Economy
The COVID-19 Eviction Crisis: An Estimated 30-40 Million People in America are at Risk (Sparky1)
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers, academics and advocates have conducted continuous analysis of the effect of the public health crisis and economic depression on renters and the housing market. Multiple studies have quantified the effect of COVID-19-related job loss and economic hardship on renters’ ability to pay rent during the pandemic. While methodologies differ, these analyses converge on a dire prediction: If conditions do not change, 29-43% of renter households could be at risk of eviction by the end of the year.
“The United States may be facing the most severe housing crisis in its history,” the authors of the report wrote. “The COVID-19 housing crisis has sharply increased the risk of foreclosure and bankruptcy; long-term harm to renter families and individuals; disruption of the affordable housing market; and destabilization of communities across the United States.”
On Saturday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that he claimed would forestall evictions. But the order only requested that the Health and Human Services Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine the next course of action.
Who Profits from the Beirut Blast? (westcoastjan)
Trump eventually walked his comments back after the Pentagon declined to confirm his claim about what the “generals” had said and his defense secretary, Mark Esper, supported the accident explanation for the blast.
It’s yet another graphic illustration of the war engulfing the Beltway. Trump: attack. Pentagon: accident. “I don’t think anybody can say right now,” Trump said on Wednesday. “I’ve heard it both ways.”
Is Coronavirus the End of U.S. Passport Privilege? (tmn)
The world’s most powerful passport, ranked number 1, is Japan’s, with a score of 191; Singapore is at number 2, with a score of 190, followed by Germany and South Korea, tied at number 3 with a visa-free score of 189. At the other end of the spectrum are Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, with visa-free scores, respectively, of 29, 28, and 26.
But here’s the thing: The American passport was number 1 in 2015. In 2016 it was number 3; held steady in 2017; dropped to number 5 in 2018; and to number 6 in 2019. Trend alert. It’s 7 now—what’s next?
Follow the Money: Covid-19 Data and Trump Campaign Edition (edelinski)
The TeleTracking system also raises suspicions of a financial deal. On June 3, Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) wrote to the director of the CDC, Dr. Robert Redfield and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Robert P. Kadlec, to ask why HHS had awarded a $10 million no-bid contract to create this data system that duplicated the one the CDC already had. Why indeed?
Seattle Police Chief Resigns after City Council Votes to Cut Jobs, Pay (TourGuideDC)
“This was a difficult decision for me, but when it’s time, it’s time,” Best wrote to officers in her resignation letter. “I am confident the department will make it through these difficult times. You truly are the best police department in the country, and please trust me when I say, the vast majority of people in Seattle support you and appreciate you.”
When the “rule of law” makes no sense, vigilante law takes over (thc0655)
When the enforcement of laws is selective, depending on the political views of those charged with their enforcement, then the rule of law no longer applies. That’s one of the primary reasons why the USA is in such turmoil today. The law is not being equally or fairly applied in far too many jurisdictions. Did the residents and businesses in the so-called “CHOP” zone in Seattle consent to be stripped of police protection, and governed by arbitrary “mob rule”? Of course they didn’t – but they weren’t asked for their opinion. Political correctness overruled their rights under the law.
Winter is coming: Why America’s window of opportunity to beat back Covid-19 is closing (Sparky1)
“I think November, December, January, February are going to be tough months in this country without a vaccine,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
It is possible, of course, that some vaccines could be approved by then, thanks to historically rapid scientific work. But there is little prospect that vast numbers of Americans will be vaccinated in time to forestall the grim winter Osterholm and others foresee.
How the pandemic might play out in 2021 and beyond (tmn)
If immunity to the virus lasts less than a year, for example, similar to other human coronaviruses in circulation, there could be annual surges in COVID-19 infections through to 2025 and beyond. Here, Nature explores what the science says about the months and years to come.
Virus surge makes US weak link in global economic recovery (tmn)
After springtime restrictions, many U.S. states prematurely declared victory over the virus and began to reopen their economies, leading to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. Confirmed infections are rising in most states, and many businesses have had to scale back or even cancel plans to reopen. And while it does not dominate global commerce like it did 20 years ago, America is still by far the biggest economy – accounting for 22% of total economic output, versus 14% for No. 2 China, according to the World Bank.
Big Oil Forced To Change Strategy After The Oil Price Crash (Michael S.)
Exxon reported its second consecutive quarterly loss, which was the worst loss for the U.S. supermajor in its modern history. It reiterated its commitment to dividend payouts while evaluating its businesses on a country-by-country basis after having identified “significant potential for additional reductions.”
A week after the results release, Exxon said in an SEC filing that the low oil prices could result in 20-percent reductions to its proved reserves at end 2020, compared to 22.4 billion oil-equivalent barrels reported at year-end 2019.
Ethiopian farmers slaughter thousands of chicks as COVID hits demand (Sparky1)
Government data was not available but EthioChicken, one of the biggest suppliers of poultry products in Addis Ababa, said it had to kill nearly 650,000 chicks in five weeks over May and June and estimated millions had been destroyed country-wide.
“We also had to actually pull some eggs from our hatchery, so that we could destroy them as eggs instead of chicks,” Fseha Tesfu, in charge of marketing at EthioChicken, told Reuters.
U.S. farmers leave fields fallow as COVID-19 wrecks crop prospects (Sparky1)
The coronavirus pandemic caused many farmers to give up on their corn crop before it was even in the ground. When calculating their plans for 2020, they had viewed corn as the crop most likely to turn a profit as ongoing tensions with China threatened to roil the soybean export program even after Beijing and Washington inked a Phase 1 trade deal in January.
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The post Daily Digest 8/11 – 30-40 Million Americans At Risk Of Eviction, Is Coronavirus the End of U.S. Passport Privilege? appeared first on Peak Prosperity.
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