{"id":2028827,"date":"2023-09-12T03:35:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T07:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-the-post-covid-recovery-was-so-great-why-cant-i-get-better-than-two-star-service\/"},"modified":"2023-09-12T03:38:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T07:38:56","slug":"if-the-post-covid-recovery-was-so-great-why-cant-i-get-better-than-two-star-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-the-post-covid-recovery-was-so-great-why-cant-i-get-better-than-two-star-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Why am I still getting two-star service despite the post-Covid &#8216;recovery&#8217;?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fif-the-post-covid-recovery-was-so-great-why-cant-i-get-better-than-two-star-service%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2028827&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe closed [the economy] down and now\u200d we\u2019re reopening, and we\u2019re doing record business,\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> President Donald\u2063 Trump said\u2063 during the first \u200bpresidential <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3QtH5KuHMKU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">debate<\/a> of 2020.  <\/p>\n<p>He wasn\u2019t alone \u2062in celebrating the surprising \u201crecovery\u201d after months of lockdowns and harsh restrictions. Economist Martin A. Sullivan told \u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/taxnotes\/2022\/03\/08\/inflation-tax-and-the-covid-19-economy\/?sh=4a1f0d364b60\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Forbes<\/a> that <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cthe snapback was almost as remarkable as\u200d the decline.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1866914049\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-06c429f1b0fa9a46d56c1f8a314df1ee fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-06c429f1b0fa9a46d56c1f8a314df1ee\"><\/div>\n<p>But politicians and economists who want to mark lockdowns as economically successful don\u2019t talk about the downside we\u2019ve experienced in the \u200dinterim between lockdowns and the imminent\u2062 recession: how miserable the consumer experience has been. This experience isn\u2019t as acutely painful as the oppressive lockdowns and mandates themselves, but it \u2063should nevertheless remind us that the economy can\u2019t be \u201cswitched off\u201d without consequences. <\/p>\n<p><h2>The Hidden Costs of Lockdowns<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/192398\/employment-rate-in-the-us-since-1990\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">employment rate<\/a> may have technically bounced back, but \u2064other parts of the \u2064economy\u2019s complex machinery, like supply chains rattled\u200d by lockdowns in other countries\u2064 and <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2022\/05\/new-data-suggests-the-u-s-trucking-shortage-may-be-ending\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">trucking shortages<\/a>, haven\u2019t operated smoothly since before lockdowns. Going by a\u200b plethora of anecdotal evidence, quality of service has declined across many sectors, probably\u200b in part due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2022\/jan\/04\/great-resignation-quitting-us-unemployment-economy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Great Resignation<\/a> \u200cthat saw millions drop out of the workforce and take their job competence \u200bwith them. Not only that, but the high number of remote workers feel \u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gallup.com\/workplace\/509759\/remote-workers-organizations-drifting-apart.aspx?stream=top\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disengaged from the mission and purpose<\/a> of their companies. Apathy adversely affects performance.  <\/p>\n<p>Think about the\u200b customer experiences you\u2019ve had in the past week, month, year, three years. We are paying much more for most things and buying from organizations that are harder to work with. In many cases, products are of lower\u200b quality and smaller than they were before (mentions of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yelpeconomicaverage.com\/yea-q2-2022.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shrinkflation<\/a> have been steadily rising in Yelp reviews). We wait far longer for all of it \u2014 often just to find out our orders or service requests were canceled, were replaced with an inferior product from\u2063 another\u200c brand, or \u200bsomehow slipped through the cracks.<\/p>\n<p>Inconvenience is nothing new, but it\u200d seems to have been a\u200b particularly common affliction these last few years. We all have stories: suffering on the phone with the bank for an hour after getting put on\u2063 hold by a remote worker who couldn\u2019t care\u200c less whether your problem gets \u200bsolved, \u200donly to have the call dropped at 4:59 p.m.;\u2063 Holiday Inns having broken dryers, broken vending machines, broken Wi-Fi, and front desk \u201chelp\u201d that is anything but; and automated offers\u200c to\u200c have you talk to a real person who might \u2062be able to help you\u200c solve a problem that \u2064are never fulfilled. Being\u200b a \u201cplatinum member\u201d of\u2062 this or that no \u200dlonger seems to guarantee\u200b you anything in \u2064terms \u2064of service, much less perks.  <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-eee1790215141f751cb7e31233cf9fee fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-eee1790215141f751cb7e31233cf9fee\"><\/div>\n<p>Grocery stores still have fewer choices than before \u2064the Covid-19 panic. It wasn\u2019t \u2063until just this summer I finally saw dark \u2064brown sugar at the store again, after not being able \u200dto find it for three years.\u2062 At one point all the eggs were gone from the Walmart. I\u2019ve lost track of the number of times I\u2019ve gone to the store to get a very normal household item and come <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-seven-worst-superhero-films-and-why\/\" title=\"The 7 worst superhero movies and their flaws.\">back empty-handed<\/a>. I\u2019ll bet you have, too.  <\/p>\n<p>Or take the county fair \u2063as an example. Ride tickets at my \u2063local fair were triple the price of what \u2063they were a couple of years ago, the swipe fees were outrageous \u2063and sometimes hidden, the funnel cake we bought \u2062had clearly \u2063been sitting\u2064 out for many hours, and the curly fry brick was completely unsalted. For three\u2064 people \u2062to ride the Ferris wheel cost $15. What\u2019s more, the\u200d non-food\u200d vendor\u2064 space, normally wall-to-wall with\u2062 merchandise, held only a small handful of vendors. Aggressive inflation, longer \u200dlines, poor products,\u200d poor service,\u2063 and fewer options\u2064 \u2014 a microcosm of the greater economy.  <\/p>\n<p>And what does the government tell us about the \u2064state of the nation these last few years? That \u2064they saved us, they filled our savings accounts (however briefly),\u200b and \u200cthey avoided a recession. Sure, inflation \u2062is a nasty beast, but trust the wise\u200d Fed: It\u2019s maneuvering \u200cfor a \u201csoft landing.\u201d Through a failure to see down the long\u200d chain of consequences, \u200bfrom the instigation of lockdowns themselves to the mistaken belief that shoveling dollars into\u2062 people\u2019s pockets will \u201csave the economy,\u201d the last two administrations heaped chronic misery onto what would have\u200d been\u2063 essentially a tragic but systemically manageable flu (if our government hadn\u2019t panicked). \u2064 <\/p>\n<p>And instead of\u200c avoiding a recession, they simply delayed it\u200c until after \u2063the 2020 presidential election. President Joe Biden\u2019s massive \u201cstimulus\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/biden-food-stamp-expansion-jump-grocery-prices-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expansion \u2062of food stamps<\/a> \u2063 by 27 percent undoubtedly propelled inflation, and his travel mask mandates hurt tourism. But the money-dumping \u200cstarted with the CARES Act, which Trump and Congress used, as Heritage <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CbHBnCB6t7Q&#038;t=1712s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">economist<\/a> Peter St.\u200c Onge has put it, \u201cto bribe Americans into accepting\u2064 lockdowns.\u201d   <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-15893cb220071c65c9fa3dad6b50fcaa fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-15893cb220071c65c9fa3dad6b50fcaa\"><\/div>\n<p>Few consumer experiences are as good as \u2063they were before lockdowns, and \u2063we have arrogant politicians and busybody bureaucrats \u200cto thank for it. Covid was\u200c a global phenomenon, and the choices of other governments, particularly China\u2019s, \u200dplayed\u2064 a major role \u200cin destabilizing the\u200d economy. <\/p>\n<p>In addition to the aftermath of lockdowns,\u2063 now \u2063supply chains must be rerouted around the Russia-Ukraine war as well. Actions have consequences, and the consequences of government\u200c action reach\u200c the furthest and last\u2062 the longest.  <\/p>\n<p>Every time the government sticks its fingers into\u200d the complex\u200d machinery of \u200bthe economy, it remodels the economy to \u2064look just a little more like itself.\u2062 The more the\u2064 tyrants meddle, the more the private \u2063sector starts to resemble the DMV. Someone remarked to me recently \u2064that getting mental health treatment while on Obamacare is \u201clike socialized medicine \u2014 but you still\u200d have to pay for it.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>So in the latter half of \u200d2023, the aura of government incompetence, greed, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-the-post-covid-recovery-was-so-great-why-cant-i-get-better-than-two-star-service\/\" title=\"Why am I still getting two-star service despite the post-Covid 'recovery'?\">don\u2019t-give-a-damn permeates<\/a>\u2062 the \u200ceconomy, long after \u200bthe understandable depression and\u200b cynicism of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">low-wage workers<\/a> who had to show up \u200bto do a job while others got to sit at home\u200d and collect a paycheck. It doesn\u2019t matter how high the \u2063Federal Reserve cranks up interest rates, the stench of lockdowns just won\u2019t\u200b release.\u2062 Let \u2062all the aches \u2063and irritations of buying stuff over the last three years\u2062 \u2014\u200c and\u200c for the foreseeable future \u2014 remind us to never, ever let the government do this again.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e98f9db136da51485415db3cc956a911 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e98f9db136da51485415db3cc956a911\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Trump declared during the 2020 presidential debate that the economy, which had been shut down, is now reopening and experiencing record business. This sentiment was shared by economist Martin A. Sullivan, who described the recovery as astonishing, almost on par with the initial downturn caused by the pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":660,"featured_media":2028828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2028827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/660"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2028827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2028828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2028827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2028827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2028827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}