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In a Senate hearing Dr. Fauci, head National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Redfield, head of CDC, and Dr. Hahn, head of the FDA, answered questions from U.S. Senators including committee chairman Lamar Alexander and Senator Murray. Dr. Fauci told senators that with some states reopening without meeting federal guidelines that include seeing an extended period of falling numbers of cases and deaths, "there is a real risk you could trigger an outbreak ... that could set you back rather than going forward."  Dr Fauci is concerned about the situation in the fall when schools and colleges reopen with possible spread. In other comments Robert Redfield the CDC head told the committee- "timely testing is vital to reopen America, increased contact tracing is critical." Redfield says CDC has created a state by state assessment of contact tracing and was working with states on these surveillance systems. This contact tracing effort is one of the less developed areas in which the focus is being shifted to along with testing capabilities. Admiral Giror who heads testing capability buildup says 40 to 50 million tests should be available by September 2020, so that hotspots could be addressed quickly. ...

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The prospect of a combined vote of 30-35% for both major political parties of Samaras and Venizelos, with the rest of the vote splintered among right and left wing parties, in the 2012 Greece elections. This will make governing with austerity measures even more difficult.

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Some of the crude rhetoric at Donald Trump rallies, and use of coarse language, according to the NYT. Working class and older Americans show their anger at a system that appears to have left them behind with slogans, stickers, T-Shirts. The idea of the wall figures in much of this and shows that the wall has become not jut about Mexico but a metaphor that captures this anger, that reflects this anger. Another aspect of the 2016 campaign is that those most vulnerable and most in need of help have not sought the comfort of knowing about programs to improve middle class and working class wages, incomes, to build infrastructure, create jobs, stop companies from shifting jobs overseas, plans for improving accesss to health care and education, to ask for specifics and delivery. This is the supreme irony of the 2016 election campaign that not enough attention is going to what will be done for the middle and working class, and what specifics will be delivered, in what time frame- which is essential for restoring the condition of the American middle and working class to where it was in the 2 decades after the Second World War. ...

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American journalist Bob Schieffer spent 46 years with CBS. He was host of the news show on CBS "Face the Nation" for 24 years. Schieffer says he made the biggest impression on the American public only in the last 12 years since turning 65. During these 12 years he moderated several presidential debates, put CBS at the highest level of viewership as other leading journalists retired, and published a best selling memoir, "This Just In." Things were not expected to turn out this way. In 2003 Mr. Schieffer found out he had bladder cancer, and he says ever since he saw things differently- everything appeared as a temporary assignment. In 2005 he announced he would retire in 2007, when he was 70. Each year after that CBS persuaded him to stay. He replaced Dan Rather for "CBS Evening News" in 2005, and gave it solid ratings till he stepped down in 2007. Schieffer is the same person he was many years ago for people who remember him from CBS since 1982, as the chief Washington correspondent. It is this power of experience, of being always there, that attracts viewers who want to hear about what Bob Schieffer finds important, with an authentic voice asking the right questions....

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Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat-Chrysler told a conference in Michigan -"these are people who did not grow up and become conditioned to doing business in Detroit. " He cited this as one reason the new generation of leaders at the U.S. auto companies had embraced the new fuel efficiency standards. Another point he made that was well received was that "anybody who surrenders 14 years before the date ought not to be in business." He was referring to the 2025 deadline for the new standards. This view was well accepted by the other auto companies and by the UAW workers union, showing the big change that has come about in the U.S. auto industry.

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U.S. States faced a shortfall of $86 billion during the 2011 budget season, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This was after a rise in tax collections during the last year from an improving economy, and about $30 billion of tax increases passed in 2009 and 2010. States faced the end of $66 billion in federal stimulus aid, and their share of Medicaid costs are expected to go up by $16 billion in this fiscal year, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers. The political mood has shifted with worries about the deficit and fears that tax increases could make the states less attractive for employers. As a result there is a focus on spending cuts with very few tax increases. Forty six states began a new fiscal year this week after legislatures focussed on spending cuts, mostly avoided tax increases, and some states placed restrictions on the pay and benefits of public employees.

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Some startling statistics on U.S. wages and incomes and the increase of part-time workers, by the publisher of U.S. News and World Report, Mortimer Zuckerman. He cites the Pew Research Center reports that show one third of Americans identifying themeselves as lower class or lower middle class compared to one quarter before 2008. This affects social mobility with the increasing gaps in incomes, education and social behaviour acting to reinforce each other and leading to even lower future mobility. Industries that are showing growth are in low wage occupations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows growth in future in industries noted for low wage part time work- health care, social assistance and retail, with some jobs lacking minimum wage and overtime protections. Revealing in this respect is that in the last 2 years fully 43% of net employment growth is in the 1.7 million jobs added in low wage work in food service, retail and employment services industries. The number of Americans working full time declined by 5.9 million since Sept 2007, part time workers increased by 2.6 million. The effects of higher part time workers and job recovery predominantly in lower wage industries is likely to affect consumer spending and slow growth....

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The fickle basis for recovery in the Phoenix real estate market with a surge in buying of speculative buyers from out of state or Canada. One in four buyers is from out of state or Canada. The normal buying by homeowners or apartment renters moving up is absent.

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World Bank President Zoellick's view on 2010 for the global economy. As the IMF forecasts tend to be more of an extension of wht one sees today and less anticipatory of rapidly changing environments and dangers, the World Bank's Zoellick's personal assesssment carries weight. HE sees no longer a collapsing economy but complacency. He sees amultipolar economy and wants to see developing countries with 50% of the voting rights at the World Bank.

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Eric Cantor is the senior Republican leader in the House of Representatives. He is a key figure in the negotiations with the Obama White House over the budget, deficit reduction, and raising the debt ceiling. Cantor and House Speaker Boehner are leading the negotiations on the Republican side. Cantor rejects any compromise on tax increases. He told reporters: "I think behind this notion of 'We want shared sacrifice' that they continue to say means 'We want to raise taxes,' and we don't accept that we raise taxes in an economy like this." Cantor is a lawyer and a former state legislator from a district that covers the Richmond, Virginia, suburbs. He was elected in 2000. Through his "Young Guns" program Cantor recruited many of the 87 new Republicans who were elected in 2010. It is this support from rank and file Congressman that has propelled Cantor into a leadership position for the deficit talks. Responding to critics that say a compromise is needed from both sides in the talks, Cantor says- "I don't think the White House understands how difficult it is for fiscal conservatives to say they are going to vote for a debt-ceiling increase." On June 23, Cantor pulled out of talks with the White House. In the current round of negotiations Boehner pulled back from "a grand bargain" which included tax increases, after consulting with Cantor....

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Matt Miller, a former Clinton aide, says both U.S. parties have failed to do serious problem solving. The reason is that both are looking primarily for election advantage and are not interested in blending the best of liberal and conservative thinking. He even goes so far as to say both parties don't trust the public enough to lay out all the facts openly and explain what action needs to be taken. This is clearly true in one of many examples- the way Clinton advisor Bowles and Republican Senator Simpson took up the job of coming up with a deficit reduction plan looking at things from all angles, and laying out all the facts. Contrast that with the way a Democratic president Obama shied away from openly discussing Bowles-Simpson's closing of most tax expenditures as a key a part of a new action plan. Republican leaders Boehner, Cantor, McConnell, instead of seriously challenging the Democrats to take up the Bowles-Simpson or Rivlin-Domenici proposals, focussed their attention on defunding the government unless certain conditions were met. Serious debates and discussion that should have taken place to arrive at a consensus never took place, eroding the credibility of politicians of both parties, as Miller points out. The failure of leadership brings America back to its roots in community organizing through independent intitiative at all levels for crucial problem-solving discussion. This is the way to arrive at a consensus of what needs to be done for renewing America....

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House Majority Leader Eric Cantor talks with Joseph Rago of the Wall Street Journal. There is a fundamentally different world view between Obama and Cantor. Cantor does not hesitate to present his view and says President Obama did not like to be challenged on policy grounds in debt negotiations, leading to the famous "I'll call your bluff Eric" remark by Obama. Cantor sees no chance of reaching an agreement with Obama that would go towards solving the fiscal crisis and feels it would be best to focus on incremental wins. He says of the Obama-Boehner deal that it did not address the problems with Social Security and Medicare. Without the transformational changes that are needed in those programs he did not think it was worth the cost. Cantor is mainly responsible for the Republicans not agreeing to include revenue increases in the negotiations or the final deal. Cantor says the super-committee part of the deal which has to come up with savings, will only lead to incremental progress- considering the huge divide that separates their world view and that of President Obama. The real fight says Cantor is to prevent President Obama from getting re-elected....

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Reagan adminstration Budget director, David Stockman, faults the Republicans for not controlling runaway spending, and for tax cuts when the deficit was already growing to unmanageable proportions. The Republican party he says, has not acted responsibly by opposing tax increases for the nation's richest taxpayers of three percentage points. He adds in the municipal bonds and the $7 trillion of new deficits, and says with this the total debt reaches $18 trillion by 2015, a Greece style 120% of gross domestic product, which calls for much needed austerity.

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Analysts see the likelihood of Greece exiting the eurozone at over 50%. The actions of the ECB under Mario Draghi to provide funding to weak banks through the Long Term Financing Operation have reduced the effect the effects of contagion from a Greek default spreading to banks in other EU countries. The fiscal pact signed in Jan 2012 at the EU summit with automatic penalties for countries lacking budget discipline provides Angela Merkel more room with her domestic political base to support the EFSF's capacity to help other eurozone countries. Greece with its deteriorating economic situation would then be considered a special case.