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This interview by Michael Schmidt of the NYT with president Trump shows a more conciliatory mood following the passage of the Republican tax law. Trump says he feels Mueller will treat him fairly but that the investigation will drag along for some time. Trump says this is bad for the country.  On the tax law he says he would have tackled the local and state tax deduction either not touched it or worked out a compromise if Democrats agreed to talk to him about taxes. Democrats he says thought they had McCain's vote when he left for Arizona, yet that did not happen. He says expensing for investing in equipment should unleash growth through new investment in the U.S. On infrastructure he sees a hundred Democrats joining the Republicans in Congress to do a deal. He says Democrats need him for DACA on the Dreamers issue, and he will work with them.  Other topics covered were the election itself which Trump says he fairly won by focussing on the Electoral College and going frequently to small states like Maine, up and down the East Coast knowing he would lose New York. He says there was no collusion with the Russians for his campaign and says it was Democrats who did the collusion. Manafort worked longer for others including Reagan, says Trump, and was with him for only about 4 months. This interview shows a upbeat Trump following the passage of the tax legislation. ...

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The first significant action to help homeowners threatened with foreclosure comes from Sheila Bair, Chairman of the Federal Deposit insurance Corporation, one of the few people after Bernanke and Paulson who have shown initiative and foresight in the current crisis. Bernanke and Paulson had the foresight to open the Fed lending window to investment firms like Lehman Brothers and others but little has been done for homeowners to have significant impact. When interviewed on television in the days surrounding the Bear Stearns crisis Sheila has shown a good grasp of the issues and courage to take the initiative. This action is similiar in line to what Martin Feldstein has suggested on the pages of the WSJ for some time now. Martin wanted the Federal government to step in to loan homeowners the 20% of their outstanding loan and work towards bringing the homeowners payment to an affordable sum. According to Feldstein's calculation this would be about the right amount as a percentage of their loan so that homeowners rationally would not be better off walking away from the loan as the best possible decision under the circumstances. If the rational option was taken under a scenario that homeowners would get no direct help here is what would happen even though it may be intuitively read in one's mind. Homeowners would walk away in increasing numbers, it would become the popular option, one that has happened in prior housing crises in Colorado for example but this time it would be spread out across America, making it dangerous. This would launch a downward spiral or cycle in which the more homeowners walk way, or default the more house prices drop, and the more house prices drop a new group of homeowners who previously had enough equity in the house now because of the last price drop enter the category of homeowners who would be better off just walking away as a rational option. During the next wave this gorup would default and set the spiral or cycle moving again to lead to further price declines and another group of homeowners finding not enough equity in their homes to justify making payments and this group would walk away. At each turn of this spiral another cycle would be set in motion which is why it is so dangerous once it gets started, and the need for timely but also well thought out plan and good execution. This cycle is that of the economic system as a whole. As house prices drop at each turn of this cycle, it would have a serious impact on consumption for an already indebted American consumer. A drop in consumption means fewer product purchases by consumers, and the falling demand means factories would close as companies consolidate operations around the remaining factories to keep capacity utilization at reasonable levels, and this would mean layoffs and cuts in investment and other spending. The layoffs in turn would add another layer of homeowners leaving their homes through foreclosures adding to the pool of homeowners who have left their homes, and adding to the downward pressure on house prices. The pickup in inflation would bite at exactly the worst time as this would mean consumers would have to spend even more carefully. The price of oil which normally would respond to changes such as a fleet of cars with higher mileage on American roads would take a longer time to respond as this fleet change would take a few years to occur. It would respond to lower demand for oil in American factories but the considerable demand in Asia and other countries where the economies are likely to slow down but still be growing at rates to accomodate the large number of people who have not benefited from the market economy, would make the price decline in oil a gradual affair. The weaker dollar would add to the price of imports adding to the inflation. This bite from inflation would lower consumption even further in the economic cycle. And this would mean lower production in factories and even more layoffs at the next turn of the economic cycle. The Federal Reserve would find itself having difficult choices between maintaining confidence in the dollar, for which Capman and McKinnon argue on the pages of the WSJ recently and lowering rates but not achieving much in terms of stimulating either consumption or investment as this would take time to work itself out and all the Fed could achieve by its interest rate making tool is to buy time to weather these adjustments in an orderly manner. There is almost a consensus among experts that interest rate reductions in the current climate of inflationary movements in prices and the current currency exchange rates moving towards a loss of confidence in the dollar is something to be done very carefully and each action taken only with careful understanding of the possible consequences. A look at the proposal itsel shows that it gets around the whole issue of moral hazard by having the cost paid for in this manner. The mortgage investors will pay for the 5 years of interest on the 20% of the loan the government provides. The homeowner takes over after that. The mortgage investors cannot add deferred interest, prepayment penalties or other ways to make the homeowner pay some of the interest charges. And the homeowners payment has to be afforadable so mortgage investors have to show that the payment is not more than 35% of income of the homeownercalled the debt to income ratio (DTI). And only homeowners with mortgage payments above 40% DTI are eligible. And the government would raise the money needed through a $50 billion offering. To show there is no moral hazard that is the government bailing out any of the parties involved, the government will get back all of its money or intends to do so, the government will have the first rights to the money should a home foreclose and before anybody else is paid. ...

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A 0.9% increase in Medicare payment to Insurers in 2026 by DJT administration as it considers how to lower health insurance costs.

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Republicans have supported less regulation. After the 2009 financial crisis with faulty mortgages and excessive leveraging one would expect that there would be a shift among Republicans favoring necessary regulation of banks. This did not happen after the Obama administration failed to articulate a new culture after 2009 and lost control of Congress in 2010 by as much as 64 seats in the House 6 in the Senate, and in all demographic and income groups. The result was that the 2009 crisis changed some laws but not the culture of laissez faire that less regulation was better for the economy. It is left to president Biden to tackle this problem of culture and the Silicon Valley Bank clearly shows that the parts of the Republican and Democratic parties that support less regulation even where the regulation is essential for a good economy for workers and families, are self serving. No where is this culture of laissez fairre in its other manifestation in not planning for the US manufacturing base to be strengthened by government action more evident than in the way it has prevailed to turn a blind eye to not just sending manufacturing overseas, but over concentrating it in one country China with additional supply base from Japan into China. This is the challenge that the country faces- only if the culture or mindset changes will laws have the needed impact.  This report in the NYT shows that when president Trump appointed Randall Quarles to vice chair of banking supervision in 2017, Congressmen both Republicans and Democrats believed that less supervision was better for the economy. Democrats such as Congressmen Barney Frank were themselves part of the new culture when Frank joined Signature Bank's board in 2015, one of the banks that along with SVB bank caused the banking crisis of 2023. Its association with risky crypto assets is considered by the WSJ as being one reason the government decided to close it. Frank did not see this aspect of its risk insisting that the bank was in sound condition.  This culture is also manifested in its approach to the cost of living crisis and support for workers and families. The Biden administration sees the problem of culture and of clearly making the changes that create a new culture, and a new understanding of what is right for America, for its economy and for its role in the world, and best for its people.   ...

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Margarethe Lihotzky of Vienna, Austria, designed the first kitchen designed for the modern age by a woman for women. Ernst May started building homes on industrial scale after World War II for Frankfurt and had Lihotzky design this first kitchen that has stood the test of time. It was designed for the workers who came to the cities for work and for working class people.

After the Second World War Lihotzky played a role in the women's and peace movement and designed apartments and kindergardens. 

This Vienna based architect created the form follows function movement in housing that has remained ever since.

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U.S. president Trump has a meeting with the Pope at the Vatican in which both were seated at a wooden desk in the pope's private study, and both listened carefully. Trump told the pope, "Thank you, thank you, I won't forget what you said." The pope gave Trump an encyclical on the environment, in which he said that capitalism had contributed to degrading the environment and this hurt the poor. Trump said he would read the encyclical. The U.S. president was critical of the Paris climate change accord on the campaign trail in 2016. Now as he decides whether the U.S. should withdraw, aides at the White House in favor of it see this as an opportunity for Trump to get a better understanding of the issue before deciding. Mr. Trump gave the pope a first edition copy of Martin Luther King's writings, and Francis gave Trump a medal bearing an olive branch. Trump then met for 50 minutes with the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin.

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Benedict Carey provides this fascinating account of one woman's experience in the U.S. Army's mission in Afghanistan. Lieutenant Courtney Wilson served in Kandahar in 2010 and experienced many of the stresses women face to a larger degree than men integrating into what is for the dominant part a male focussed culture. This is increasingly important as women now form about 15% of the force in Afghanistan and Iraq, and are likely to be an even larger part in the future tech driven force. With fewer women in the force Wilson had less opportunity to interact with women, and like other women in the army she felt the emotional bonding that men have with other men in the army is something they lack. Like women in male professions, and men at the margins of the dominant culture in other fields, women feel a higher level of psychic stress.

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Britain's High Court gives a ruling on November 2, 2016, that the government must consult parliament, and that parliament has to approve the plan for Brexit before invoking Article 50. This means that the government has to lay out the details of its plans which make it harder to conduct negotiations. The Conservative Party also does not have a majority in the House of Lords. Legal experts say the decision which caught the government by surprise was expected from a constitutional law standpoint which looks at whether the sovereign or parliament is supreme in making such a decision. Members of parliament in general were not in favor of leaving the European Union, making this add an element of uncertainty about Brexit. Political experts say one way out for Theresa May who earlier announced that she would invoke Article 50 by March 2017, is to call a general election. Today she has 329 seats in a 650 member parliament, with many of the MP's opposed to Brexit. May's government is expected to appeal the High Court decision to the Supreme Court. ...

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Sir Edwin Lutyens and Baker- design of Central Delhi North and South Block Secreteriat in New Delhi opened in 1931 under the British Empire and were the offices of the prime minister and ministries till 2025. Independent India emerged only 18 years after Lutyens designed the new capital with broad avenues and huge brick structures in symmetrical lines east to west. The shift to Kartavya Enclave, new parliament buildings takes place in 2025 94 years later. North and South Block buildings will be converted into museums, for years they had become hard to operate as government offices with designs from another age.

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The political deadlock between U.S. Congress and the President and its impact on efforts to reduce the unemployment rate. The failure of the Obama administration and Congress to tackle the jobs issue, leaving too much of the burden of action on the Federal Reserve.

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There is a lot the US can and needs to do in healthcare, pharmaceuticals and housing, in correcting overinvestment in AI that needs to rebuild US infrastructure and industry that creates jobs that Kessler fails to mention. Yet what is clear is that the insight and the knowledge of how to accomplish this will not come without a strong educational background that includes professional courses as well as strong coursework in Economics, Government and History, and Languages. City Journal shows zero schools require Economics and 15% require Government and History to graduate- creating an ill equipped generation of students in 2026, poorly equipped to understand, grasp and tackle the Nation's problems.

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Marc Thiessen in The Washington Post says to halt the problems at the border when last week migrant encounters hit 12,000 a day Democrats need to work with Republicans to get the votes in the Senate and House for needed legislation. This means losing some votes from factions within the Republican and Democratic parties and still getting it passed. It would be good for the country and good for Biden, says Thiessen. He says to get some idea on what the 12,000 figure means even 1000 migrants was a high number that would overwhelm the system in 2019. He cites John Fetterman, Senator from Pennsylvania, who says that honestly this happening at the border is astonishing, essentially seeing Pittsburgh at the border.

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Desmond Tutu who died yesterday, was one of the three leaders with Nelson Mandela, and De Klerk who shaped a new South Africa with an attitude of rebuilding through reconciliation that stands out in the recent history of Africa and the world. South Africa's potential and the lives of the South African people are better under a framework that brings all communities together for unity and cooperation. After years of fighting Apartheid policies Tutu headed the Reconciliation Commission when De Klerk and Mandela crafted a way out for South Africa from segregation and international isolation. After failures of the ANC under Jacob Zuma, Desmond Tutu called for changes. He also was the first to point out the failings of African countries that descended into misrule and oppression. Tutu was as important to South Africa as Mandela and Klerk in the way he made democracy work by calling it out when it failed to live up to the ideals. Born in 1931 he witnessed the transition of African countries into free nations, with some failing to achieve the aspirations that drove the freedom struggle. The son of a teacher he followed in his father's footsteps after graduating from the University of South Africa at a time when black schools suffered from crippling lack of resources.  He went to King's College, University of London on a scholarship, and earned a bachelor's and master's degree there. Living in England helped free him from the self-contempt that results from racism, he says in his 2006 biography. Like Gandhi the years spent in England gave him a sense of what could be learned from this experience in shaping the future. He returned in 1975 and fought Apartheid using Gandhi's methods of non-violent non-cooperation. In 2025 South Africa will have completed 50 years since that time and can look back at how far it has come even with the shortcomings. And the steps that can now be taken for modernization as India and other nations move forward to show democracy can effectively deliver on good governance and economic progress to fulfill the aspirations of the people for a better life. ...

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DW. com looks at the controversial effort of privage equity firms Blackstone and Carlyle to buy stakes in Bundesliga soccer clubs. Approval of 24 of 36 clubs sets out a plan to attract 1 billion euros of funding for digitalization, internationalization, in return for an 8% share of TV rights revenues for a period of 20 years. Experts say any effort to take international preference for the Premier League will be difficult. There is also the 50+1 rule in Germany where the ownership stays with the clubs not investors, so that the ticket prices are affordable for the club fans and the clubs belong to the fan base. For the fans and locals the situation is better without private equity.

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Defying the odds after falling behind 0-2 England make it up with coach Wiegman's substitutes to 3-2 in Euro soccer quarterfinals 2025. The directness and physicality of the Swden team and England are outplayed in the first half. The second half rebound is similar to the way France rebounded against the Netherlands. The French team however moved much further to end the game completely outplaying the opponents.

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Scholz loses a no confidence vote in parliament that he called so that new elections are held in 60 days according to federal German law.  He says it is a fundamental choice that German people need to make between pensions and investments for the future with support for the armed forces vs the policy that doe not plan to invest in the future with a debt brake limiting investment. The Free Democrats opposed SPD and Greens efforts to invest for 4 years. Why did Scholz continue. in this way with FDP CDU's Merz asks directly, was Scholz on another planet.  This has happened three times before- in 1972 when Wily Brandt got support for his Ostpolitik policy of better relations with Soviet Union and GDR and new mandate after planning a no confidence vote for a new election. He won with 46% of the vote and 91% of eligible voters voted. In 2005 Kohl was reelected after a no confidence vote he planned on his government to get a new mandate. Kohl of CDU won. In 2005 Gerhard Schroeder's social and economic reforms affected working class Germans- he called a no confidence vote to get a new mandate. This one Schroeder of SPD lost and it started Angela Merkel of CDU's 16 years in office. ...

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In the middle of the pandemic US Congress approved $190 billion in aid to schools. Of this 20% was to be spent addressing learning loss for children. The pandemic period taking 50 million children out of schools is now seen as the biggest disruption in history of American education. It set student progress in math and education back by two decades and widened the gap between wealthy and poor children. These learning gaps remain unaddressed even as money runs out in 2024.