Last week, Bloomberg published a real talker from staffer Ben Steverman about what it termed the United States’ “fun shortage.” The upshot is that leisure activities—going out, vacations, fucking bowling, etc.—have gotten obscenely expensive in this country, and the trend that’s “making America miserable.” I can think of some other proximate causes for the national malaise [gestures wildly in the general direction of Washington, DC] that went unmentioned in the piece. But on balance, I think the report is an accurate assessment of the problem, especially as it pertains to drinking. On the solution… well, here’s Steverman (emphasis mine throughout):

Hmm. HMM. Let’s take this in two parts, yeah? It is Fingers’ considered editorial position that American bar culture is a) deficient and b) worth improving for all sorts of social and political reasons. So I’m with Steverman on the first half. The second half, though, is semi-substantiated #abundance wishcasting that won’t solve the very-real problem of vanishing neighborhood bars and may well ensure this civically vital trade’s continued decline.

Luckily, deregulation is not the only solution for correcting market failures, even if it is the only one Bloomberg can countenance. Bars are too important to the sociopolitical, mental, and even physical health of the American body politic to leave their survival to the vagaries of the profit motive. Which is why we should subsidize them.