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Faces in Changzhi and Chengdu as China closes cement and steel plants to cut large overcapacity in 2015
08/28/2015
The closing of a cement plant in Changzhi and the closing of the Panchenggang steel factory in Chengdu in 2015, are part of an overall effort to closer older, less efficent, higher polluting facilities. The transition means more workers laid off and a period of retraining in other fields, and economic uncertainty in these urban areas.
Linked Articles
China’s Shift Away From Industry Drains Life From a Steel Town
Wall Street Journal 09/08/2015
Zombie Factories Stalk the Sputtering Chinese EconomyNew York Times 08/28/2015
Looking back at Hong Kong and China today and yesterday- China in 1842 and in 1945, nationalism and commercial interests of foreign powers
01/09/2015
A wariness with foreign powers in China stems from the influences left behind from the British commercial interests and the Japanese invasion of China. Compared to that period, the period of collaboration on an equal footing and playing field is is a short and recent one that has taken place for just three decades 1985-2015. Fears that the accelerated development in China could slow down without a strong central government, combine with the awareness of the need for western technology and open communications in today's global economy to accelerate the development, create in the Chinese mind a problem that needs to be tackled carefully to continue progress. Awareness of the huge inequalities and corruption in the rush towards modernization, need to tackle extensive contamination of air and water, and need for social security and healthcare for an aging population create a new urgency for careful policy making to sustain progress.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 01/12/2015
‘China 1945,’ by Richard BernsteinNew York Times 01/09/2015
The struggle to rebuild Liberia's health system so that it can handle another epidemic after the Ebola Virus crisis
10/30/2014
Alongside the report by Helene Cooper from Liberia, Betsy McKay's report provides an exceptional view of the health system and people coping with the Ebola virus in the region.
Linked Articles
West Africa Struggles to Rebuild Its Ravaged Health-Care System
Wall Street Journal 06/05/2015
Liberia’s Ebola Crisis Puts President in Harsh LightNew York Times 10/30/2014
Tragedy in Africa (2) - Ebola virus and the breakdown for healthcare, running water, electricity, coupled with food shortages in West Africa
10/10/2014
Linked Articles
Liberia’s Ebola Crisis Puts President in Harsh Light
New York Times 10/30/2014
Rising Food Prices Make Africa Fight Ebola on Empty StomachWall Street Journal 10/10/2014
Questions about whether justice and accountability were accomplished in the U.S. Justice Department's settlement with Credit Suisse
05/19/2014
A WSJ editorial and a separate piece in the NYT question the assumption that justice and accountability were achieved in the U.S. government's settlement with Credit Suisse. The nagging question- is Attorney General Holder simply burnishing his image after failing to establish accountability and justice following the 2008 global financial crisis, which dealt a serious blow to America's middle class. Collective wrongdoing starts with individual actions, and holding individuals responsible establishes accountability, so that the public is protected from future actions of this nature. Somewhere since the crisis this principle has been lost in the Obama administration. A churn in management for failures is considered healthy for other American companies, and healthy for free enterprise, readers are likely to wonder why this is not so for the banks.
Linked Articles
Credit Suisse Pleads Guilty in Felony Case
New York Times 05/19/2014
Holder Convicts SwitzerlandWall Street Journal 05/21/2014
High level of U.S. part-time workers of about 7 million in 2014 and Federal Reserve chairman Yellen's policy
04/01/2014
Linked Articles
Elevated Level of Part-Time Employment: Post-Recession Norm?
Wall Street Journal 11/13/2014
Yellen Assures Markets on Interest RatesWall Street Journal 04/01/2014
The 150 million single children of parents, and the 61 million children of migrant workers- today's young generation in China growing up in unusual conditions
01/17/2014
The children of migrant workers were mostly brought up away from parents in rural areas by grandparents. The children born under a single child policy in urban areas had the opposite happen, with too much attention from doting parents. Both groups were raised in a manner not seen anywhere else in the world and face growing pains and lives with different burdens and needs than the rest of us. China's social and economic experiment may have come too fast, as policy planners may only now begin to realize. A lot may need to be done to address their needs and burdens, not so easily seen as the burdens of pollution and contamination whicha are easily observed.
Linked Articles
End of China’s One-Child Policy Stings Its ‘Loneliest Generation’
New York Times 11/13/2015
Left-Behind Children of China's Migrant Workers Bear Grown-Up BurdensWall Street Journal 01/17/2014
Low wages for workers at retail branches of banks and fast-food retail outlets
12/04/2013
Linked Articles
Low bank wages costing the public millions, report says - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/04/2013
Fast-food workers plan a new wave of walkouts across the nation - The Washington PostWashington Post 12/04/2013
Janet Yellen and mentor Yale economist James Tobin- concern for the long term unemployed and parttime workers looking for full time jobs
10/09/2013
Linked Articles
Yellenâs Path From Liberal Theorist to Fed Voice for Jobs
New York Times 10/09/2013
Yellen Assures Markets on Interest RatesWall Street Journal 04/01/2014
Amazon's use of temporary workers in Germany and the issue of lower wages
06/19/2013
Linked Articles
Amazon Wage Dispute Spreads Beyond Germany
Wall Street Journal 12/17/2013
Amazon Vexed by Strikes in GermanyWall Street Journal 06/19/2013
Policy contrast between socialist governments in Venezuela and Bolivia
04/12/2013
Bolivia's socialist government of Evo Morales has taken a different approach by reducing subsidies and increasing gasoline prices to about $2.00 a gallon in 2013. Salaries of governent workers was also increased by 20% in 2013, and additional 10% added to price of locally produced grain and corn, in policy actions. Morales cited as a reason the $150 million in smuggling to neighboring countries of the $660 million in gasoline imports, wasting a significant part of the $380 million annual state gasoline subsidy which could be used for infrastructure. In Venezuela both opposing candidates for president Maduro and Capriles supported the state subsidy for gasoline that is exceptional among developing countries, and at a time when Venezuela is short of foreign currency for other imports.
Linked Articles
Almost-Free Gas Comes at a High Cost
Wall Street Journal 04/12/2013
Turnabout in Bolivia as Economy Rises From InstabilityNew York Times 02/16/2014
Mitt Romney's turnaround takes him from the cautious Romney back to the spontaniety and boldness of "Dad"
10/10/2012
Mitt Romney and dad George Romney, three term governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. George Romney was known for his boldness in going over the fence to talk directly with UAW union workers.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 11/01/2012
Lessons From a Father's CampaignWall Street Journal 10/10/2012
The State Budget Crisis Task Force
07/17/2012
Recommendations of the Task force co-chaired by Paul Volcker and Richard Ravitch to restore the financial health of states in the U.S.
Linked Articles
In Report on Statesâ Finances, a Grim Long-Term Forecast
New York Times 07/17/2012
In Report on Statesâ Finances, a Grim Long-Term ForecastNew York Times 07/17/2012
"Operation Car Wash"- Petrobras, construction firms Odebrecht SA, Andrade Gutierrez, the Workers Party, and young prosecutors in Curitiba, Brazil
04/07/2015
Linked Articles
Brazil Arrests the Heads of Construction Giants in Graft Probe
Wall Street Journal 06/19/2015
How Brazil’s ‘Nine Horsemen’ Cracked a Bribery ScandalWall Street Journal 04/07/2015
The case for a minimum wage for U.S. workers with families to support- how Australia approaches the issue taking into account the median wage
12/31/2014
Australia's minimum wage is 54% of the median wage, compared to 38% for the U.S., according to the OECD. Australia's wage setting body sets the minimum wage for workers over 20 years of age, and takes into account the median wage in the interest of fairness. Workers with families to support need the Australian minimum wage of 16.87 Australian dollars ($13 U.S.). All of this money goes into consumer spending providing an immediate boost to the economy.
Linked Articles
Australia Weighs Whether Its Minimum Wage Is Too High
Wall Street Journal 01/26/2015
States’ Minimum Wages Rise, Helping Millions of WorkersNew York Times 12/31/2014
Janet Yellen and the depletion of savings and wealth of the lower half of American households in the three decades since 1985
10/17/2014
Linked Articles
Bad Stock-Market Timing Fueled Wealth Disparity
Wall Street Journal 10/27/2014
Fed’s Yellen Says Extreme Inequality Could Be Un-AmericanWall Street Journal 10/17/2014
The huge negative effect of tech on jobs in the U.S., and other countries- prioritizing solutions in 2015-2025
10/06/2014
The Economist and William Galston writing in the WSJ, look at the hugely negative effect on jobs as technology makes it possible to produce the same output in goods with fewer workers. Galston offers solutions for the U.S., and the Economist offers solutions for EUrope, Asia, and other regions that need to create jobs.
Linked Articles
Countering Tech’s Damaging Effect on Jobs
Wall Street Journal 10/15/2014
The world economy: Wealth without workers, workers without wealthEconomist 10/06/2014
The deteriorating situation for the U.S. long term unemployed and workers seeking fulltime but stuck in part time low paying jobs
04/04/2014
By March 2014 about 6 years after the 2008 financial crisis 7.4 million workers could not find full time work.
Linked Articles
It's Still Bad for the Long Term Unemployed
New York Times 04/04/2014
The Decline of WorkWall Street Journal 04/05/2014
Faces of workers quitting work or reducing hours as they qualify for subsidies on health insurance under the Obama Healthcare Law
02/05/2014
Faces of the workers taking subsidies available to lower income workers under the Obama Health Care Law. The Congressional Budget Office projections for 2021 show about the equivalent of 2.3 million workers worth of hours reduced as a result of the healthcare law subsidies giving workers more choice. Many use the time to work on startup business or child care for grandchildren. The jobs freed up and the hours could be taken up by other workers looking for jobs. Gains in childcare would be another result.
Linked Articles
Health Law To Cut Into Labor Force
Wall Street Journal 02/05/2014
They quit their jobs, thanks to the health law - The Washington PostWashington Post 02/09/2014
The uninsured without health coverage and the Obama health care law- why a majority of uninsured say it will increase their costs
12/18/2013
In a recent CBS/NYT poll 57% of the uninsured say it will increase their healthcare costs, only 20% of the uninsured say it will decrease their costs. A third of the uninsured say they will pay the penalty and not sign up for coverage under the law.
Linked Articles
Uninsured Skeptical of Health Care Law in Poll
New York Times 12/18/2013
Growth in U.S. Health Care Spending SlowsNew York Times 12/18/2013
Growing inequality in the U.S. and Germany with declining incomes and wealth of the bottom half of households- 1985-2015
12/03/2013
Linked Articles
How Quantitative Easing Contributed to the Nation's Inequality Problem
New York Times 10/22/2014
Americanized Labor Policy Is Spreading in EuropeNew York Times 12/03/2013
The broken link between credit expansion and GDP growth in China (1)
06/24/2013
Orlik and the editors of the WSJ point to the broken link between GDP growth and credit expansion. The IMF warns of increasing credit expansion. Stalling productivity growth and waste means every dollar of investment is bringing in less GDP growth. Stiglitz and Sen point out the need for improving other indicators such as healthcare, education and the environment as an overall guage of progress not just GDP growth. The new Chinese leadership is aware of the need for rebalance the economy towards consumer spending. Moves to reduce healthcare costs form the first efforts in this direction. Search terms "Orlik," "rebalancing."
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 07/01/2013
China's Silver Linings PlaybookWall Street Journal 06/24/2013
The Jinping-Keqiang leadership in China and the need to help consumers by reducing pharmaceutical and healthcare costs (2)
05/31/2013
The particular need to help the elderly in an aging population for China. The elderly suffer most from the need to set aside a large portion of savings for healthcare costs (Orlik).
Linked Articles
Politics Is a Bitter Pill for Glaxo
Wall Street Journal 07/25/2013
Aging Chinese Face a Bleak PictureWall Street Journal 05/31/2013
Unemployment in the U.S. in 2010-2013 with fewer workers looking for work
12/07/2012
Linked Articles
The Case of the Missing Workers
Wall Street Journal 12/07/2012
A Jobless Dilemma: What's Wrong With Fort Wayne?Wall Street Journal 12/07/2012
The new Jinping-Keqiang leadership and reducing pharmaceutical and healthcare costs to help consumers in China (1)
10/03/2012
After a decade of decline in consumer spending in favor of infrastructure spending to where it is now only 35% of GDP, or half that in the U.S. as a percentage of GDP, China's leadership realizes the need to help consumers. It is seen as high on the list of priorities for the Party's survival. Ordinary Chinese, rural households and the elderly are seriously affected by the high cost of healthcare and the need to set aside a large portion of savings for medical emergencies (Orlik). This further depresses consumer after the impact of low savings rates. With a bursting of the property bubble the money depositors shifted to real estate is also at risk for middle class investors.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 10/03/2012
Politics Is a Bitter Pill for GlaxoWall Street Journal 07/25/2013
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