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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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Hotels in New York City can cost a fortune- $1100 a night in December near Christmas, $300 in September, $150 lower in January. Here dawn Gilbertson shares a small condo with an Airbnb host for $155 in December in Brooklyn about an hour subway+walk  to Manhattan.

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The debate in the U.S. Congress about whether pandemic jobless benefits are deterring people from returning to work. Are extra $600 weekly payments affecting the way people return to work. The surge in the pandemic in many states in July could also be a factor. The extra weekly jobless benefits amount to about $18 billion a week and are set to expire unless Congress renews them.

The enhanced payments of about $15 an hour in the U.S. for a 40 hour week amount to $600, before regular state unemployment benefits are added in. Researchers say 68% of unemployed workers receive more benefits than they did working. Some of this added benefit during the pandemic helps people to stay home for work that involves contact with people such as in travel and food increasing risk of spread, which can be a good investment in prevention. In other work such that involves no contact or which can be done from home, there is good reason for incentives for gradual return to work.

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America had forgotten it's workers built America in a Clinton-Trump world. The Federal Poverty Level is $35000 - $40000 when entry younger UAW workers at lower tiers make $34000 a year during wage negotiations and a UAW strike in 2023. The contrast from 2016 could not be greater- no president in history except Biden on a worker strike picket line yesterday, Mrs Clinton oblivious about unions in the midwest in 2016. Mr. Trump saying wage negotiations not important as he visits Drake Enterprises, automobile parts supplier, in Clinton Township, Macomb County, Michigan. The Guardian reports most were small business owners, with  few autoworkers. Enthusiasm of small business owners high for Trump in this swing county in Michigan. In stark contrast to the 2016 campaign president Biden was seen the previous day with a bull horn at a UAW auto workers strike picket line, becoming the first US president in history to do this. Biden said "workers built the middle class." Trump said China was the enemy not low wages or incompetent bosses, saying "the current wage negotiations are not as important as you think," when workers had tiered wages from previous concessions on wages, with entry level wages starting at about $17 an hour. That is only slightly above the $16 minimum wage in California. America in the Clinton-Trump world had truly forgotten that workers in its factories built America, and workers families made America what it was for most of the century since Lincoln and the Industrial Revolution. ...

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A big change in the new Tax Law is the doubling of the Standard Tax deduction to $12,000 per person and $24,000 for a married couple filing jointly, if itemized deductions are not used. State and local income tax deduction is limited to $10,000. This will shift 20 million more people to not use itemized deductions. There will no longer be value in charitable deductions if one is using the standard deduction.

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During the latter period of the pandemic midsized companies encouraged workers to take minivacations to avoid burnout from excessive hours of work in the pandemic environment. These companies found that happier workers were more productive workers. In 2024 workers are continuing to protect their mental health following the pandemic by adding mini vacations using the opportunities to work remotely. Workers are doing this across the workplace for all ages because this saves their official vacation days and because vacation days are scarce. Only 15 days after working 5 years and 18 days after working 10 years, these vacation days are precious for mental health and for medical situations in the family, and for essential time off work to rejuvenate.

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See spectacular images of the Earth half lit by moon, and of the Atlantic/ Iberia /eastern South America in this BBC Pictures report of Artemis II Lunar Mission April 3, 2026. To take these pictures the Orion spacecraft did the lunar injection burn that took it out of earth's orbit and flung it to the far side of the moon. The spacecraft reaches the far side of the Moon on April 6 and then reaches back to Earth's orbit April 10. This is the first time it has gone this far since 1972. The sheer excitement and the enthusiasm reflected by the four astronauts and the people on planet Earth shows how the Lunar Mission and planetary Mission's bring people together from all over the planet.

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Francois Fillon wins 44% of the vote to Alain Juppe at 28.6%.  Mr Sakozy suffers defeat in the election primary after 3 presidential debates in which Fillon's "statesmanlike" image came across better than the flamboyant style of Sarkozy. Another factor is that Juppe is seen as too close to former president Chirac and suffered from his effort to make changes and job cuts as prime minister under Chirac. Fillon is less well known which turned out to be an advantage. Fillon has the support of traditionalist Catholic groups. Fillon's platform is for 500,000 job cuts to reduce the large size of France's public sector, remove the wealth tax imposed by Hollande, reduce taxes, increase work week to 48 hours maximum and scrap 35 hour work week, gradually raise retirement age to 65, increase business incentives to improve economic growth. Fillon lives in Le Mans western France.

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For a change see parts of Tokyo you normally do not see, and way down in Kyushu island see the Kagoshima region. It is part of this trip to Japan for a 4 day break suggested in The Times of London. 1) Take the Toei streetcar- take the Tokyo Sakura tram running from Minowabishi station in Arakawa, where bits of old Tokyo still exist in narrow alleyways and pubs. Take the tramcar to Waseda station in Shinjuku. An hour's ride and 30 stations with a one day ticket to hop on and off as you feel like. 2) Take in the Sumoida Hokusai museum, and see the famous works of Katsuhika Hokusai, at a museum dedicated to him. Don't miss the woodblock print Under the Wave off Kanagawa, and the series Thirty six views of Mt. Fuji.  3) On Day 2 head to Kagoshima, a 2 hour plane ride from Tokyo. There are 20 flights from Hnaeda airport in Tokyo to Kagoshima airport. You will see Mt. Fuji from the plane at 11,000 feet. In Kagoshima take the airport bus to the city centre and get on the Sakurajima Ferry, about 15 minutes running 3-4 times an hour, 24 hours a day. It goes to Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park, with active volcano Mount Sakurajima, cedar woods, sandy beaches, azalea covered mountain slopes. Try the mineral springs or onsen for a serene atmosphere. 4) For Day 3 take the Ibutama train for an hour ride from beachside town of Ibusuki for sea views, and look for "Mystery Island." During the summer months a sandbar causeway appears for some time allowing one to cross and look at the uninhabited island amidst the sound of the waves and sea air. Then back to Tokyo after a zen period of serenity and calm.   ...

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Senators Murphy and Cornyn have helped pass legislation on gun control and mental health, public safety, with the support of all Democrats and 15 Senators from Republicans including majority leader McConnell. This comes after shooting in their home states and the two shootings at an elementary school and a supermarket in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York. The bill passed the Senate 65 to 34 and crossed the 60 vote filibuster threshold which was a barrier in the past. Only two senators from the 15 Republicans are up for election this year, Romney faces an election in 2024, four are retiring and 8 senators of the 15 are up for reelection in 2026. This made a compromise possible separating those who wanted strict gun control from those who want no gun control from the compromise group to achieve a consensus that all could vote for.

 

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The failure of private long term care insurance in the US and the need for a government subsidized and public program that requires people to carry long term care as in Netherlands and Singapore. Only about 3-4% of people over 51 have long term care insurance, leaving 95% of the population dependent on what Medicare and their savings can provide. The industry is unprofitable making at most $1 billion in one year after losses in three of the last four years when claims for 345,000 persons cost $13 billion.

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Automakers will have to ensure that 40 to 45% of a car's content is made by workers in the U.S. earning at least $16 per hour. If this is not met automakers pay a 2.5% tariff for cars brought in from Mexico. Mexico makes 2.3 million cars and Canada 1.8 million. Automakers invested tens of billions of dollars in Mexico turning it into a lower cost export hub. This has led to job loss in the U.S. Mr. Trump's efforts in the new trade deal with Mexico are designed to increase investment in the U.S. auto industry.

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Can Christian evangelical therapists exercise free speech rights to counsel religious teens dealing with their sexual orientation and identity true to the Biblical teachings. The US Supreme Court Justices support Christian therapists in this situation.  The issue of prayer in America's schools which was a tradition that lasted for the first 300 years of the settlement of the Nation since 1600, only to gradually disappear after 1962-1963 when Justices of the US Supreme Court simply took upon themselves the power to alter the fundamental character of the Nation with 2 decisions. This has not yet come before the Court to restore the basic driving energy for over three centuries of settlement of this continent of North America. Already the Court has found it is against the law to prevent athletic coaches from praying on a school field. It found in 2024 that Washington State infringed on freedom of expression when it allowed a coach to be disciplined for making such a prayer. There is a sense in America that prayer is part of the fundamental fabric of the Nation. In the deepest hour of crisis in the 20th century Chuchill and FDR met on a battleship near Newfoundland, August 10, 1941, when a prayer service was conducted to restore freedom and democracy to the world at war, it sustained America and Britain and Europe through these years, why should it not be in everyday life today is a question the Supreme Court has to ask itself when confronted with the new challenges of the 21st Century. As Justice Potter Stewart says to use metaphors such as "the wall of separation" that is nowhere in our Constitution, and to reject prayer in schools is to reject the deeply entrenched and widely cherished spiritual traditions of our Nation." Traditions that have come down from the time of George Washington whose miraculous survival that winter of 1754 through the hand of a Divine Providence ensured the survival of the Nation. ...

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Walmart lifts pay to minimum of $14 an hour to close the gap with its rivals.

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In a complete reversal of Chavez socialist Venezuela oil policy that led to underinvestment in oil industry and its gradual collapse with mismanagement corruption- the new oil law sets 15% tax and 30% royalty fees . This encourages US investment other than Chevron which is already in the country. Rodriguez, the interim president says "We're talking about the future. We are talking about the country that we are going to give to our children."  US Secretary of State Rubio cited this achievement in the interests of the Venezuelan people in the Senate hearing yesterday. Rubio is from Latin America, has a deep knowledge of the region and is interested in its future for the next generation, he knows what went wrong and what can be corrected for a better future for the region. For this reason the Monroe Doctrine is not about US alone, but the US helping the region prosper and improve the lives of people in the region. A very important point when there is misrepresentation of US policy in the region and the world, something Rubio never tired of pointing out in the Senate hearing yesterday. Once again in a country that was one of the best in Latin America Venezuelan oil can help Venezuela get back on its feet as a reliable and successful partner for America in the western hemisphere, a model for the rest of the region after so much suffering and mismanagement acting as a lesson for future generations in the western hemisphere. ...

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Macron says about the ban of under 15's by social  media platforms-  the emotions of children and teenagers should not be "for sale or manipulated by American platforms and Chinese algorithms." The bad effects  on all adolescents of social media, especially on girls is seen in mental health issues for teenagers and the lack of focus for education in schools. It is a big price to pay for all countries to ruin the prospects in life of a new generation of children who are growing up in ways that no previous generation of children in the history of humanity was exposed to. This is no time for dangerous experiments with our children. It is an interesting comment on today that it is lobbyists (and donations) for platforms that are the problem. And that these lobbyists are from what is called Far Right, Right,  Left, Far Left, it makes no difference they all get paid for work, which shows that such labels have little meaning today- looking for common sense and what is right for (children's) health and education is the best approach not falling in line with Far Right, Right,  Far Left, Left, or Moderate or some such label or a Culture War label that is essentially meaningless when it comes to common sense. Good common sense, that much is sufficient. Many other important issues we face require the same approach. ...

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Schools, shops, restaurants, cafes and offices are reopening and people are getting back to work and outdoors. What are the ways to reduce chances of getting the coronavirus and what is the latest advice from public health experts.  More attention is now being given by CDC and other experts to the aerosols, the smaller particles that are airborne that can spread the virus to people unawares in breathing, talking and singing activities. larger droplets come down to the ground, smaller droplets can be airborne for hours. This makes masks wearing very important, call it essential protection. Air filtration and proper ventilation is also important. What about social distancing? Experts now say 6 feet is good, 10 feet is better. This is from Joseph Allen director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard School of Public Health. No magic number but 6-10 feet or more is good for safety. Can one start expanding one's social circle? The fewer contacts the better says Dr. Allen. You can he says expand the circle but this depends a lot on how serious the other family is in taking precautions. Are elevators risky? If one can one should take stairs but do not board a crowded elevator unless the lobby is more crowded. Do not touch buttons, if you do use elbow or use sanitizer from your shirt pocket after pressing. This is where mask is essential. Here a tip is useful. Talking does not help as talking emits 10 times the particles than when you are quiet and this is true for small spaces such as elevators. Continual talk is not a good idea such as a long time spent talking, here watch that habit of getting into long conversations face to face.  Is it good to take a summer vacation. Here the answer is yes, as no one really knows how the winter will be. And remember outdoors is good for renewal of health, and one can look for places that are not crowded where the 10-12 feet or more can be easily done. One tip here is to take your own food and supplies from home so there is no need to go to crowded restaurants. Swimming in a lake or ocean is fine. Camping outdoors is fine and actually a good idea if you are with your own family. Try to use an empty restroom and one that is clean and wear the mask. While camping keep the 6-10 foot rule with people outside your immediate family, do not share food and drinks and try not to touch each other's supplies, and sanitize your hands or wash if you do. When hiking keep the mask in your pocket so you can wear it when you see others passing on trails. In hotels skip the cleaning service, in a rented property ask the owner to keep the windows open before you arrive, and put a day or two between your coming and the last person who rented the place. Renting a car is tricky allow a couple of hours to elapse between you and the last rental, open windows. Public restrooms. Always wear a mask many are poorly ventilated. Open the door without use of hands if possible,or use a paper towel to open and discard. Do not use air dryers. Is it safe for your house cleaning person to return. Keep the windows open to let in fresh air. Make sure your cleaner wears gloves. And all should wear masks. How to visit grandparents? Experts advise keeping visits outside and wearing masks when not 6-10 feet apart. Anyone not feeling healthy should avoid the visit. And bathrooms should be sanitized after people leave even wait a day if there is another bathroom. Experts advise against sharing food and buffet type meals. Ten feet distance is better than six feet. Can one use a gym? Here the advice is to exercize outdoors or at home if one can. It says be cautious unless your gym is limiting the number of people or spacing the equipment adequately. Ask about open windows, air filtration systems, ventilation.  This is excellent advice from experts with the latest information. Over the last few months from March to May most of the information was during lockdown, and a lot can be forgotten or seen as not necessary as things return to normal, as shops schools and cafes, office reopen, and cases remain steady and under control. Being vigilant is good for safely navigating this period through the summer and into winter till a vaccine is found. It is also about being a good civic minded person aware of one's own responsibilities, as when all take safety seriously and practice it everyday, it builds another layer of protection for everybody- because it creates a safer environment for all.     ...

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NBC Wellness, under diet and fitness provides these useful tips to protect the back and also to do your yoga stretches routine the right way. Most of the yoga classes with more people lack the one on one interaction in which a yoga instructor can provide these important tips.  The first bring navel to spine, shoulders to ears for right posture. Bringing navel to spine and shoulders to ears was a prescribed method for Zen Buddhism in Japan and China since the period 1200 AD. Dogen of the Eiheiji temple in Japan in the 13th century turned this admonition into a waka poem- My nose is in line with my navel My ears are on the same plane as my shoulders and in this Japanese verse written for the Kamakura court on the meditational mood-  In the heart of the night                   The moon framing                            A small boat drifting                        Not tossed by the waves                Or swayed by the breeze   This engages the abdominals and is also important as a posture for meditation. Relaxing the shoulders reduces neck and upper back tension and enables sitting in meditation for longer periods. Engaging the inner thighs is important for mountain pose and for pose of upward facing dog. This also protects the knees and is good for walking uphill and downhill. It is also done in the bridge pose for strong knees. Navel to spine, shoulders to ears, engage the inner thighs are critical three must do advice for healthy yoga and meditation. Other useful tips are to keep the hips a good distance apart in warrior pose, and in downward dog keep the hands turned slightly outwards rather than aligned all in a straight line pose.   ...

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The Indian Budget speech by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeks to keep the fiscal deficit on a downward trajectory from 4.9% fiscal deficit in 2024, lowering it each year 2025-2028. The total expenditures for Indian Budget 2024 are $720 billion and the total government revenues excluding borrowing $480 billion, tax revenues $390 billion. To attract investment by foreign companies in India the corporate tax rate is reduced from 40% to 35%. And abolition of angel tax for startups. capital gains tax reduced to 20% for short term gains and 12.5% for long term gains. Simplification of the Income Tax Act of 1961 within 6 months. Lowering of taxes for personal income taxes to 30% above 15 lakh rupees. Exempt 25 critical minerals from basic customs duties to assist processing in India. Reduce basic customs duties on mobile phones to 15%. Customs duties to support domestic manufacturing, export competitiveness. Simplify and rationalize the hugely beneficial GST Tax, "a success of vast proportions, reducing the compliance burden and logistics cost for trade and industry." "The gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are estimated at ` 14.01 lakh crore and ` 11.63 lakh crore respectively. Both will be less than that in 2023-24. 114. The fiscal consolidation path announced by me in 2021 has served our economy very well, and we aim to reach a deficit below 4.5 per cent next year. The Government is committed to staying the course. From 2026-27 onwards, our endeavour will be to keep the fiscal deficit each year such that the Central Government debt will be on a declining path as percentage of GDP." For the year 2024-25, the total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure are estimated at ` 32.07 lakh crore and ` 48.21 lakh crore respectively. The net tax receipts are estimated at ` 25.83 lakh crore. The fiscal deficit is estimated at 4.9 per cent of GDP. ...

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There are problems with TikTok as social media app that are shown under The Enemy Within in Movement for Global Literacy of Lyrarc.com that relate to global literacy of children spending many hours on the app taking time away from homework and reading, when over half of American children 12-18  perform below basic requirements on reading proficiency tests. Similar loss of reading comprehension in UK and France. China can regulate its internet by restricting it in ways that won't hurt literacy in China. India has banned the app.  There are problems with TikTok that relate to literacy and cultural literacy that Democrats or Republicans or the Supreme Court have failed to bring up let alone address. These concerns should grow in the minds of Americans concerned about preserving the cultural literacy that has existed in the US for the last 200 years- it is about who Americans are as a Nation of immigrants from Europe of the Renaissance and the Modern World. US is a mix of population from European nations of 204 million, of a black population of about 48 million in 2025, 7 million native Americans, and Spanish speaking Americans of 62 million, Asian population of 25 million. The US is at a critical juncture in deciding what kind of a nation it will be. Will it lose it's basic character of a nation which draws its inspiration from European civilization's defining characteristics of the Renaissance, the evolution of science and democratic forms of government leading to creation of the Modern World. The 25 million Asians immigrated to the US for a large part seeking this kind of modernization of society from what they left behind and this is largely true of Spanish speaking immigrants and Spanish settlers who settled California, Texas and Florida as Spain settled the American colonies before the English and French. TikTok ban opposed decreased from 2023 to end of 2024 by 18% from 50% to 32%, according to Pew Research. Pew does not say that this is the result of growing use of TikTok by teenagers and children for entertainment by 12-15% in the period 2023-2025. Between 2021 and 2023 use of TikTok in the US increased by 12% from 21% to 33% from which we can extrapolate that it increased by about 12-15% between 2023 and 2025 if it is growing at the same pace. Politicians oblivious of the effects on cultural literacy in the US are allowing it to be embedded in the US in ways that hurt basic reading and cultural literacy skills. ...

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Even as China is investing more in the economy and workers are working fewer hours, the unemployment rate is increasing to 5.3% in Feb 2024, youth unemployment at 15% previously estimated at 22% in June 2023 before a new methodology was adopted.

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The Guangzhou to Wuhan train high speed line covers the 664 mile trip in 3 hours. 42 such high speed rail lines are set to open by 2012. These trains run at 215 miles per hour. Original plans were to build these lines by 2020 but the global economic crisis led to state planners moving the date up to 2012 and allocating $100 billion for this purpose. Moving passenger traffic to high speed rail lines also frees up the existing lines for more freight. Plans are to build an additional 3000 miles of track for passenger and fast freight trains at 155 miles per hour. Practically every seat on the Guangzhou- Wuhan 14 car train was full on a typical day last week, filled with migrant workers going home. What makes building these lines affordable is construction workers who earn less than $100 a month, a national savings rate of 40%, and rising tax revenues.This particular line cost $17 billion to build because of the many tunnels needed for the line. The three hour train actually makes the journey faster than the 2 hour flight to Wuhan from Guangzhou because of faster check-in times. Train stations are built in industrial districts away from the city, in the case of Guangzhou, a 40 minute bus ride from the city....

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The entire area from the east coast of Africa to the west coast of the US in Pacific is now being covered as the Indo-Pacific region with the US, India, Australia and other nations committed to keeping the international rule of law and freedom of navigation.German Air Force takes part in a joint military exercize of 17 countries for Indo-Pacific in Darwin, Australia. The focus was on rapid deployment. The German Bundeswehr transfer of fighter jets and supply planes in mid-August Rapid Pacific 2022 was done within 24 hours for 6 Eurojets fighter jets, four transport aircraft, and 3 air to air fueling tankers, with 100 tons of material. The exercize from Aug 19 to September 8 was for 2500 personnel and 100 aircraft from all over the world called Pitch Black in Australia's Northern Territory. Next year Gemany plans to have its army participate in Australian exercize. An entire fleet unit is being set for German navy to return to the Pacific waters.  ...