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Why are the French  protesting so strongly against extending the retirement age from 62 to 64. It is a question of French identity, of hard won rights to work and leisure that are seen as defining France. It also affects women differently who have a harder time working longer so that their benefits would be affected. Age discrimination is large in France so that it works against extending the age till the culture changes. Worse it comes at a time of stress for working families, and a cost of living crisis.

NYT says that when this retirement system was introduced after World War II it helped bring a fractured country together. A hard won social and labor right not easily forfeited, says NYT.

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What is the right retirement age for health is an important question. Dana Smith points out that the number 65 that started with the system of social security started in US  by Bismarck in Germany in 1889 and Social Security in the US in 1935 by president Franklin Roosevelt has no basis on the grounds of health of the population and longevity. Since that time people live much longer to about 74 years and for 45% of the people in the US who are in the knowledge based work the ability to work continues past 65 or 67 years.  For the remaining people who are in professions involving physical work such as construction or in the restaurant industry the situation is quite different, requiring a category based retirement age that takes this into account. For these people health outcomes would deteriorate if they continued to work in stressful work for longer. Another factor to be considered is to ask what this means as a national goal. Would a nation aspire to give its citizens an opportunity to travel, broaden their minds and engage in other activities they would like to do which they could not do while working full time. In this situation these years after retirement could give people a chance to live happier lives. It is not to be taken lightly as the current protests in France show. Age discrimination in France also plays a part as there may be fewer years of work opportunity if employers stay away from people over 50 years or discriminate against women. With childcare and care for elderly, part time jobs, women work longer for smaller pensions than men, leading to a sense of unfairness. French protests show that the outcomes need to be weighed carefully from a health and national goal standpoint and the retirement age set accordingly with flexibility for harder work.  Following the pandemic years and the cost of living crisis the protests in France show the need to develop a national consensus on the issue of retirement age, and rules plus culture change in industry that ban age discrimination for workers. Special provisions for women and people in construction so that the system is seen as fair to all parts of the workforce. ...

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WSJ  Mark Halperin Interview with Scott Bessent who manages the US Economy for president DJT. Tackling cost of living, tackling wage rise for lower income Americans, managing trade relations for a level playing field, trade negotiations with China, business agreements with other trading nations, are all part of the work done by Scott Bessent. At an important juncture in American history Scott Bessent has a lot to handle requiring courage and wisdom to put America back on the path to reindustrialization and modernization. At crucial moments it is Bessent's wisdom and instincts for markets and the economy that guide the president.

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How marijuana in schools poses a problem in US schools- pot in class reduces diligent work in classrooms. Costly policy errors that are producing ill effects in states hitting health, education and the American spirit- poor performance in schools and deficits in attention, says this report in WSJ.

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Winter in Oda, Nara Prefecture- NHK Japan shows an ancient herbal garden  in the Nara region in this video. Digging for herbs and food plants in the winter, prayers at a medicinal tree, cooking that brings together spiritual traditions and herbs that are cooked for meals in winter, all aspects of spiritual and garden work in winter in Japan.

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France plans to increase military spending from 295 billion euros to 400 billion euros for 2024 to 2030. Some of this will come from reform of the pension system that takes up 13.1% of economic output by raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. A million people protest in Paris on Jan 20. One of the problems in implementing this is that in France there is significant age discrimination for jobs compared to Germany and other countries. This means workers would have to wait longer for pensions even workers with good qualifications looking for work. Efforts to tackle this cultural issue with companies biased against older workers are lacking.

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 President DJT has several options after SC Tariffs decision -Sections 122 Trade Act of 1972 has 150 day limit and 15% maximum tariff rate, and Sections 232 and 301 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 is specifically designed for China and countries with high trade deficits. DJT pointed out at the press conference following the Supreme Court decision pointed out that he had these options at the beginning in April for tariffs. He chose IEEPA instead because the other options required work that would take several months showing the unfair treatment of the US by other nations. It is likely that the president used IEEPA for speed yet kept open the options to replace it with the option that would work best. The new studies will have been started much earlier in 2025 so that the president can introduce all his tariffs under new arrangements. Another aspect of this is that the president has negotiated Free Trade Agreements with most of the nations that are large trade partners from India, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan to UK, EU, Germany, France with the idea of boosting the US economy with tariffs of 10-15%. ...

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Merz popularity dips slightly as he brings up tough issues such as 4 days work weeks in Germany, Many working part time and CDU calling for restricting part time to workers giving care to elderly, childcare, and for education. The German welfare payments close to minimum wage was an issue in Germany but is declining in significance. Most significant today at 35% is the issue of social inequality. Taxes unfairly distributed at 13%, and the asylum seekers issue at 9% lower today by 2%. On the economy Merz pointed out that- "Prosperity cannot be maintained with a four-day work week and an exaggerated work-life balance." He also criticized the high number of sick leave days at 14.5 average days sick leave per employee per year. Polls in February 2026 show CDU at 26%, SPD at 15%, Greens at 12%, Left at 10%, AfD at 24%, FDP 3% BSW 3%. Popularity in Germany is highest for defense minister Pistorius and next comes foreign minister Wadephul. Merz is less popular but he is raising the tough issues and taking strong action compared to Merkel who was more interested in her personal popularity than what was good for Germany. Also not given credit for action is Merz removing constitutional brake on spending for investing in Germany's infrastructure and defense, and fixing problems left behind by Merkel who neglected infrastructure, digital economy, and defense. ...

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This NYT's look at PDVSA the Venezuelan oil industry 2026 and in the years 2013-2026 after Chavez is an eye opener on what happens when socialist ideas of distribution and equality fall apart. There are dangers on both sides the Right, the Left makes no difference mere labels, vigilance, good leadership, clean governance, good management hard work, are essential for countries and peoples to prosper.The operations of the Venezuelan oil industry in these years as shown in the NYT. show the failures of the Chavez ideas for the economy, hyper inflation and mismanagement of the country's oil resources that followed in 2013-2026. From Nigeria, to India in the years just before the 2014 elections, to West Bengal, India in 2026, many such lessons in Indian states post Independence 1947, Sri Lanka, clear lessons on how socialist regimes take a turn into financial disaster as dreams evaporate and economies are destroyed with lack of jobs and industry, mismanagement and corruption. Everything falls apart, billions of dollars of public funds are lost, economies are ruined, people's lives destroyed, a cautionary tale for future generations. In Latin America, Asia and Africa most prone to such disasters, where bad leaders can come to power through elections if the situations are allowed to be created where this can happen through the lack of effort to build better societies that work. ...

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Bay Area Transit (BART) a San Francisco institution is at risk of big cuts in service closing 15 stations, closing at 9 pm,  as work from home pandemic period changes cut ridership from 389000 in Jan 2020 to 170000 in Jan 2024. It now has a $400 million structural deficit. BART management proposes a half percentage point additional sales tax on counties in the San Francisco area- Alameda, Contra Costa, Mateo, Santa Clara, 1 percentage point addition in San Francisco. This may not address the problem fully as the ridership is declining not only because of the keyboard post pandemic economy, the fact that downtown San Francisco has a 30% vacancy rate in buildings and the lifestyles have changed from before, but also because it is less safe, reported use of crack, and a less clean friendly ride on BART. This shows how life in the San Francisco area has changed decades after Silicon Valley took over the city, and how the state of California has changed. Silicon Valley and Wall Street though it had changed America and the World when right in its own backyard institutions such as BART are falling apart, and downtowns are less safe. New York City home of Wall Street has a subway system also in bad shape, and infrastructure badly in need of repair right in the backyard of Wall Street, decades behind in quality of experience from anything found in China or Japan- and now even India. ...

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People at street protests in France are increasingly asking whether the pension reform from 62 to 64 years is that much of a priority in 2023 when people are just recovering from the pandemic and a cost of living crisis with high inflation and high energy costs stemming from the Ukraine conflict. The independent Pension Advisory Council stated "pension spending is not out of control, it is relatively contained." More people turned out than before in a second round of street protests by over half a million people in Paris. The reforms come down harder on women who worked part time to raise children. Age discrimination for jobs in France is widespread. The pandemic has created additional stress and burnout at work leading to early retirement in the US and other countries. Some of the pension changes are being used to finance an expansion of the military budget. Social justice is seen as at risk in France in a society that is socially fragmented.

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Section 230 is a law passed in 1996 that makes the Social Media Companies and Media companies such as Meta and Google and others to have no liability for content posted on their sites. This has allowed these companies to grow and develop monopolies on the internet. Here CSPAN covers the hearings in the US Senate today December 9  with the following US Senators speaking at a Senate hearing on Online Safety for Children. Senator Whitehouse of Rhode Island describes the biggest problem as being the Section 230 which needs to be removed. The following mothers who are Senators and mothers or grand mothers of children were very vocal on this point- Katie Britt-Alabama, Martha Blackburn-Tennessee, Ashley Woody-Florida (former Attorney General of Florida).  Senators who are fathers or grandfathers of children speaking are-Josh Hawley-Missouri,      Whitehouse-Rhode Island, Bluementhal-Connecticut, Corbyn-Texas, Chuck Grassley-Iowa. Senator Whitehouse says-  "I understand Senator Graham was with respect to getting rid Of Section 230 Um, I strongly believe that Section 230 has long outlived its use, and it is now a real vessel for evil. That needs to come to an end. Um, the laws that Section 230 protects these big platforms from are very often laws that go back to the common law of England. that we inherited when this country was initially founded. I mean, these are long lasting, well tested. Important Legal constraints that have They've met the test of time, not by the year, by the decade, but by the century. And yet because of this crazy Section 230, these Ancient and highly respected doctrines just don't reach these people. And it really makes no sense that if you're a Internet platform you get treated one way. You do the exact same thing. And you're a publisher, you get treated a completely different way. And so I think that the time has come. I think it's pretty widely known that there were a core 4 of us. Ready to proceed with a bipartisan bill 2 and 2. And a A lot of work, important work, good work, valuable work has gone into making sure that other members of the committee and other members of the Senate have a chance to look at that and decide whether they want to join or not. And I'm at the stage right now where I think we just need to go." The Online Safety Act passed overwhelmingly in the US Senate recently still languishes in the House of Representatives. Ostensibly because of free speech but really because of monopolies and campaign contributions, and beyond this because of the idea that rapid internet growth gives the US economic and business leadership in the world. That is not how it has turned out instead by weakening the education of the children of the Nation this has created the idea in China and other nations that the US's period of world leadership has passed. In the overall scheme of things social media has weakened education in America as children of the Nation spend countless hours away from classroom education on their smartphones. Australia and other countries including China regulate the use of the smartphones and internet social media for children under the age of 14. This regulation strengthens education in these countries at the same time that the absence of limits weakens education competitiveness in America, and creates the idea that America's days of leadership in education have passed.The loss of this leadership means the loss of American leadership in the world in a decisive way. ...

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Living longer and healthier lives the sixty year old of today may look like a 40 year old. Working years may now be much longer say experts. Instead of 30 years, it could be 40 or 50 years. People may need to engage with meaningful work longer to have the stimulation that comes from work that interests them. The work may even be broken up in increments of 20 years, each devoted to different areas of interest. Experts say the friendship and stimulation from work is better than that in bingo halls, beaches or on a golf cart. Working part time or going back to school is in the works. It makes more sense too to accumulate savings longer as the official social security retirement ages are being extended to beyond 66 years. In fact the only age group where labor participation is already growing is in the over 55 years age group. In this sense the struggle to preserve older pension schemes retiring early look more like a thing of the past, even though they arouse passions such as in mass protests in France on this issue. ...

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JFK, Houston, Atlanta, Austin, Philadelphia, are some of the worst hit airports. There is a TSA App on App store but it maynot be updated enough. Try the Airport website for information on TSA and TSA precheck waiting times in the lines at your airport. Look up the TSA absences at your airport if possible because of the work slowdown as some TSA employees are calling in sick in orotest of the DHS funding lag in Congress and the paychecks not getting out in time.

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A survey of 2000 workers by Prudential shows about 25% of workers plan to look for a better job after the pandemic, and 38% say challenges with work-life balance are a reason for them to change jobs. This is a trend seen also in labor statistics as there is a mismatch between jobs offered and jobs people are seeking in the job market in US and other countries, with job seekers looking for stability and work-life balance, and making physical and mental health a priority. This WSJ report shows how women are handling this challenge. It says it is not enough to go by a company's online policies one has to look deeper. Look for people in the know, look for clues in the interview, have a clear idea of what is important to you- flexible schedule, family friendly benefits. WSJ gives names of sites that can help provide more information- Mom's Project, InHerSight, Glassdoor, List Your Leave, Working Mother. Look for onsite child care center, fitness facilities, does company do followup emails at night, do employees appear frazzled, stressed or disorganized? Connect into alumni and other professional networks for clues and patterns at companies. Also says WSJ experts cited here employers will appreciate your asking the question early rather than later. Questions such as "does a firm promote associates with alternative work schedules" are normal questions to ask. ...

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As the national unemployment rate rebounds and people get back to work around the the U.S. New York city is seeing a profound change. Many jobs are being lost and the unemployment rate in New York City hovers around 20%. This is worse even than Michigan.

The lockdown in March put a million people out of work. Then federal aid kicked in and there were furloughs. As the crisis dragged on after 4 months the employers ran out of federal aid and began to layoff employees.

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78% of people in France and 60% in Italy say they have No Trust in Politics. Germany and the UK are at the same level at 55% and 56% saying they have No Trust in Politics. This finding is from the annual barometer by Sciences Po, CEVIPOF and Opinion Way conducted in Jan 2026. 76% of people say democracy has not worked well in France. Only 23% saying democracy works well in France is compared to 54% in Germany and 52% in UK saying democracy works well a umber that is down from high sixties in 2020. In Italy 40% say democracy works well making France and its experiment with Macron particularly egregious as even in its best days Macron only had 40% saying democracy works well in France. Macron's personal popularity is at lows of 15-20% in 2026 and dropped early in 2018 to 30% and never recovered. It appears that the talent pool for France Germany, UK, and Italy, is poor to get such abysmal ratings in the governance of the country.

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About 1.5 million mothers of school age children in March 2021 are missing from the US workforce as mothers are slow to return to the workforce. Both men and women had lower labor force participation, but as men's is rebounding the mothers are still slow to rebound. One mother in Brooklyn, New York, with 3 school age children is typical. She decided to hastily quit work to take care of children at home during 2020 at a stressful time, and has found it difficult to return to work in 2021. It has brought men and women closer to their children but also made it harder to pursue their careers.

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Nearly 9-10 million Indians work in the Persian Gulf kingdoms. They are affected by the war with Iran. About 1 million have returned to India during the current war in 2026. About 2.2 million of the 9 million are from Kerala state in southern Indian coastline with cities such as Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram the capital. Of the $50 billion they send back as remittances to India Kerala gets the largest amount among the states in India. As aresult this is affecting the state economy. Many people in the Gulf are being laid off as the Gulf economies are hit by the war. Recovery will be strong in 2027 only in Saudi and UAE (Emirates), others Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman will take much longer to recover according to some forecasts.

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Women feel overwhelmed with housework during the pandemic. About 80% of women feel responsible for house work compared to 28% of men, according to a NYU and U Penn study. On average women do one and half times the house chores compared to men. This difference is wider when looking at households where men do very little of the housework. The author of "Fair Play" a book about dividing housework says women are burned out, stressed and full of rage about the way household chores are handled. The pandemic has seen a further deterioration in the amount of time men spend doing household chores, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, creating a situation of tension. As men have worked from home during the pandemic the once invisible labor of women is now in plain sight. For women who have quit their jobs and looking for a way to get back to work there is an additional element of frustration. WSJ looks at ways in which men can make the changes to create a healthier situation at home, and reduce the tension. ...

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With inflation up, cost of living increase, the $15 per hour wage in high cost of living states such as California and New York does not go very far in tackling cost of living in 2026. Astoundingly 20 states many in the SOuth still follow the $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage that has not changed since 2009. Axios shows the minimum wage by state. In Michigan workers in youth age earn 85% of the minimum wage of $12.80 and hour. As workers lost leverage with the decline of trade unions since the 1990's administrations of Clinton, Bush, Obama, the situation is a difficult one for lower wage workers in many states. The lower wages in retail and hospitality industries also creates downward pressure on all wages which have not kept up till recently in auto and other manufacturing industries. Outshoring increased pressures over the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations and as Democrats failed to do much about outshoring, it took a Republican DJT and Democrat Biden who followed to reverse the trend and create a push for higher wages. This also has failed as inflation surged during 2022-2023 and outshoring created new problems in sourcing parts from overseas in autos and other industries. The middle class is also not much better off and engineers making $90,000 a year are also living from paycheck to paycheck, with less access to housing that has gone up in price and become less affordable. This cost of living surge and the open borders migration pressure on public services led to DJT's reelection in 2025. ...

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Office buildings are being turned into apartments in large American cities like this one at 55 Broad Street in New York City. Hybrid work has made the huge office space of daily commuters obsolete. Subways and transport is also used at a fraction of its capacity. The remote working trend is sending vacancies soaring in office markets in the US and in the big cities. Businesses using hybrid work are leasing less space and migrating to newer buildings with modern designs, good locations, outdoorsy feeling, and abundant amenities.