What is America?
Hi! I'm John, and this is "What is America?" podcast. For the next year, I'm gonna drive around the country and talk to people about their lives. The goal is to help rebuild our broken politics. Wanna come?
What is America?
Ep 7: What if we gave America a blood test? (Book Club - Adrift, by Scott Galloway)
What if we gave America a blood test? 🩸
When you go to the doctor, they give you your numbers for cholesterol, blood pressure, body fat percentage, the whole deal. If you’re regular about getting your checkups, you can track your numbers over time.
This week, I read a book, and I think of it kind of like a blood test for America. Like...how much money do people have? How long are they living? Can they afford a home? Medical care? College?
After World War II, our blood tests were looking good. America’s numbers kept going up, year after year. But now, they’re not going up anymore. In some cases, they’re actually going down.
The book is Adrift, by Scott Galloway. The author argues that America succeeds when we’ve got a strong middle class. But, beginning in the 70s, we started cutting our investment in the policies and institutions that build a strong middle class—and now we're living with the results of those cuts.
This week, we're talking about blood tests, shareholder value, and the new season of The White Lotus 💮