'Can we — the people who have bought so much already — really keep buying more?'
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'Will Americans ever get sick of cheap junk?'
Amanda Mull in The Atlantic
America's closets and junk drawers "overfloweth," says Amanda Mull. "Maybe, one day, buying cheap stuff as a form of entertainment will run afoul" of a shared awareness that rampant consumerism is hurting our stressed planet. "People might begin to feel ashamed" about buying things they don't "really want as a salve for stress or boredom." But if we're waiting for "wastefulness to become uncool" we appear to have a long way to go before reaching "peak stuff."
'Why US aid to Ukraine is still in jeopardy'
Max Boot in The Washington Post
Congress' passage of $61 billion in long-delayed Ukraine aid eased a "collective freakout" by U.S. allies, says Max Boot. Former President Donald Trump had deepened their concern by threatening to "let Russia 'do whatever the hell they want' to NATO members" spending too little on defense. But it would be a "major mistake" to think the bill's approval means U.S. allies "don't need to pursue greater strategic autonomy." The U.S. still could turn "its back on the world."
'Biden's plan for unaffordable housing'
The Wall Street Journal editorial board
President Joe Biden insists he's making "housing more affordable," says The Wall Street Journal editorial board. But the Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to mandate "costly new energy standards for new homes insured by the Federal Housing Administration" that the National Association of Home Builders says "can add as much as $31,000 to the price of a new home." If Biden really wants to help, he should stop imposing "burdensome climate rules."
'The media's shameful coverage of the college anti-war protests'
Alex Shephard in The New Republic
The real reason for the college anti-war protests is getting "obscured" by the focus on crackdowns and allegations of antisemitism, says Alex Shephard. Yes, young people want their schools to "cut financial and academic ties with Israel" and are "overwhelmingly unhappy with the White House's handling of Israel's military campaign in Gaza." But pro-Palestinian students are risking arrest and expulsion because of their "clear moral outrage over the tens of thousands of civilians killed in Gaza."
