Mask-skeptic Americans have company

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us //link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/20940609.42689/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9ib3Bpbmlvbg/582c8673566a94262a8b49bdB65465d3d This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an N95 mask of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - America’s not alone in its [mixed feelings about masks](. - Trump shouldn’t [kick away the economy’s props](. - And he should [stop pushing India away](. - Reminder: The [Supreme Court’s future hangs in the balance](. Not necessarily a global practice. Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe It’s a Half-Masked World After All The U.S. may seem uniquely weird in its conflicted attitudes about wearing masks to stop the spread of a deadly virus. But the conflict’s culture-wars origin is the only unusual thing about it. In fact, many other countries aren’t big on wearing masks right now. Elaine He and Lionel Laurent have put together an [interesting series of charts about mask usage]( around the world, and they find the U.S. isn’t even the worst offender in mask aversion. America is toward the lower end of the spectrum of mask usage, but on this scale it’s doing better than Germany, even though the latter country has handled the coronavirus pandemic much better overall. Americans are wearing masks only a little less often than the contrarian French, who have been under orders to mask up: And America’s mask reluctance doesn’t hold a candle to that of some other countries: Again, the results here vary. Denmark, one of the planet’s least-masked nations, has controlled the pandemic relatively well. The U.K., not so much. The fact is that mask use is only one tool for fighting the virus. If a country such as Denmark uses other tools relatively well, then it may get away with less masking. If a country takes all of its tools, melts them down into a ball and throws them into the river, as certain countries we could mention — cough, the United States, cough — have done, then, well, wearing a mask is probably one of the best options remaining. Read the [whole thing](. Further Coronavirus Reading: - Russia wants to [win the Covid-19 vaccine race for national prestige](, but going about it in a sketchy way won’t help. — Clara Ferreira Marques - Distance learning hurts kids, but [teachers aren’t helping the effort to find safe ways]( to reopen schools. — Virginia Postrel Trump Can Help the Economy, But Will He? The pandemic briefly seemed to get better in the U.S. before it got [worse again](. The economy is about to follow a similar path, with a short rebound from a dramatic shutdown followed by an ugly, grinding recovery back to whatever “normal” will be. And we’re just weeks away from several temporary economic props [disappearing](. That sure won’t help. Unbelievably, President Donald [Trump and Senate Republicans might just let that happen]( in an election year, warns Jonathan Bernstein. There’s a narrow window to pass more stimulus before Congress takes a month’s vacation, but Trump has threatened to slam that window shut over his nonstarter of a demand for a payroll-tax holiday. He probably won’t follow through, but he’s cutting it awfully close. Further Trump Reading: Many presidents misuse their pardon power, but [Trump’s abuse of it is unusually problematic]( and possibly impeachable. — Bloomberg’s editorial board America Should Draw India Closer It’s been a [weird week]( in the U.S.-China Cold War, with a lot of yelling and dish-throwing in public, but also some behind-the-scenes making-up. Still, the two countries seem destined for a long-term rivalry, meaning they’ll need all the allies they can get. And that’s why it’s so strange Trump has been similarly hot-and-cold with one huge potential ally: India. Noah Smith writes the [U.S. should be racing to strengthen economic ties with India](, to bolster that country’s defenses against China and its emotional bonds with America. But Trump keeps pushing India away with petty demands. He, or the next president, should be more strategic. Ruth Bader Ginsburg Update U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg [announced]( she was undergoing chemotherapy for liver cancer, the latest in a string of health scares for the 87-year-old. It was a stark reminder that the [fate of the Supreme Court is on the ballot]( in this November’s election, as Noah Feldman wrote earlier this week. It’s also a good time to remember that our morbid “system” of waiting for justices to get sick and die is [no way to run a judicial branch of government](, as Noah Feldman wrote back in 2017. Further Reading Industrial companies [buying back their stock again]( would suggest nature, or at least business, is healing. — Brooke Sutherland The Fed is signaling it will [let inflation to blow past its 2% target](, in a major policy shift. — Tim Duy Brett Steenbarger has tips on [how traders can thrive while WFH](. — Mark Gilbert The [standard narrative about Robinhood traders](, that they’re doofuses blowing up the stock market, is all wrong. — Nir Kaissar ICYMI California ordered [remote classes for most public schools](. Americans’ new eating habits force [farmers to raze crops](. Joe Biden may not [convince the world to re-embrace America]( after Trump. Kickers Scientists make [tiny cameras for beetles]( to wear. (h/t Alistair Lowe) How the [heart influences what you see and feel](. Why it [pays to be grumpy and bad-tempered](. What [makes a photograph good](? Note: Please send beetle cameras and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net.  Like Bloomberg Opinion Today?  [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access]( and get much, much more. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](.  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