Commentary

After almost a year in pandemic lockdown, some notes on the privileged path: If you watch a couple episodes of “Schitt’s Creek” and don’t like it, it’s best not to watch any more because you’re apt to get addicted. It’s possible to walk four miles a day and still gain weight. The eternal present—even with all its spiritual baggage—may be over-rated. Nothing says Baby Boomer like Facebook selfies of vaccinations.

When President Biden asked what critics would have him cut from his covid relief bill, he got plenty of answers about reducing the $510 billion in aid to state and local governments — including from us. Now, some moderate Senate Democrats are suggesting a middle way: Earmark $50 billion of those funds for broadband investment. The idea, spearheaded by Sens. Angus King (I-Maine) and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), is a political crowd-pleaser more likely to attract cross-aisle support than most big spending. The funds, likely in the form of grants, would address the immediate emergency of millions of Americans going Internet-less in a time when being online, whether for work, school or telehealth, is more important than ever.

Since the Senate parliamentarian decided Thursday that the White House’s covid-19 relief package cannot include a minimum-wage increase under the filibuster-exempt reconciliation process, Democrats are trying to put on a brave face. President Biden “is absolutely committed to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on CNN’s “State of the Union.” On the same show, Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), a close Biden confidant, echoed that message almost word-for-word. Even progressive Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) sounded bullish, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “Democrats are united” behind a higher minimum wage.

One hour into his rambling, grievance-filled speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday night, former President Donald Trump had his big moment. He had already said multiple times that he won the 2020 presidential election but that it was stolen from him. Now, however, he uttered the magical, dumbed-down catchphrase that his audience wanted to hear.

Earlier this month, Mayor Brandon Scott committed Baltimore to a pilot program that would test the efficacy of a guaranteed income for Baltimore’s struggling families, described as “direct, recurring cash payments.” According to the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income website, the funds have no requirements attached to them, work or otherwise, and are “meant to supplement, rather than replace, the existing social safety net” and to “be a tool for racial and gender equity.”