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Bill Clinton campaigns for Kamala Harris in small towns in rural America. Jonathan Martin of Politico talks to the former president  during his campaigning in Rocky Mount, eastern North Carolina. Bill Clinton says- “I think that what she ought to do is to pick the things that she cares the most about and she believes and go beyond what’s been done." “I still don’t think most people know the Democrats favored the immigration bill. I think if they did know it would make a difference.” Bill Clinton says work together, be inclusive, work across party lines, and with an open hand- "I think that for her, her message is she wants to be inclusive and open a new era of working together. I think it’s really important because I think people are basically sick of all this paralyzing bad-mouthing.” ...

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Overworking in investment banking has become a serious issue with serious effects on health. It is the focus of a WSJ exclusive report on the casualties coming out of an erratic approach to worklife and health. WSJ says it has become a norm to ignore policies set banks a decade ago after similar death and toxic work situations. Bosses it says make impossible and unreasonable demands and younger workers in deference to this are put in a dangerous situation. All this for $200,000 in entry level positions- now Dimon CEO of Chase JP Morgan asks what can we learn from this, saying there are many people at Chase "who give a damn about the human beings at work in this company." The results delivered are also not what is good for the country. Much of the capital allocation that takes place though investment banking leads to enormous waste and poor investment returns. And this is happening as needed funding for infrastructure and other projects for education health and public services remain unaddressed. ...

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After the surge in illegal migration, concerns about crime, concerns about integrating newcomers, cost and strain on social and public services, homelessness in cities, there is a sense that the pause will be a good thing to give the US an opportunity to reevaluate how it manages entry and integration of newcomers. Theodore Roosevelt's remarks in 1904 Message to Congress come to mind when he said about citizenship in the US- "The citizenship of this country should not be debased. It is vital that we kep high the standard of living of our wage workers, and therefore we should not admit masses of men whose standards of living, customs and habits are such that they tend to lower the level of the American wage worker. Above all we should not admit any man of an unworthy type, any man of whom we can say that he will be a bad citizen, or that his children will detract from instead of adding to the sum of the good citizenship of this country." This is not something new. Operation Wetback was conducted by no less than president Dwight Eisenhower in 1954 after the surge in illegal migration during the Truman administration during WW II. There was a similar sense then that the administration had taken up removal of migrants seriously and there were situations where illegal  migrants were loaded onto trucks, yet there was also a sense that there were problems with illegal migration surge that needed to be fixed including homelessness, strain on services, safety on the streets, lack of integration in culture and language. A pause means less population growth with declining population growth in the US. The natural population growth from births/deaths was 1.9 million in 2000, down to 1.1 million in 2017 and in 2025 was 519,000. At some point it will be declining, yet a pause is needed to get the citizenship education, the integration, the economic participation, the cultural side, strain on public services, to get this right. Another facet of this is its political context but all sides should think about the Nation and not politicize the issue. Outmigration to southern states and mountain states from California was 230,00, from New York 137,000, from 3 states, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts about 30,000-40,000 in 2025. As a result the southern and mountain states mostly Republican may add 6-8 Congressional seats by 2028 or 2030.   ...

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The US has expanded access to products from China and other countries gradually leading to a loss of US manufacturing over 2 decades. Today both Republicans and Democrats see the dangers of such economic policies for American workers and families. Mr. Trump first raised this issue that has been raised for a decade or more. Mr. Biden realizes what this means for the future of the Democratic party with the loss of manufacturing communities in the US. For this reason the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and new economic alliances in Asia are being built in a different way. This may not seem much today but as the US shifts its investment, and the European Union shifts its investment, to home countries and countries in Asia and Latin America, Africa, till 2030- 2040 over two decades this will create huge opportunities for the US, Europe, India and other partners in the free world. It is a mistake to think that a better life for the people of the free world can be built on the mistaken idea that the loss of American manufacturing communities was somehow acceptable. The sudden failure of the trade policy with China after the loss of so many American manufacturing communities shows that in the long run only policies that benefit both American workers and foreign workers will work and deserve support. The return of US manufacturing and European manufacturing to US and Europe must therefore be the very foundation of our effort and with it can evolve the building of manufacturing communities in friends in the free world such as India and other Asian, Latin American and African countries.  For India this is the kind of policy that Mohandas Gandhi would have chosen because of his broad and deep knowledge of the world and how it works best, he would have seen policies that benefit American manufacturing communities needed as much as building manufacturing communities in India. The ripping up of manufacturing communities in the US and Europe and what it has done to American and European workers and families, as has happened with globalization, would have been abhorrent to Mohandas Gandhi. This is why the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and economic alliance in Asia starts with the right principle even in its basic form, with the hard work of all and creative ideas creating the right solution for the Free World as it evolves to 2040. With respect for all, opportunity for all, confidence of all, efforts of all. ...

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This story shows how NASA's Mars rover Perseverance landed on Mars after covering 127 million miles. The $2.7 billion Mars Rover mission is the result of a decade's work and was launched in July 2020.

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Indian lady doctors who were pioneers in their field between 1860 and 1930 are shown here in this podcast in The Hindu. They had to balance work and family lives, and face many obstacles as they pioneered in their field. 

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The Times takes a good look at Liz Truss, who she is, what are her good points and areas she will need to work on. It says Truss was ignored by Conservatives including Theresa May after  being brought in by Cameron as Environment Secretary in 2014. She comes from a intellectual family with her father a Math professor and her education at Merton College, Oxford University. She also had the opportunity to build on her economics and accounting background at Treasury, and at the Ministry of International Trade where she signed a number of trade deals for Britain.  What has changed her was her decision to learn and develop on her own after being ignored in the Conservative party. She shifted from Remain to becoming an aggressive supporter of Brexit and coming out decisively for Boris Johnson as prime minister.  She is willing to challenge the Treasury and others in the civil service when she feels she needs to. Her challenge says The Times is to develop the skills that are needed to work with others and take the country forward. One advantage she has is that she has confidence in her own experience and education to have strong personalities work in her team. Another quality that helps her is that she is not ideologically a conservative, so that she is willing to try new ideas to get the economy working and move Britain forward. And adding to that she has the depth that Cameron and Johnson lacked with her experience gained in parliament, at Treasury, in the International Trade ministry, and recently as Foreign Secretary. She may well be the underestimated candidate compared to a mostly predictable Sunak. ...

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The reference Bazooka man comes from Scholz's hard work putting together the 750 billion euro funding package to help German businesses and workers survive the coronavirus pandemic. At the time Scholz said-"This is the bazooka that's needed to get the job done. We are putting all our weapons on the table to show that we are strong enough to overcome any economic challenge that this problem might pose." Scholz gets high marks for his hard work during the Covid crisis as finance minister putting together the funding packages. This BBC report says Scholz chaired cabinet meetings when Merkl went into self-isolation as a precaution. BBC says it gave Scholz the platform he needed to go back to his roots as Mayor of Hamburg when he stood up for social cohesion and help for workers and families. Before he announced his SPD candidacy when asked if he would run he would say - "we need to work, not indulge in vanities." Scholz also played an important role in European solidarity. He was the lead architect with France of the European Union 750 billion euro recovery fund. This brings him strong praise from France, and also support from Italy, Spain, Portugal and other countries in the EU. French foreign minister Bruno Lemaire has praise not only for Olaf Scholz but also for his brother Jens Scholz, who airlifted 6 critically ill French patients to an hospital in Kiel. Says Lemaire "It really is a great German family." Scholz grew up in Hamburg, becoming a Socialist youth leader and studying labor law. He was Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018. In 1998 he entered the German parliament, the Bundestag.   ...

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The sense that one gets from the confirmation hearings for Pam Bondi is that after Matt Gaetz pulled out, Pam Bondi with her relaxed and thoughtful manner, her experience as Attorney General of Florida, is a decent choice. Most Senators felt she had the votes for confirmation. She brings the same skills for Republicans as Susan Wiles, DJT's chief of staff- she brings a calm demeanor to balance DJT's penchant for speaking in a blunt manner.  Pam Bondi confirmed that if nominated as head of FBI Kash Patel would report to her. Chris Coon accidentally calls her "Attorney General," and says he looks forward with working with her. Coons is the Senator from Delaware that was closest to president Biden.  Senators questioned Pam Bondi, a former Attorney General of Florida who has done work for companies seeking to work with DJT, and defended DJT in the first impeachment hearing, at her confirmation hearing in the US Senate. The back and forth exchanges happened with Democrats Adam Schiff and Hirano. With Padilla Pam Bondi was not given the opportunity to respond as he insisted on a yes or no answer. Democrats Schiff wanted to know whether she would investigate Lynn Cheney or Jack Smith. Bondi said she had not seen the file and it would e improper for to say anything without studying the matter, and that she did not want to drag politics into the work at the Justice Department as had been the situation before. Hirano asked if president Biden won the 2020 election. Pam Bondi responded that "Joe Biden is the president of the US."   ...

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Hilsenrath goes over some of the troubling signs behind the postive job numbers for April 2014. Part time workers looking for full time work actually increased in April 2014 to 7.5 million. More individuals in prime working years of 25-54 dropped out of the work force discouraged and stopped looking for work, with the percentage for this group who are working dropping to 80.8% in April 2014. Wage growth and worker productivity was stagnant. Donald Kohn, a former vice chairman of the Fed, joins other economists who are puzzled by the lack of wage growth and the large number of long term unemployed behind the positive job numbers of 288,000 for April 2014.

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Late career layoff have affected savings of middle and professional class of Americans since 2009. Recent data show 25% of those laid off in years when kids college tution and other exorbitantly growing expenses can strain budgets and savings, are not able to find jobs. Others end up in lower paying work. Fewer job protections under Anglo Saxon capitalist economies of US and Britain compared to Germany and France lead to his type of job loss being more prevalent in these societies. Sometimes US can offer more job opportunities but this also comes with more job loss for many reasons. 

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Halting of work by New Jersey Governor Christie of the tunnel into New York City. This was a result of a lack of funding and the large price tag for the project. The lack of money for building needed infrastructure is likely to affect the U.S. in the future. See the WSJ article on estimates by Robert Gordon of Northwestern University, which show slowing U.S. growth to 1.5% in the next 2 decades, and how this would affect the ability to tackle problems from carbon and energy to infrastructure.

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Meeting in person takes mental energy, yet it is essential to restore our connection to each other. Simply relying on social media or messages is easy but a losing proposition and simply increases the human need for meeting people in person. It takes a lot more work to meet in person, but it is more energizing and fulfills a human need to see people.

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Young microworkers in Britain have doubled since 2016. They earn less than 4 pounds an hour says this editorial in The Guardian. Many of them are stressed and burnt out by the constant hunt for tasks. This is not just in Britain. More than half are in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and this kind of work has boomed since the pandemic. 

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The entire campaign could be settled here in North Carolina as Harris with 20 offices in the state, and tens of thousands of more volunteers, the energy of popular two term Roy Cooper Democratic governor of the state, work to get the support of voters in the Raleigh Durham area as well as rural voters in the western parts of the state.

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New Rochelle New York building new housing units to keep rents down in 2025.

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Encourage homeownership by offsetting high property taxes. Makes auto loans $10,000 interest deductible. State and local taxes deduction $40,000 from $10,000 set in 2017. Makes it friendly to homeowners and encourage home ownership, building new homes. $10,000 property tax bills not common in 2017 when the SALT deduction was set, are now common after the price rise during covid years 2020-2024.  Help Parents by setting a ceiling on student loan debt, fund childcare, and fund future savings accounts for newborns. Makes Social Security benefits tax free for 88% of recipients. Sets a ceiling on student loan of $20,000 per year, borrowing limit $65,000 per student. Much of the bloated student loans are from universities raising tution as a tax on young people. This is a burden on the middle class. Child care credits are doubled to $2000, made permanent. Newborns get $1000 from government to which parents can contribute upto $5000. SNAP benefits changed the law to adults under 65 years from 55 years able bodied asked to work, with caregivers to children under 14 instead of under 18 years exempted. For Medicaid benefits one has to work 80 hours a month for able bodied persons under 65 years, appointments upto $35 for income $32,000 to $44,000. ...

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The World Vaccine Summit raises about $7 billion to immunize about 300 million children for polio, diphtheria and measles, over 5 years. Prime minister Boris Johnson who opened the summit called it "the greatest shared endeavour of our times." Bill Gates donated $1.6 billion and Britain pledged 1.65 billion pounds over 5 years, making Britain the largest donor. Mr. Trump also addressed the summit in virtual manner- "we will work hard, we will work strong... good luck, let's get the answer." Mr. Johnson called for renewing "the collective resolve."  Specifically he stated: " Just as we have great military alliances like NATO.... where countries collaborate on building their collective military defence, so we now need that sam spirit of collaboration and collective defense agains the common enemy of disease." Referring to failure of early warning systems for coronavirus with crucial weeks between Jan 6 to Feb 16 lost for the West with lack of international cooperation- "It will require a new international effort to cooperate on the surveillance and sharing of information- data is king- that can underpin a global alert system, so we can rapidly identify any future outbreak. And that will mean a rapid scale-up of our global capacity to respond."  ...

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Sweden is one of the first countries providing men with greater opportunities for raising children- both through laws for parental leave, and through a cultural transformation that gives fathers an accepted role in caring for children. Laws reserve at least 2 months of well paid 13 month parental leave for fathers. 85% of Swedish fathers take parental leave and its cool for fathers to be doing work inside and outside the home to care for children.

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The New York Stock Exchange in merger discussions with Deutsche Bourse.

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Studies at the University of Padova in Italy and by France's research agency INSERM show higher risks of dementia from retiring early. The INSERM study shows that for every additional year worked we reduce the risk of dementia by 3.2 percent. Retiring at age 50 is considered very, very poor decision, and before 60 very poor decision, as cognitive development, mood, and active engagement with work offering complexity, all relate to good mental health. Countries like U.S. and Denmark where people tend to work for longer than in France and Austria are shown to be doing significantly better in cognitive performance in a 2010 study published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives. The Italian study shows the longer you spend in retirement the higher the risks of cognitive decline.

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The 2010 census shows the Asian and Hispanic population increased in New York city. The Asian population was up 31.8%, adding 247,900 people compared to the 2000 census. The Hispanic population increased 8.1%, adding 175,500 people. The black population declined 5%, dropping by 100,859. The city now has 33% non-Hispanic whites, 29% Hispanics, 23% non-Hispanic blacks, and 12.6% Asians. The total population of New York city increased by 2.1% to 8,175,100 according to the 2010 Census count.

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How the promise of free or low cost transportation for the 584,000 students who have a free or a half-fare card has helped bring a diverse group of students to New York city schools as students can commte distances to reach their desired school without having to worry about the cost. This can be $700 for a school year for a typical student. Now with budget cuts at New York city's MTA starting in Sept 2011 these students will lose this benefit. Its asymptom of cuts going on across the nation, from fee raises in the University of California system to student fares on the New York City MTA.