2021 Was a Bad Year, but Better Than 2020

Remember 2020

Let there be no doubt.  2021 has been a bad year.  But even at its worst, it has still been an improvement from 2020.

Consider a rough recap of the headlines from 2020.  Impeachment.  COVID.  Lockdowns. Panic buying.  Empty shelves.  No toilet paper. Anti-lockdown protests. Black Lives Matter.  Mass riots.  Devastating forest fires, with many people refusing to leave their homes for fear of Antifa.  So many hurricanes we ran out of names. Election.  Trump refuses to accept results.  COVID again, and the prospect of a long, dark winter.

And now a rough recap of 2021.  January 6 insurrection.  Inauguration. Vaccines.  A seeming return to normalcy.  Breakthrough infections. Delta variant.  Disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. High crime.  Inflation.  Supply chain problems.  Virginia election.  Omicron variant sweeping away all anti-COVID measures, and the prospect of a long, dark winter.

More 2020

Obviously it ain't great. The vaccine we had hoped would restore our pre-pandemic life turns out to offer only a short-lived protection against infection, with a longer protection against hospitalization and death, but even that (I suspect) will wear out. It turns out we need regular boosters, and that this virus produces regular mutations. At the same time, treatments have improved, and a highly effective treatment (and perhaps a more robust vaccine) are coming down the pike.  The economy has made a comeback, but consumption has outrun production, causing inflation, declining real wages, and shortages. Widespread shortages of staples have given way to spot shortages of various products that can be gotten around.  There has not been a return to widespread riots and civic disturbances, but crime rights are alarming.  Natural disasters have been bad, but not as bad as last year.  And so forth.

Or let me offer the comparison in table format:

	2020	2021
COVID	Rampant spread, inadequate testing, no vaccine or effective treatment	Vaccine, frequent breakthrough infections, omicron variant, beginnings of effective treatment
Economy	Lockdowns, widespread unemployment and business failure	Rapid recovery, consumption outpacing production, 6% inflation
Shortages	Widespread shortages of staples	Sporadic shortages of various products
Civil disturbances	Widespread riots	High crime
Natural disasters	Devastating fire season, so many hurricanes we ran out of names	Bad fire and hurricane seasons

So, yes, things are bad.  But it is still an improvement over 2020.