Rona
There will be another vaccine hitting the market soon enough, J&J Covid vaccine found effective by FDA Before Panel Meets according to Bloomberg. Also according to Bloomberg, more than 150 executives back Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Plan. Senior executives from more than 150 companies are voicing support for President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package in a letter to congressional leaders urging them to pass coronavirus relief. I find that interesting to say the least. Whenever it comes to governments, if there's a CEO advocating for it, I figure there's an opportunity for them to make profits and exploit the system. Biden also had more billionaire donors during his campaigning than President Trump. In the Stimulus bill, families would see tax savings from four major provisions: Your $1,400 stimulus check, which is actually just an advance on a tax credit. An expanded earned income tax credit. An expanded child tax credit. A bigger credit for those paying for child care. When you file your taxes, the credits give you a dollar-for-dollar reduction in how much you owe in income taxes (Yahoo!) I don't like. Why can't Congress help the American people without strings? The Dems also tried to add $15 wage to the plan, but it was rejected. Star GOP reps offers $10 minimum wage instead of $15, seems more like Biden's tea. During any other time I would be supportive of the wage increase, but now isn't the time. Many states have already started raising their minimum wage a decade ago, and now that the pandemic has destroyed the employment across the country, forcing any state (especially rural states) to raise wages makes no sense. (Via Fox Business IG)
Newsom
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been all over my feed. I do like to know what he's doing and who's hating him recently. He's been busy, Governor Newsom signed a $7.6 billion coronavirus relief package on Tuesday (CNN reported) that will give at least $600 one-time payments to 5.7 million people while setting aside more than $2 billion in grants for struggling small businesses. Something to tell the public in the midst of recall plans. Unfortunately, I don't qualify. He has also been working on our water infrastructure.
Wherever there is water there is life.
Critics complain that Newsom and his political appointees are exerting heavy influence to benefit a private company that would produce some of the state’s most expensive supplies. It turns out the company lobbied, to the sum of $575,000, which went to Axiom Advisors, the firm headed by longtime Newsom friend Jason Kinney, whose French Laundry birthday dinner Newsom attended, when he told us not to gather. “The Governor has spoken many times about the importance of … ensuring the sustainability of California’s water supplies,” Newsom’s office said in a statement. “Regions across California must continue to innovate on local projects as climate change makes our state’s water supply more unpredictable.” but the article from LA Times makes things sound more shady. I'm all for using your connections to get things done, but his friend better be providing a fair/ low estimate. It can't be able to be done cheaper, better, or faster, by another company.
Governor Newsom made a deal with the Teacher's Union and the schools should be opening soon, but not before an entire California school board resigned after making disparaging remarks about families in an online meeting which they did not realize was being publicly live-streamed. I have to see the whole video to know what was said and how.
Housing, Rents, & Homelessness
Housing has been an issue for as long as I can remember. Now with the pandemic standing on the world stage, it has only gotten worse. In home prices, it gets more difficult to live the American dream. House prices are up everywhere. Should we blame Work From Home (WFH)/ remote work? probably not. Fox Business reported prices up everywhere, and SD Union Tribune reported, San Diego home prices were up 13 percent in a year at the end of 2020, the third fastest of any city in the nation.
The old American dream is forever fleeting.
The New American dream isn't being shackled to a mortgage, it's being unburdened by debt. Here in San Diego they are targeting relief to renter, they launched a $100 Million Rental Relief Project. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) is designed to help out people who have fallen behind paying their utilities and rent, officials said. All county residents affected by the pandemic may be eligible with the exceptions of those living in San Diego and Chula Vista, which have programs designed specifically for those city residents. People applying to ERAP must be able to satisfy the following requirements:
Household must have experienced a financial hardship directly related to COVID-19
Household is at risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability
Household must not receive any other forms of rental subsidy, such as Section 8 or other rental assistance programs, rapid rehousing assistance, or rental assistance from nonprofit agencies
Household income must be at or below 80% of the area median income
Homeless population is rising along with the rents, there's clearly a disconnect. So regarding housing, Mint Press News highlighted the number of empty homes and government building outnumber the homeless. A growing number of activists are calling for these empty spaces to be filled with the humans living on America’s streets. Solutions are possible. In April, Utah announced it has almost eliminated chronic homelessness through a pioneering program to put the homeless in vacant apartments, then provide them with social services like drug rehabilitation after they are safely housed. And to add to all of that, San Diego City Council approves proposed Regulation of Short-Term Regulations.
& Innovation
Energy from space lasers? According to CNN, the unit has yet to actually send power directly back to Earth, but that technology has already been proven. If the project develops into huge kilometers-wide space solar antennae, it could beam microwaves that would then be converted into fuel-free electricity to any part of the planet at a moment's notice. Why aren't billionaires pouring their money into this? Why does everyone want to get to Mars?
That's my feed for the week.
Something peaked your interest, any questions, or if you think I should follow up on one of these topics? Leave a comment below. Thanks for reading.
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