The Disappearing Trust Factor
From populism to plastic recycling: How broken systems are undermining public confidence
This week’s TL;dr pulls on a common thread: trust — or rather, the growing lack of it. Whether it’s public institutions, industries, or the systems we rely on, confidence is fading. This collection explores how we’ve reached a tipping point where trust is being eroded in subtle but powerful ways:
Populism on the Rise in Europe shows how voters, tired of governments that seem overwhelmed by crises, are turning to political extremes.
Rural Towns Struggle to Survive highlights how small communities are held together by a handful of aging workers, with little hope of replacements.
When “Recyclable” Isn’t Really Recyclable exposes the plastics industry’s push to label anything recyclable, even if it isn’t, adding to the growing sense of consumer betrayal.
As always, the solution isn’t just acknowledging these problems — it’s finding ways to restore trust, one step at a time. Let’s get into it.
Europe’s populist surge isn't only about immigration, it’s about fading trust in government
Populism is surging across Europe, not just due to immigration or economic concerns, but also because of eroding trust in government institutions, reports the Wall Street Journal. Many voters feel their governments are incapable of solving ongoing crises, leading to rising support for both far-right and far-left parties. This disillusionment is reflected in recent elections, such as in Germany’s Thuringia, where the far-right AfD won for the first time. Across Europe, dwindling confidence in the ability of governments to address issues like immigration, inflation, and public services is fracturing political systems and fueling populism. Here are three takeaways:
Crisis of Confidence in Governments: Pollster Manfred Güllner notes, “Crises are piling up and support for the governments is at the bottom,” indicating that voters no longer trust traditional parties to address the growing number of challenges.
Populist Parties Rising Amid Disillusionment: The rise of populist parties is closely linked to the erosion of faith in government. For example, in Germany, nearly 54% of voters said “they didn’t trust any party to solve the country’s problems,” a sign of deep disillusionment with mainstream politics.
Political Fragmentation Exacerbates Inaction: As political fragmentation increases, governments struggle to form coalitions and take decisive action. Herfried Münkler warns, “It could be that we are reaching the limits of political compromise,” which may lead voters to seek leaders who avoid compromise altogether.
Rural towns are aging, cash strapped, and in desperate need of workers
Rural towns like Ashland, Maine, are struggling to maintain essential services due to aging workers and a lack of younger replacements. With a population of around 1,200, Ashland relies heavily on multitasking employees like Lendell Tarr, who juggles numerous responsibilities despite nearing retirement age. This labor shortage is exacerbated by small-town budgets that can’t offer competitive wages, forcing aging workers to take on multiple roles to keep their communities running, according to the Wall Street Journal. Other small towns, such as Limestone, Maine, are even closing services like police departments due to the lack of qualified workers and resources. Three takeaways:
Aging Workforce and Limited Replacements: Many small towns are struggling as their workforce ages. For example, Ashland’s 65-year-old recreation director, Lendell Tarr, performs a variety of tasks from cleaning the town office to driving ambulances, but “fishing is calling me,” indicating his impending retirement.
Multiple Roles for Aging Workers: Town workers are often forced to take on several roles to keep services running. David Milligan, 56, is both a police officer and Ashland’s code enforcer, highlighting how “several other multitasking workers are at least a generation older.”
Service Closures Due to Labor Shortages: Some towns, like Limestone, have already begun to lose essential services, such as ambulance and police departments. Interim town manager Alan Mulherin remarked that “without police regularly nearby, there is more speeding and drug activity,” underlining the consequences of these service gaps.
When is “Recyclable” Not Really Recylable?
The plastics industry is pushing for a more lenient definition of "recyclable," arguing that any plastic capable of being recycled should bear the label, even if it’s unlikely to actually be recycled, according to this ProPublica report. This effort is being directed at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as it revises its Green Guides, which regulate environmental marketing claims. Critics argue that loosening the definition would mislead consumers, as many plastic products labeled as “recyclable,” such as plastic bags, end up in landfills or incinerators. Meanwhile, real recycling challenges persist, and the system remains inefficient, with only about 5% of plastic actually being recycled. Three takeaways:
Loopholes in Defining “Recyclable”: The plastics industry wants to define “recyclable” as anything “capable of being recycled,” even if the infrastructure to process these plastics doesn’t exist. As Lisa Song explains, this would allow the term to apply to items like plastic bags, which are “virtually guaranteed to end up in landfills and incinerators.”
Misleading Consumers About Sustainability: Critics fear loosening the definition will exacerbate consumer confusion. “What good will such laws be,” environmental experts worry, “if those words mean nothing?” The current system already misleads consumers into overestimating what can be recycled.
Recycling Does Not Address Larger Environmental Issues: Labeling plastics as recyclable won’t solve larger environmental problems. Lynn Hoffman notes that “we have to be realistic about the role that recycling plays,” pointing out that recycling doesn’t fix issues like microplastic pollution, or the harmful chemicals used in plastic production.
In Other’s Words
Journalist Matt Taibbi on the importance of government and news media being honest and open to opposing opinions, even when it’s really hard to do.
What people really don’t get about communication is that it’s a trust thing. Even with private news (organizations), if you don’t own up to mistakes, if you don’t allow everybody to say everything they want to say, audiences will tune you out … It’s all based on this fundamental misunderstanding of how people receive information and how they process it. And frankly, it’s insulting. What it says is we think audiences are stupid and don’t notice the difference between this sort of an enforced point of view and a reasoned effort to get to the truth. People can tell. They’re actually quite smart. Audiences in general are more sophisticated than they get credit for. And I’ve seen this throughout my career. People just underestimate the ordinary person.
Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle on the need for reporters to ask tough questions and let the chips fall where they may.
Our job is not to figure out who should get elected and not give them undue negative coverage because Trump might get elected. And I say this as someone who is voting for (Kamala) Harris, who loathes Donald Trump, thinks he is unfit to be president.
Actually, funnily enough, I had a conversation about this with my Uber driver in New Mexico ... he is a nice liberal high school English teacher and wants to hear the media really go after Trump. I was like, ‘Dude, we did it. I swear. It didn’t work.’ And we should just do the thing where we say the thing that is true and let the voters decide.
Polymath and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on dealing with critics:
Against criticism we can neither protect nor defend ourselves; we must act in despite of it, and gradually it resigns itself to this.
Source: Sweet Theft
Onward and Upward.