Money, Moderna, Maneuvering, Massacre, Baby-Making
In this edition: It has been 100 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre. Moderna applied for full approval of its vaccine. Israeli opposition deal beats the clock, barely. Biden brings in...
In this edition: (1) It has been 100 years since the race massacre in Tulsa, Okla. (2) Moderna applied for full approval of its vaccine. (3) Israeli opposition deal beats the clock—barely. (4) Biden brings in the era of ‘big government’ with his spending proposals. (5) Be fruitful and multiply: China to adopt three-child policy.
The beginning of the week marked the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, an event that destroyed the famous Greenwood District in Tulsa, Okla, also known as “Black Wall Street.” For my piece, which spent some time on the home page of Investopedia, see here.
Here are some other notable news items:
Moderna applied for full U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its coronavirus vaccine, which would allow it to market doses directly to consumers. Here’s CNBC’s coverage. The vaccine’s current authorization falls under “emergency use.”
A power-sharing deal meant to force Benjamin Netanyahu from office led to Naftali Bennett as the head of a strained Israeli opposition coalition. Here’s The Guardian’s coverage, which characterizes Bennett as a “far-right” politician, which may be an understatement; others have described him as “more right wing” than Netanyahu. According to the New York Times’ coverage, Bennet is opposed to a Palestinian state, supports annexation of a majority of the West Bank, and is a former ally of Netanyahu. Issac Herzog, who formerly headed the Labor party, was elected as the new Israeli president. Here’s a quick news article.
Last week, the Biden administration presented its FY 2022 $6 trillion budget. Analysts have argued that it represents a full and relatively consistent break with concerns over the budget and federal spending. The era of big government, apparently, was only taking a hiatus. The budget has been described by Republican lawmakers as D.O.A… We shall see.
China now allows couples to have a third child, even though not many were stepping up to have a second, The Economist reported. A census report published in May showed drastically declining birth rates for the nation, which already ranked among the lowest fertility rates in the world. According to The Economist, the response to the policy by the Chinese people was hardly enthusiastic. Urbanization, greater female participation in the work place, and education tend to cause a decline in procreation. Still: worried about national economic competitiveness, countries are trying to persuade their citizens to do their duty and procreate, despite burgeoning global population rates. In a certain light, even Biden’s American Families’ plan connects to this trend, though it was pitched more as a means of fighting inequality.