America’s democratic infrastructure is crumbling

[Bloomberg]( Today’s Agenda - America’s election infrastructure [needs an overhaul](. - Britain will [miss its immigrants](. - China’s [national champions]( have it rough. - Trump’s [campus-correctness fight]( is misguided. Pass HR1 Much like its crumbling bridges and tunnels, the infrastructure of America’s democracy needs urgent maintenance and repair. Too many Americans find it too hard to vote, or think their vote doesn’t count after years of headlines about cheating, foreign interference, partisan redistricting, the corrosive influence of big money and more. It just so happens there’s a bill in Congress right now, HR 1, that addresses these issues. Bloomberg’s editorial board supports its passage, while acknowledging it won’t become law any time soon, because Republicans in the Senate, the White House and the Supreme Court won’t support it. And it’s true Republicans have mostly benefited from some of these systemic flaws lately; but both parties will [suffer as confidence in democracy fades](, as the editors warn is happening now. Francis Wilkinson breaks down just some of the many [particulars of this exhaustive bill](, which would make it easier for people to vote; reform the Federal Election Commission and lobbying; shield the voting system from hacking and make it easier to audit results; make partisan gerrymandering a thing of the past; and expose those who would try to buy elections. And that’s just for starters. It’s ambitious and, again, unlikely to become reality soon. But every election cycle that passes without such fixes makes the risk of a democratic bridge collapse more likely. The Self-Harm of Brexit One of the many ways Brexit is already hurting the U.K. economy is by chasing immigrants away, writes Therese Raphael. The sinking value of the pound, along with the hostility to foreigners that motivated Brexit, have central and eastern European migrants bailing out. Contra Britain’s immigrant-phobia, these foreigners take economic demand with them when they go, Therese writes,  [permanently damaging Britain’s growth potential](. Of course, Brexit’s March 29 deadline looks fluid lately; there’s talk it could be delayed for years. This would be a disaster for both the U.K. and the EU, warns Lionel Laurent. No amount of time will probably be enough for the U.K. to come to its senses, and the EU would be better off [ending the Brexit distraction quickly](, Lionel asserts. Further Anglosphere in Bad Decline Reading: When England leaves the EU, it won’t take English with it; [the language will still be used by diplomats]( and around the world even as British and American influence wane. – Leonid Bershidsky Pity China’s National Champions Being a Chinese “national champion” might sound like an unbeatable deal: You get government backing and free rein in what will soon be the world’s biggest economy. It’s not so simple, though. Some of China’s biggest companies, such as Alibaba, Tencent and WeChat, have been [made complacent by government coddling](, writes Adam Minter. That's led them to make sloppy decisions that opened the door for upstart competitors. Take Huawei Technologies Co. China’s national-champion telecom company is in hot water around the world, accused of spying, violating U.S. sanctions on Iran and other misdeeds. Like any other company would, it has responded with a PR campaign. But it’s going too far, Tim Culpan writes, with [clumsy efforts such as suing Canada]( and trying to shower journalists with expensive gifts.  Further Command-Economy Reading: - As part of any trade deal, President Donald Trump should make China stop [forcing foreign companies into joint ventures]( to take their technology. – Noah Smith - North Korea has quietly grown more capitalist as [Kim Jong Un has indulged a growing black market](. – Toby Harshaw Campus Correctness In the name of free speech, Trump has threatened to order withholding federal money from universities that discriminate against conservatives. But public schools are already subject to the First Amendment, notes Noah Feldman. And if Trump’s order stood – which is unlikely – it would be [an assault on academic freedom](. Havard students want to punish a law-school professor for representing Harvey Weinstein, notes Stephen L. Carter. As odious as Weinstein may be, [punishing his lawyer runs counter]( to everything our legal system is supposed to represent, Stephen writes. Telltale Charts Is the ride-hailing market truly huge, and will Lyft Inc. make money? Its IPO filing [isn’t exactly reassuring on either point](, writes Shira Ovide. Bill Gross is right: It’s harder than ever for active [money managers to beat the market](, writes Brian Chappatta. Further Reading Benjamin Netanyahu could do well in upcoming elections, raising the chances he’ll [cling to power by defying courts]( or using street protests and violence. – Zev Chafets Russian generals have much to fear, but what they fear most is [a popular uprising](. And that should make the people nervous. – Leonid Bershidsky Gary Cohn may not have directly interfered in the AT&T/Time Warner merger, but then he didn’t have to; everybody knew [Trump wanted to stop it](. – Joe Nocera CLOs may be a bit safer than subprime-mortgage CDOs, but there are [far too many parallels for comfort](. – Satyajit Das Eli Lilly & Co. launching a [generic alternative to its pricey insulin Humalog]( is a big win for patients. – Max Nisen Some in Big Oil mistakenly think its [perception problem is all in our heads](. – Liam Denning Even after buying Whole Foods, Amazon.com Inc. [still hasn’t figured out the grocery business](. But that won’t stop it from throwing billions of dollars more at it. – Shira Ovide The real threat to kids is [not the Momo Challenge but parents]( who shove them in front of screens too early and often. –  Leonid Bershidsky ICYMI House investigators launched a [swarm of document demands]( at Trump and his associates. Luke Perry [died of a stroke]( at 52. Square Inc.’s co-founder [Tristan O’Tierney died]( at 35. Kickers A black man [took over a white-supremacist movement]( to shut it down. Area man survives five days on [taco-sauce packets](. (h/t Scott Kominers for the first two kickers) Every animal tested in the deepest part of the ocean had [plastic in its gut](. Researchers use [algae to produce bioplastic](. Note: Please send taco sauce and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. New to Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. [FOLLOW US [Facebook Share]]( [Twitter Share]( SEND TO A FRIEND [Share with a friend] You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022