Amazon Embraces Failure: Discussing Opioid Orphans and Other Commentaries
Drug watch: Opioid Orphans
“Tens of thousands of ‘grandfamilies’ ” — where grandparents raise the kids of addicted, jailed, or deceased parents — are emerging from “West Virginia’s opioid epidemic,” reports The Free Press’ Olivia Reingold.
“In West Virginia, which has the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths in the nation, over half of all children are under the care of their grandparents.”
This issue is not isolated to West Virginia, as it is a national concern.
“Out of more than two million children being raised by their grandparents in the US, the majority are living with their elder family members due to a parent’s substance abuse.”
“This crisis has been ongoing for three decades, impacting multiple generations” and has resulted in more than 800,000 deaths nationwide since 1999.”
From the right: Amazon’s Not Afraid To Fail
“Amazon is not managed by individuals who never make mistakes. It is managed by individuals who do make mistakes but understand when something is not effective,” argues National Review’s Dominic Pino.
The company has experimented with concepts like its own grocery stores, where “an Amazon Prime subscriber . . . would scan his or her phone on the way into the store, grab groceries, and ‘just walk out.” However, the technology did not work well for grocery stores.
Amazon has also ventured into physical bookstores through its Amazon Books subsidiary, as well as clothing stores, both of which were unsuccessful.
“Amazon is not infallible,” yet it has managed to thrive by taking risks, evaluating outcomes, and cutting losses when results are unfavorable.”
Culture critic: The March of Dimes Syndrome
Many “supposed crises are all examples of the March of Dimes syndrome,” named after the charity that funded the vaccines ending the polio epidemics, as its “leaders sustained the organization by finding new causes,” explains City Journal’s John Tierney.
For instance, with most Americans now in favor of same-sex marriage, activists have shifted focus to new demands beyond tolerance, such as legal requirements for conservative Christians in matters like baking cakes for same-sex weddings.
Similarly, there are demands for access to explicit material in elementary school libraries, indicating a change in focus from previous issues.
Environmental concerns have shifted from overpopulation and energy crisis narratives to climate change predictions.
Eye on Canada: Let’s Just Stick to LGB
“Justin Trudeau may have overlooked the fact that Canadians are moving on from transgender issues,” observes Meghan Murphy at Spiked, citing an Ipsos poll showing declining support for ‘LGBTQ2 visibility’ in Canada.
While gay rights have achieved mainstream acceptance, enthusiasm for trans rights is decreasing.
The trans movement is seen as divisive and demanding unwavering loyalty, rather than advocating for safety or human rights.
Canadians are becoming wary of the excessive promotion of transgender issues in all aspects of society and resist having ideologies imposed on them.
Libertarian: Federally Funded Dad Jokes
“Did you hear the one about the world’s greatest watch thief? He stole all the time,” shares Reason’s Eric Boehm.
The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services, received $75 million in taxpayer funds last year to maintain, among other things, an official collection of ‘dad jokes,’ which is an inefficient use of government resources.
Despite good intentions, the program’s actual accomplishments are unclear, making it an inappropriate expense given the significant national debt of $34.5 trillion.
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
