How Biden is tackling the Debt Ceiling to keep much needed spending on workers and families in America

05/19/2023

The debt ceiling standoff with a small faction in the Republican party calling for cuts in spending where it is needed for workers and families in America. In the US system even though spending is approved a debt ceiling can be passed that limits overall spending requiring another approval if the ceiling is exceeded for approved spending. In the past this was negotiated. Today this faction in the Republican party is calling for large cuts in the very areas that were neglected in the past and which urgently need funding leading to Biden's response. Infrastructure, renewable energy, education, healthcare, public services, workers and families were neglected and now need strong backing.

Grouped Articles

Democrats Launch Discharge Petition, Aiming to Force Debt-Ceiling Vote

WSJ 05/17/23

Lindsay Wise, Natalie Andrews

Opinion | How Biden Blew It on the Debt Ceiling

NYTimes.com 05/17/23

Paul Krugman

Opinion | A Few Ways Out of the Debt Ceiling Mess

NYTimes.com 05/09/23

Paul Krugman

Biden Woos Republican Moderates in Debt Ceiling Standoff

NYTimes.com 05/11/23

Peter Baker, Nicholas Fandos

Opinion | Are Republicans Willing to Raise the Debt Ceiling?

NYTimes.com 05/09/23

The Editorial Board

Is the Debt Limit Constitutional? Biden Aides Are Debating It.

NYTimes.com 05/03/23

Jim Tankersley

Pause and Regulation for AI

05/03/2023

Calls for a pause in AI and the regulatory push for AI in Europe. The Biden administration's views on regulation of AI.

Grouped Articles

Opinion | This Is Too Important to Leave to Microsoft, Google and Facebook

NYTimes.com 04/16/23

Ezra Klein

Elon Musk, Other AI Experts Call for Pause in Technology’s Development

WSJ 03/29/23

Deepa Seetharaman

Opinion | A Six-Month AI Pause? No, Longer Is Needed

WSJ 03/30/23

Peggy Noonan

Germany warns: AI arms race already underway | DW | 07.06.2021

DW.COM 06/07/21

Richard Walker

White House Announces $1 Billion Plan to Create AI, Quantum Institutes

WSJ 08/26/20

Jared Council

Tech Giants Hunt for AI Startups—and the Brains Behind Them

WSJ 12/26/19

Asa Fitch

How Europe won the energy war after shutdown of Russian gas supplies

04/07/2023

By April 2023 with winter over it is clear that Europe has come out of the winter season with its economy intact after shutdown of pipeline gas from the pipelines in Russia. A lot of action was taken in a short time- Germany's Habeck went to Qatar and other countries to secure LNG supplies, a new LNG terminal was built at Wilhelmshaven in record time, Norway and the US pitched in with more supplies, conservation went into high gear, and renewable energy investments were accelerated. There is no recession in the European Union as a result of this effort. And in this sense and with the Ukrainian economy functioning, generators taking Ukraine through a tough winter, EU taking in 80% of Ukraine agricultural exports, and supermarket shelves kept well stocked, refugees settled in Poland and Germany, the war has already been decided. The principle of no impunity for attacks on neighboring countries has been preserved by the EU acting together to protect itself.

Grouped Articles

Opinion | Putin’s Energy Offensive Has Failed

NYTimes.com 04/07/23

Paul Krugman

Thwarting Vladimir Putin: The Ukrainian Economy Just Keeps On Going - DER SPIEGEL

SPIEGEL ONLINE 04/07/23

Michael Kröger, Benjamin Bidder, Der Spiegel

An LNG pipeline built in record time – DW – 11/01/2022

dw.com 11/04/22

Expanding Indian ties to the European Union in manufacturing, trade and advanced technologies

03/07/2023

Italy signs a strategic partnership agreement with India. President Scholz of Germany visits India with a business delegation. Siemens plans railway modernization manufacturing plants in India. New aviation sector is being built with French and US assistance and a huge order from Air India. Denmark's Maersk and other Danish companies help build the port logistics in India after a business and trade agreement with Denmark. The European Union joins the US in building a new supply chain based in India to replace one that caused inflation and bottlenecks, and was seen as a security risk with concentration of the supply chain in one country.

Grouped Articles

India, Italy elevate ties to strategic partnership, sign MoU on defence cooperation

The Hindu 03/02/23

Dinakar Peri

Germany's Scholz in India: What's at stake? – DW – 02/25/2023

dw.com 02/28/23

On India visit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz drinks tea at a street corner in Delhi

The Hindu 02/27/23

The Hindu Bureau

Siemens partners with India on railway modernization – DW – 02/27/2023

dw.com 02/27/23

We understand India’s economic constraints on Russian sanctions, oil price cap: German Foreign Minister Baerbock

The Hindu 12/04/22

Suhasini Haidar

A Nordic-India connect to power a green transition

The Hindu 02/08/23

Jan Christian Vestre & Ville Skinnari

Unintended consequences of China's years of hyper growth- climate change and sharply slowing growth

07/31/2022

China's overdependence on the property sector and foreign investment in offshoring factories from home countries to China had unintended effects. The property sector led growth has led to sudden collapse with local governments finances strained by $900 billion according to WSJ and loss of buyer confidence. The effects on communities in the US and EU of shifting local factories to China is well known having alienated the US and EU public, and permanently damaging friendly relations leading to its reversal and shift back to home countries. Years of unbridled hyper growth has not done well for China with the consequences seen today. At the start of this experiment China embarked on in 1990 China had little experience with market economy. The self interested advice of American investment banks and business and the zeal of local government officials led to hyper growth. The US and EU countries could not cope with the scale of China's hyper growth and shift of factories overseas as they had done with Japan in the sixties and seventies because of the sheer scale and compression in a short period for China. The result is sharply slowing growth in China and loss of faith on both sides. It did not have to happen this way and shows the unintended consequences of letting capitalism go its own way with interested parties acting excessively and governments not acting where prudence is needed. The burning of coal in unlimited quantities created the problems of climate change the world faces today- a double blow for the world and for China with lessons for today and how we think about his in future.

Grouped Articles

China’s Manufacturing Sector Unexpectedly Contracts Amid Weak Demand, Covid Lockdowns

WSJ 07/31/22

China’s Economy Tested by Strained City Finances

WSJ 07/31/22

Wall Street Journal Staff

China Home Sales Plunge in July, as Mortgage Revolt Deters Buyers

WSJ 07/31/22

Cao Li

China property sales could plunge by one-third, analysts say, as crisis deepens

The Guardian 07/26/22

China Bet It All on Real Estate. Now Its Economy Is Paying the Price.

NYTimes.com 10/16/23

Alexandra Stevenson

How the Ukraine War Happened- Miscalculations on All Sides

04/03/2022

The WSJ report on the miscalculations going back 20 years by all sides looks at key events since 2002. An interview by Timakova and Kolesnikov of the Russian president provides more insights into his mindset and thinking.

Grouped Articles

An Astonishing Self-Portrait by Russia's President

NYTimes.com 04/02/22

Vladimir Putin

Opinion | What’s on Vladimir Putin’s Reading List?

WSJ 04/01/22

Gary Saul Morson, Morton Schapiro

Russian Strategy in Ukraine Shifts After Setbacks, and a Lengthy War Looms

WSJ 04/01/22

Yaroslav Trofimov

Russia Set for Steep Slump and Long Stagnation in Wake of Ukraine War

WSJ 03/31/22

Paul Hannon

Putin advisers ‘afraid to tell him truth’ about Ukraine error, says GCHQ head

The Guardian 03/30/22

Biden says Putin ‘badly miscalculated’ in invading Ukraine.

NYTimes.com 03/02/22

Peter Baker

Escaping the algorithm based social media platforms TikTok, Facebook and others

12/29/2021

If and how it is possible to escape the algorithm based social media platforms TikTok, Facebook and others, harmful for girls and the young, and to mental health, diversity, and education that leads to upward mobility, is the subject of a WSJ series in 2021.

Grouped Articles

The TikTok Spiral, Part 1: Descent - Tech News Briefing - WSJ Podcasts

WSJ 12/27/21

The TikTok Spiral, Part 3: Escape the Algorithm - Tech News Briefing - WSJ Podcasts

WSJ 12/29/21

‘The Corpse Bride Diet’: How TikTok Inundates Teens With Eating-Disorder Videos

WSJ 12/17/21

Tawnell D. Hobbs, Rob Barry, Yoree Koh

Teens Are Developing Tics. Doctors Say TikTok May Be A Factor. - The Journal. - WSJ Podcasts

WSJ 11/08/21

Facebook Faces Official Questions in India Over Policing of Hate Speech

WSJ 10/28/21

Rajesh Roy, Newley Purnell

Facebook Whistleblower’s Testimony Builds Momentum for Tougher Tech Laws

WSJ 10/05/21

John D. Mc Kinnon, Ryan Tracy

Nature walks, nature settings, as an essential way to boost mental health and wellbeing during the pandemic

10/09/2021

It is proven that just two hours a week of walks in nature setting in parks, natural settings, green areas, or forested areas, can be hugely beneficial for health and wellbeing during the pandemic. Long and recurrent lockdowns or partial lockdowns, closure of schools, loss of work and income, have had devastating effects on mental health in many countries. Much needs to be done to promote nature walks and bringing nature as a healing mechanism to take some of the burden off the overburdened health services of many countries. Awareness of this in the UK and funds + projects to do this can be a model for other countries.

Grouped Articles

Two-hour ‘dose’ of nature significantly boosts health – study

The Guardian 06/13/19

Oyster Shoreline at ‘Greater New York’ Has a Pearl of a Message

NYTimes.com 10/04/21

Patricia Leigh Brown

‘It took a year to get help’: generation Z on mental health decline

The Guardian 09/30/21

Natural health service: wildlife volunteers get mental health boost

The Guardian 10/02/17

Nature on prescription: wetlands project aims to boost mental health

The Guardian 05/13/21

‘These salt marshes saved my life’: how nature is helping mental health

The Guardian 10/09/21

How women can navigate the waters to find a family friendly workplace and get men to share in household chores. This is important for women's Mental Health.

09/24/2021

During the pandemic women increasingly stayed at home while men continued to work. Figures from Bureau of Labor Statistics show women ended up with doing even more household chores than men in 2020 compared to 2019. As a result women during the coronavirus feel worn out or burned out in addition to losing income. WSJ offers ways women can tackle this problem both by getting men to share in household chores, and finding employers who are family friendly as the coronavirus pandemic declines in 2022.

Grouped Articles

How to Find a Family-Friendly Workplace

WSJ 09/24/21

Alex Janin

Women Still Do More of the Housework. Here’s How to Share the Load.

WSJ 09/23/21

Rachel Feintzeig

Kick the sugar habit

07/17/2021

Healthy living means no more than 6% of daily calories of 2000 calories a day should come from sugar intake. During the coronavirus pandemic poor health habits mean pouring gasoline on fire. It is morally indefensible and a sign of a backward country that the the health guideline is set at 10% in the US. The mean consumption of sugar today in the US is 13%. In teaspoons about 6-8 teaspoons of added sugar is the healthy limit, at 16 calories per teaspoon this is 96 calories to 120 calories from added sugar. In grams this is 24 grams at 4 grams per teaspoon of sugar. It is critical to make it a habit to look at packaged foods labels and make intelligent choices. And to simply cut the sugar we add in tea, coffee or drinks by a third or a fourth. Good habits = good health. It is also critical to start this with public education in schools from K1 to high school.

Grouped Articles

Boris Johnson must help us kick our sugar habit

The Times 07/17/21

Janice Turner

Beware sugar highs: seven healthy ways to get more energy – from stretching to sourdough

The Guardian 04/05/21

New Limits Urged on Americans’ Sugar Consumption Amid Rising Obesity Concerns

WSJ 10/05/20

Andrea Petersen

Make 2020 the Year of Less Sugar

NYTimes.com 01/06/19

Tara Parker Pope

Biden's Families Plan to help women, workers and students

05/05/2021

The unfinished tasks from the New Deal of FDR are taken up in Biden's first year in 2021, around the first 100 days. Help for struggling families, women, workers and students is at the heart of the $1.8 trillion Families Plan.

Grouped Articles

Biden’s Speech to Congress: Full Transcript

NYTimes.com 04/30/21

Opinion | A New Deal, This Time for Everyone

NYTimes.com 05/04/21

Binyamin Appelbaum

Video: President Biden’s Joint Session Address

NYTimes.com 04/30/21

Nailah Morgan, Lucas Lilieholm

Biden Makes His Pitch to Congress

NYTimes.com 04/30/21

Giovanni Russonello

The Biden Plan for Free Community College Has a Big Challenge

NYTimes.com 04/28/21

Kevin Carey

Biden Details $1.8 Trillion Plan for Workers, Students and Families

NYTimes.com 04/28/21

Jim Tankersley, Dana Goldstein

Biden's multi-trillion infrastructure spending plans for renewal of America

03/30/2021

US president Biden is pushing ahead with infrastructure spending on a big scale. He no longer seeks support from Republicans as he does not want to see the plans shrink. He is able to do this because the American people now have new perceptions about the role of government. They see it as indispensable in trade, global supply chains, protecting American technology, and in keeping America ahead with the latest infrastructure, skills development with education, healthcare that keeps Americans healthy.

Grouped Articles

Live Updates: Learning From the Past, Biden Aims for Big Spending Early in His Term

NYTimes.com 03/30/21

Maggie Astor, Cora Engelbrecht, Glenn Thrush

Biden to Outline Proposal for Infrastructure Spending, Tax Increases

WSJ 03/30/21

Andrew Restuccia, Richard Rubin

Behind Biden’s Big Plans: Belief That Government Can Drive Growth

WSJ 03/30/21

Jacob M. Schlesinger, Andrew Restuccia

One-term leader Joe Biden in a hurry

The Times 04/01/21

David Charter

Joe Biden mimics Franklin Roosevelt with $2trn Covid recovery plan

The Times 04/01/21

David Charter, Washington