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Binyamin Applebaum of the NYT Editorial Board says the gap from 1972 to 2021 of 21% of GDP in spending and 17% of GDP in taxes taken in is a serious problem because it creates $31 trillion in debt and over 475 billion in interest payments each year. And much of the spending is wildly popular 63% that goes to Social Security and Medicare, and vital spending on health care and education, social services that takes up 15%. The rest is defense and interest payments. The rest of the G7 spend about 50% more on average he says. This is why he says Republicans holding up raising the debt ceiling is not the issue that needs to be faced each year there are better more direct and sensible solutions that also address the need for the Renewal of America after years of underinvestment in everything from infrastructure to health and education. And capital markets that overcrowded essential government spending to finance massive capital misallocation by tech companies, the costs of which are only now being understood in America. ...

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Louise Haigh, Secretary of State Head Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (brings in parts of Cabinet Office, Treasury and Housing) to be "the dominant driver of the economy."

 

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The thinktank Onward says a relatively small shift rightward on cultural issues would deliver for the Labour party a 1997 type of landslide at the next election. Today's 12 point lead for Labour is fragile and could be watered down to 4 points and an uncertain result. It says that people who are conservative on social issues and still favor Labour on economic and climate policy are the ones Labour should go for. They make up 61% of all voters in Britain and 78% of voters who would switch. Keir Starmer has a way through.

On sees this in Starmer's enthusiasm for his visit to Westminster Abbey for the coronation of Charles as monarch of Britain. The positions he takes on many cultural issues have this in mind bringing Labor into the mainstream and making it a bold innovator for Britain, taking pride in the nation's scientific and maritime achievements from the Industrial Revolution.

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Prime minister Modi's address in Hindi to the nation on May 12 on "Atman Nirbhar Bharat" (self reliant India) as India looks ahead to a situation beyond the coronavirus. What would the economy look like as India moves forward? He says the emphasis will be on planning for the need for land, labor, liquidity, and laws to develop the Indian economy. A bold package of economic action for an investment of 20 lakh crore rupees or $280 billion was announced with details to be provided later. The basic philosophy of the next move forward was what the prime minister concentrated his speech on. Modi says there are 5 pillars for the Atman Nirbhar Bharat, or Self Reliant India. The first action not to go for incremental change- go instead for a quantum leap, be bold. This applies to both technology and investment and creating an environment where results can be achieved. Second action to make the kind of infrastructure that would set a new standard in the world. Third a "sabhi ke sapno ke aadhar," taking everyone along, be technology driven. Third action celebrate and build on India's vibrant demography, once seen as a weakness this will be turned into a strength. Fifth action be Demand driven - "demand or supply chain puri samtha ke saman karne ki jaruat che." The demand and supply chain  should be taken good care of. That also means be local and local manufacturing. Be vocal for local is the new message said Modi, because this is what worked and is saving us in the pandemic. As external supply chains failed countries in Europe and North America, it is the local supply chain for medicine, health care equipment, and food supplies, local technology for citizen id and bank accounts for direct deposit, agricultural supplies, strong and large national postal and rail networks and millions of employees spanning the country in all directions, that have proved of amazing value in this crisis. "Is local ne bhi bachaya, ham sabki jinnadari hai," - the local saved us and is everyone's responsibility.   ...

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Scott McCartney looks at the situation facing frequent travelers who have done something incredible- not taken a flight for a full year during the coronavirus. Many travelers are now getting ready to start flying again. Here he gives a list of things to check including passport expiry, and expiry dates for medicine kit, checking other items, as a way to get ready for travel after May.

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Grethcen Morgenson says investor Paulson who handpicked the bad apples from mortgage securities that were placed in the basket called Abacus 2007-AC1, and sold by Goldman to institutional investors, knew exactly what he was doing. Paulson paid Goldman $15 million for creating and marketing the Abacus deal according to the complaint by the SEC. Gretchen does not fail to disclose the ultimate irony of these happenings in her own subtle manner. Paulson, a graduate of the Stern School of Business, and of Harvard Business School, makes a living out of shorting high-flying shares in the tech bubble, and now in the mortgage securities bubble. This time in 2007 he makes an estimated $3.7 billion in 2007 and $2 billon in 2008 for his hedge fund with investors from pension funds, endowments, wealthy families and individuals. The irony- a Congressional committee invites him to testify in November 2008 about the credit crisis, they ask him for advice in solving the credit crisis. The other irony- Paulson gives $15 million to the Center for Responsible Lending, for a center that would provide foreclosure assistance to borrowers under water....

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Stiglitz wants to put money in places where it will be spent immediately, unemployment compensation, in state and local governments hands to build critical infrastructure, state education budgets and environment spending for benefits in the long run, only limited help in the mortgage mess to the deserving and to reduce foreclosures, and no money to upperclass Americans who won't be spending much of it anyway.

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Supreme Court nominee Kavanuagh has shown a pro-business tilt on many issues. On net neutrality he favored telecom and IT companies. On a ruling on the Consumer Protection Bureau he empowered the president to fire the director on the legal reasoning that there should be several commissioners running the agency. The Net Neutrality ruling from the Obama years was overturned by president Trump, the Consumer Protection Bureau continues to have a Director. On other issues such as Clean Air Act he overturned a ruling. He also defended the rights of pharmaceutical companies vs. the FDA.

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45 cities in China which represent 40% of China's economic output are now in full or partial lockdowns in the second week of April 2022, according to one tally, says the WSJ.

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These days even the Lincoln Center is changing. Diversity can represent excellence, says Darren Walker of Ford Foundation, of the changes under Henry Timms breaking the walls that separate Lincoln Center from the neighborhood. The neighborhood under what was San Juan Hill changed with the building of the Lincoln Center, and Lincoln Center stayed aloof from the community around it. Timms was born in Exeter, England and went to school at Durham University, in 2008 he headed programming at the 92nd street Y. David Geffen Hall built to house the New York Philharmonic opened last year in $500 million renovation. Timms is changing the way New Yorkers approach their cultural institution and making it one for the community.

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Peter Eavis says the too big to fail problem remains unsolved, and with the recent consolidation the "big four" accounting for 70% of all assets held by domestically cahrtered banks. There is no effort by the Obama administration to prevent banks from getting too big. And the Fed has accumulated greater powers as a regulator. It is still the same Fed, Eavis reminds one that failed as abank regulator by letting Citigroup's common equity ratios drop to perilous lows. And its overstimulative monetary policies having built up more risk than the system could handle. There will be more regulatory capital at these big banks as a result of actions by Treasury, but risk remains.

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Lina Nilsson, the innovation director of the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the Universityof California, Berkeley, says female engineers are attracted to programs and research that focusses on achieving societal needs and goals, humanitarian projects, and meeting the special needs of developing economies. Better engineering that helps people improve lives attracts the involvement of women. She cites enrollment at the Blum Center for Developing Economies programs, PhD. minors in development engineering at UC Berkeley, undergraduate international minors at University of Michigan, the D-Lab at M.I.T., humanitarian engineering programs at Arizona State University, University of Minnesota, Penn State, Santa Clara University, Princeton's Engineers Without Borders chapters and clubs, where women's enrollment exceeds that of men. She contrasts this with the low numbers of women engineers in general- less than 20% of tech engineers at Google and Apple, and less than 14% in the U.S. workforce. Her advice- make work meaningful to society and women will enroll in large numbers, not just in computer engineering, also in mechanical and chemical engineering....

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Kazuo Ueda is the new governor of the Bank of Japan. He is a professor of economics at the University of Tokyo and was on the policy board of the Bank of Japan from 1998 to 2005.

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US president Biden announces a plan that makes it mandatory for all employers with more than 100 employees to require their workers to be vaccinated. The Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will issue an emergency temporary standard for implementing the new rule. This will cover 80 million private sector employees. Businesses that fail to meet the standard will face fines of up to $14,000 per violation. Employers must also give workers paid time off to get vaccinated or recover from any side effects.

Federal government workers and contractors also must meet the new requirement or face regular testing. In all 100 million workers or two thirds of American workers will be covered. 

To meet testing needs the Biden administration is procuring $2 billion in rapid point of care and over the counter at home Covid tests, using the Defense Production Act for accelerated production.

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A judge's ruling in New York says Mr. Trump inflated the value of his properties and committed fraud.This cuts to the heart of his identity as extraordinarily successful businessman, says Maggie Haberman in the NYT. 

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There are questions whether the Black Rock Germany "Dare Capitalism" (his book) model of CDU's Merz with a debt brake support limiting investments needed in the economy are right for Germany's future. Wash. Post says people close to him say he is direct and pragmatic but also arrogant and thin skinned. Friedrich Merz is 69 years, Konrad Adenauer was 73 years when he took office. 

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A ZDF poll in Dec. 2016 shows 64% of the German people support chancellor Merkel's decision to run for fourth term. Of CDU supporters 89% support Merkel. If the election were held today CDU/CSU would win 36%, SPD 21%, Greens 11% and FDP 5%. Schulz is a lot more popular than Sigmar Gabriel in the SPD. About 51% of the German people support Martin Schulz, current head of the European parliament, Gabriel gets only 29%. With SPD supporters Schulz has 64%. Merkel could form a government with Greens and FDP support. See the related article on Greens and CDU positions coming closer.

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A veteran campaigner for Hong Kong values and civil rights presents his view of the Hong Kong protests for free elections. Is it in China's long term interest to let the same "cronyism" that is embedded into China's political governance be imposed on Hong Kong, when cronyism and corruption eventually lead to lower productivity, poor economic decisionmaking, and slower growth. Future leaders may need Hong Kong people to tackle these economic problems emerging from poor governance common to many countries leading to stagnation. With a rapidly aging population China risks falling into the middle income trap. The past governance achieved economic gains but an open system with a truly open Hong Kong is likely to be needed to generate the kind of economic growth needed inthe future. Opportunities lost can never be recovered in the same way again.