Are you better off than you were four years ago?

Plus: Grade inflation, Kate Middleton and more. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a chaos-bringer of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Covid reshaped the [labor force](. - [Grade inflation]( will lead to remorse. - [Kate Middleton]( is a lesson, of course. - Tesla’s no longer [a magnificent]( workhorse. Four Years Later People have got to stop [asking]( us if we’re better off today than we were four years ago. The answer is YES, [Ronald Reagan](! Speaking for myself, I am so much better. Four years ago, I filled a laundry bag with canned beans and went home to live with my parents. I slept in a twin bed. I [texted]( pictures of my mom to my dermatologist because I couldn’t figure out how telehealth worked. I foraged for berries in my backyard, Laura Ingalls Wilder-style, because there was NOTHING on the grocery store shelves: But enough of my traumatic memories. March 2020 was bad for everyone, especially those who were unable to keep their jobs. In a new piece, Justin Fox [illustrates]( how Covid-19 shrunk the job market for Americans 65 and older. “Their departure from the job market, a reasonable reaction to the rapid spread of a disease that was far more dangerous for them than for younger workers, has left the US with 700,000 to 800,000 fewer 65-and-older workers and would-be workers than if the group’s labor force participation rate had stayed at the levels prevailing in late 2019 and early 2020,” he writes. Four years later, Justin says the mass departure of old people from the labor force continues to reverberate. But dare I say that they were smart to leave their jobs when they did? After reading our columns today, I am feeling decidedly pessimistic about the state of the American workplace. First up, we have Sarah Green Carmichael, who [says]( more workers are turning to drugs to “biohack” their jobs. It’s not just Elon Musk [microdosing]( on ketamine: Stressed-out female executives are [self-medicating with psilocybin](, Wall Street bankers seem to be awash in [stimulants](, tech execs are using [psychedelics]( to be more [creative](, and traders and airline pilots are relying on [nicotine pouches]( like Zyn to stay alert. “Not to sound like the nun at the orgy but: None of this is a good idea,” Sarah writes. If that weren’t bad enough, Mark Gongloff [says]( Florida would rather haul workers to the hospital after they [keel over]( from heat stroke or dehydration than give outdoor employees [a water break]( in the shade. A [bill]( that would prevent local governments from [making their own rules]( to protect workers from extreme heat will soon hit the desk of Governor Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile in North Carolina, a slate of MAGA Republicans threatens to ruin the state’s economy. “Perhaps most troubling for the fast-growing state, which [CNBC ranked No. 1]( for business two years in a row, is the nomination of Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson for the top job,” Mary Ellen Klas [writes]( (free read). The [anti-Semitic](, [election-denying](, and [transphobicÂ](candidate is an extremist, even by MAGA standards. No wonder business leaders took the unprecedented step of [sounding the alarm](. Although we are certainly better off today than we were four years ago, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Kids These Days “What does ‘D.C.’ stand for in Washington, D.C.?” Of the 24 college students asked that question in [these]( [two]( TikTok videos, only eight got it right: District of Columbia. Some responded to the questioner with blank stares, others took a shot in the dark. Is it … District Capital? Different Counties? Dominant City? Dallas Cowboys? My personal favorite has to be, “Da Capital,” which had me cackling on my floor. But there’s really nothing funny about the fact that these undergraduates have absolutely [no idea]( what the initials after the capital of the United States stand for. How do people go through high school [without learning]( such basic facts? Perhaps it’s because their American teachers gave them higher grades than they actually deserved: “Over the past decade, average scores on the ACT college-entrance exam declined in English, math, social studies and science, yet test takers’ self-reported grade-point averages in all four subjects went up,” Bloomberg’s editorial board [writes](. It’s not just [insurance prices]( that are inflated these days: Grade inflation is a real thing, too. “The pandemic made things worse,” the editors write. In Washington state — not to be confused with “Da Capital” — an [analysis]( of middle and high schoolers found that average GPAs in math rose from 2.36 in 2019 to 2.70 in 2021, yet standardized-test scores fell. In [North Carolina](, too, the proficiency rate fell. The editors point to a series of pedagogical trends that are contributing to the problem: “Recalibrating traditional 100-point [grading scales](, discontinuing the use of [letter grades](, increasing opportunities to retake exams, and judging students on their ‘[mastery](’ of material rather than on things like homework and class participation.” Plus, Covid complicated the way schools treat tardiness and absenteeism, with some even waiving penalties for poor attendance and scrapping rules to [hold back]( students. Some of these changes are justified, but educators cannot throw academic standards out the window. Parents should also recognize the deficits their child might face. One recent [survey]( found that nine out of 10 parents think their kid is proficient in reading and math, even as national tests show that fewer than half are. No amount of “[calming bananas](” is going to get your kid to learn to what D.C. stands for, and it shouldn’t take a teacher exodus to tell you that: [Cake]( Middleton The best part about the whole Kate Middleton thing is that I already have a Halloween costume. In fact, I won’t even have to go to the party — because I’ll be missing. It’ll be the perfect excuse to be anti-social! Now, I’m not here to bludgeon you with [royal conspiracy theories]( about the [Masked Singer]( or the [Marchioness]([of Cholmondeley]( — you can seek out [the]( [sleuths]( cosplaying Harriet the Spy for that. But the mushrooming mess at Kensington Palace isn’t merely [entertainment](, it’s a business story, too. Which is why Beth Kowitt wrote [this column]( about how the British monarchy’s crisis should be a warning to any brand that thinks it can control its own messaging. “We do not know what’s going on with Middleton, and she has a right to her privacy,” Beth writes. “But the family has put itself in the uncomfortable position of straddling a space between new and old media, laying out the expectation that it will talk to its followers directly and candidly through X and Instagram.” In its handling of Kate’s whereabouts, The Firm has muddied the waters by trying to placate royal watchers with vague references about “[personal matters](” and “[private appointments](.” The fallout of such social hem-hawing can be disastrous whether you’re a small business or the British monarchy: “A sophisticated following will parse your every move and pull apart your every post,” Beth writes. “It’s dynamic and fun when times are good, but not so much during a crisis.” Once the “[chaos-bringer of humiliation and mockery](” is out of the bag, there’s no going back. Read [the whole thing]( (for free!). Telltale Charts Liam Denning [laid]( the Magnificent Seven to rest today. Thanks to a truly dreadful start to 2024, Tesla has officially lost its spot in the highly vaunted group of stocks, which Liam now calls the Magnificent Six. If you think that Tesla’s demotion is unwarranted, consider that the share price of Elon Musk’s EV business is down more than [Boeing](, a company that has lately produced more negative [headlines]( than airplanes. “Despite dropping, Tesla’s market cap is still roughly the same as that of Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and BMW combined,” Liam writes. But its rather un-magnificent quarter might force a change. Gold is kinda like that trusty old Honda Civic you had as a teen; it wasn’t anything to write home about, but it managed to carry you back and forth from high school without breaking down. For the past decade, the yellow metal has been chugging along in a similar manner. Until this month, that is: Gold broke out of its funk and reached a record $2,195 per troy ounce, a sign that Marcus Ashworth [says]( points to the changing economic backdrop which should pave the way for fresh highs. Further Reading Biden and Netanyahu [went from]( frenemies to enemies. — Andreas Kluth This Apollo partner did [the OK kind]( of fraud. — Matt Levine The stock market [doesn’t care]( about rate cuts anymore. — John Authers It’s too late to [China-proof]( the lithium supply chain. — David Fickling [Private credit]( has had its 15 minutes of fame. — Shuli Ren Don’t give shareholder activists [cause to dine]( on your breakup. — Chris Hughes Tokyo’s stock exchange [is regulating]( companies — and it’s working. — Marc Rubinstein ICYMI JPMorgan got a [$348 million]( fine. SpaceX launched a giant [Starship rocket](. Women aren’t getting [the big jobs]( at Goldman Sachs. A teen got a rape kit. Then the police [assaulted her](, too. Meghan Markle [returned]( to Instagram. Kickers Matt Damon is the [Cameo King]( of Hollywood. No, McDonald’s [isn’t selling]( French fry perfume. Apple’s video feature [wreaks havoc]( at the office. Why so many [Irish pubs]( have the same names. Why the **** are [we swearing]( all the ******* time? Notes: Please send eau de French fries and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. 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