So said Texas A&M economist Jonathan Meer in a private message that he has allowed me to share.
Here’s the story that prompted it. It’s short and so I’ll quote only briefly:
So to recap: At 10am on Friday, the windshield on this Tacoma was destroyed. An hour later, a replacement was located, which was then shipped across three states and 750 miles to Salt Lake City, where it was received and installed by 11am Saturday morning. A remarkable 25-hour turnaround.
And here’s Jonathan’s own story that he added to the above:
In 2007, I had a guy on eBay send me a new charger for my laptop to an RV site in Australia in about 24 hours. I love the 21st century.
Indeed!
READER COMMENTS
Mark Brady
Oct 2 2018 at 2:12pm
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/file/Get/62ed1ce1-dd9f-4a67-a471-9b3820742b7e
Yes, I just love the 21st century. Irony, in case anyone wonders.
Of course, much of the world is enjoying material progress, not least hundreds of millions in developing countries, and that is something to be celebrated. But war, so often with the complicity of the United States, continues its devastation. We must never forget that.
David Henderson
Oct 2 2018 at 5:16pm
Mark,
I agree with you that the U.S. government’s support of the vicious Saudis in their attack on Yemen is horrible.
That said, I took Jonathan Meer to be saying the 21st century is better than the previous one he lived in. By your and my criteria, which include war and peace, I’m pretty sure that’s true. 1914 to about 1973 were particularly bad for war. Also, 1980 to 1988, with the Iraq war on Iran.
Ray
Oct 6 2018 at 2:09pm
Simultaneously, the relative global peace which has allowed so much trade and technological advancement is in large part due to the United States.
Pierre Lemieux
Oct 2 2018 at 2:57pm
To maintain a salutary dose of pessimism, though, we should not forget that Jonathan Meer’s Tacoma (and probably the windshield too) cost him much more (up to 25%) than it would have because of the five-decade-old 25% “chicken tariff” on pickups. Trump just bullied the South Korean government into extending it to 2041. Tacomas for the North-American market are manufactured in the US and in Mexico, but these plants are protected from the rest of the world for a reason: the chicken tariff allows them to charge up to 25% more. And by increasing the cost of Mexican-made pickups (because of the imposed minimum wage to Mexican workers), the revised NAFTA will put even more upward pressure on pickup prices.
David Henderson
Oct 2 2018 at 5:18pm
Absolutely, and you’re wise to say “up to 25%.” I’m guessing it’s no more than 15%, but that’s still a huge number.
Todd Kreider
Oct 10 2018 at 12:17am
No, 15% is not a huge number, just a slight annoyance that trade is not completely free.
Comments are closed.