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Steven Handel
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In 2020, after the tragic murder of George Floyd, there was a moment when it seemed as if America, California included, was ready to reform our broken and discriminatory criminal justice system.
In 2024, as the California Legislature returns from vacation, criminal justice is once again at the forefront. But now, the proverbial pendulum has swung and a new tough-on-crime era seems to be creeping up through the cracks of our good intentions.
Proposition 47, which helped lower California’s prison population by changing certain nonviolent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, is likely to be rolled back, if not undone this year.
The California Highway Patrol has been called in to stop retail theft, despite the fact that no one is entirely sure just how big a problem it is.
Drug dealers are being charged with murder as deaths from fentanyl overdoses continue to spike, a new tactic in a new war on drugs, little different from the one that led to overincarceration of Black and brown people during the crack epidemic of the ’80s when we insisted we could arrest our way out of poverty and addiction.
It is a troubling reversal of both attitude and reform that, as history has proven, will not lead to the safer communities we all want.
But what is about to happen inside San Quentin State Prison has the potential to fundamentally change crime and punishment in the Golden State, and beyond.
Because as much as we want to believe that a single law, more police or a tougher sentence can protect us, the truth is that the best way to cut crime is to stop it from happening in the first place — not with the pounding fist of punishment that for decades has left us with jails and prisons where more than a third of people return within a few years of release.
But instead by helping people to find other paths, and giving them opportunities to survive in ways that uplift rather than prey upon our communities — an approach with proven results both in the U.S. and other countries, where incarceration decades ago embraced rehabilitation not as an option but a mandate.
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he wanted to transform San Quentin, California’s oldest and most famous prison, into a new kind of incarceration facility modeled after Scandinavian principles of rehabilitation, where that mandate for changing lives is written into law.
With his love of catchphrases, he dubbed it the California Model and left the details for later. On Friday, a long-awaited explanation of what the California Model will look like in practice was released, providing both an ideal and a blueprint for what is a radical, subversive and important shift in what it means to be in prison.
“This is a big deal,” Darrell Steinberg told me. He helped chair the committee that created the recommendations, and is the mayor of Sacramento, a city as plagued as any by the drug addiction, mental illness and homelessness that have driven much of the shift in attitudes around crime. So he knows as well as any that voters want results, not experiments.
“This will enhance public safety for the self-evident reason that when people have the tools to succeed on the outside they will have better lives and are much less likely to commit another crime,” he said.
It is visionary, he said, but also doable.
A core part of the transition involves changing the job of correctional officers from enforcers and adversaries to participants in rehabilitation, a metamorphosis that the union representing correctional officers supports. Under the plan, officers would take college-level classes on trauma-informed practices, and be expected to interact with inmates as mentors and guides.
San Quentin itself would also receive a makeover, albeit one curtailed by our current economic realities. Cramped cells that currently house two people in 46 square feet, about half the size of a decent bathroom, would be removed to allow for single-occupancy spaces that Steinberg said are the minimum dignity demands.
Correctional officers would also see an upgrade. Housing prices are so high in Marin County, where San Quentin is located, that it is impossible for many to live close enough for a daily shift (a two-bedroom averages more than $3,000 a month), leaving them with hours-long commutes.
So some officers have resorted to “dry camping” in trailers with homeless-like conditions that lack running water, electricity or even sewers. They are packing a week’s worth of work into a few days just to get by. The new plan would give correctional officers a campground with basic facilities and access to showers and safe spaces to relax — perhaps making the job less stressful.
For incarcerated people, the change will mean that on Day 1 of their sentences, there is a coordinated effort to arrange services — mental health care, education, job training, substance abuse treatment. And that there are people to implement those plans, and support them.
While that seems basic, it doesn’t happen now. People are largely left to their own devices to navigate an opaque and inefficient system that is so archaic that some of it isn’t even computerized. Wait lists are long and information can be hard to come by.
If the ideas laid out in the plan makes it through the upcoming budget negotiations (in a year with a large and unexpected deficit), it will be a culture change inside the most infamous prison in the country’s second-largest state prison system (Texas is the only state with a larger incarcerated population).
Though taking the California Model from paper to practice is the work of years, the proposal for San Quentin has the potential to be the largest and most meaningful criminal justice reform in decades — if we get it right, which of course is always an if when it comes to government.
But it is a big swing with the potential for real payoff — not the knee-jerk anger and fear of proposals like gutting Proposition 47, which will only repeat the mistakes of the past.
There will always be predators and there will always be crime. And admittedly, it all sounds touchy-feely and nebulous, like we are about to spend a bunch on money on holding criminals’ hands while they talk about their childhoods and get their GED.
And to be honest, that’s part of it, one we shouldn’t ignore.
At its root, the California Model is about dignity and compassion, creating policy around the belief that healing isn’t just for the innocent, and it isn’t soft.
Fixing humans, especially ones broken enough to hurt others, is the hardest of tasks.
But it can be done.
And if California turns San Quentin into a place where that happens, we will all be safer.
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Anita Chabria
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Embark on a journey to well-being with these four profound Japanese concepts: Ikigai for purpose, Moai for community, Hara Hachi Bu for mindful eating, and Kintsugi for resilience. Discover insights to a healthier and happier life in the modern world by embracing the ancient wisdom of Japanese culture.
Culture is a powerful force that influences the type of person we become. In the pursuit of well-being, different cultures can often teach us different lessons on what it means to live a good life.
First, what is culture? The American anthropologist Edward T. Hall created the “Cultural Iceberg” framework to help us analyze the many factors that determine what a culture is. The theory illustrates that only 10% of culture is what we see (language, diet, music, fashion), while 90% of culture is hidden from us (beliefs, values, norms, and expectations).
Here’s what the “Cultural Iceberg” looks like:
Generally we see the culture we grew up in as the default mode of being. This includes how people dress, what people eat, and what music they listen to, but also deeper aspects of life such as beliefs, values, morality, and how people approach life from a broader perspective.
Culture, tradition, and social norms shape our map of reality, the choices we make, and how we navigate our world. If you’re raised in a society that only values materialistic goals like money, fame, or popularity, you’re naturally going to live a life in accordance with those values, especially if they go unquestioned.
When we explore new cultures through traveling, reading, or meeting new people, we learn that there are many different ways we can approach life and the way we were raised isn’t necessarily the only way to live.
One simplified but general way we can categorize different types of culture is Western vs. Eastern ways of thinking. Western cultures tend to be more individualistic, rational, and materialistic, while Eastern cultures tend to be more collectivist, holistic, and spiritual.
Keep in mind, these are broad categorizations. Every country and culture is different. This also isn’t a judgment of “right” or “wrong” ways of thinking, but rather observing different personality types on a cultural scale.
My experience from a Western perspective is that learning about various aspects of Eastern culture and philosophy (such as Buddhism, Taoism, or Confucianism) gave me a taste for different ways to look at the world and different perspectives on life that I otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed to.
One popular country to look at is Japan which has a rich history, deep cultural roots, and long-held traditions that have been passed down over multiple generations. In this article, we’re going to cover four powerful Japanese concepts that provide universal lessons on how to live a healthier and happier life. Each concept reveals core values and beliefs that shape the way many Japanese people live.
These powerful ideas include: Ikigai (“a reason for being”), Moai (“meeting for a common purpose”), Hara Hachi Bu (“belly 80% full”), and Kintsugi (“golden repair”). Now let’s dive deeper into each one!
a reason for being
The Japanese concept of “Ikigai” is about finding a purpose in life. It directly translates to “a reason for being,” and it’s often described as the intersection between what you love, what you are good at, and what the world needs.
Ikigai is a combination between intrinsic motivation (an activity you enjoy doing) and extrinsic rewards (an activity that creates value in the world and improves people’s lives). Psychology research has shown that ikigai is associated with elevated feelings of dedication, accomplishment, meaning, and fulfillment.
This is in contrast to a lot of other cultures that just see work as a means to a paycheck or higher income, rather than reframing work as something that serves a higher purpose, both to yourself and society as a whole.
Ikigai has been shown to benefit both physical and mental health. It can reduce stress and anxiety, which contributes to longer lives and less risk of cardiovascular disease and other ailments. In addition, ikigai is associated with greater resilience in the face of negative events. One interesting study found that ikigai helped people better cope with stress after an earthquake or natural disaster.
Here’s a visual of what constitutes ikigai:
If you can find activities that meet all of these requirements, then you’ve found your ikigai.
Discovering your ikigai can take time and patience though. It involves careful introspection, understanding your strengths, passions, and talents, and finding ways to use those powers to fulfill the needs of the world.
Once you find your ikigai, it’s important to align your daily activities with it if you want to build a more purposeful and meaningful life.
meeting for a common purpose
Human connection is vital for our well-being, and the Japanese practice of “Moai” emphasizes the strength of communal bonds.
Moai refers to a group of people who come together for a shared purpose, providing emotional, social, and even financial support. Often a moai includes family, friends, and neighbors within a local community. They will see each other frequently, talk and catch up on each other’s lives, and organize group activities such as game nights, fitness groups, music performances, or dance parties.
This tight sense of community provides an important sense of belonging. It also comes with physical benefits like healthier lifestyles, exercise, social connection, and financial support if someone finds themselves in a tough situation.
In today’s world, many people are suffering from loneliness and depression. One major cause of this is hyper individualism and atomistic lifestyles that no longer promote community values. Many Americans report having zero close friends and only 38% say they have “5 friends or more.” This is in stark contrast to the moai way of life which can often include 10-12+ lifelong friends.
While there’s plenty of research showing the physical and mental benefits of social support, one of the most common examples of moai can be found in Okinawa, Japan, which has been identified as a “blue zone.”
Blue zones are places around the world that are associated with better health and longevity. Often there are high numbers of centenarians in them (or people who have lived over 100). The recent Netflix documentary Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones by public health researcher Dan Buettner has a great episode dedicated to Okinawa that shows how the moais work there.
Many health professionals and experts are now claiming we are in a “loneliness epidemic,” with over 1 in 4 adults saying they feel socially isolated. This can have serious health consequences such as increased risk of anxiety, depression, heart disease, stroke, dementia, and overall shorter lifespans. The negative effects of loneliness have been compared to the effects of daily cigarette smoking.
As communities continue to decline and feelings of social alienation increase, the moai mentality is needed now more than ever.
belly 80% full
In a culture often associated with healthy living and longevity, the Japanese concept of “Hara Hachi Bu” teaches us the art of mindful eating. Translated as “belly 80% full,” this practice encourages moderation in our meals.
Obesity is a growing problem around the entire world. Recent reports show that 39% of the global population in 2023 is obese or overweight, and this is a sharp increase from 23.9% in 2008. If this trend continues, researchers predict that over half of the global population will have obesity by 2035.
One factor in this rise in obesity is having abundant access to ultraprocessed foods, including the convenience of fast food and junk food. The modern diet is filled with supernormal foods that hijack our natural instincts for sugar, salts, and rich flavor, which is why many people end up over-eating during meals or late night binging.
The lesson of Hara Hachi Bu is more relevant now than ever. By reminding ourselves to only eat until we are 80% full, we encourage slower and more mindful eating. This lets you enjoy your meal more by paying attention to each bite and savoring it, rather than quickly moving from one bite to the next without fully appreciating it.
Many people eat unconsciously. Often it’s eating while watching TV/movies, checking their phones, scrolling social media, or socializing with friends. Their main focus is on one thing, while eating is just something happening in the background. These distractions can lead you to eat more than you otherwise would.
Slowing down your eating will lead to less consumption, better digestion, and improved body awareness of how you respond to certain foods, the best times of the day to eat (or not), and what it feels like to be “50% full” → “80% full” → “100% full” → “110% full.”
Adopting Hara Hachi Bu not only contributes to physical well-being by maintaining a healthy weight but also cultivates a mindful approach to eating that can lead to a stronger connection with the food we consume.
golden repair
Derived from the Japanese words “kin” (golden) and “tsugi” (repair), Kintsugi is the art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.
Here’s what it looks like:
Instead of hiding the cracks and flaws, the practice of kintsugi embraces the broken parts by highlighting them in gold. It celebrates its imperfections, while at the same time making them stronger and more beautiful.
Many find inspiration when applying this concept to their personal lives. It helps them to accept the challenges and obstacles they’ve had to face over the years – the physical, mental, and emotional battle scars – and see them as jumping points for growth and improvement.
No one’s life is perfect. We all suffer from weaknesses, flaws, insecurities, and vulnerabilities. Our instinct is to hide them, ignore them, or deny them, but the paradox is that when we accept them is when we actually become stronger.
Kintsugi promotes resilience, growth, and grit. It shows that no matter how many times you get broken, you can always repair yourself in gold.
Each of these Japanese concepts – Ikigai, Moai, Hara Hachi Bu, and Kintsugi – offers a kernel of wisdom that we can all apply to our daily lives.
While these ideas are ancient, they are more relevant to modern living than ever before. Ikigai teaches us meaning and purpose, Moai teaches us social connection, Hara Hachi Bu teaches us mindful eating, and Kintsugi teaches us growth and resilience.
Which concept do you need to embrace the most right now?
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Steven Handel
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Kevin McCarthy has some company as he heads for the House exits.
Although they don’t agree on much these days, members of Congress are on the same page about one thing: It’s an especially miserable time to have their job, especially if you represent California.
With California’s Dec. 8 filing deadline to decide on running for reelection just days away, seven Golden State members of Congress have opted to leave — with four retiring outright rather than run for another office.
That list grew on Wednesday with the former speaker’s announcement that he would quit the House by the end of December.
The past year has been marked by an almost unprecedented level of chaos, dysfunction, and near misses on self-inflicted national economic catastrophes in the GOP-controlled House, all bookended by two separate speakership crises. McCarthy, who has been at the center of the House’s 2023 maelstrom, lost his grip on the gavel in October.
The disarray has led to a surge in retirements from both parties. Thirty-one House members are leaving, including 16 who aren’t running for other office. In November alone, 12 members announced their retirements — the most in any month for more than a decade, according to Ballotpedia.
For Californians, the day-to-day burdens of the job are heavier than they are for many of their colleagues. Californians always face some of the longest commutes of any member of Congress. Forty of the state’s 52 House members are Democrats, and being in the minority is a drag — especially during the current era of hyperpartisanship. On top of that, in the span of two years California’s delegation has gone from having two of its own at the helm of both parties in the House to having none, with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-San Francisco) exit from leadership followed quickly by McCarthy’s ignominious demotion and decision to quit.
The real surprise isn’t how many California members are retiring — it’s how many are willing to stay after the past year of chaos.
“The travel sucks. It’s a long flight both ways. I get tired at random times of the day because of the time change,” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) told The Times. On one recent flight, he was delayed six hours because the plane’s toilet wasn’t working — but he flies so much, he couldn’t remember when and where it happened.
Add to that a “Republican majority that’s doing a bunch of stupid stuff,” and the day-to-day in Congress “honestly feels more stupid” now than at any other point in Lieu’s decade in the House, he said.
And he’s a member of House Democratic leadership, serving as vice chairman.
It’s hard to overstate how maddening and demoralizing the last year in Congress has been for members of both parties.
McCarthy needed four days and 15 ballots to win the speakership in January. After months of struggling to get his conference to pass just about anything, he enraged his right-wing critics with a deal to temporarily avoid a government shutdown; they booted him weeks later. Since then, he has publicly lambasted the eight Republicans who voted to remove him; one of them accused him of elbowing him in the kidney, a claim McCarthy denied.
McCarthy announced his retirement in a Wall Street Journal op-ed in which he defended his decision to cross his right-wing critics on government funding deals — while hinting at Congress’ current dysfunction.
“We kept our government operating and our troops paid while wars broke out around the world,” he wrote. “No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing. That may seem out of fashion in Washington these days, but delivering results for the American people is still celebrated across the country.”
McCarthy’s allies are furious about how he was treated.
“Kevin did nothing wrong. He led us to victory. He led us to the majority. He led us well in the majority as our speaker. He’s done really great work. And he deserved to be our speaker,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall) told The Times last week, after indicating he expected McCarthy would retire. “A small gang, a gang of eight, took him out. And I hope that all eight of them recognize they made a mistake.”
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), one of McCarthy’s closest confidants and the man McCarthy made acting speaker when he was ousted from office, announced he would retire on Tuesday.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), another close ally, said he could “certainly understand why” McCarthy wouldn’t want to stick around.
“He was shamefully mistreated. His removal was ridiculous,” he told The Times last week. “And I think those that voted that way and were responsible for it, particularly on our side, ought to think long and hard of the damage they inflicted to the institution and to our conference.”
Cole said he plans to run again himself. But when asked if he could think of another time in his two decades in Congress that has been less fun to serve, he didn’t pause.
“No!” he exclaimed with a wry laugh.
Three other House Republicans tried and failed to win the speakership after McCarthy’s ouster before an exhausted GOP conference was able to compromise on making little-known Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaker. He then cut a deal to punt a decision on a government shutdown past the new year — the exact same move that had sealed McCarthy’s fate.
But Johnson’s deal only runs through late January, when Congress will once again grapple with what was once an easy vote to keep the lights on and avoid a government shutdown. The past week, the House wasn’t voting on that issue — or high-stakes funding to help Ukraine ward off Russia’s invasion or supply more military aid to Israel. House Republicans instead moved toward an official impeachment vote of President Biden, before finally voting to kick out Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from the House after keeping him for the past year in spite of his many alleged felonies because they needed his vote in a closely divided chamber.
Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village) said her belief that the U.S. is at “a critical point in the history of our country in terms of fighting for our democracy” motivates her to stay in Congress. But her train of thought was interrupted as Santos stormed off the House floor during his expulsion vote, followed by a pack of reporters who nearly trampled us in the narrow hallway—just the latest moment of dysfunctional chaos.
Once they cleared out, Brownley conceded that “it’s not a pleasant experience” to be a member of Congress right now.
“The last three months clearly weren’t a lot of fun here, with the chaos that we saw. And that might not change in the immediate future,” Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) told The Times.
Later, as The Times interviewed Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) on the topic, Bera interjected.
“I think you should do the story about why are members staying in Congress, as opposed to the opposite,” he said.
“I can’t walk away from the big money and the constant praise,” Peters, one of Congress’ wealthier members, remarked sardonically. He, like many members, went on to say he was sticking around not because the job was pleasant but because it was important. “People have died for democracy. I can put up with some long plane rides and average parties to try to help the country,” he said.
Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-Norwalk), who is retiring at age 84 after serving in the House for a quarter-century, told The Times that the current period was the least pleasant she’d experienced in Congress. She said when she first arrived she was able to work across the aisle on issues important for California with members like former Rep. David Dreier (R-Claremont) — but that has disappeared over the years.
“This trouble between both parties has got to stop. It’s not good for our country,” she said. She’ll miss “the infighting, the inability to work with people on issues that are really critical” the least.
Three of the seven Californians leaving the House are gunning for promotions rather than escape from Congress: Reps. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), Katie Porter (D-Irvine) and Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) are all running for the Senate. But that doesn’t mean they’re loving their daily work right now.
“Things have become so much more personal and bitter, and we’ve seen the elevation of these kind of vile performance artists,” Schiff, whom Republicans removed from his committees in a retaliatory vote earlier this year, told The Times. “I think it contributes to some of the departures. One thing that attracts me about the Senate is the opportunity to get more things done.”
Add two transcontinental flights a week to a job where it’s tough to get much done, and you have a recipe for unhappiness.
“I don’t think I’ll miss the weekly commute. I won’t miss sitting in the middle seat economy in the back of the plane, and all the have-dos that come with this job,” said Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Menlo Park), who is retiring at age 80.
Rep. Tony Cárdenas is also retiring. His decision was the only one that surprised his colleagues — he’s only 60.
He’s burnt out on the lifestyle. Cárdenas’ normal week begins with a 5 a.m Monday wakeup so he can say goodbye to his wife and make it to LAX by 6 a.m. — the commute is 35 minutes before 6, and close to an hour after. He arrives in D.C. late Monday afternoon, works all day for four days, then tries to get home for a bit of the weekend. “Going back and forth puts a strain on relationships with our loved ones,” he said.
The travel takes a physical toll too. Cárdenas told The Times that he’d never had any back problems in his life. But after a few years in Congress and more than 30 transcontinental flights a year, he developed severe pain. When his wife touched his back to check, it made him scream. He’d developed sciatica from all the time crammed into airplane seats (acupuncture and working on his posture have helped).
Eshoo told The Times that she hadn’t decided to leave Congress because of how miserable it’s become — ”I don’t run away from anything” — but that she felt it was time to go.
Eshoo has been friends with Pelosi, the former speaker, for a half-century, dating back to the 1970s, and said it was a “tough conversation” to tell her she was retiring, especially since Pelosi lobbied her to stay for another term.
Multiple members said they were surprised that the 83-year-old Pelosi would outlast McCarthy, 58, in Congress. With Pelosi and McCarthy both out of leadership, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), the third-ranking House Democrat, is now the most senior Californian in House leadership of either party.
Californians who’ve left Congress say they don’t miss it at all.
Multiple former members have opted to return home and run for local office. Former Democratic Reps. Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis are serving on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
“I am 100% happy that I came home,” Hahn told The Times. “What has transpired in Congress recently only reaffirms that decision. It seems chaotic. It seems ineffective. And I think it causes the American public to be very disappointed in their policymakers in Congress.”
Los Angeles County is the most populous in the U.S. It has more than 10 million people — a population that’s larger than those of 40 U.S. states — and serving as one of the five supervisors is in many ways a more powerful position than being one of 435 members in an ineffective House.
Hahn spent three terms in the minority before retiring in 2016, having found “the partisan, polarizing atmosphere of Congress to be really almost debilitating at some times.” She said she was proud of creating a bipartisan caucus to support port cities. But her legislative achievements — like most minority members’ — were scant. “I mean, I named a post office,” she said.
Former Rep. Paul Cook, a Republican, is now a San Bernardino County supervisor. Democratic Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod left Congress to run unsuccessfully for the same role. Democrat Jackie Speier, who retired from Congress after the last term, is now running for the San Mateo board of supervisors — a job she held early in her career.
Speier said she retired because she’d promised her husband she’d come home, and initially “almost resented” the decision. But now?
“As time wore on, I realized, oh my gosh, we live and work in this bubble, and don’t realize how insane it is. When you’re when you step back from it, you know, it’s like you’re a hamster on a treadmill. And you just keep doing it with no real positive results,” she said. “The institution is so dysfunctional now that it really frightens me.”
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Cameron Joseph
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday appointed Carolyn Webb de Macias as chief of staff, succeeding Chris Thompson, who held the powerful post for less than a year.
Webb de Macias is a former senior advisor to former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and also worked for then-City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas.
She also worked in the U.S. Department of Education as an appointee of President Obama, and as USC’s vice president of external relations, according to Bass’ office.
“I’ve known Carolyn for years and I know Los Angeles has benefited from her work for even longer than that,” Bass said in a statement. “Carolyn is thoughtful, skilled, dedicated and the right person for the job. I’m grateful she has agreed to join our team as we continue our work to move Los Angeles forward.”
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In a statement, Webb de Macias said she was “thrilled to work with Mayor Bass in executing her vision of improving the quality of life for all Angelenos.”
Webb de Macias, 75, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Her LinkedIn profile said she serves on the boards of the water company Cadiz Inc. and Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, a nonprofit founded by Villaraigosa.
Thompson, Bass’ chief of staff since December, is returning to the private sector, Bass’ office said. A Bass spokesman declined to comment on his new job.
Thompson previously served as senior vice president of governmental relations for LA28, the private group putting on the Olympic Games. He had agreed to stay away from any Olympics issues at the city for a year out of concern about the appearance of a conflict of interest.
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Dakota Smith
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After years of traveling abroad for work, I found myself grounded last year, brought home to Southern California not out of nostalgia but out of necessity. My sister and I made the life-altering decision to purchase a single-story house for our ailing, octogenarian parents after recognizing that they could no longer care for each other. My father had multiple physical ailments, while my mother was gradually slipping away due to Alzheimer’s.
My brother moved in, and my sister, a nurse, visits from the Bay Area one week a month. Since my father died earlier this year, my siblings and I have taken turns caring for my mother, meticulously coordinating our schedules to also accommodate work and personal commitments. We went from being successful professionals in our fields to becoming round-the-clock caregivers in our late 50s.
My siblings and I are just a few of the estimated 38 million unpaid caregivers in the United States. We are part of a larger American and global cohort affected by the dramatic aging of the population, the inadequate patchwork of public and private services, and modern migration patterns driven by caregiving.
Like many people in our situation, we found that our parents, once the pillars of our family, suddenly relied on us for their very existence. We feel critically ill-equipped for a huge responsibility that is taking an immense toll on our mental and emotional well-being. Despite being in the company of countless others facing similar challenges in our generation, we have an overwhelming sense of aloneness. Caregivers often grapple with a loss of identity, strained relationships and scarcity of time to rest and recreate
Over the past century, global life expectancy has doubled. Every day, some 10,000 baby boomers turn 65, and by 2040, the number of Americans 85 and older will have doubled in less than two decades. But disparities persist along demographic and economic lines: White Americans tend to live longer than people of color, women outlive men, and the richest percentile of men enjoys 15 more years of life on average than the poorest.
Women, who live longer but have faced historical economic disenfranchisement, often end up on the brink of poverty in their later years; for many, their children are their last hope. My mother would have faced a grim fate if not for me and my siblings.
Children, particularly daughters, often bear the brunt of elder care, child care and other domestic responsibilities within families and worldwide. Many are forced to leave their careers to manage these overwhelming responsibilities.
Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate particularly high demand for one category of caregivers: home health and personal care aides. Many elderly people and their families would prefer that they age at home, driving demand for people who can care for them there. These jobs are expected to become available at an average rate of more than 700,000 a year to meet the unprecedented growth of the senior population. The American Immigration Council has predicted that by 2031, it will be the country’s largest occupation.
Unfortunately, while the demand is growing, the workforce is shrinking. More than 600,000 such workers are expected to leave their positions this decade for various reasons. The field suffers from high turnover due to low wages, high stress and frequent physical injury compared with other occupations. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently vetoed a bill to apply workplace safety standards to household workers.
Immigrants fill a disproportionate share of these jobs, accounting for 36.5% of those providing home care services as of 2019. My family and culture are part of this global pattern. Caregiving is part of our national identity as Filipinos.
Caregivers are among the Philippines’ top exports to the United States and beyond. As of 2019, nearly 200,000 Filipino nurses were working abroad. Other developing regions exporting caregivers include Central and South America, South Asia, and East and West Africa.
The reasons for such migration elude many Americans. Terms like “chain migration” depict immigrants as a burden. In reality, they play a pivotal role in sustaining our extended families. Our reliance on migration for caregiving is both intimate and vital but also poorly understood and ultimately unsustainable in its current form.
The global economics of caregiving are, as my family has discovered, challenging. We explored the possibility of petitioning for my niece, a trained caregiver, to come to the U.S. to help. As part of that process, the U.S. Department of Labor reviewed our job description and set the prevailing wage at $14 an hour. While we’re hurtling toward a future with lots more home healthcare jobs, they’re not currently good jobs.
Case in point: While we would have been required only to pay California’s minimum wage of $15.50 an hour, the living wage for a single adult in San Bernardino County has been estimated at $18.86. For someone like my mother requiring round-the-clock care, $18.86 an hour amounts to $165,000 a year, a burden few can bear.
Social Security, Medicaid, long-term care insurance and other available means of assistance remain woefully insufficient. Long-term care insurance is typically expensive and inadequate. The average monthly Social Security check is about $1,700. Medicaid can cover nursing home care if one qualifies, but my mother and many others don’t. And in California, nursing homes cost more than $9,000 a month on average, while assisted living facilities typically cost $5,000 to $7,000 monthly.
The 2018 RAISE (Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage) Family Caregivers Act directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop a national strategy to provide training and resources, financial and workplace support, and respite for caregivers. But it didn’t address the unmet demand for home health aides.
My siblings and I have discovered that despite making significant life changes and financial investments, conducting thorough research, and accessing public and private support for caregivers, we still lack the resources we need to provide my mother with the dignity, loving care and safety she deserves after 81 years on this planet, over 40 of them as a nurse. Placing her in a facility, especially after she lost her husband of 59 years, doesn’t seem like an option in our culture. Hiring home health and personal care aides looks like our only choice.
How can we meet the growing demand for these workers? To start, immigration policies should be reformed. The State Department’s cap on visas for workers deemed unskilled, including healthcare aides, is far too low. A special expedited visa could be established for foreign home health aides, including the undocumented health workers already here. The government could extend the guest worker visa program for agricultural workers to include them.
Additionally, home health aides need living wages to support themselves and their families. And unpaid family caregivers need financial and respite support to navigate the long, exhausting and costly challenges they often face. Only government subsidies are likely to make that possible.
To help all Americans age with grace, we have to recognize and support the vital contributions of the immigrants, families and other caretakers who can literally save our lives.
Gemma Bulos is a social entrepreneur, educator and Public Voices Fellow on Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls with the OpEd Project and Equality Now.
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Gemma Bulos
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I
Job seekers attend the Putting America Back to Work Job Fair at the Jacob Javits Convention Center … [+]
If you’re new to real estate or the professional world, a quick online search could lead to a long list of possible jobs. As you look for the right fit, keep in mind that the hunt is often highly competitive. Simply filling out a job application online and hoping for the best might not get the results you’d like.
I’m often asked by others for advice on how to get the meeting with a potential employer. They’re looking for ways to get their resume to the top of the stack. They want to know what will set their application apart from the rest.
When I built my career in real estate brokerage and investing, I looked for ways to gain the insider’s edge. I now encourage others to do the same, and that starts with the initial steps toward getting a phone call back from a hiring manager or scheduling an interview with a company director. For this reason, using strategies to differentiate yourself and help your application get noticed can increase your chances of landing a great position.
Use these tactics to gain the insider’s edge during the job application process.
Often times, the HR department will screen resumes and applications before they reach the person making the decisions regarding who to interview. For this reason, if you simply send in the information that is requested, it could be hard to know what happens next. Will your application end up in a sea of others, and go unnoticed or get missed?
That’s why I suggest to those looking for a job to find out who the hiring director is. Do some research about the company you’re targeting, or make a call to ask. Once you know who the decision maker is, you can set up a strategy to get the meeting.
Do some initial research around the hiring director at the company where you’re hoping to work. You might start with LinkedIn and reach out there. You can also look through your list of contacts on LinkedIn to see if anyone in your network is connected to the decision maker. It’s possible someone might be able to make an introduction or personal referral for you.
Do you and hiring director share the same alma mater? Do you belong to the same organization? Are there other interests that you share in common? Carry out the research needed to find information that could help you make a connection with the decision maker.
Check if there are ways to meet the hiring director face to face. Perhaps they’re speaking at an upcoming event or attending a conference. You can go to the same place and seek them out. Make sure you’re prepared, so that when you meet for the first time, you can speak knowledgably about the company and the value you could bring to the workplace. Seeing each other in person can go a long way. If you don’t get the meeting the first time you meet, you can follow up later and see if they are still trying to fill the position.
As you look for jobs, consider that the process is often best carried out when you’re making personal connections. Rather than filling out online applications on your own, research the hiring manager and find ways to reach out. By learning what you have in common and meeting in person, you’ll distinguish yourself from other potential new hires and have a greater chance of getting that all-important meeting.
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Is it enough?
That’s the $750-million question facing Truist bank, which disclosed this week it would make three-quarters of a billion dollars in expense cuts in the coming months, including “sizable” layoffs at the Charlotte-based bank.
Truist did not say how many of its workers would lose their jobs, but said the dismissals would happen between the third quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2024. CEO Bill Rogers delivered the presentation about the bank’s plans at a Barclays Global Financial Services Conference on Monday.
The job cuts would result in about $300 million in savings, according to the bank. Additional savings would come from $200 million in technology modernization and optimization, and $250 million from consolidating business operations over the next 12 to 18 months.
Rogers also detailed plans to consolidate the leadership team to have fewer layers of management. In 2019, Atlanta-based SunTrust and Winston-Salem-based BB&T merged in a $66 billion deal to form Truist, and chose Charlotte for the new bank’s headquarters city.
All of the changes have multiple goals, Truist said, including: simplify the business; accelerate franchise growth; lower growth of expenses; improve its capital position; and align compensation to shareholder return.
But Wells Fargo Securities analyst Mike Mayo, in a research note Monday after Truist detailed its plans but before Rogers spoke at the conference, said, “The main question w/(Truist’s) new reorg is whether it goes far enough with a target to reduce expense growth… Yet, it at least shows mgmt is taking tougher actions.”
As of June 30, Truist had assets of $555 billion, making it the seventh largest U.S. bank by asset total.
Mayo has been vocal about the challenges facing Truist.
Investors are at “a boiling point” after the company’s most recent earnings call, Mayo told American Banker last week. Truist reported net income of $1.2 billion in the second quarter ending June 30, compared to $1.5 billion a year ago.
Mayo said Truist has one of banking’s best footprints, but hasn’t capitalized on that potential. “We expect this to change given increased pressure by investors and management’s own comments that it needs to improve the rate of expense growth,” he stated.
Another analyst, Bob Michele with JPMorgan, told Bloomberg TV that Truist is starting to address cost pressures by laying people off.
A couple weeks ago, Janney Montgomery Scott director of research Chris Marinac told Business North Carolina that Truist contends it met its targets for merger-related expense cuts. But inflation rates and COVID-era wage hikes forced the bank to spend more than it anticipated to spur revenue growth, Marinac said.
On Monday, he told the Winston-Salem Journal that Truist’s new initiatives could be a short-term catalyst for the stock.
Truist stock ended the trading day on Tuesday at $30.01 after starting the day at $30.37.
As of last year, the bank employed more than 50,000 workers throughout the U.S., including more than 3,000 people in the Charlotte area. Truist declined to say Tuesday how many jobs will be lost companywide or in Charlotte.
“As we continue to transform Truist to focus on our strengths and drive long-term growth and profitability, we’re hiring in some areas and rightsizing in others through natural attrition and planned staffing reductions,” Truist said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday.
The bank did not respond directly to any questions about its layoff plans.
In his report, Mayo said he suspects job losses “will be more higher-paying middle levels of management.”
Still, with all of the cost cutting that Truist has outlined, Mayo questioned “why more savings don’t reach the bottom line… The hope is that mgmt may be trying to under-promise.”
This story was originally published September 12, 2023, 4:42 PM.
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[1/5]Union members with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) remove strike signs from a picket line outside the despatch hall in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada July 13, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 13 (Reuters) – Dock workers at ports along Canada’s Pacific coast and their employers accepted a tentative wage deal on Thursday, ending a 13-day strike that disrupted trade at the country’s busiest ports and risked worsening inflation.
“The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada are pleased to advise that the parties have reached a tentative agreement on a new 4-year deal,” the BCMEA said in a statement.
The ILWU also said there was an agreement, which must now be ratified by both sides. The union had made demands including wage increases and expansion of their jurisdiction to regular maintenance work on terminals.
Some 7,500 dock workers represented by the ILWU walked off the job on July 1 after failing to reach a new work contract with the BCMEA representing the companies involved.
The strike upended operations at two of Canada’s three busiest ports, the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert – key gateways for exporting the country’s natural resources and commodities and bringing in raw materials.
Economists have warned that the strike could trigger more supply-chain disruptions and fuel inflation while the Bank of Canada tries to cool the economy.
“The scale of the disruption has been significant,” Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a joint statement.
“We do not want to be back here again. Deals like this, made between parties at the collective bargaining table, are the best way to prevent that.”
On Tuesday, O’Regan said the differences between the parties were not sufficient to justify a continued work stoppage.
He offered terms drafted by a federal mediator and gave the union and employers 24 hours to decide if they were satisfied. The deal was reached at 10:20 am PT (1720 GMT), 10 minutes before the deadline, the ILWU said.
The parties, with help from federal mediators, had been negotiating a new contract since late April.
More than half of Canadian small business owners in a survey released on Tuesday said the strike at the Port of Vancouver will affect their operations, according to preliminary results from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
The strike is estimated to have disrupted C$6.5 billion of cargo movement at the ports, based on the industry body Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters’ calculation of about C$500 million in disrupted trade each day.
Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Steve Scherer in Ottawa, editing by Deepa Babington, Alexandra Hudson
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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July 13 (Reuters) – A threatened U.S. strike at United Parcel Service (UPS.N) could be “one of the costliest in at least a century,” topping $7 billion for a 10-day work stoppage, a think tank specializing in the economic impact of labor actions said on Thursday.
That estimate from Michigan-based Anderson Economic Group (AEG) includes UPS customer losses of $4 billion and lost direct wages of more than $1 billion. A 15-day UPS strike in 1997 disrupted the supply of goods, cost the world’s biggest parcel delivery firm $850 million and sent some customers to rivals like FedEx (FDX.N).
Roughly 340,000 union-represented UPS workers handle about a quarter of U.S. parcel deliveries and serve virtually every city and town in the nation. A strike could delay millions of daily deliveries, including Amazon.com (AMZN.O) orders, electronic components and lifesaving prescription drugs, shipping experts warned. They added this also could reignite supply-chain snarls that stoke inflation.
Talks are deadlocked between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union.
The Teamsters have vowed to strike if a deal is not ratified before the current contract expires at midnight on July 31.
“Consumers are going to feel this within days,” AEG CEO Patrick Anderson said of a potential strike, adding his analysis does not include the human cost of disruption to shipments of critical and perishable medicines to treat cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
A sticking point in negotiations is pay increases for part-time workers who account for roughly half the UPS workforce. Tenured part-timers are particularly frustrated because they make just slightly more than new hires whose wages have jumped in a tight labor market.
Anderson said a UPS employee walkout would be a bigger risk to the U.S. economy than a work stoppage by UAW workers at the “Detroit Three” automakers, who started contract talks on Thursday.
He noted that the automaker talks cover fewer workers and have a limited geographic impact. In fiscal 2019, GM’s (GM.N) fourth-quarter profit took a $3.6 billion hit from a 40-day UAW strike that shut down its profitable U.S. operations.
UPS is urging Teamster negotiators to return to the bargaining table, but union officials say UPS needs to sweeten its offer for workers who risked their lives during the pandemic to help the company generate outsized profits.
UPS faces two unappealing choices, Stifel analyst Bruce Chan said in a recent note: Risk a strike and resulting customer losses or acquiesce to Teamster demands that could worsen the company’s labor cost disadvantage versus nonunion rivals in an inflationary environment.
“Both situations would create pain for UPS, so it could just be a question of when and how the company wants to take its medicine,” Chan said.
Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, additional reporting by Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai, Jonathan Oatis and David Gregorio
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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MEXICO CITY, July 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. wants Mexico’s government to build strong institutions to protect worker rights as companies aiming to avoid supply chain disruptions in far-off production spots bring more jobs to the country, a top U.S. labor official told Reuters.
Mexico has begun to benefit from “nearshoring” in which companies seek to move production closer to the U.S. market while maintaining competitive costs.
The trend is further testing a trade deal known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), in effect since July 2020.
The pact has tougher labor rules than its 1994 predecessor and underpins new Mexican laws that empower workers to push for better wages and conditions after years of stagnant salaries and pro-business union contracts.
Three years into the deal, experts say, some workers have begun to benefit but broad impacts are still far off.
“Hopefully that will ensure that Mexico doesn’t become a dumping ground for companies looking for cheap labor and lax regulations,” said Thea Lee, U.S. Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs who polices USMCA compliance.
She said in an interview that Mexico was working to fulfill its commitments, backed by leadership keen on helping workers.
Mexico’s new regulations favor companies taking on higher ethical standards, she said.
“Maybe 20 years ago it was okay for a multinational corporation to throw up their hands and say, ‘we have no idea what’s in our supply chain, what the labor conditions are,’” she added.
“That doesn’t seem to be acceptable anymore.”
Mexico has made progress improving labor courts, resolving worker complaints faster and easing union organization, but needs to do more, Lee said.
“Our hope is that Mexico will be well-poised to take advantage of nearshoring … if they continue on the path towards really building labor institutions that work, where workers can have confidence.”
Since 2020, several U.S. labor complaints in Mexico have paved the way for independent unions to land pay raises and even expand. Lee said such examples inspire workers who in the past may have feared threats or dismissals for trying to organize.
Four more cases are under review: At a garment factory, an auto parts plant, a Goodyear tire plant, and a mine owned by conglomerate Grupo Mexico.
Yet one employer that faced two USMCA complaints, U.S.-based VU Manufacturing that makes interior car parts in the northern city of Piedras Negras, recently dismissed dozens of employees just months after a new union, La Liga, pressed for better wages. VU did not respond to a request for comment.
Lee said the company risks penalties if it does not uphold an agreement around worker rights. But La Liga members have already been laid off, and fear the company aims to discourage organizing, said union leader Cristina Ramirez, who lost her job.
“It’s very disappointing and frustrating,” Ramirez said. “We wanted to fight for things to improve.”
Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by David Gregorio
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) – A fresh push for a bipartisan immigration overhaul, coupled with enhanced border security, is emerging in the U.S. Congress, as thousands of migrants amass across the border in Mexico ahead of the end of COVID-era border restrictions next week.
The latest among those efforts is a last-minute legislative push that would grant U.S. border authorities similar expulsion powers allowed under the expiring COVID restrictions – known as Title 42 – for a period of two years, according to a congressional office involved in the talks.
Title 42 began under Republican former President Donald Trump in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and allows U.S. authorities to expel migrants to Mexico without the chance to seek asylum. The order is set to lift on May 11 when the COVID health emergency officially ends.
But many Republicans and some Democrats, particularly in border areas, fear the end of the order will lead to a rise in migration that authorities are poorly equipped to face. A top border official recently told lawmakers that migrant crossings could jump to 10,000 per day after May 11, nearly double the daily average in March.
Senators Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona independent, and Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, are leading the effort to temporarily extend border expulsions. The pair view it as a short-term fix while they work on broader immigration reform, Sinema spokesperson Hannah Hurley said.
“This is squarely about the immediate crisis with the end of Title 42,” Hurley said.
Separately, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives plans to pass a package of border security measures next week to place tougher constraints on asylum-seekers, resume construction of a wall along the southwest border with Mexico, and expand federal law enforcement.
Many are seeking more sweeping change – but their hopes have been dashed in the past.
It has been 37 years since Congress passed significant immigration reform, but a persistently high volume of migrants and an acute labor shortage have galvanized lawmakers. Republicans also cite the flow of illegal drugs into the United States through ports of entry as reason to harden border security.
While some Democrats characterize the House border legislation as inhumane, several Democratic and Republican senators said they eagerly await such a bill.
Tillis, who is pushing both the short-term legislative fix for Title 42’s end and a wider package of reforms, said a House-passed bill would be “something we can build on.”
“It gives us some room to gain the support we need in the Senate” for broader legislation, he said, adding it could take two to three months to construct a compromise. But senators had no illusions this would be an easy task.
Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said the House bill would provide clues on Republicans’ intent. He added that in conversations with fellow senators, “One of the first things they say is ‘well if the House starts the conversation I think we can get somewhere.’ We’ll see.”
Since a 1986 immigration reform package, which resulted in some 3 million immigrants winning legal status, Congress repeatedly has failed to update the nation’s policies.
Around 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States could have a stake in the outcome of this latest effort, along with U.S. businesses hungry for workers.
To succeed in the Democrat-controlled Senate, it would need 60 senators from across both parties to back it, as well as win the support of the Republican-controlled House.
“A high-wire act,” is how Republican Senator John Cornyn from border state Texas portrayed it, adding it was “the only path forward.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business association, has launched a campaign urging Congress to act. It was endorsed by 400 groups, ranging from the American Farm Bureau Federation to the U.S. Travel Association.
Republican-controlled states see their farming, ranching, food processing and manufacturing businesses begging for workers, a void that immigrants could fill if not for Washington’s clunky visa system.
Finally, passage of an immigration bill coupled with beefed-up border security could boost President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign and give Republican candidates something to cheer, too.
The House bill would deal with some of the five “buckets” in the Tillis-Sinema effort, according to a Senate source familiar with their work.
Overall, they include a modernization of the plodding asylum system, improvements to how visas are granted, and measures to more effectively authorize immigrants, be they laborers and healthcare workers or doctors and engineers, to fill American jobs.
There is also the fate of 580,000 “Dreamers” enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, who were brought illegally into the United States as children.
Republicans have blocked their path to citizenship for two decades, arguing that would encourage more to take the dangerous journey to the border.
Senators acknowledge some of their goals might have to be abandoned to achieve a “sweet spot.” But which ones?
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who won passage last year of the first major gun control bill in about three decades, did so in part by recognizing that a too ambitious bill is a recipe for failure.
Murphy was asked how the difficulty of winning immigration legislation stacks up to other recent battles, such as gun control, gay marriage and infrastructure investments.
“It’s an 11 on a scale of 10.”
Reporting by Richard Cowan; additional reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Mary Milliken and Diane Craft
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) – It won’t be a campaign from the basement this time.
As U.S. President Joe Biden gears up for a bruising re-election battle, the realities of the 2024 race and differences with 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic create new challenges for him.
Biden, a Democrat, says he is running again and is considering a formal announcement via video as soon as Tuesday.
In 2020, Biden kept a low profile as the spread of COVID-19 caused havoc to most aspects of American life, including the election campaign that pitted him against then-President Donald Trump, a Republican.
Trump still spoke at big rallies, but Biden did much of his campaigning virtually from the basement of his home in Wilmington, Delaware, largely avoiding crowds to prevent the spread of disease and reduce his own risk of catching the virus.
That will change this time around. Gone will be the aversion to public events, large and small, likely replaced by traditional campaign stops at diners, factories and union halls with handshakes, selfies, and crowds of people.
The Democratic convention in Chicago will be in-person rather than online. And Biden, who at 80 is already the oldest president in U.S. history, will have his day job to do while he makes the case for four more years in office.
Biden beat Trump in 2020 by winning the Electoral College 306 to 232, winning the close swing states of Pennsylvania and Georgia, and he bested Trump by more than 7 million votes nationally, capturing 51.3 percent of the popular vote to the Republican’s 46.8 percent.
Republicans will watch closely for signs of a diminished schedule to suggest that age has made Biden less fit for the campaign trail, and for the White House.
“It’s quite shocking that Biden thinks he would be able to fill a second term, let alone the rest of this term,” said Republican strategist Scott Reed.
Trump, the early front-runner for the Republican nomination, is himself 76 years old.
Biden’s reply to concerns about his age and running for re-election has been to say “watch me,” and the White House points to his record of legislative accomplishments as a sign of his effectiveness.
“An extensive travel schedule is not the measure of a candidate’s ability to do the job,” said Democratic strategist Karen Finney. “There’s no scenario where the Republicans don’t try to make his age an issue. We know that. And so the focus has to be on … what is the most effective way to reach the American people. Some of that, yes, is going to be in-person events and travel, but there may be other innovations.”
Biden campaign aides reinvented his 2020 campaign as COVID-19 spread across the country.
Some of the innovations were regarded as a success, including star-studded virtual fundraisers done without the need for expensive travel.
But other changes were more controversial, including a months-long prohibition on the use of door-knocking by campaign volunteers and the regular appearances by Biden in his home’s basement, which became a meme panned by right-wing voters.
Having to get out more than in 2020 could help Biden, said Meg Bostrom, co-founder of Topos Partnership, a strategic communications firm.
“Just look at the State of the Union (address.) That was the best I’ve ever seen. When Republicans started heckling him, he just lit up,” she said. Biden sparred ably with Republicans during his speech to Congress in February.
But other issues may trip up the incumbent president on the campaign trail, including his handling of the economy.
“The allure for voting for Biden in 2020 was sort of the quaint notion of getting back to normal,” said Republican strategist Ford O’Connell, referring to the chaos of Trump’s time in office.
“The problem for Biden is that he’s been in power … and things are anything but normal, especially when it comes to the economy and inflation.”
Biden took office in January 2021 just as COVID vaccines were rolling out, and economic conditions gradually normalized during his early tenure after the shock of nationwide shutdowns. The United States now boasts 3.2 million jobs over the pre-pandemic peak.
But Americans are concerned about a potential recession, and Biden may suffer from being on the wrong side of an economic cycle heading into 2024, with unemployment likely to rise as growth slows, interest rates remaining high and inflation potentially hovering above pre-pandemic levels.
Trump, who has announced his re-election bid already and could be Biden’s opponent again, is expected to follow the strategy that he employed in 2016 and 2020 with multiple large rallies to energize his base.
But he will first have to win what could be a grueling Republican nomination contest – something that Biden, as an incumbent without major opposition inside his party, will not face.
“We don’t need fire and brimstone. We don’t need rah rah rallies,” said Democratic strategist Joe Lestingi. “We need the strength and conviction of our values and a steadiness not to move on them.”
Biden, he said, would provide that steadiness.
“I think he’ll get out more,” Lestingi said, praising Biden’s skill at traditional “retail” politics. “If you get an opportunity to be with him in a small intimate setting, he can make a real big difference.”
Reporting by Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland, Howard Schneider and Andrea Shalal; editing by Grant McCool
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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The deep uncertainty that the COVID pandemic created in the workforce hasn’t waned. U.S. workers are struggling with inflation, burnout, and fresh waves of layoffs. This comes as people expect more from employers — more leadership, more urgency, more action, and better jobs.
The public’s perspective is clear and consistent: companies need to prioritize their employees. In today’s unstable economic climate, worker wages and treatment are more important to Americans than ever.
When it comes to creating U.S. jobs with strong wages, good benefits, safe environments and opportunities for upward mobility, a handful of companies lead the pack.
Bank of America
BAC,
NVIDIA
NVDA
and Microsoft
MSFT
are the top-three companies in JUST Capital’s 2023 rankings of America’s most JUST companies. They all share one crucial thing in common — a clear commitment to addressing worker issues and investing in employees.
Since 2018, JUST Capital’s rankings have provided a snapshot of how U.S. companies are measuring up to the public’s priorities, as determined through an annual survey to identify issues that define principled business behavior. Companies that are just provide a clear benefit for investors. For example, If an investor purchased an index tracking the JUST 100 companies at its March 2019 inception, the index would have generated 13.3% in excess return versus the Russell 1000 as of December 2022.
Worker issues have risen to the forefront of Americans’ vision for what is a just business. Paying a fair and living wage, supporting workforce advancement, protecting worker health and safety, and providing benefits and work-life balance are top priorities for the public. Notably, regardless of demographic differences including political affiliation, Americans agree that companies should do more to address worker needs.
Bank of America demonstrates strong leadership on the top priority — paying a fair, living wage – by raising its minimum wage to $22 per hour, a key step in its pledge to offer a $25 starting wage by 2025. In addition, employees receive an extensive benefit package, including 16 weeks of paid parental leave for primary- and secondary caregivers, and career development opportunities through tuition assistance and professional training.
NVIDIA works to ensure equal pay for equal work, performing detailed pay equity analyses, and is one of only a few companies to disclose pay-analysis results separated by racial and ethnic categories. Like Bank of America, NVIDIA is one of 10% of Russell 1000
RUI
companies that offer at least 12 weeks of paid parental leave for both caregivers, providing 22 weeks of paid leave to primary caregivers.
Microsoft offers at least 12 weeks of parental leave for both caregivers, in addition many other generous paid-time-off benefits, including 15 days of paid vacation and an additional 10 days of paid sick leave for every worker — a policy still rare for many companies. Additionally, Microsoft discloses the results of its pay-equity analyses, going above and beyond other companies by disaggregating pay ratios for specific racial and ethnic categories — including Black, Asian and Latinx — all of whom are paid on par with their white counterparts.
“ When companies ensure the economic security, advancement, equity and safety of their workforces, employees are more engaged and productive. ”
These efforts provide tangible benefits to employees, but prioritizing workers offers much more to companies than just an assurance of moral good. When companies ensure the economic security, advancement, equity, and safety of their workforces employees are more engaged and productive, strengthening their companies’ business in turn.
Americans expect the private sector to better support employees. Effective business leadership today puts workers at the center of an organization’s strategy. When businesses take this approach, we get much closer to an economy that works for all Americans.
Alison Omens is chief strategy officer at JUST Capital.
Also read: Tech companies are hiring — a lot — despite recent wave of layoffs
More: Unemployment rate is now 3.5%. Is this the last chance for job switchers to jump ship?
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March 24 (Reuters) – Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Friday signed a package of bills repealing the state’s so-called “right to work” law that allowed workers to opt out of unions, a long-sought victory for labor organizers facing an era of diminished power.
Whitmer became the first governor since the 1960s to roll back right-to-work legislation. Twenty-six other U.S. states and the territory of Guam still have right-to-work laws on the books, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“Michigan workers are the most talented and hard-working in the world and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Whitmer, a two-term Democrat, said in a statement.
Michigan House Bills 4004 and 4007 and Senate Bill 34 passed the Democratic-controlled state legislature earlier this month. House Bill 4007 requires that contractors hired by the state pay a so-called prevailing wage, the amount used when hiring union workers.
The Michigan state legislature, controlled at the time by Republicans, in 2012 passed a right-to-work law over the objections of union activists. It was signed into law by then-Governor Rick Snyder, also a Republican.
Republicans opposed repealing that law this year, arguing that it would hurt businesses and make the state less attractive to companies.
Union membership has declined sharply in the United States since its peak in the 1950s, when more than a third of workers belonged to a union.
Membership dropped to an all-time low of 10.1% in 2022 despite a surge in organizing during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released in January by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; editing by Grant McCool
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) – China set a modest target for economic growth this year of around 5% on Sunday as it kicked-off the annual session of its National People’s Congress (NPC), which is poised to implement the biggest government shake-up in a decade.
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by just 3% last year, one of its worst showings in decades, squeezed by three years of COVID-19 restrictions, crisis in its vast property sector, a crackdown on private enterprise and weakening demand for Chinese exports.
In his work report, outgoing Premier Li Keqiang stressed the need for economic stability and expanding consumption, setting a goal to create around 12 million urban jobs this year, up from last year’s target of at least 11 million, and warned that risks remain in the real estate sector.
Li set a budget deficit target at 3.0% of GDP, widening from a goal of around 2.8% last year.
“We should give priority to the recovery and expansion of consumption,” said Li, who spoke for just under an hour in a speech to open the parliament, which will run through March 13.
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“The incomes of urban and rural residents should be boosted through multiple channels. We should stabilize spending on big-ticket items and promote recovery in consumption of consumer services,” he said.
This year’s growth target of around 5% was at the low end of expectations, as policy sources had recently told Reuters a range as high as 6% could be set. It is also below last year’s target of around 5.5%.
“While the official growth target has been lowered for the second consecutive year, which might be a disappointment to the market, we reckon investors (should) pay attention to the underlying growth momentum to gauge the recovery pace,” said Zhou Hao, economist at Guotai Junan International.
Li and a slate of more reform-oriented economic policy officials are set to retire during the congress, making way for loyalists to President Xi Jinping, who further tightened his grip on power when he secured a precedent-breaking third leadership term at October’s Communist Party Congress.
[1/5] Chinese President Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang talk at the opening session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 5, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
During the NPC, former Shanghai party chief Li Qiang, a longtime Xi ally, is expected to be confirmed as premier, tasked with reinvigorating the world’s second-largest economy.
The rubber-stamp parliament will also discuss Xi’s plans for an “intensive” and “wide-ranging” reorganisation of state and Communist Party entities, state media reported on Tuesday, with analysts expecting a further deepening of Communist Party penetration of state bodies.
Li said China’s armed forces should devote greater energy to training under combat conditions and boost combat preparedness, and the budget included a 7.2% increase in defence spending this year, a slightly bigger increase than last year’s budgeted 7.1% rise and again exceeding expected GDP growth.
On Taiwan, Li struck a moderate tone, saying China should promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and advance the process of China’s “peaceful reunification”, but also take resolute steps to oppose Taiwan independence.
Beijing faces a host of challenges including increasingly fraught relations with the United States and a worsening demographic outlook, with plunging birth rates and a population drop last year for the first time since the famine year of 1961.
China plans to lower the costs of childbirth, childcare and education and will actively respond to an ageing population and a decrease in fertility, the nation’s state planner said in a work report released on Sunday.
The NPC opened on a smoggy day amid tight security in the Chinese capital, with 2,948 delegates gathered in the cavernous Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square.
During the session, China’s legislature will vote on a plan to reform institutions under the State Council, or cabinet, and decide on a new cabinet line-up for the next five years, according to a meeting agenda.
It is the first NPC meeting since China abruptly dropped its zero-COVID policy in December, following rare nationwide protests. Excluding the pandemic-shortened meetings of the previous three years, this year’s session will be the shortest in at least 40 years, according to NPC Observer, a blog.
Additional reporting by the Beijing newsrooom; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Himani Sarkar, William Mallard and Simon Cameron-Moore
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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DARLAGHAT, India Feb 23 (Reuters) – For truckers transporting cement from Adani’s factories in a hilly north Indian state, a U.S. short-seller’s critical research report on the giant conglomerate was a godsend they say helped them save their livelihoods.
For weeks, around 7,000 truck owners and drivers in India’s Himachal Pradesh resorted to protest rallies against Adani’s Dec. 15 decision to shut two cement plants over a dispute on freight rates. Adani argued the plants were “unviable” at the trucking rates it wanted to slash by around half.
On Monday, the Gautam Adani-led group said it had “amicably resolved” the issue with a 10-12% reduction in rates. Truckers rejoiced, with a union leader in a street address labelling it as a victory after late-night talks with Adani.
The settlement comes four weeks after U.S.-based Hindenburg Research accused Adani of stock manipulation and improper use of tax havens, allegations the group called baseless.
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The Jan. 24 report triggered a $140 billion rout in group’s stocks, sparked regulatory investigations and saw the billionaire Adani slip to 26 on the Forbes global rich list, from third.
While the truckers’ settlement will have only a small impact on the overall Adani empire, it was a big win for the drivers and owners in a state were most people live on around $7 a day.
The report “played a crucial role in our battle against India’s biggest business group, helped mobilize truckers and gain political support,” said Ram Krishan Sharma, one of the lead negotiators for protesting truckers.
Adani negotiators had refused to budge for weeks. So Hindenburg’s report, some truckers believe, was godsent.
Just a day before it was published, many truckers visited a small, revered Hindu temple in Darlaghat which overlooks one of Adani’s cement plants, and offered a traditional semolina sweet offering to a deity as they sought to resolve the dispute.
Bantu Shukla, a protest leader, showed Reuters a photo and video of truckers that day offering prayers inside the temple. Some stood with folded hands, while a person rang a temple bell in a typical Hindu worship ritual.
Adani Group did not answer Reuters questions on whether the Hindenburg report’s fallout contributed to its decision in Himachal.
Adani Cements in a statement said it was “grateful” to all stakeholders including the unions, the local state chief minister and other departments, adding the “amicable resolution” was in interest of everyone including the state.
A source familiar with Adani’s negotiation said the group had been under pressure following what it thinks was a “negative campaign” by Adani’s opponents after the Hindenburg report, and the settlement to reopen plants is a relief.
Himachal is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s staunch rival, the Congress party. After the Hindenburg report, Congress has renewed its claims that Modi for years has unduly favoured Adani. Both Adani and India’s government deny that.
The source added the move will also help Adani signal it can resolve commercial matters in states ruled by Modi’s rivals.
Without citing Hindenburg, the Himachal chief minister’s office on Monday said “we have been successful in resolving the issues” to end the 67-day dispute.
Adani became India’s second largest cement manufacturer when it acquired ACC (ACC.NS) and Ambuja Cements (ABUJ.NS) in a $10.5 billion deal with Swiss giant Holcim (HOLN.S) last year.
In December, it shut plants in the villages of Gagal and Darlaghat in Himachal, saying truckers were charging too much.
The Adani group wanted freight rates to be lowered to around 6 rupees ($0.0725) per tonne per km, from around 11 rupees. Many truckers told Reuters they struggled to make their loan repayments as their incomes shrank after the shutdowns.
As a stalemate worsened, truckers formed WhatsApp groups to coordinate efforts, vent frustration and later share Hindenburg’s impact on Adani companies and stock prices to further drum up support.
One such WhatsApp group chat of around 1,000 truckers, reviewed by Reuters, showed sharing of a local reporter’s video discussing the sharp fall in Adani’s shares and his alleged close ties to Modi.
Although they accepted a small cut in freight rates when Adani agreed to pay 9.3-10.58 rupees per km per tonne, truckers felt they saved their jobs, and prayers at the Hindu temple were organised again this week.
“We felt our deity had accepted our prayers when we saw the fall in the share prices of Adani companies,” protest leader Shukla said. “The Hindenburg report was a gift that saved our businesses.”
(This story has been refiled to remove extraneous word in paragraph 20)
Reporting by Manoj Kumar, Aditya Kalra and Anushree Fadnavis; Editing by Lincoln Feast.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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KABUL, Dec 24 (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s Taliban-run administration on Saturday ordered all local and foreign NGOs to stop female employees from working, in a move the United Nations said would hit humanitarian operations just as winter grips a country already in economic crisis.
A letter from the economy ministry, confirmed by spokesperson Abdulrahman Habib, said female employees of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were not allowed to work until further notice because some had not adhered to the administration’s interpretation of Islamic dresscode for women.
It comes days after the administration ordered universities to close to women, prompting global condemnation and sparking some protests and heavy criticism inside Afghanistan.
Both decisions are the latest restrictions on women that are likely to undermine the Taliban-run administration’s efforts to gain international recognition and clear sanctions that are severely hampering the economy.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter he was “deeply concerned” the move “will disrupt vital and life-saving assistance to millions,” adding: “Women are central to humanitarian operations around the world. This decision could be devastating for the Afghan people.”
Ramiz Alakbarov, the U.N. deputy special representative for Afghanistan and humanitarian coordinator, told Reuters that although the U.N. had not received the order, contracted NGOs carried out most of its activities and would be heavily impacted.
“Many of our programmes will be affected,” he said, because they need female staff to assess humanitarian need and identify beneficiaries, otherwise they will not be able to implement aid programs.
International aid agency AfghanAid said it was immediately suspending operations while it consulted with other organisations, and that other NGOs were taking similar actions.
The potential endangerment of aid programmes that millions of Afghans access comes when more than half the population relies on humanitarian aid, according to aid agencies, and during the mountainous nation’s coldest season.
“There’s never a right time for anything like this … but this particular time is very unfortunate because during winter time people are most in need and Afghan winters are very harsh,” said Alakbarov.
He said his office would consult with NGOs and U.N. agencies on Sunday and seek to meet with Taliban authorities for an explanation.
Aid workers say female workers are essential in a country where rules and cultural customs largely prevent male workers from delivering aid to female beneficiaries.
“An important principle of delivery of humanitarian aid is the ability of women to participate independently and in an unimpeded way in its distribution so if we can’t do it in a principled way then no donors will be funding any programs like that,” Alakbarov said.
When asked whether the rules directly included U.N. agencies, Habib said the letter applied to organisations under Afghanistan’s coordinating body for humanitarian organisations, known as ACBAR. That body does not include the U.N., but includes over 180 local and international NGOs.
Their licences would be suspended if they did not comply, the letter said.
Afghanistan’s struggling economy has tipped into crisis since the Taliban took over in 2021, with the country facing sanctions, cuts in development aid and a freeze in central bank assets.
A record 28 million Afghans are estimated to need humanitarian aid next year, according to AfghanAid.
Reporting by Kabul newsroom; additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington
Editing by Mark Potter and Josie Kao
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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I said it during my entire pregnancy, but don’t we all: “I’m never doing this again.” But when I said never, I actually growled it. Truth be told, I kinda knew deep down, while I felt the bean rolling around in there, that I really wasn’t going to do it again. Not because it wasn’t a good experience – I was lucky enough to have a really easy, textbook pregnancy. Even the delivery was pretty straightforward – despite two epidurals not working, everything happened within a tolerable amount of time with no complications.
But I only wanted to have one kid. That’s it. And so did my husband. Here’s why.
– We felt complete. We already had a fur baby when the bean was born, and our cozy little family felt right with our single addition. We didn’t feel like we were missing anything (or anyone). Three plus a pup was what our family was meant to be.
– I felt complete. I always have to experience everything once: the crazy waterslide, the terrifying roller coaster, the strange exotic raw food. But then I’m done. I’ve earned my bragging rights. I have my Facebook profile pic. Drop the mic – this kid is outta here! Same with having my bean – yes, I really wanted to know what it was like to be pregnant and feel a baby kick, and experience the first time you hold your son or daughter. But once I did it, I was good. Check!
– We started late. I had my son in my mid-30s, and truth be told, the sleepless nights were much more wearing than had they been when I was in my 20s. I had sleepless nights in my 20s anyway and I bounced back pretty easily. By my mid-30s, sleep was a hot commodity, and the idea of doing an infant schedule while having a toddler or child as I closed in on 40 seemed way past its expiration date.
– I would’ve had to sacrifice my career. I’m self-employed and work from home, so mat leave pay wasn’t an option. Not to mention my office is at home, and with two kids, or even just the newborn at home during the day, lets just say it doesn’t create the most conducive working environment. Problem is, when you’re a freelance writer, no editor is going to hold your job till you come back from a maternity break. I had somehow manged to balance and continue to build my writing business with my son being born, but two would’ve completely tipped the scales. And, while this may be controversial or selfish or whatever to other parents, my career is important to me. Family always comes first, but I’ve had a passion for writing since kindergarten, and I am so proud of the writing career I’ve managed to build in such a tumultuous time in print journalist. So, my job played a pretty big role in deciding whether to have another child.
– We had no room in our house. Logistically, it just would have completely overcrowded our home. And I would’ve lost my home office/craft room. Not gonna happen!
A full-time work-from-home mom, Jennifer Cox (our “Supermom in Training”) loves dabbling in healthy cooking, craft projects, family outings, and more, sharing with readers everything she knows about being an (almost) superhero mommy.
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