This may be of academic interest to many readers, but, for those interested, the following is a quick guide (The full agreement is more than 1,200 pages long; here are some of the key points, a bit long, but what do you expect?) Trade There will be no extra tariffs or limits on the amount …
In the midst of the worst pandemic since 1918, one only growing ever more severe as cases, hospitalizations, and deaths rise precipitously, if you haven’t lost your job or had your hours and wages cut back severely, if you can cover your rent or make your mortgage payments, you may not have noticed …..but more …
Scottish independence: a matter of time? Without rejuvenation, the Union will be gone within ten years. Brexit and Covid have combined to seal its fate. A recent Ipsos Mori poll found the highest ever level of support for independence, with 58% of Scots who have made up their mind saying they would vote Yes, and …
Before the covid epidemic about 3.7 million evictions were filed for every average year. Most poor renter families spent at least half their incomes on housing, and about 1 in 4 of these families spent more than 70%, most of whom are Black (most White families own their own houses). Housing is the main driver …
After nine months of pandemic punishment, could talk of conflict between former EU allies be less helpful? Yet, days before the deadline for a deal on the terms of the EU/UK divorce, Boris Johnson threatened to deploy warships against French fishing boats in the English channel. The gunboat diplomacy is pantomime more than poker. In …
It was a Rand Corporation study showing that, between 1975 and 2018, the equivalent of $2.5 trillion (no, not “billion”!) was transferred annually from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%. (In those years, even the 2% to 9%-ers essentially twiddled their financial thumbs.) Such a transfer of wealth, close to $50 trillion, …
The danger posed by America’s militia groups was brought home when the FBI revealed it had thwarted a plot by one to kidnap the Democratic governor of Michigan. These bands of armed vigilantes have become increasingly visible, staging protests and organising street patrols with the purported aim of protecting property. Alarmingly, they claim to have …
America locks away far more people – about 2.1 million – than any other nation. But the pandemic could be what finally caused it to unwind its “signature practice of mass incarceration”. In the spring, the rapid spread of Covid-19 forced officials to take radical steps to reduce prison overcrowding. Inmates were released early; and …
“The paradigm shift of the 1980s really was equivalent in scale and scope to those of the 1960s and the 1930s. Key intellectual foundations of our legal system were changed. Our long-standing consensus about acceptable and unacceptable conduct by big business was changed. Ideas about selfishness and fairness were changed. The financial industry simultaneously became …
The following is a slightly edited version of a review by Tom Krattenmaker of a book by Kurt Anderson: “Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History”: (Random House, 2020). I quote: “The paradigm shift of the 1980s really was equivalent in scale and scope to those of the 1960s and the 1930s. Key …
Continue reading ‘An explanation for the huge divide in American society’ »
Like many other climate-vulnerable nations across the globe, Bangladesh is trying to save lives, shore up healthcare systems, and cushion the economic shock for millions of people, all while avoiding fiscal collapse. But this is not a cry for help; it is a warning. For while other countries may be less exposed to the climate …
Global carbon emissions are likely to see their steepest fall this year since the second world war, according to researchers who say coronavirus lockdown measures have already cut them by nearly a fifth. But the team warns that the dramatic drop won’t slow climate change. The first peer-reviewed analysis of the pandemic’s impact on emissions …
By 2028, British people won’t be able to claim their state pension until they’re 67. According to a new study, however, there is a potential problem: although we are living longer, we may not be healthy enough to work for longer. Researchers at Keele University and Newcastle University used data from the English Longitudinal Study …
Most high earners do the same thing Trump did with his taxes: they pay tax accountants huge salaries to manipulate tax code minutia and shrink their taxes to the smallest possible amount. In dodging their fair share of taxes, the ultra-rich shove the tax burden of running this country onto the working and middle classes, …
Continue reading ‘Tax avoidance is a tax on the rest of us’ »
One major sticking point is the EU’s insistence on curbing the UK’s right to support local industries. State intervention may once have been anathema to true Tories, but Covid has “legitimised a more activist state” and the PM is sold on the idea of a new and vigorous industrial policy. He won’t give in easily …
