Best In Class (Or Not)
September 13, 2022
Divided But Not Quite Dysfunctional
This just in – government action creates meaningful solutions to pressing problems. For some time, the U.S. has been an outlier among wealthy nations due to its high rate of child poverty. But according to new research, the country has successfully reduced its rate of child poverty by 59% since 1993, largely thanks to increased government spending. In 1993, 28% of children were considered poor, meaning they did not have enough income to meet basic needs, according to the government. By 2019, just 11% of children were considered to be living in poverty.
This improvement occurred roughly equally across demographics, with white, Black, Hispanic, and Asian children seeing their situations improving similarly. The same equal improvement held true across other demographic groups, including single or dual parent and native or immigrant households. Among the many trends that reduced child poverty were lower unemployment rates, increased single mother labor force participation, and a raise in minimum wages at a state level. However, analysis shows that the most important factor influencing the drop in child poverty was government policy. Government rules on the issue are a mixed bag, though.
Developed over decades by two opposing political parties, U.S. welfare policy has become both more strict and more generous. For instance, policymakers have pushed laws restricting government aid to parents without jobs, while spending on low-income families has roughly doubled since the early 1990s. Both Republicans and Democrats take responsibility for the improvements, with conservatives claiming that laws requiring parents to work have pushed families to earn their keep, while progressives claim that government aid is a crucial tool needed to help keep poor and working-class families afloat. Either way, the opposing forces of the U.S. government have somehow patchworked together a successful solution to a real problem facing the country. (NYT, $)
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” – Abraham Lincoln
The Eye Of The Tigray Wants Peace
- The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a rebel group based in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, said they were ready to observe a ceasefire and participate in peace talks with the Ethiopian government. The news comes after TPLF and Ethiopian forces resumed armed conflicts following a months-long ceasefire earlier this year.
- “We are ready to abide by an immediate and mutually agreed cessation of hostilities in order to create a conducive atmosphere,” said one TPLF spokesperson. The TPLF rejected mediation attempts by the African Union during previous negotiations, but this time, the insurgent group is willing to work with the intergovernmental organization.
- The process is being supported by the U.N., with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling on “all parties to seize this opportunity for peace and to take steps to end the violence definitively and opt for dialogue.” (CNN)
The Royal Tax Treatment
- Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III has inherited the Duchy of Lancaster, a royal nest egg worth over $750 million. Unfortunately for U.K. tax collectors, though, he won’t have to pay a penny of inheritance taxes on the windfall thanks to a U.K. government rule passed in 1993.
- His eldest son, Prince William, also came into a new fortune due to the domino effect of royal succession. He received control of the Duchy of Cornwall, which is worth roughly $1 billion.
- Thanks to the 1993 rule, which was introduced in order to protect the royal family’s assets from being drained if two monarchs were to die too close to one another, the royal family does not have to pay the 40% tax on property valued at over $377,000 unlike the rest of the populace. The Queen chose to pay income and capital gains tax on the royal estate in 1993 after the rule was enacted, but it’s unclear if Charles will follow in her footsteps. (Axios)
Additional World News
- 50 million trapped in modern slavery due to pandemic, war, climate crisis, report finds (CNN)
- Xi to meet Putin in first trip outside China since COVID began (Reuters)
- ‘Tragic loss at sea’: family and friends grieve victims of Kaikōura boat disaster (Guardian)
- German defence minister rejects Ukrainian demands for main battle tanks (Reuters)
- Joe Biden will not travel with a delegation to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral next week (CNN)
- Swedish election: far right makes gains but overall result on knife-edge (Guardian)
- Australian PM defends ban on Parliament due to royal’s death (AP)
Some Good News
- Mexican rebels donate museum money for canoes to refugee rescues (Guardian)
- Air pollution cancer breakthrough will rewrite the rules (BBC)
- Nurse saves baby who stopped breathing on Spirit Airlines flight to Florida (NBC)
My Rifle Isn’t General Merchandise?!
- Visa Inc. announced that sales at gun shops will be categorized separately from other purchases, a major step forward in the fight for stricter gun control in the U.S. Gun control advocates are hopeful that tracking sales at gun stores will help provide data that can predict a mass shooting.
- Gun rights lobbyists, on the other hand, say that categorizing gun sales differently puts an unfair spotlight on an industry that doesn’t always lead to mass shootings – a shaky argument at best. Visa, the world’s largest payment processor, joins Mastercard and American Express in this endeavor.
- Gun store sales were previously considered “general merchandise.” By creating a new category of sales, banks will also have the option to allow or not allow purchases of firearms on the cards they issue. We can’t imagine that’s going to go over well with gun lobbyists. (NPR)
Digging Ourselves Out Of Dependence
- President Biden signed an executive order on Monday to make mining operations more efficient and to direct funding for the use of microbes and other biologically derived resources to make new foods, fertilizers, and seeds. The order is intended to help the U.S. become less dependent on China for clean energy. It will also help with vaccinations.
- More details are expected later this week, including how much money is allocated, where the money is coming from, and how it will be divvied up. Applications ranging from cleaner fuels, vaccines, and genetically modified seeds will go a long way in making the U.S. more self-sufficient as “other countries, including and especially China are aggressively investing in this sector,” according to an unnamed White House source. (Reuters)
Additional USA News
- Republican congressman presents convicted January 6 rioter with flag flown over US Capitol after her release from prison (CNN)
- In a nod to JFK, Biden pushing ‘moonshot’ to fight cancer (AP)
- Oregon wildfire explodes in size as multiple blazes rage across the West, forcing evacuations and worsening air quality (CNN)
- ‘A wakeup call’: more Republicans are softening staunch anti-abortion stance (Guardian)
- Trump’s lawyers suggest seized documents may not be classified (WaPo, $)
- Georgia’s shifting politics force GOP to look beyond Atlanta (AP)
- Megadrought in the American south-west: a climate disaster unseen in 1,200 years (Guardian)
Best In Class (Or Not)
- The U.S. News & World Report’s “best college” list came out Monday to some controversy. The nation’s most clicked-on college ranking list has faced backlash due to its opaque ranking system and its possibly misaligned valuation of concepts like prestige or reputation.
- Last month, Biden administration Education Secretary Miguel Cardona labeled any list valuing wealth and reputation over economic mobility and return on investment “a joke.” Other higher education higher-ups chimed in on the list, with U.C. Davis Chancellor Gary S. May joking that his favorite college ranking list “is always the one we rank highest in.” This year, his school was close to the top of the list, coming in at U.S. News’ #10 choice among public universities.
- On the other side of the rankings experience, Columbia University dropped off a cliff following a reporting integrity issue. On Friday, the New York Ivy League school stated that it inflated its figures for classes with 20 or fewer students, as well as its number of full-time professors with terminal degrees. It fell 16 spots on U.S. News’ rankings, from #2 to #18. (WaPo, $)
Additional Reads
- Over 60 Feet Long – Scientists Discover the New World’s Largest Omnivore (SciTechDaily)
- New ‘breathtaking’ Webb images to reveal the secrets of star birth (CNN)
- The FTC Is Closing in on Runaway AI (Wired)
- Clover Lawns Are Blooming in Front Yards, and on TikTok (NYT, $)
- How an enormous project attempted to map the sky without computers (Ars Technica)
- ICYMI, pumpkin spice among new Merriam-Webster entries (AP)