So late this time!

I suppose I could have sat down and tried to write it yesterday, but I was feeling...bleh. While the whole point of this blog is to be unfiltered / you-get-what-you-get—I still didn't want to put down something I was too tired to really think through.

Though, I guess that would have been a fun experiment.

Next time.

THIS TIME, I guess I'll write about the inaugaration...inauguaration? Innogrrration. Nailed it.

I assume most of us here are immensely relieved there's a new administration in the US. It doesn't matter if we live in the States or not, more Trump would just suck for too many people.

I can't say I'm excited though.

Now—before I go into a cynical rant (which I will, don't worry), I want to preface everything by saying: Biden coming in is going to help a ton of people.

Thousands fewer will die to COVID.

Hundreds fewer will die at the hands of police.

Hopefully.

Probably?

There are some easy wins for Biden. Good will come of this.

But...

On a scale from one to ten, with then being a superhero saving the world, the U.S. is going from a minus four to a one-point-five.

Biden's election isn't really a win.

It avoids catastrophe—awesome! But there are so many issues to solve in the world, and this guy isn't going to touch a single one.

With Trump, things were going to get worse.

With Biden, things will just get ignored.

But here's the thing: there's a clock on a lot of these issues. Ignoring them is almost as bad as furthering them.

Let's just look at climate change. Trump would have empowered companies to pollute more just so America could become more competitive in industries they had no business competing in. He would have continued to strip protections from preserved environments. All that's bad.

Biden (hopefully) won't be that bad. He won't do as much damage. But what are the odds he proactively addresses the absolutely massive issue? He opted back into the Paris agreement. Yay. That's performative. Will he actually slap the necessary regulations on high-emmission businesses at the risk of hamstringing industries? He will not. He can't afford for his economy to take a hit.

What about all the talk of ending racism and inequality of all kinds in the States? Trump was obviously going to exacerbate things in every way imaginable (and in some I can't even imagine, I'm sure.)

Biden...well, he's given his speeches... Is he actually going to consider sweeping police reform? Is he going to address the history of segregation and redlining that created low-income neighborhoods? Is he going to fix the unequal access to education? Healthcare?

Politicians don't do those things. They don't really fix anything—not the big things, anyway.

Here are my solutions:

1. Anarchy. Tear it down. It doesn't work. Let's try something new.

2. (In case that's a little too extreme and runs the whole "baby out with the bathwater" risk.) Don't rely on government. I mean that on a broader scale. We get upset when our education system sucks. We get upset when our healthcare system sucks. We get upset when infrastructure sucks. The central thread? The government sucks. And yet we still get hopeful when a new administration comes in?

As I'm writing this, I'm laughing at myself, because I'm not really a free-market guy. I don't trust that people won't run amok.

BUT, I can't see any of these issues getting resolved by Trudeau here in Canada, or Biden down in the States. (Or any other leader in any other country that I am woefully ignorant of.)

I've written before, when talking about the diffusion of responsibility, about the different parties capable of solving problems.

One party is the government.

One party is private business.

One party is us, the citizens & consumers.

I guess the point of today's rant is to say: let's assume the government won't solve our problems.

Now what?

Can we privatize solutions to things like education in an affordable way that grants access to all children? Hell—can we extend it beyond even our low-income neighborhoods and provide good education around the world? Hey, Mark Zuckerberg, you on this?

Can we crowdsource solutions for inequality in the legal system? If we create a legal defense fund through widespread donations (and write-off those donations to pay less in tax to a system currently failing our neighbours), can we address a for-profit prison problem that handicaps lower-income citizens?

Now I'm sighing as I write this.

I'm an expert in none of this. I am wayyy out of my depth here. I'm not solving problems.

What am I doing, though? Is this helping at all? Hmm.

Here—here's a takeaway.

Think about the issues in the world. Now look at those in positions of political power. Are they going to step up? Like—really step up? Are they going to sacrifice their approval ratings to make tough decisions? Are they going to choose long-term gains over short-term bumps?

If you don't think they are, fine. It is what it is. Governments kinda suck.

That leaves two parties to address the problem. So ask:

Can it be privatized? Can a business be set up to address it? Can we make and sell carbon-neutral alternatives for some of the problem-products out there, for example?

Or, can we the consumers/citizens rally together to get something done? Can we unite and stand up against an oppressive power? Can we boycott those with reprehensible behaviour?

Those are our options. It's frustrating when one—which should be a viable candidate for fixing things—is inept. But it is what it is. Now what?