Bloomberg Opinion

Last year, Netflix held four board meetings. Jay Hoag, the company’s lead independent director, showed up for only two of them. He also missed one of two meetings of the board’s nominating and governance committee — which he chairs. Life happens. Things come up. People get sick or have personal issues. But Netflix didn’t disclose the reason for Hoag’s absence, which boards usually do when a director doesn’t hit the 75% attendance threshold. Most of us would get in trouble for missing half of our work meetings without explanation. Netflix shareholders seemed to think the same should go for Hoag, rejecting his reelection to the board. His fellow directors, however, decided to keep him on anyway. Hoag, they said, had committed to “returning to his historic pattern of meeting attendance.” Hoag's attendance last year is out of step with the realities of board work today. It has never been so demanding and time-consuming, in part because there’s always a crisis on the horizon. With CEO transitions hitting a record high last year, more boards are stuck running time-consuming executive searches. Activist investors are circling. The DEI and ESG backlashes loom. So do tariffs, AI, wars in Ukraine and Gaza and supply chain disruptions. My latest for Bloomberg Opinion on the end of the rubber-stamping and phoning-it-in era on corporate boards. https://lnkd.in/e8AhNvvv

Between gutting Medicaid and changes to the Affordable Care Act, the latest version of Trump's tax bill will leave some 17 million more Americans without health insurance. If approved by the House, the very Americans who propelled Trump into office — especially those in rural areas in red states — will be among the hardest hit. That’s because a higher portion of people living in rural communities — especially children — depend on Medicaid for health care coverage. The cuts will also further imperil already fragile rural health care systems. That means everyone, even those with private insurance, could soon find themselves driving much farther and waiting longer for care. Read more about how rural communities will take a hit--and how Republicans' $50 billion rural health fund is nowhere near enough to offset the cuts-- latest Bloomberg Opinion column, (gift link): https://lnkd.in/g9J2gQW8

In the past 12 years, climate change has already done $7 trillion in damages to the US economy, making it twice as expensive as the Great Depression. That smashes two myths about global heating: That it's a problem for our grandkids and that solving it will hurt the economy. In fact, climate policy is economic policy. My video for Bloomberg Opinion And a gift link to my column for more: https://lnkd.in/exm77wRx

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Tesla has now reported two sub-400,000 quarters in a row for the first time since 2022. Another dreadful set of #EV sales numbers underlines the troubles at Elon Musk’s company. The wrinkle is that Musk himself represents the largest part of that problem, says Liam Denning. Read the column: https://lnkd.in/eKJiEgnP

Tesla’s latest sales figures show its EV business is in real trouble. Refreshed versions of its biggest selling models haven’t offset the basic problem of an old lineup. The Cybertruck has bombed. Competitors are making inroads from China to the US. This is even before Tesla feels the impact of EV tax credits being taken away by the Republican majority that Elon Musk helped to elect. What’s left to justify Tesla’s gargantuan valuation? Robotaxis? In China, rivals are offering features similar to FSD as standard. In the US, the Austin rollout is decidedly underwhelming relative to Musk’s rhetoric. Read about it here at Bloomberg Opinion https://lnkd.in/eJ7eAtcr

WE’RE HIRING: Bloomberg Opinion is seeking a Video Producer to join our team in DC! 🎥 🎥 🎥 In this 12-month contract role, you’ll join our global video team and work alongside our DC columnists in all aspects of the video editorial process – from idea generation and script writing to directing video shoots and post-production. We’re looking for someone who: ✅ Can edit and produce engaging short-form vertical videos on a daily basis for our core Bloomberg audience ✅ Can direct engaging live stream webinars with a panel of columnists from an online studio ✅ Can identify key trends and track, analyze, and report on video performance ✅ Tracks the latest news and ideas surrounding business, markets, economics, politics and technology ✅ Thrives in news and deadline-driven environments This is a hybrid role that would involve flexibility to regularly conduct video shoots in and around Bloomberg’s DC bureau. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/exDtcgif

A natural disaster striking Japan? Probably not this weekend, regardless of a comic-book prophecy. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to relax. The manga prediction of a massive tsunami has some bracing for the worst on July 5. And while it’s unlikely to strike just because an author says so, someday, something will. In a country no stranger to catastrophe, even false predictions can be useful. My latest for Bloomberg Opinion, free to read for the next week: https://lnkd.in/gB2x2__7

If the US wants to ensure security for itself and Israel, it should leverage its current advantages to press for a strong nuclear deal with Iran. Read today’s editorial: https://lnkd.in/eGEZp5Vk

Half of Americans haven't even heard about the budget bill just passed by the Senate, a number that rises to almost two-thirds when you look only at passive news consumers. And only 8% of Americans understand that it cuts Medicaid. So here are just a few of the highlights of what's in it -- or rather, lowlights.