The state of public infrastructure is a running political headache, widely recognised as holding back the country’s economic performance, and nearly every president pledges to put it right. Still, this election season in the US has shone a harsh light on another piece of decaying public infrastructure, one that really does go to the heart of the country’s political culture. But the rot goes deeper than Trump. For Americans who feel the past four years has been a living nightmare, a defeat for Trump next week would bring a feeling of immediate relief. But Trump is a symptom more than a cause of democratic dysfunction.

Source: The Irish Times October 31, 2020 01:00 UTC