we’re loving it.

story to watch: auf wiedersehen Angela

1. we don’t do love poems on TWR, and even if we wanted to, we couldn’t without embarrassing ourselves - but if we could, and if we did, man would we write an ode to Angela Merkel, the outgoing chancellor of germany. one of the longest ruling european politicians in the modern era, she arose from humble beginnings as a physicist in communist east germany to the head of a unified germany. she led with substance, not style, competency not charisma, and gravitas not grandiosity. 
2. since 2005, Merkel has handled a series of problems, from the global recession, to the euro debt crisis, to the rise of neo-Nazism amid the syrian refugee crisis, to COVID-19. during the presidency of You-Know-Who, she took on the mantle of leader of the free world without hesitation, becoming liberal democracy’s foremost cheerleader. if only american politicians had Merkel’s principles, savvy, and courage.
3. we’re just getting started here, so check out this week’s hottakes on why we love Angela, and why her reign is coming to an end

this week’s image: decked out cat

• (The Atlantic) one groovy looking cowboy cat joins pro-democracy protests in thailand. and we thought our cat always looked judgey...

this week’s number: 62% of restaurant workers have been emotionally abused

1. a recent report found that 62% of restaurant workers have been emotionally abused or disrespected by customers, and 15% have been sexually harassed while on the job. this comes amid a huge struggle within the hospitality industry to recruit and retain enough workers while customers seem to be behaving worse than ever. 
2. employees have been verbally and physically assaulted for upholding minor rules, like mask or vaccine mandates or table reservations. higher wages can’t solve the problem of jerk customers, so the next time you go out - maybe tip well and turn that frown upside down ;) 

what we’re reading: “Nudge: The Final Edition”

1. an updated version of the groundbreaking book “Nudge”, first published in 2008 by our favorite nobel prize winner in economics, this is an absolute must read. the first edition brought into public consciousness the idea of behavioral economics - that people are not totally logical when making decisions, and there are subtle psychological methods to nudge people towards a given outcome. in other words, your econ 101 professor lied to you about supply and demand curves.
2. the updated edition has a bevy of new relevant examples and addresses a number of criticisms of the original theory. it also introduces the concept of ‘sludge’, life’s red tape which purposefully inhibits us from making the best decisions. a funny, mind-binding read which we cannot recommend enough.

and, in case you missed it:

• Dollar Tree announced it would begin selling items for more than $1 each, for the first time ever
• Disney and scarjo settled a lawsuit over “Black Widow”, something we discussed in issue 25
• TikTok passed the one billion active users mark
• a florida man discovered a piece of wood he was going to use to repair his gun with ...turned out to be a piece of moon rock collected during the Apollo missions

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!