DJT energy and climate change policy as response to China getting away with 80 GW of new coal powered electricity plants for 2024 under Paris Agreement

01/31/2025

DJT Alaska policy to open up the natural gas potential in Alaska comes from the Republican position that the US should also get some allowance for its needs the way China did for 80 GW of coal powered electricity production in 2024 under Paris Agreement. This is the Republican argument as Senators Dan Borghum of North Dakota and Dan Sullivan of Alaska present it for DJT. DJT reasoning is that Paris Agreement is not fair to US needs. Seen in this way the DJT policy is much more nuanced than media present it- it is for Make America Great Again by using advantages such as Alaskan production and Shale while at the same time pursuing pristine environment and tackling climate change. As this theory goes the stronger economy would give US more resources to tackle climate change. Biden signed on to this approach in a small way when he let Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia put the same idea in his energy plans. Seen in this way DJT is not portrayed as trying to destroy climate change action plans.

Linked Articles

Opinion | Trump Lifts Sanctions on Alaska

WSJ 01/31/2025

The Editorial Board

The Guardian 01/31/2025

How low interest rates from the banks created 2009 financial crisis were squeezing Americans and most of all seniors

06/05/2024

In 2010 Charles Schwab pointed out that low interest rates were squeezing Americans, most of all seniors on fixed incomes and pensions. In 2024 first quarter the higher interest rates in one quarter alone created an additional $770 billion in interest and dividends for Americans, many of them seniors, according to US Federal Reserve. This is the damage done by the recklessness of the banks and financial sector and seniors have paid heavily for this and for the wars in the Middle East which reduced the growth potential of the US economy that were embraced by Reagan and Bush, Trump and Obama. The war money was not used to build new infrastructure to replace the old as it should have been leading to China having new infrastructure and America's being aging and worn out.

Linked Articles

Low Interest Rates Are Squeezing Seniors

Wall Street Journal 03/30/2010

Charles R. Schwab, Charles, R., Schwab

WSJ 06/05/2024

David Uberti

"Pay their fair share of taxes" Biden asks of corporations showing 2017 predecessor tax cuts did not increase investment and added $100 billion yearly to the US Deficit

03/08/2024

By paying their fair share of taxes Biden says in State of Union speech to US Congress 2024 one can increase investment in education, affordable childcare and better living for seniors in their homes, and still cut the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars. What is fair share? Certainly not zero percent that 55 of the largest corporations paid on $40 billion in profits in 2020, and corporate minimum tax was introduced at levels of 15% for which most ordinary Americans are not eligible for. And certainly not 8.2% that Biden said was being paid by 1000 billionaires in the US. Not a single penny more is being asked of hard working Americans earning less than $400,000 a year. Biden said he wanted to see the corporate minimum tax at 21% not 15%, and the top corporate tax rate set at 28% not the 21% that it was reduced to in 2017 from 35%. In short his predecessor turned to help companies and billionaires profit from the popular distress of the shipping of jobs overseas and the 2009 financial crisis caused by Bank executives without investing the nation's capital resources in manufacturing at home in scale to match and exceed China's. And at the same time neglecting to do anything about the concerns of the people for ease of living- affordable access to childcare, preschool education, education, health care to match Europe/China/India in quality and cost, and aging transportation infrastructure of airports, subways, roads and bridges. The savings when this is done properly go to cut the deficit by over 4 trillion dollars and keep America as the leader of all G-20 economies.

Linked Articles

Biden Draws Sharp Contrast With Trump in State of the Union

WSJ 03/07/2024

Ken Thomas, Tarini Parti

WSJ 03/07/2024

Andrew Restuccia, Andrew Duehren, Richard Rubin

The collapse of American education and the slowest growth in America's history 2000-2020 as Biden tries to reverse this in 2024

05/19/2023

Krugman looks at the extraordinary effort put in by Robert Gordon of Northwestern University to look at the growth of America since 1850 over periods 1850-1870, 1870-1910, 1910-1950, 1950-2000 and 2000-2020 showing that the last 20 years have the lowest growth in American history. Gordon looks at the near collapse of American education, scores on NAEP of two thirds of 8th graders failing reading comprehension reflect this sad state of affairs that president Biden is trying to reverse in 2024. Other research shows a drop in potential GDP of 2 percentage points when education is failing as it has been for 2 decades. Other researchers have shown what is openly evident today that technology such as social media do more harm, that other internet use technology has not done much for education only established monopolies as with Google and Apple.

Linked Articles

Paul Krugman Reviews ‘The Rise and Fall of American Growth’ by Robert J. Gordon

New York Times 01/25/2016

Paul Krugman, Paul, Krugman

Wall Street Journal 08/27/2014

Willliam Galston, Willliam, Galston

Mental health crisis during coronavirus pandemic- Japan and France

05/05/2021

Linked Articles

Covid-19: French mental health ‘deteriorating’ amid lockdown, minister says

France 24 11/23/2020

DW.COM 04/25/2021

Julian Ryall (Tokyo)

France and Germany - the struggle to get young people to adopt responsible behaviours during the pandemic

08/04/2020

Three police officers hospitalized after a protest against coronavirus restrictions in Berlin and an outbreak in the Quiberon peninsula with 72 cases after beach parties, show the persistent problem in both Germany and France to get young people to adopt responsible behaviors.

Linked Articles

Coronavirus cluster in western France pits youth against authorities preaching caution

France 24 07/30/2020

DW.COM 08/02/2020

Macron's role in setting up the nonrepayable $390 billion common funding for the European Recovery Fund

07/31/2020

Macron's effort to persuade Merkel and Germans of the need for common funding for European recovery and his persistence at negotiations with the Dutch and Swedes to secure 390 billion euros of funding aid has earned him increasing popularity in France. It also brings Spain, Italy, Greece and eastern European nations closer together with France and Germany as they fight the pandemic.

Linked Articles

Macron's popularity climbs after signing EU pandemic stimulus, reshuffling gov't

France 24 07/30/2020

DW.COM 07/21/2020

Bernd Riegert

What Bill Gates and France had in common in the fight for health preparedness

05/11/2020

France had learned lessons from SARS epidemic and prepared for the H1N1 epidemic at the time that Bill Gates of Microsoft was pushing for greater awareness of public health priorities. Today Gates says this was not enough, that he did not do enough and feels terrible about it. The irresponsible banking practices that caused the financial crises first in the global financial crisis of 2009 and then in the eurozone financial crisis that followed by 2011 led to the ditching of the pandemic preparedness effort in France and Britain. In all of the western world including the U.S. austerity practices were the response without addressing the root causes of financial crises. Investments in public services and infrastructure were neglected leading to a level of unpreparedness that is shocking. Countries in lesser developed countries with more consciousness of the importance of public services and care of the vast majority of people were better protected in the crisis as a result than the more developed countries.

Linked Articles

Bill Gates Has Regrets

WSJ 05/11/2020

Betsy Mc Kay

France 24 05/17/2020

Report on Russian disinformation effort 2014-2017 by two cybersecurity companies for the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee

12/18/2018

Linked Articles

Opinion | What We Now Know About Russian Disinformation

New York Times 12/17/2018

Renee Di Resta

New York Times 12/18/2018

Emmanuel Macron and the challenge of reviving France's economy

05/08/2017

France's central bank chief Noyer points out that once the public sector crosses the line of 55% of the economy France loses ground. Jobs created are from an earlier period, and fewer new technology jobs of the future are created. The challenge for Macron is to rein in the public sector and revive French industry so new jobs are created for young people.

Linked Articles

Macron's presidency: It's the economy, stupid! | Business | DW.COM | 08.05.2017

DW.COM 05/08/2017

Timothy Rooks

Wall Street Journal 05/29/2013

Wsj Editorial, Wsj, Editorial

France's 2017 presidential election and the future of Europe

03/07/2017

Linked Articles

The vote that could wreck the European Union

The Economist 05/12/2017

The Economist 05/12/2017

The 1976 Montreal Olympics, the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the Rio Olympics- decades long debt hangovers and costs growing from the $1+ billion in Montreal to $50+ billion in Sochi

08/24/2016

Developing and developed countries alike have seen the cost of the Olympics as a huge burden. Many countries or cities that committed to hosting the Olympic games during boom years were facing economic hard times by the time of the games. Corruption and mismanagement of public funds, overspending and cost overruns added to the problems. Citizens uproar caused cities such as Boston and Oslo to withdraw bids for the Olympics. The Olympics appears to be a costly way to show off a country, and raises questions about better allocation of funds in other directions, especially when upward mobility is a problem for the middle and working class, countries have other infrastructure needs, and neglected basic needs in education, healthcare, public services.

Linked Articles

The 40-year hangover: how the 1976 Olympics nearly broke Montreal

The Guardian 07/06/2016

The New York Times 08/23/2016

Michael Powell

Donald Trump's proposal for 45% tariff on China's exports to the U.S.- how a policy of bringing jobs home could lead to the loss of 1 million U.S. jobs

03/08/2016

By damaging the international trading system including with allies such a Canada, Britain, France and Germany, the result of a downward spiral through higher tariffs in other countries, could end up costing the U.S. 1 million jobs. Under such a system the U.S. would lose many of the advantages of its booming tech sector, its tech driven global advantages in many industries, without signifcant gains in low cost imports such as clothing which would simply migrate to other countries such as India. The problem of worker wage stagnation in the U.S., and loss of jobs in certain sectors, is very real, but this is the wrong way to tackle the problem. China is already moving towards a consumer driven economy. Economists show that trade with Mexico would be seriously hurt both ways, creating more pressure of migrants at the border under such proposals as a 45% tariff and its indirect effect on Mexico, when the actual fact is that net migration from Mexico is the lowest it has ben in decades. Politics can do strange things as when two senators Smoot and Hawley from agricultural states Utah and Oregon, at the head of important committees in the U.S. Congress pushed and passed legislation for a 60% tariff in 1930 for the industrial sector they had no idea about. When Smoot and Hawley lost reelection in 1932 they left behind a lot of damage, especially for the farmers and workers they thought they were fighting for.

Linked Articles

How Trump’s Hard Line on Trade Could Backfire

Wall Street Journal 03/25/2016

Bob Davis, Bob, Davis

Wall Street Journal 03/08/2016

Holman W. Jenkins Jr., Holman, W., Jenkins, Jr.