'Welcome to America's customer service nightmare'

'Happy holidays? Only if you don't need customer service in America.'

Austin Sarat at The Hill

With the "holiday season freshly behind us, the exchange of gifts meant to show love and appreciation will quickly be replaced by truly unpleasant customer service experiences for millions of people," says Austin Sarat. Calling "large American companies most often means spending hours trying to get help from people who seem to be paid not to help." And "if you are lucky enough" to "talk to a live human being, that doesn't mean your problem will be solved."

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'Jimmy Carter was a warrior for peace. We must continue his fight'

Katrina vanden Heuvel at The Guardian

By "fiercely advocating for peace, and playing an active and transpartisan role in international diplomacy," Jimmy Carter "set a venerable standard for how politicians can serve the public long after leaving office," says Katrina vanden Heuvel. Carter "did more to advocate for peace as an ex-president than most politicians do in the entirety of their careers." We "should remember his fearlessness in the cause of peace, and his faith in the democratic institutions he fought to protect."

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'The H-1B program is badly in need of reform'

National Review editors

The H-1B visa "debate was a nice stocking stuffer for anyone who enjoys factional fights and heated discussion of the finer points of U.S. visa programs," say the National Review editors. The "immigration restrictionists are correct that the H-1B visa program is, if nothing else, badly in need of reform." These "visas are scammy, often aren't used to bring in top talent as advertised, and have been exploited by employers to dump American workers."

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'The case for killing the tax credit for electric vehicles'

Veronique de Rugy at the Los Angeles Times

The "federal tax credit for electric vehicle purchases has far outlived its purpose and now stands as a glaring example of government overreach and economic inequity," says Veronique de Rugy. It "remains what it has been from the start: an ineffective subsidy primarily benefiting the wealthy." Some "believe that the cost and disparity in our tax code are worthwhile because we must fight climate change," but "EVs are not emission-free when considering the carbon footprint of battery production."

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