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Frank Tian

🏨 Hotel California and the American Economy

𝘔𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘤𝘦

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, '𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦

𝘖𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦"


Three years ago during the lockdown, I found myself playing Hotel California many times.


The powerful lyrics remained relevant over time, if not more.


When Don Felder first joined the Eagles, he questioned why he had become a part of a band that appeared to be falling apart.


However, he later came to realize all the arguing and yelling were just the way the Eagles worked together.


If you have been observing American politics, you might draw a similar conclusion as Felder did about the Eagles.


Nonetheless, the American economy has remained astonishingly resilient.


In a long piece by the Economist, it argues that even the American political elites do not understand how good the American economy is.


The recession alarm has been flashing for 12 months. Despite the regional bank crisis as recent as in March, the American economy keeps rolling.


Any secret sauce behind the decades’ growth?


The Economist listed 3 reasons.


📌 The scale


A large consumer market + a large capital market. No other economy has both.


📌 Human capital


High productivity is supported by relatively young demographics, a decent birth rate, highly educated, and open immigration.


📌 The vitality


High mobility of labor and capital. Great environment for entrepreneurship. High management quality.


𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵


In the Eagles’ own words, the song was about the dark side of the American dream and about excess in America.


In the 50 years since the masterpiece was released, Americans have never stopped the self-reflection. They are not afraid to paint a gloomy future.


Maybe that is why the American economy keeps riding high.


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