Theyâre growing closer through shared ineptitude. [Bloomberg](
This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a scepterâd cliché of Bloomberg Opinionâs opinions. On Sundays, we look at the major themes of the week past and how they will define the week ahead. Sign up for the daily newsletter [here](. [Pidgin English]( Itâs been said that Britain and America are two nations separated by a common language. But who exactly said it? If you trust Google Search, youâll probably come up with Winston Churchill, which is [almost certainly wrong](. Iâve just finished his six-volume history of World War II, and the closest he gets is, âThe enjoyment of a common language was of course a supreme advantage in all British and American discussions.â[1](#footnote-1) (He relates a meeting in which he proposed to âtableâ a matter, which to the Brits meant put it on the table, but to the Americans meant to bury it under.) Other suspects include George Bernard Shaw, Dylan Thomas and (with a more elaborate construction, naturally) Oscar Wilde in an 1887 short story called [The Canterville Ghost]( âWe have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language.â If you read Bloomberg Opinion this week, however, you might feel that the Mother Country and its former colony are ending their 250-year separation. The points of convergence, unfortunately, are: soaring debt, bad health, poor education, ineffective government and, to borrow another cliché ([from Dean Acheson]( an inability to find a role in the world. Letâs start with the scepterâd isle. (Sorry, loading up on the clichés this morning.) âThe idea that Britain is a sick society is no longer an idle metaphor,â [writes]( Adrian Wooldridge. âThe British are not only sicker, on average, than the inhabitants of most rich countries; they are also in danger of becoming sicker than their parents: The improvement in life expectancy that began with the industrial revolution 200 years ago is now grinding to a halt ⦠The number of alcohol-related deaths in the UK has risen by 30% since 2019.â Canât Labour, the party whose greatest legacy is the National Health Service, turn things around? âHealth is too important to be left to the NHS alone,â Adrian adds. Breakthroughs in alternative medicine will only get them so far: âBritainâs dismal heath record is reducing the countryâs productivity,â adds Adrian. âFor example, some 900,000 missing from the workforce compared with pre Covid trends. It is also putting mounting pressure on a widening range of institutions from schools to workplaces. In an average workplace with 25 staff, eight will have at least one long-term condition.â Not one to discriminate, Adrian is a transatlantic doomsayer. âUS health statistics are relatively dismal. French people can expect to live six years longer than Americans, as of 2021, and Germans 4.3 years longer,â he [notes]( in a separate column. âThe proportion of Americans classified as obese has increased from 15% in 1980 to 41.9% today, the highest rate in the advanced world.â For a country that depends on âraw intelligenceâ to drive its tech-heavy economy, Americaâs education system comes up conspicuously short on academic metrics. âIn 2022, the US [ranked]( 34th in math proficiency on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests of 15-year-olds,â writes Adrian. And higher education is no better: âUniversities are beginning to look like the General Motors of the 1970s, plagued by price inflation and administrative bloat and surrendering their lead to foreign competitors.â So, who is winning the race to the bottom of global esteem? Several columnists give the nod to Britainâs new Labour government, which is holding its annual conference starting today. âIn Keir Starmerâs 100 days, the prime minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have unconvincingly charged the Tories with leaving behind âthe worst set of economic circumstances since the Second World War,ââ [writes]( Martin Ivens. âThe unions have been given generous pay settlements with no productivity strings attached, and, without warning, Reeves has limited the universal winter-fuel payment (WFP) to pensioners. Nobodyâs happy, except a rump Tory opposition that canât believe its luck.â Mohamed A. El-Erian [concurs]( âHaving campaigned on the importance of strong, inclusive and sustainable prosperity, the Labour government wasted no time following its election in framing growth as a âmissionâ and announcing an initial set of measures to revive the economy. Two months later, it risks losing this growth focus as the national economic narrative shifts to endless debates on individual fiscal measures.â Which leads to some trickle-down [degeneration](. âConsumer sentiment in the UK [plunged]( in September to a level last seen in January,â Mohamed [writes]( in a second piece. âThere is mounting concern that the associated decline in householdsâ willingness to spend risks translating into lower consumption at a time when the government is seeking to reenergize existing growth engines and create new ones.â Given that finance plays as significant a role in the UK economy as Big Tech does in Americaâs, this is really bad: âThe number of companies listed in the UK has fallen by nearly 40% from the peak in 2008 to around 1,700 with mergers and takeovers pushing that number down every day,â [writes]( Merryn Somerset Webb. Small wonder why: âThe regulatory burden is high. Liquidity is appalling â who wants to get in if they arenât sure they can get out? It is expensive â think the second-highest level of stamp duty in the world. And for whatever reason (the compounding of those [stamp duties]( Brexit, lack of growth, regulation.. take your pick) the valuation gap is huge.â Companies arenât the only ones fleeing. Labour has plans to take away tax advantages long enjoyed by the minted many who live in the UK but officially reside elsewhere. âThe drumbeat of anxiety over the UKâs plans to abolish its ânon-domâ regime is growing, with a succession of tax advisers and wealthy individuals warning that the change will cause an exodus of the super-rich,â [writes]( Matthew Brooker. âA [survey]( this month showed that abolition could cost the country almost £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in lost revenue rather than the £3 billion boost initially predicted. Anecdotal evidence suggests some financiers are already heading to the more tax-friendly climes of Dubai, Switzerland or Italy.â Matthew thinks such âconcerns may prove overstated.â Those about Starmerâs start, however ⦠Bonus [Decline and Fall]( Reading: - Latest [Shutdown Fight]( Feels Awfully Familiar â The Editors
- The NHS [May Be Sick]( But It Isnât Going to Die â Matthew Brooker
- Jay Powell Makes a [Heckuva Car Salesman]( â Liam Denning [Whatâs the World Got in Store]( - Brandenberg, Germany, Election, Sept. 22: Germany Has [Gotten More Conservative]( Not More Radical â Katja Hoyer
- OPEC World Oil Outlook, Sept. 24: OPEC+ [Faces a New Problem]( A Texas Gas Pipeline â Javier Blas
- U. of Michigan consumer sentiment, Sept. 27: Rate Cuts Wonât Quickly [Ease Strain]( on Consumers â John Authers [Iâm So Bored With the USA]( This is the point where Americans can wipe the smug smiles off their faces, because things [arenât]( [looking]( [much better]( on this side of the pond. (Last cliché â I promise!) âItâs no longer clear what American values are even supposed to be,â [writes]( Marc Champion. Well, âdebt denialâ makes the list, according to Clive Crook, a Brit expatriate in America who may want to start [looking at Luxembourg]( âAsked how he went bankrupt, one of Ernest Hemingwayâs characters famously said, âGradually and then suddenly,ââ Clive [writes](. âItâs the same with governments. American fiscal policy is firmly on course for default â and every delay in confronting this prospect makes it harder to avoid.â National delinquency certainly wonât aid Harrisâs debate-night pledge to have the worldâs most âlethalâ military. âIn the years ahead, America will be hard pressed to keep its arsenal from atrophying, at a time when it may [need]( more nuclear weapons to maintain deterrence in a world in which both Russiaâs and Chinaâs forces rival its own,â [writes]( Hal Brands. âUS conventional forces face similar problems. The Navy is [sidelining]( 17 logistical-support ships, further straining a fleet that is already too small to handle a vexing global mission.â Well, what can you expect on the Pentagonâs shoestring budget of $1 trillion? While, as Adrian explained, the British may have an alcohol and tobacco problem, America faces a more toxic threat: fentanyl. An experiment in decriminalizing drugs in Oregon ânot only failed to spare lives, but seemed to cost many more of them,â [writes]( Lisa Jarvis, and a new JAMA study shows why: âThe insidious impact of fentanyl on a community is by now well-known. As the drug spread from the East Coast to the Southeast and Midwest until finally reaching the West Coast, it left a terrifying body count in its wake. Since 2021, [more than 100,000]( people in the US have died from overdoses each year.â Even the good news looks bad. âAfter increasing in 2020 and 2021, violent crime as reported to and by police has been declining in the US. But does that truly mean violent crime â which in police statistics usually consists of homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault â is falling?â [asks]( Justin Fox. âThose who actually braved the public spaces of US cities âwere 15 to 30% more likely to be robbed or assaulted.â Crime victimization was concentrated in way that made it hard for both police crime statistics and victimization surveys to fully capture what was happening.â So does the fact that fewer than half of crime victims even go to the cops: Fortunately, Americans can shelter in that last bastion of civility: political discourse. Wait, what??? Who could possibly ask if âcordiality is becoming something of a trend in the 2024 campaign?â The Bloomberg Editorial Board, thatâs who, and the editors make the case for optimism: âHarris struck the right note during the Sept. 10 debate. âI believe very strongly,â she said, âthat the American people want a president who understands the importance of bringing us together,ââ the Editors [write](. âSuch words were once commonplace, indeed banal, among candidates for higher office. They now stand out amid the demagogic rancor. A return to the language of civility, however cliched or effortful, might help remind Americans that a pluralistic democracy requires finding a way to live with those who disagree with you.â âBringing us togetherâ has a nice ring â if only the US and UK werenât being reunited through their mutual ineptitude. Notes: Please send singing nurses and feedback to Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.net. [1] You can find the quote in the third paragraph [on this page](. But really, you should read all 1.25 million words of the Nobel-winning work â it breezes by, honestly, and it's free with Amazon's Kindle Unlimited membership. Yes, there is probably a fair amount of revisionist self-justification, but Churchill relies largely on reprinting his letters and official dispatches, and does a thoroughly convincing job in refuting one of the major myths of his war leadership: [that he opposed the D-Day landings](. Follow Us Stay updated by saving our new email address Our email address is changing, which means youâll be receiving this newsletter from noreply@news.bloomberg.com. Hereâs how to update your contacts to ensure you continue receiving it: - Gmail: Open an email from Bloomberg, click the three dots in the top right corner, select âMark as important.â
- Outlook: Right-click on Bloombergâs email address and select âAdd to Outlook Contacts.â
- Apple Mail: Open the email, click on Bloombergâs email address, and select âAdd to Contactsâ or âAdd to VIPs.â
- Yahoo Mail: Open an email from Bloomberg, hover over the email address, click âAdd to Contacts.â Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before itâs here, itâs on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals canât find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox.
[Unsubscribe](
[Bloomberg.com](
[Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P.
731 Lexington Avenue,
New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](