Monday 25th – The BESA Times

Sixty-Sixth Edition - Monday, 25th Every week, a complete snapshot of what happened around the world in the past seven days

US National Emergency:

Despite many outlets advising against it, last week POTUS Donald Trump made headlines by declaring national emergency after not receiving the funding he had asked for the infamous “Border Wall/Slats/Fence”. There has been a lot of backlash, from both sides of the aisle. There are many reasons for this uproar, some of the most notable are legitimacy of the emergency, where the funding would come from, and of course the usual usefulness of the wall and ethical standing.

The president didn’t try to protect his stance in declaring a national emergency. He was quoted in a speech right after the declaration saying, “I didn’t have to do this, we would have done it anyway, I just wanted to get over with it sooner.” Which isn’t the exact definition of an emergency. The second and perhaps the closest to home concern raised by the working-class citizens was where would the budgeting for the wall be taken from. Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of spending the government can do, which makes the problem an allocation problem. Being a "national security emergency" the cuts will not be taken from other protection services. Rather already hit social, environmental and educational services seem the likeliest target for cuts. However, these institutions can no longer facilitate budget cuts. Most teachers in the US already live below the poverty line, having to work two or more jobs to survive. Medical workers aren’t in the best shape either, with most blue color jobs sharing the sentiment.

Germany Barely Not in Recession:

Last quarter of 2018 came with a partial sigh of relief for the German economy. By growing exactly "0" percent, they have avoided two consecutive quarters of negative growth values. So technically they have avoided a recession, with not bright looking numbers. There are many reasons for the recent drop in growth rates, and they are prevalent throughout Europe. The complications with Brexit creating uncertainty within the single market, Italy’s battle over budgeting against the European Parliament and its recent recession, France’s internal authority struggle, Russia-US-China interactions flaring up with the so-called trade wars and many other events can be shown as reasons.

It doesn’t look likely for Germany to rebound with strength in 2019, that being said, the economy is still quite strong. Especially for its citizens there won’t be many apparent problems as Germany still holds one of the lowest unemployment rates at a little higher than 3%. Household consumption seems to have slowed down but nothing too grim or worrisome.

Google Elaborates on the $13 Billion Investment Plan:

With almost a 50% increase from last year’s investment plan, Google is pulling no punches as the powerhouse they are. They have just announced their 2019 investment plan for the US, and throughout the entire federation $13 billion dollars is planned to be invested. More hiring and renovation of key data and research centers are the main scope for this investment. Even with the uncertainty Trump has given to the international markets, the jobs market within the US is growing strong, with many companies like Google expanding their investments and growth policies. For now, the private sector workers need not fear much from the volatility of financial markets and rather keep their eyes on the government, making their voice heard against another government shutdown.

Did you know:

Sexual harassment becoming a more and more discussed and tackled issue, a disturbing and outright weird section of the story has been brought to light. Medical staff in US and Canada have been vocal last week over their experience with patients, some within the emergency room, that took away from their hard, necessary and fulfilling work. The discussion started as one of the women vented off her anger online to a Reddit community. She received immense support and attention, leading others to step up and share their stories. The most bizarre sexual harassment stories take place in the E.R. room, bringing up the question “How do these people set their priorities?”. Women talk about people who have been hand-cuffed and brought in with police company “trying to sneak a peek” in what they describe as crossing the line between daring-stupid and flat-out stupid. Hopefully the voices of those who help keep society healthy reach to the community and authorities, creating an environment that lets them practice their profession with no extra hindrances.

What to expect from next week:

The tensions in Venezuela grow as the opposition within the country has started coming around a new face: Self-declared interim President Juan Guaidó. Maduro has stated very strongly that they will not accept aid or any form of international intervention. Russia backs Maduro and of course that creates further tensions. With the people of Venezuela starving, the international patience runs low. Who knows which party will do what? Best to do is keep watch. Another news to keep watch on is the discussions of the UK parliament and the newly forming independent group. An independent group formed by various established and elected political parties have decided that Brexit negotiations were not going anywhere with partisan views. They have no clear leader and are currently using a loophole to hold their place within the parliament. What this unexpected movement will bring to us is unknown? Again, best keep watching!