Farewell, 2021 (and Good Riddance)
Before we welcome the New Year, let’s take a quick look back at 2021.
In my view it has been a terrible year. In addition to the ongoing and awful pandemic with all its associated economic difficulty, here in Washington state we had a disastrous roll-out of a badly-designed state long-term care plan (the WA CARES Act), in the other Washington we went back-and-forth over proposed changes in tax policy all year with no new law, and my dog staged a seven-month long cancer fight. That last one isn’t relevant to you, but we all have our stuff. (The dog recovered.)
A terrible year, but not without its moments. My thanks to BoredPanda, Twitter, Insta and the rest of the metaverse for a collection of memes to mark some of the major events during the year. I’ll be back with all things financial and tax-related after the New Year.
JANUARY: Senator Bernie Sanders rocks mittens at a socially distanced Inauguration.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Sanders knows fashion. Also, mittens are warmer than gloves.
FEBRUARY: Lawyer Rod Ponton gets stuck in a cat filter on Zoom.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Rod Ponton is not a cat* (*he says). Also, keep the kids off your work computer.
MARCH: Container ship Ever Given gets stuck in the Suez Canal.
WHAT WE LEARNED: What the Supply Chain is and how it can grind to a halt.
APRIL: All adults are eligible for the Covid-19 vaccines.
WHAT WE LEARNED: It’s a vaccine, not a superpower.
MAY: After a blissful five weeks or so of feeling like we were on the road to back-to-normal, the Delta variant arrives in the U.S.
WHAT WE LEARNED: If you want to make the Coronavirus laugh, make plans.
JUNE: Worried about breakthrough cases of Covid-19 infection in vaccinated people, the discussion turns to booster shots, and which vaccine provided the best protection.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Any vaccine is better than no vaccine.
JULY: The latest Wes Anderson film, The French Dispatch, was released and a photo of the director and his cast at Cannes made the meme rounds.
WHAT WE LEARNED: It’s confirmed I am too old for TikTok.
AUGUST: The world came together at the COP-26 meetings in Glasgow, and the U.S. recommits to the challenge of the climate crisis.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Nothing. Only Greta Thunberg seems to get it.
SEPTEMBER: The end of Summer this year comes with extra worry over a fourth wave of Covid.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Humans are slow learners but cats have it figured out.
OCTOBER: As supply chain issues continued, the Fed argued that price increases were temporary – transitory – and we shouldn’t worry about inflation.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Even transitory inflation is a thing when you’re already making financial decisions like food v. medicine. Also, math is important, including fractions.
NOVEMBER: Our collective mental health is strained as we revisit lockdowns, surges in Covid cases, masking, and hospital capacity issues as the holidays approach.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Dogs give cats a run for their money.
DECEMBER: 2021 has been a struggle, and as the year closed, we added weather woes, travel cancellations and Omicron to the mix.
WHAT WE LEARNED: The Earth continues to revolve around the sun, coronavirus was no match for the Solstice, and we can look forward to brighter days ahead.
Lastly, because the new year will offer new lessons, here’s one more for good measure:
Wishing you good health, good cheer, good friends and the chorizo of your choice as we close out the year. Fight the good fight, stay safe. See you in 2022.
Happy New Year.