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France goes to the polls on April 10. Marie Le Pen is shrinking Mr. Macron's lead in the polls. Most of the other candidates other than Mr. Melenchon show less than 10% support from voters including Valerie Pecresse of the Republicans who have failed to arouse much enthusiasm The Republicans and the Socialist party of Mr. Mitterand and Mr. Hollande were defeated in the last presidential election by Mr. Macron. Today the choice is between Le Pen with her inexperience and her policies skeptical of the European Union and Mr. Macron who is more experienced but lacking an effective social policy in addressing the social problems in France raised by the yellow vist protesters. Immigration is an issue in this campaign and Mr. Macron has taken a tougher stand on immigration and cultural issues following several terrorist incidents. There is a general lack of enthusiasm with 25% of the voters not expected to vote, many of them 25-34 years old. With 37% of the voters not decided which way they will vote and some votes cast even if the candidate selected was seen as having some drawbacks, the elections in France are a vivid contrast to the recent election in Germany with the Greens and Social Democrats ending the CDU's four terms leading the government under Merkel. Mr. Macron only campaigned in the last 8 days before the election.   ...

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A new West Coast Model is emerging with ballot measures in the states of Washington, California and Oregon. The model is to make up for decades of faulty income distribution which favored tech communities in west coast states leaving behind people from minority communities and the working class outside tech hubs such as San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle. During this period budgets for education and healthcare, social services and essential infrastructure suffered as budgets were squeezed for local governments. Minimum wage also lagged behind and communities struggled to keep up. Washington votes for a ballot measure that raises the minimum wage to $13.25 statewide and mandate paid sick leave for workers. In California a ballot measure makes permanent an income tax surcharge on millionaires to use these funds for education. In Oregon measure 97 places a gross receipts tax on corporations with annual sales in Oregon over $25 million, raising $3 billion a year for schools, health care and other programs. The California and Washington measures are likely to pass, Oregon uncertain, say experts. And even in Oregon supporters have learned from the experience to put forward new proposals on the ballot. The Washington measure is supported by Nick Hanauer, and Zach Silk, president of Civic Ventures in Seattle, who say it is essential to put more money in workers wages to increase growth and to bring better lives outside the tech hub areas. Most of the tech booms of the last two decades have not touched the areas outside tech hub metropolitan areas. The conservative approach adopted in Louisiana and Kansas of reducing taxes first and then when holes in state budgets developed to cut education, health and other service expenditures has not worked, and it has led to the backlash in the form of the new West Coast Model, which is expected to be brought up in other states in the east and midwest. The tech hub areas have grown with the boom in tech but this has largely ignored the rural areas, communities just outside of the tech cities, and led to uneven and distorted growth shortchanging the working class and the middle class, and hurting investment in education and healthcare across each state. Bill Whalen, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution conservative think tank ,says that its hard to deny that the balanced growth for all communities across the state has lagged far behind as the tech booms boosted growth in the economies of California, Oregon and Washington. An article in the German online site Zeit on Silicon Valley described this vividly showing how this can happen in communities sitting side by side in the San Jose area, with minority Hispanic communities and working class communties seeing very little of the benefits of growth. ...

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PM Modi makes changes in his cabinet of ministers with new ministers brought in and some ministers in the current cabinet asked to leave. Javadekar  in Information and Broadcasting ministry, Harsh Vardhan at the Health Ministry, and Ravi Shankar Prasad at IT and Law ministry, Ramesh Pokhriyal at HRD were replaced. Seven cabinet ministers were replaced including social justice and empowerment, and chemicals and fertilizers. Jaishankar at Ministry of External Affairs, Rajnath Singh at Defense, and Sitharaman at Finance, Amit Shah at Home are in the core of ministers who will continue in their roles. Dharmendra Pradhan is new Education minister, Mansukh Mandavia in charge of Health and chemicals and fertilizers, Kiran Rijjuju is Law minister, Giriraj Singh new Rural Development minister. Ashwini Vaishnaw from the IAS is the new Minister of Railways. The main idea of these changes is to bring in younger ministers and give them 3 years of experience before the next parliamentary elections, and to replace ministers who have not accomplished much. Some appointments such as the civil aviation ministry went to persons who supported the state government in Madhya Pradesh, and similar appointments for Bihar. A Dalit leader Virender Kumar is the new Social Justice and Empowerment minister, and this is a way to increase the support in the OBC or backward caste communities which get greater participation.     ...

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Merkel say to Gemany in a weekly video message that "the danger posed by coronavirus remains serious. "Take it seriously because the situation is serious." It requires everyone to act responsibly. "By following the rules for social distancing, hand hygiene, facial coverings, every one of us contributes to our shared destiny, " she said. It is a message that should resonate in the U.S. India, Brazil and other countries hit hard by the virus. Germany's cases are approaching 200,000 with fresh outbreaks in some areas. Reopening everywhere creates new risks, vigilance is essential.

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This WSJ report looks at the U.S. unemployment report showing unemployment rate dropping from 14.7% to 13.3%. The hardest hit leisure and hospitality industry is rebounding first with the largest gains in jobs as the economy recovers. 1.4 million jobs were added in this sector. Construction is lso coming back with 464,0000 jobs added, Unemployment for Hispanics and Blacks is higher than for whites. Black unemployment rate is steady at 16.8%, Hispanic unemployment at 17.6% down from about 19%. Women are showing higher unemployment rate than men, partly reflecting their higher numbers in the leisure and hospitality, education sectors where social distancing measures are needed becauseof social contact.

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How best to take social security benefits in retirement in 2021 when situations facing a majority of people have changed. Only 6% of people taking retirement are taking it at age 70. Benefits can be as much as 76% higher at age 70 than if taken earlier says this WSJ report.

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Many airports have seen new construction during the lockdowns. This means newer airports and terminals. Cleaning at airports has improved and higher standards set at terminals. Newer technologies are being added to reduce contact and maintain social distancing. Airline travel may be better than before as travelers return to airport terminals.

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As costs increase to handle tourists many EU countries are turning to tourist taxes as a part of the social license to continue tourism. Taxes on tourism accomodations range from $1 to $3. About 20 of 30 European countries have tourist taxes which are becoming increasingly seen as a way to finance ways to cope with tourism, so that local residents can live normal lives.

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Kamala Harris and Tim Walz pick up support in the swing states from Michigan and Wisconsin to Minnesota and New Hampshire, from Georgia to North Carolina, and from Arizona to Nevada in different regions of the US. This happens through directly talking to the public one on one and with the unions and workers, workers families. The media's tolerance for misinformation and for not talking seriously about issues such as climate change, on whose side Harris and Walz are - that of workers and families- on the investments in manufacturing and infrastructure, investment in rural areas, that have changed the potential of the US economy, is amazing, simply amazing not to think about its credibility with the public. And the social media's appetite for misinformation as happened this week in Britain with the riots in the north and Prime minister Starmer calling them out - "social media is not a law-free zone" - shows the extent of the challenge the Nation faces. ...

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The European Union Commission says Ireland must recover 13 billion euros in back taxes for giving tax preferences to Apple that are against EU rules. The EU Commission says Ireland allowed Apple to pay a corporate tax rate of 1% on its European profits in 2003, and .005% in 2014. The EU Commissioner says the use of Ireland as the place where Apple pays taxes on operations in Europe has no base in reality, as most profits are earned in other countries outside Ireland. Taxable profits of Apple "did not correspond to economic reality," according to Ms. Vestager, the EU Commissioner.  In the current environment where political upheaval is unsettling the democratic process in the U.S., Britain, Spain, France and Italy, as well as in Brazil and other countries in the developing world- because of deep recessions, and efforts to cut the deficits with deep cuts in state spending including in education and healthcare, basic services- the moves by companies to reduce taxes to these absurdly low levels such as .005% when other companies in the EU are paying 12.5%, is becoming increasingly unpopular. As pointed out in this BBC News article this sounds like the way Carnegie, Rockefeller and Vanderbilt operated during the late 19th century, and were seen as operating in a manner that was above the law. Janet Yellen pointed out at a Boston Fed Conference on inequality in Oct 2014 that the bottom half of the distribution or 62 million households in the U.S. in 2013, had a net worth of about $10,000, One quarter of these households had a net worth of zero dollars. The working class and blue collar workers in the U.S. provide much of the support at Trump rallies. Younger college educated people support Sanders, because of the situation of the working and middle class in the U.S., and a similar situation exists in Europe. It is for the sake of the democratic process and delivering services in education, healthcare, and other basic areas to all, that companies small and large need to pay their fair share of taxes, regardless of size, influence, or technological advantages. Today this is is seen by most leaders who draw public support as the right way forward for the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asian countries, including proper allocation of resources to best serve the needs of working people. For example the 13 billion euros is equal to all of Ireland's healthcare budget, and 66% of its social welfare budget.    ...

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Healthcare and pharmaceutical costs are a major factor in expenses of American retirees. The Cost of Living adjustment of 8.7% in Social Security payments for 2022 will help retirees meet the cost of living crisis with high inflation in food and energy costs in 2022, and the continued rise in medical costs.

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Even with an economy that is considered advanced Germany lags behind in social and education mobility. From one generation to the next disadvantages are passed on for less educated lower income people, and a person from lower income or less educational background is more likely to see children not getting a university education.

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Mitch Daniels, former 2 term governor of Indiana, and president of Purdue University, describes the damage done to hope for the future by putting so many people in so much debt- with estimates by WSJ-Experian showing 70% of recent graduates as borrowers and the average borrower graduating with $33,000 in debt. 40 million young people are affected, as they postpone marraige, postpone childbearing, postpone buying a new home, stay away from starting a new business. Daniels put his own social and moral obligation to the test as he brought the cost of an education at Purdue for 2 successive years- with a 3 year freeze on tution and cuts in room and board, textbook costs. Purdue student borrowings have dropped by 18% since 2012, adding a new metric in evaluating the delivery of quality education for the country, and a moral and social obligation for all the leaders in our society.

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The Senate Big Beautiful Bill $6000 per person deduction makes Social Security tax free for 88% of Americans over 65 years. This is close as one can get to making Social Security benefits tax free for people over 65 years. It is a move that is seen favorably by social security recipients. Protecting the elderly on fixed incomes when the cost of living went up 12% in just 1 year in 2022 is an essential step for any administration that cares for the daily lives of the American people. In this sense the DJT administration has made a bold move in three key areas no taxes on social security benefits, no taxes on tips which address employment in hospitality/restaurants, and doubling the child care benefit for mothers, tackling key population sectors. To pay for this and keep the deficits down the dollar strong, one other action was taken- to increase investment in the economy and in manufacturing by allowing expensing of investment 100%. Fed chairman Powell repeatedly states he is very optimistic about this action generating the kind of investment boom American needs to restore good standards of living.   ...

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Daegu in South Korea was hit early and hard by coronavirus. Now 3 months later the social distancing rules are practiced diligently and people have become used to it. Large gatherings are still banned. Daegu is South Korea's Wuhan the center of the epidemic in China,  with a city of 2.4 million having 40% of South Korea's cases. People in Daegu remain comfortable with social distancing guidelines. What they worry about is not having to practice these guidelines- these are an accepted way and it makes everyone feel safer. It also gives people in Daegu a sense that this way another upsurge is less likely to happen and drive away consumers from shops, shops then having to close. In fact preparation and disciplined approach, with backup scenario planning and continued testing for cluster isolation and quarantine following contact tracing, is giving people here an extra sense of confidence. In some areas markets and shops have gained back 80% of customers, and most shop owners want to keep it that way.  ...

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Indian government's free ration plan called Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM- GKAY) will continue to reach 800 million ration card holders in India for another 6 months. Under the scheme 5 kg of wheat and 1 kg of pulses are given to all 800 million ration card holders. This is a very important plan to help the people of India during the pandemic. It has helped boost upward mobility and resilience of the nation, meeting food needs of every Indian regardless of financial difficulties. In addition states such as Uttar Pradesh with about 250 million people are giving 1 kg each of bengal gram or channa, oil and salt. The Indian government says that this will ensure that "no poor household goes to bed without food during this time of recovery." One Nation One Ration Card (ONRC) operates through 500,000 ration shops in India. 610 million portability transactions are helping migrant workers outside their home states. The size and unique nature of this plan is providing the kind of social support to the vast population of the nation that has never existed before, and brings a sense of hope to hundreds of millions. ...

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This BBC report shows how much has changed with Germany's erstwhile leaders. From 1998 to 2005 Mr. Gerhard Schroeder was head of the German government. His ties with Russian leaders and Gazprom have led to severe criticism in Germany. He survived an effort this week to remove him from the local chapter of the Social Democrat Party. He now faces a loss of his office and staff and other privileges in the German parliament. The Budget committee of parliament says "he no longer upholds the continuing obligations of his office," says this report. Mr. Schroeder has filed a suit against the German parliament in the Berlin Administrative Court. This BBC report shows how things are changed in 2022- Merkel, Schroeder, Steinmeier and other politicians of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats face intense public skepticism of their role in a situation where Germany faces a cold winter with gas rationing. It is the Greens with Robert Habeck who are faced with the hard work of finding the energy to meet the shortfall and to build back on renewable energy to fight climate change. Very little was done under the previous administrations it now appears, as the public looks back with regret. ...

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Laura Marshall-Andrews is a GP, a General Practitioner doctor, in Brighton, England, with a different approach to patients and health care. She takes into account the whole patient, the patient's mental condition, putting back some of the things that reduce isolation, increasing feelings of self-worth, bringing more community and nature interactions of a positive nature that can affect the patient's health. In some situations having a doctor who listens and is willing to take the time to talk to and know the patient, and being aware of the patient's whole condition as opposed to fragmented areas based on fields of medicine can make a huge difference. Don't look for a diagnosis, treat the whole person,  says Laura Marshall Andrews in her new book- What Seems To Be The Problem? She believes social prescribing takes a whole load off the National Health Service in Britain. This includes art, photography classes, dance classes, singing classes. A study by the University of Westminster shows the GP visits go down by 30% and emergency A&E visits by 25% with social activity prescribing. Yoga, meditation, gardening, nature walks, are also part of the same activities that can help people improve how they feel and think and bring the sense of peace in their lives that brings better health with it. In the loneliness and isolation, community dislocations and pressures of life in today's cities, all these activities are immensely important to the idea of whole health of the whole person. Dr Andrews says that if you keep a community happy and creative, then you are not going to need a lot of expensive hospital treatments." "Cum Scientia Caritas" the motto of the Royal College of General Practitioners means Science with Caring. ...

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In a nationwide television address prime minister Modi of India calls for a Janata Curfew on Sunday March 22, for a test of people's self-discipline in fighting the coronavirus. He urged people to not go outside of their homes from 7am to 9 pm voluntarily in this curfew. The aim is to build public consciousness of the need for social distancing and staying away from crowds and people gathering, as an effective way to prevent spread of coronavirus. Only health care workers and people who provide essential services would be outside. He asked that at 5 pm on that day people ring bells to thank health workers and others who are doing what is necessary in the health crisis.

The prime minister said there should be no hoarding as the government will ensure that there are adequate supplies. He said an Economic Response Task Force has been setup under the leadership of the Finance Minister that will decide on an economic relief package.

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Republican Jeb Bush's address to the 2013 CPAC conference focusses on the decline of social and educational mobility in the U.S. to its lowest point since 1945. In this address he points out that " the central mission of conservatives is to reignite social mobility in this country- restoring the right to rise." His focus on restoring the right to rise is on doing everything to increase opportunities for "quality education," an issue on which he focussed as governor of Florida. He sees technolgy and relative youthful population compared to China and other countries in Europe, as giving America a unique advantage. On this and individual efforts he pins the broad hopes of the middle class revival he sees. He puts the problems of America's middle class and working class as wages declined and the economy suffered from misallocation of resources in stark terms- "Today, the sad reality is that if you're born poor, if your parents did'nt go to college, if you don't know your father, if English isn't spoken at home- then the odds are stacked against you. You are more likely to stay poor today than at any other time since World War II." And he sees Conservatives having a response to this situation, and restoring the idea of America as a land of opportunity for all....

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Fact checking Apple CEO Tim Cook's statements on the EU Commission ruling for $13 billion in back taxes, shows that CEO Tim Cook's statement that "we never asked for, nor did we receive any special deals," is not true. Ireland let Apple determine what it would pay in tax, and Apple had the benefit of loopholes in Irish tax laws, the fact check by experts shows here. Apple's Cook also says it would hurt investment and jobs in Ireland. Another NYT article showed that the entire healthcare budget of Ireland would be covered by the $13 billion, and 66% of its budget for social support services to the public. Apple has 22,000 employees in Europe and 6000 in Ireland in 2016. Based on the $13 billion owed in taxes, for every job in Ireland the cost to Ireland is 2.17 million euros, and for every job in the EU the cost is 590,000 euros. Apple could turn around and locate in some other place, other than Ireland, in which case Ireland does not get the 6000 jobs. This is Ireland's incentive to give Apple tax benefits. Only if all EU countries had common tax laws would it be possible to avoid this situation, and generate much needed tax revenues at a time of cuts in public spending in healthcare, education, and social services, and invest in infrastructure, worker retraining. The alternative is for the EU to look at other remedies. This is what the EU Commissioner Vestager did when she announced that this was a state subsidy and illegal under EU rules. Because the appeal by Apple goes to the EU Courts the appeal is difficult say legal experts. The EU courts look at the legal aspects of the ruling, was it justified, not at the overall aspect of the ruling by Vestager, as EU Competition Commissioner. This may be why there is so much outcry from Apple, and other digital companies.  ...

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When even the NYT, or the host of CBS television Face the Nation does it poorly, how are independent voters, and voters leaning Democrat or Republican, or leaning not vote, to have a clear idea of policies?  This review of Trump statements about Harris statements on red meat, ICE, law enforcement, fails to get down to the policies she has stated at Wake Tech in North Carolina and in other places before this. It also does not address the Trump plan to end tax on Social Security which would lead to about $550 going to seniors but lead to a cut of 25% in Social Security in 2032, defunding Social Security and Medicare. Immigration- the first thing Harris would do as president is to sign the legislation written by Republicans Lankford, McConnell with the backing of the party and agreed to by president Biden that will in effect close the Border with Mexico and fix the asylum policy, not done in three decades. Cost of Living- Harris policy on price gouging is for taking the action that companies follow and play by the rule on pricing, so that they do not take unfair advantage of the public. It is not about passing a law or fixing prices. This has been done in Texas and in Kentucky, other states. Restrict rent to 5% increases and increase the supply of new houses by building 3 million new homes, $100 billion to be allocated for fixing housing supply shortages.   ...

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Apple faces large hurdles in China with models made locally by Huawei and other Chinese companies that offer similar features at a price about one third less. Chinese buyers are also looking for products that are made locally by Chinese companies. As a result Apple's market share in China has declined from 9% in 2015 to 7% in 2016. The future for Apple does not look bright apart from a core group of Apple fans that look for new product launches every year. Social media comments cited here show the comments about the iPhone 7 that say buyers should not pay $159 for Air Pods, the cordless earbuds. With the economic situation changing buyers are careful to pay so much for the iPhone 7, when it looks so much like the iPhone 6. In India Apple iPhone price are much higher and remain a significant hurdle for price conscious buyers.

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Questions about the true cost of the Obama health care legislation and the assumption that the legislation cuts the deficit by billions of dollars. This WSJ editorial says one has to look at this closely, and not merely look at CBO projections, which may be based in a certain context and not reflect the true costs, especially because many accounting gimmicks and use of numbers to present a particular picture is taking place. The information this editorial cites is that: it uses 10 years of taxes to fund six years of subsidies, Social Security and Medicare revenues are double-counted to the tune of $398 billion, a new program funding long-tem care frontloads taxes but backloads spending, and the assumption of an automatic 25% cut to physician payments that Congress is unwilling to authorize. Rep. Rand Paul has tried to present an alternative view which needs to be studied just as closely, because of the enormous impact of a jump in spending at a time when the public finances are fragile. WSJ also cites the work of Richard Foster, the chief Medicare actuary, as an alternate perspective of how things could turn out, Doug Holtz-Eakin, and Eugene Steuerle. It calls for common sense in evaluating programs, entitlements, defense or other government spending. They not only cost money, but costs escalate over time as history has shown over decades, till they eventually are discovered to be not affordable unless the middle class is willing to dig deeper into its finances to pay for them. Alternate perspectives from a range of informed opinion, Howard Dean, Martin Feldstein, and the head of Harvard's Medical School show that the issue needs to be looked at closely and carefully and cannot be something in which CBO numbers can be trusted to tell the whole story. Especially when common sense, history, and informed opinion across a spectrum of thought advises caution, and fragile public finances also suggest caution. Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont, says the health care bill is not real reform, and may do more harm than good. He says in a Washington Post article, December 17, 2009, the Obama health care bill does not insert competition into insurance markets, does not significantly reduce costs, and does not improve the delivery and use of health services. It was he says done with a political calculus and crafted for votes not real reform. Jeffrey S. Flier, Dean of the Harvard Medical School, gave the Obama health reform bill an "F" grade, saying in a Nov 18, 2009, WSJ article, that it was disingenuous to call this reform, Congress and the White House were simply deceiving the public. He said the bill will accelerate US health care spending, postpone most of the major health care problems, expecially the ones that drive cost, including the "fee for service" system and delivery of health care. He says in his discussions with economists and other health care leaders the opinion was unanimous that the bill will accelerate health care spending. He cites Massachusetts as an example, where access to care was expanded under the same dysfunctional system, and spending went up, and it doesn't work. Feldstein, who in early 2008 suggested proactive solutions to the mortgage debt crisis which were never adopted, says that the Obama health care law means higher taxes in the long run to pay for the $1 trillion cost of health care for the uninsured group over 10 years. Feldstein says that the Obama plan is to cut Medicare to cut spending, and will reduce the amount of medical services, as reduced spending comes from fewer services, not reducing payments to providers. And he asks if the cost reductions are weighted too heavily towards reduced services and not reduced payments to providers ,would this result in large cuts to services to affect the quality of healthcare for the 85% of the American people who are accustomed to a different pattern of healthcare. ...

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David Brooks of the NYT describes the approach taken by British prime minister David Cameron and his Conservative Party government to help the working class poor in Britain, and tackle the social roots of poverty. He says an American adaptation similar to this is badly needed in the Republican Party, with the candidates in the election providing solutions from an old rulebook. Only after Trump's popularity with appeals to less educated older Americans has the Republican leadership responded, with Speaker Ryan helping organize a forum on poverty under the Jack Kemp Foundation- emphasis was placed on education, work, opportunity and accountability for anti-poverty programs in the discussion moderated by Ryan and Senator Tim Scott. Less attention was paid to the other social aspects mentioned here by Brooks, and cited by Cameron when he described the inadequacy of traditional solutions from the right and left of the political spectrum. Cameron outlined the principles of his anti-poverty plans called "Life Chances Strategy," in a speech on Jan. 11, 2016, in north London, with the entrie transcript on the gov.uk website. Cameron acknowledged in the speech that social issues including single parent families, and other social problems such as long term unemployment, can make it harder for some people to use self-reliance and personal responsibility in a growing economy as a way to grasp opportunities. Cameron proposes a combination of economic, social and job growth strategies. His second term plans include 30 hours a week of free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds so both parents can work, parental maternity leave, expansion of Troubled Families Program, in addition to the introduction of National Living Wage, tax cuts, universal credit. In tackling social aspects of the problem Cameron cited the need for development in the early years of childhood, the huge importance of family, social connections and experiences, informal mentors, cultural experiences, broadenend horizons, that enable young people to acquire language skills, character and resilience. Second term projects include expanding reach of high performing schools to deprived areas, emphasis on core English, math, science, history, geography Ebacc skills, a 1 billion pound investment in the National Citizens Service by 2021, a plan to transform housing estates including rebuilding from scratch, additional 1 billion pounds to provide mental health treatment including treatment within 2 weeks in homes and communities. Throughout Cameron's "Life Chances strategy" is aimed at tackling not just the material dimensions of poverty, but also what he describes is broken in Britain- "the paucity of opportunity."...