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rajyog7493 · 4 years ago

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Impact of COVID-19 on Metal and Mining in the Chemical and Materials Industry

COVID-19 Impact on Metal and Mining in the Chemical and Materials Industry

INTRODUCTION

Metal and mining industry is one of those industries that have been severely impacted due to the outbreak of coronavirus globally. The prices of steel and other metals have shown different behavior due to demand and supply scenario change. In response to the spread of the virus, some governments have seized the borders and have imposed large scales quarantines and social distancing measures to minimize the spread of the virus any further. The safety and well-being of workers were rightly the top priority of any country, but now companies must consider the economic effects of the pandemic, which are now apparent.

To keep the well-being of employees in concern, companies have taken drastic measures such as asking non-operational staff to work from home to scaling back production; even many of the companies have reduced their operations and manufacturing capacities to get less impacted with the global pandemic. Such steps have resulted in reduced productivity and profits of many industries, including metals and mining precipitously. To come back on track, the companies need to make strategic choices for building their cost resilience to prepare themselves for the recovery, as well as even rethink on their new operating models

Some of the views presented by associations and company professionals are:

· “Companies are facing restrictions in logistics and transport, trades have been muted, prices of raw materials and steel have slid, which is causing the market’s value to decline”, by China Iron & Steel Association

· “ We believe the effect of the coronavirus will likely have a short-term negative demand impact in China and to a lesser degree elsewhere,” by ArcelorMittal

· “We reviewed the situation arising in China due to the virus outbreak in the initial weeks. While we do not depend on China as a market for steel, we do source some of our consumable items from it. We are thus trying alternative supply sources in countries like Turkey and Brazil,” by TV Narendran, chief executive, Tata Steel.

IMPACT OF METAL AND MINING INDUSTRY

The outbreak of coronavirus started showing its impact mainly from March of 2020. The average share pricing of metal and mining industry dropped by almost 10% and many standalone companies have lost around 40-50% of their market value. The effect of COVID-19 has changed from moderate in March 2020 to high in April 2020 and is still aggressively increasing. Some of the major players in the mining market such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Anglo American have so far reported partial shutdowns and due to this, the industry has almost reported a production loss of more than 30% till now.

It has been observed that the price of various commodities such as iron ore, copper, coal and zinc, fell by >5% due to lower-near term demand. The only exception to this trend is gold.

The above mentioned chart clearly states that as compared to last year (2019), the prices of almost all commodities have declined, except a few which have geared up recently.

China accounts for more than 20% share in the global supply chain of intermediate products which includes metal and metal products. Thus, the disruption which has been caused due to COVID-19 in China only is expected to repeat on the economy in various countries worldwide. It is expected that the metal industry of European Union will lose over USD 1 thousand million if China exports reduced by even 2%. The steel manufacturer in Europe are cutting production and idling factory lines in which the workers are not working as because of declining orders, a lack of available staff or as a safety precaution against coronavirus. As per the commodity consultant, James Campbell at CRU, “This is going to be a loss making year for the European steel industry.”

Due to the downfall in the metal and mineral industry, the other industries that are dependent on supply of ferroalloys and steel, such as automobiles, foundries, have been shutting down across global. As per some of the experts, it is not because of coronavirus spread that metal industry is facing dip in the demand; rather it is the quarantine or the shutdown that is eroding the demand. Ideally there are two aspects of looking into the problem of demand:

1. The quarantine

2. Economic crash on a medium-term horizon

Along with this, various countries are keeping track of Chinese activities that they did to bring back the industry on track. The Chinese steel consumption from January 2020 to February 2020 increased by almost 5.5%. The production in China grew by 3.1% in March and April. Also, the investment in the fixed assets has increased by 24.5% and the investment in the infrastructure has increased by 30.3%, which is even higher than the decline during the crises of 2008-2009.

IMPACT ON IRON ORE

The spread of coronavirus has impacted iron ore production and its pricing too. Though compared to 2019, there has been an increase of 0.5% in the pricing but it has faced a dip that no one has expected. The price in 2019 was USD 90.4/tons, and till March in 2020, it averages $83.5/tons. In terms of production, it is expected that iron ore may show a growth of 0.8% in 2020, as compared to 4.7% growth in 2019. The slow growth is due to government lockdowns around the global disruption in operations. The supply chain has also disrupted as many mines are forced to shut their operation in Canada, South Africa, Peru, and India. Till March 2020, the steel production in China is averaged 3.6% as compared to 7.7% in 2019. As China is also facing the logistic issue, which temporarily has increased China’s demand for seaborne iron ore post-April 2020.

IMPACT ON COAL

Coal is another commodity or metal that has faced the impact of COVID-19 harshly. The demand for coal is facing slowdown from past one decade due to competition from cheap natural gas and other expanded renewable energy sources. As the world is moving away from fossil fuels, the coal industry is in desperate need to revive. Along with this, the pandemic has added a big reason to its downfall and has made the situation worse. Most of the companies in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Virginia have temporarily suspended their operations to control the spread of virus.

By January, before the pandemic out broke in the U.S., the drop in coal production was forecasted to 14% in 2020. But as the coronavirus speeded in the country and the mild winter which requires less electricity at heat homes, the downfall is now expected to be more than 25% by the end of this year.

In April 2020, the coal exports from Indonesia hit lowest level since June 2009 due to the spread of coronavirus crises. Exports from Indonesia averaged around 32 MT during April 2015-2019 which dropped to almost 18 MT in April 2020. On the other end, import of coal has also suffered in many countries.

For instance,

· India’s coal import in March 2020 was at 15.74 million tons which were low by 27.5% as compared to import in March 2019. Though from April 2019 to March 2020, the total coal and coke imports stood at 242.97 MT (provisional), which is 3.24% higher than from April 2018 to March 2019, the major low will be reflected in the statistics of 2020 fiscal year. As per Vinaya Varma, managing director and chief executive of mjunction services, “The lockdown imposed across the countries due to novel coronavirus pandemic has had a cascading effect on this sector. There was a significant drop in India’s coal import volumes due to both demand and supply-side factors, i.e. offtake, consumption, logistics, and dispatches.” Moreover, as per the statement by Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi, to stop the substitutable import of coal in the next three to four years may further present a dip in the coal industry.

IMPACT ON STEEL

The steel industry has faced multiple hits this year due to reduced demand from its major consumers, automotive and construction, and infrastructure. Automotive accounts for around 15-20%. In the year 2020, steel production has declined gradually due to the outbreak of coronavirus. Steel industries in countries like India depend on China for various consumables include manganese, refractory products, and compounds, electrodes, and rolls for steel mills. Thus, any impact on the Chinese industry will have direct implications on all the countries that are dependent on China. Due to overdependence on imports, the price of raw materials shoots up by multiple folds and thus making the end product costlier. One of the biggest steelmaking companies, Tata Steel, has recently decided to reduce its dependence on China for the supply of steel making inputs. Along with Tata Steel, many other companies are trying to shift their supplies from China to other countries like Turkey and Brazil. This is one of the steps suggested by the government in discussion with the steel manufacturing companies to de-risk the supply chain.

As the demand for steel has gone down tremendously, government of various countries has forced the manufacturers to cut the production to almost 50% of the capacity. Along with this, the lockdown and movement restrictions have also impacted the timely delivery and dispatches of the finished goods. In countries like India, where almost 80-85% of trucks are not moving worsens the situation. Thus, officials are requesting government to allow movement of trucks for the industry as they are the major part of any industry.

As per the stats provided by Indian Steel Association (ISA), steel demand in India will face a contraction of 7.7% in 2020. ISA has estimated that in February 2020, the steel demand would grow by 5.1% and will reach 106.7 million tons. But after analyzing the impact and situation that is created due to COVID-19, the estimation has been revised to 93.7 million tons. The lockdown will impact the steel demand by nearly 13 million tons, as per Arnab Kumar Hazra, assistant secretary-general at the Indian Steel Association.

IMPACT ON OTHER COMMODITIES

COPPER: Since the beginning of 2020, copper prices have dropped by almost 15% due to a downfall in demand from various end-use industries. However, with most manufacturers/smelters in china and as the country is slowly getting rid of the pandemic, copper demand and prices are expected to bounce back.

ZINC: Through the prices zinc rose rapidly from 2015 to 2019 will almost an increase of 32%, now facing downfall of around 18% from 2019 to 2020.

NICKEL: Despite of economic downturn, the performance of nickel was better than other commodities. The prices are also showing positive signs along with the supply. It is expected that by the end of 2020, there will be around 3% rise in the demand of nickel.

POSSIBLE STEPS TO BRING METAL AND MINING INDUSTRY BACK ON TRACK

To manage this global crisis, mining and metal leaders are working mainly on three aspects: Respond, Recover and Thrive. Some of the important immediate steps that are advised to metal and mining leaders include:

· Maintain critical services by every possible way while keeping the safety of employees as the top most priority.

· Focus should be more on understanding the financial situation and accordingly release the cash maintain financial viability even through uncertainty.

· Rethink on strategies of work done, and improve the ability to collaborate by using automation and digitization.

Also to lift up the metal and mining industry, the role played by procurement leaders is also vital. There are responsible to mitigate supply-chain risks, covering and protecting cash with enhancement in the overall productivity by making strategic choices. The Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) should work closely with the operational team and market players so that a strategic move can be taken towards the spending as in what can be stopped, which can be stalled, what can be shrunk and what must be sustained. A control-tower methodology has been suggested to monitor and challenge all of the company’s spending.

One of the major challenges that have appeared in front of almost every industry is over dependency on one or two suppliers. This is of utmost importance that manufacturers should mitigate their risk and lower their losses by increasing number of raw material suppliers so in case pandemic or crises, the operations will not get hit to this extent and situation can be controlled before it gets worsen.

CONCLUSION

The spread of COVID-19 pandemic around the globe has an immediate impact on the global economy and almost on all the industries including metal and mining. In the crises, some of the new players might get more affected than others because of the initial challenges that a business faces and then the challenges brought in by the pandemic. But, for a positive aspect, due to this pandemic, a real sense of togetherness has emerged among the players of the industry to stop the spread of this virus.

The spread of coronavirus has taught many of the players in the market how to better manage their business and always be ready for such situations too. In the mining industry, the impact has varied from commodity to commodity.

For instance,

· Where gold is experiencing high price along with thermal coal and uranium, iron ore is feeling pressure to sustain as it is more dependent as consumer demand.

So, the steps to bring back the economy should be based on commodity rather than entire industry. Also the slowdown has resulted in some new opportunities and has opened doors for new ways of doing business. Since, the metal and mining are working on the same old patterns without much exploring in the ways of doing business. Now, the manufacturers and suppliers are exploring other methods such as atominization, digitization and remote controlled operations. Not only the manufacturers, but also the consumers are welcoming the online delivery of their products and have resulted in reducing human efforts.

Slowly and gradually things are coming back on track. But within few years, by the mutual efforts of the government and manufacturers, the impact can be controlled to an extent. The goal for the players remains same which is to deliver the maximum customer productivity with minimum downtime and maintenance. The impact cannot be eradicated quickly, but will prepare people to say with it with no much impact on their lives.

#Metal and Mining #Metal and Mining Market #Metal and Mining Market Analysis #Metal and Mining Market Analysis in Developed Countries #Metal and Mining Market Forcast #Metal and Mining Market Future Innovation

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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For Clean Energy, Buy American or Buy It Quick and Cheap? Patricia Fahy, a New York State legislator, celebrated when a new development project for the Port of Albany — the country’s first assembly plant dedicated to building offshore wind towers — was approved in January. “I was doing cartwheels,” said Ms. Fahy, who represents the area. Before long, however, she was caught in a political bind. A powerful union informed her that most of the equipment for New York’s big investment in offshore windmills would not be built by American workers but would come from abroad. Yet when Ms. Fahy proposed legislation to press developers to use locally made parts, she met opposition from environmentalists and wind industry officials. “They were like, ‘Oh, God, don’t cause us any problems,’” she recalled. Since President Biden’s election, Democratic politicians have extolled the win-win allure of the transition from fossil fuels, saying it can help avert a looming climate crisis while putting millions to work. “For too long we’ve failed to use the most important word when it comes to meeting the climate crisis: jobs, jobs, jobs,” Mr. Biden said in an address to Congress last month. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, in announcing the final approval of the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind project on Tuesday, called it an important step to “create good-paying union jobs while combating climate change.” But there is a tension between the goals of industrial workers and those of environmentalists — groups that Democrats count as politically crucial. The greater the emphasis on domestic manufacturing, the more expensive renewable energy will be, at least initially, and the longer it could take to meet renewable-energy targets. That tension could become apparent as the White House fleshes out its climate agenda. “It’s a classic trade-off,” said Anne Reynolds, who heads the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, a coalition of environmental and industry groups. “It would be better if we manufactured more solar panels in the U.S. But other countries invested public money for a decade. That’s why it’s cheaper to build them there.” There is some data to support the contention that climate goals can create jobs. The consulting firm Wood Mackenzie expects tens of thousands of new jobs per year later this decade just in offshore wind, an industry that barely exists in the United States today. And labor unions — even those whose members are most threatened by the shift to green energy, like mineworkers — increasingly accept this logic. In recent years, many unions have joined forces with supporters of renewable energy to create groups with names like the BlueGreen Alliance that press for ambitious jobs and climate legislation, in the vein of the $2.3 trillion proposal that Mr. Biden is calling the American Jobs Plan. But much of the supply chain for renewable energy and other clean technologies is in fact abroad. Nearly 70 percent of the value of a typical solar panel assembled in the United States accrues to firms in China or Chinese firms operating across Southeast Asia, according to a recent report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and BloombergNEF, an energy research group. Batteries for electric vehicles, their most valuable component, follow a similar pattern, the report found. And there is virtually no domestic supply chain specifically for offshore wind, an industry that Mr. Biden hopes to see grow from roughly a half-dozen turbines in the water today to thousands over the next decade. That supply chain is largely in Europe. Many proponents of a greener economy say that importing equipment is not a problem but a benefit — and that insisting on domestic production could raise the price of renewable energy and slow the transition from fossil fuels. “It is valuable to have flexible global supply chains that let us move fast,” said Craig Cornelius, who once managed the Energy Department’s solar program and is now chief executive of Clearway Energy Group, which develops solar and wind projects. Those emphasizing speed over sourcing argue that most of the jobs in renewable energy will be in the construction of solar and wind plants, not making equipment, because the manufacturing is increasingly automated. But labor groups worry that construction and installation jobs will be low paying and temporary. They say only manufacturing has traditionally offered higher pay and benefits and can sustain a work force for years. Partisans of manufacturing also point out that it often leads to jobs in new industries. Researchers have shown that the migration of consumer electronics to Asia in the 1960s and ’70s helped those countries become hubs for future technologies, like advanced batteries. As a result, labor leaders are pressing the administration to attach strict conditions to the subsidies it provides for green equipment. “We’re going to be demanding that the domestic content on this stuff has to be really high,” said Thomas M. Conway, the president of the United Steelworkers union and a close Biden ally. The experience of New York reveals how delicate these debates can be once specific jobs and projects are at stake. Late last year, the Communications Workers of America began considering ways to revive employment at a General Electric factory that the union represents in Schenectady, N.Y., near Albany. The factory has shed thousands of employees in recent decades. Around the same time, the state was close to approving bids for two major offshore wind projects. The eventual winner, a Norwegian developer, Equinor, promised to help bring a wind-tower assembly plant to New York and upgrade a port in Brooklyn. “All of a sudden I focus on the fact that we’re talking about wind manufacturing,” said Bob Master, the communications workers official who contacted Ms. Fahy, the state legislator. “G.E. makes turbines — there could be a New York supply chain. Let’s give it a try.” In early February, the union produced a draft of a bill that would ask developers like Equinor to buy their wind equipment from manufacturers in New York State “to the maximum extent feasible” — not just towers but other components, like blades and nacelles, which house the mechanical guts of a turbine. Ms. Fahy, a member of the Assembly, and State Senator Neil Breslin, a fellow Democrat from the Albany area, signed on as sponsors. Environmentalists and industry officials quickly raised concerns that the measure could discourage developers from coming to the state. “So far, Equinor has gone above and beyond what any other company has done,” said Lisa Dix, who led the Sierra Club’s campaign for renewable energy in New York until recently. “Why do we need more onerous requirements on companies given what we got?” Ms. Dix and other clean-energy advocates had worked with labor unions to persuade the state that construction jobs in offshore wind should offer union-scale wages and representation. And New York’s system for evaluating clean-energy bids already awarded points to developers that promised local economic benefits. Ms. Reynolds, the head of the environmental and industry coalition in New York, worried that going beyond the existing arrangement could make the cost of renewable energy unsustainable. “If it became bigger and more noticeable on electric bills, the common expectation is that political support for New York’s clean-energy programs would erode,” she said. The communications workers sought to offer reassurance, not entirely successfully. “I said to them, ‘We’re trade unionists: We ask for everything, the boss offers us nothing, and then we make a deal,’” Mr. Master said. “‘But I do think there’s no reason why turbines should be coming from France as opposed to Schenectady.’” The final language, a compromise negotiated with the state’s building trades council and passed by the Legislature in April, allows the state to award additional points in the bidding process to developers that pledge to create manufacturing jobs in the state, a slight refinement of the current approach. (It also effectively requires that workers who build, operate or maintain wind and solar plants either receive union-scale wages or can benefit from union representation.) While the law included a “buy American” provision for iron and steel, the state’s energy research and development agency, known as NYSERDA, can waive the requirement. The agency’s chief executive, Doreen Harris, said she was generally pleased that the existing approach remained intact and predicted that the state would have blade and nacelle factories within a few years. Some analysts agreed, arguing that most offshore wind equipment is so bulky — often hundreds of feet long — that it becomes impractical to ship across the Atlantic. “There’s a point at which importation of all goods and services doesn’t make economic sense,” said Jeff Tingley, an expert on the offshore wind supply chain at the consulting firm Xodus. But that has not always reflected the experience of the United Kingdom, which had installed more offshore wind turbines than any other country by the start of this year but had manufactured only a small portion of the equipment. “Even with the U.K. being the biggest market, the logistics costs weren’t big enough to justify new factories,” said Alun Roberts, an expert on offshore wind with the British-based consulting firm BVG Associates. A 2017 report indicated that the country manufactured well below 30 percent of its offshore wind equipment, and Mr. Roberts said the percentage had probably increased slightly since then. The country currently manufactures blades but no nacelles. All of which leaves the Biden administration with a difficult choice: If it genuinely wants to shift manufacturing to the United States, doing so could require some aggressive prodding. A senior White House official said the administration was exploring ways of requiring that a portion of wind and solar equipment be American-made when federal money was involved. But some current and former Democratic economic officials are skeptical of the idea, as are clean-energy advocates. “I worry about local content requirements for offshore wind from the federal government right now,” said Kathleen Theoharides, the Massachusetts secretary of energy and environmental affairs. “I don’t think adding anything that could potentially raise the cost of clean energy to the ratepayer is necessarily the right strategy.” Mr. Master said the recent legislation in New York was a victory given the difficulty of enacting stronger domestic content policies at the state level, but acknowledged that it fell short of his union’s goals. Both he and Ms. Fahy vowed to keep pressing to bring more offshore wind manufacturing jobs to New York. “I could be the queen of lost causes, but we want to get some energy around this,” Ms. Fahy said. “We need this here. I’m not just saying New York. This is a national conversation.” Source link Orbem News #American #buy #cheap #clean #Energy #Quick

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teachanarchy · 8 years ago

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A brief introduction to what we at libcom.org mean when we refer to the state and how we think we should relate to it as workers.

This article in: Español | Français | Türkçe | Nederlands

States come in many shapes and sizes. Democracies and dictatorships, those that provide lots of social welfare, those that provide none at all, some that allow for a lot of individual freedom and others that don't.

But these categories are not set in stone. Democracies and dictatorships rise and fall, welfare systems are set up and taken apart while civil liberties can be expanded or eroded.

However, all states share key features, which essentially define them.

What is the state?

All states have the same basic functions in that they are an organisation of all the lawmaking and law enforcing institutions within a specific territory. And, most importantly, it is an organisation controlled and run by a small minority of people.

So sometimes, a state will consist of a parliament with elected politicians, a separate court system and a police force and military to enforce their decisions. At other times, all these functions are rolled into each other, like in military dictatorships for example.

But the ability within a given area to make political and legal decisions – and to enforce them, with violence if necessary – is the basic characteristic of all states. Crucially, the state claims a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence, within its territory and without. As such, the state is above the people it governs and all those within its territory are subject to it.

The state and capitalism

In a capitalist society, the success or failure of a state depends unsurprisingly on the success of capitalism within it.

Essentially, this means that within its territory profits are made so the economy can expand. The government can then take its share in taxation to fund its activities.

If businesses in a country are making healthy profits, investment will flow into profitable industries, companies will hire workers to turn their investment into more money. They and their workers will pay taxes on this money which keep the state running.

But if profits dip, investment will flow elsewhere to regions where profits will be higher. Companies will shut down, workers will be laid off, tax revenues will fall and local economies collapse.

So promoting profit and the growth of the economy is the key task of any state in capitalist society - including state capitalist economies which claim to be "socialist", like China or Cuba. Read our introduction to capitalism here.

The economy

As promoting the economy is a key task of the state, let's look at the fundamental building blocks of a healthy capitalist economy.

Workers

The primary need of a sound capitalist economy is the existence of a group of people able to work, to turn capitalists' money into more money: a working class. This requires the majority of the population to have been dispossessed from the land and means of survival, so that the only way they can survive is by selling their ability to work to those who can buy it.

This dispossession has taken place over the past few hundred years across the world. In the early days of capitalism, factory owners had a major problem in getting peasants, who could produce enough to live from the land, to go and work in the factories. To solve this, the state violently forced the peasants off common land, passed laws forbidding vagrancy and forced them to work in factories under threat of execution.

Today, this has already happened to the vast majority of people around the world. However, in some places in the so-called "developing" world, the state still plays this role of displacing people to open new markets for investors. Read our introduction to class here.

Property

A second fundamental requirement is the concept of private property. While many had to be dispossessed to create a working class, the ownership of land, buildings and factories by a small minority of the population could only be maintained by a body of organised violence - a state. This is rarely mentioned by capitalism's advocates today, however in its early days it was openly acknowledged. As the liberal political economist Adam Smith wrote:

Laws and government may be considered in this and indeed in every case as a combination of the rich to oppress the poor, and preserve to themselves the inequality of the goods which would otherwise be soon destroyed by the attacks of the poor, who if not hindered by the government would soon reduce the others to an equality with themselves by open violence.

This continues today, as laws deal primarily with protecting property rather than people. For example, it is not illegal for speculators to sit on food supplies, creating scarcity so prices go up while people starve to death, but it is illegal for starving people to steal food.

What does the state do?

Different states perform many different tasks, from providing free school meals to upholding religious orthodoxy. But as we mentioned above, the primary function of all states in a capitalist society is to protect and promote the economy and the making of profit.

However, as businesses are in constant competition with each other, they can only look after their own immediate financial interests – sometimes damaging the wider economy. As such, the state must sometimes step in to look after the long-term interests of the economy as a whole.

So states educate and train the future workforce of their country and build infrastructure (railways, public transport systems etc) to get us to work and transport goods easily. States sometimes protect national businesses from international competition by taxing their goods when they come into the country or expand their markets internationally through wars and diplomacy with other states. Other times they give tax breaks and subsidies to industries, or sometimes bail them out entirely if they are too important to fail.

These measures sometimes clash with the interests of individual businesses or industries. However, this doesn't change the fact that the state is acting in the interests of the economy as a whole. Indeed, it can be seen basically as a way to settle disputes among different capitalists about how to do it.

State welfare

Some states also provide many services which protect people from the worst effects of the economy. However, this has rarely, if ever, been the result of generosity from politicians but of pressure from below.

So for instance, after World War II, the UK saw the construction of the welfare state, providing healthcare, housing etc to those that needed it. However, this was because of fear amongst politicians that the end of the war would see the same revolutionary upheaval as after World War I with events like the Russian and German revolutions, the Biennio Rosso in Italy, the British army mutinies etc.

This fear was justified. Towards the end of the war, unrest amongst the working classes of the warring nations grew. Homeless returning soldiers took over empty houses while strikes and riots spread. Tory MP Quintin Hogg summed up the mood amongst politicians in 1943, saying “if we don't give them reforms, they will give us revolution.”

This does not mean reforms are 'counter-revolutionary'. It just means that the state is not the engine for reform; we, the working class – and more specifically, our struggles – are.

When our struggles get to a point where they cannot be ignored or repressed anymore, the state steps in to grant reforms. We then end up spending the next 100 years hearing people go on about what a 'great reformer' so-and-so was, even though it was our struggles which forced those reforms onto them.

When as a class we are organised and militant, social reforms are passed. But as militancy is repressed or fades away, our gains are chipped away at. Public services are cut and sold off bit-by-bit, welfare benefits are reduced, fees for services are introduced or increased and wages are cut.

As such, the amount of welfare and public service provision to the working class in a society basically marks the balance of power between bosses and workers. For example, the French working class has a higher level of organisation and militancy than the American working class. As a result, French workers also generally have better conditions at work, a shorter working week, earlier retirement and better social services (i.e. healthcare, education etc) -regardless of whether there is a right or left wing government in power.

A workers' state?

For decades, in addition to the struggle in workplaces and the streets, many workers have tried to improve their conditions through the state.

The precise methods have differed depending on location and historical context but primarily have taken two main forms: setting up or supporting political parties which run for election and are supposed to act in workers' interests, or more radically having the party seize political power and set up a workers' government through revolution. We will briefly examine two representative examples which demonstrate the futility of these tactics.

The Labour Party

The Labour Party in the UK was created by the trade unions in 1906. It soon adopted the stated aim of creating a socialist society.

However, faced with the realities of being in Parliament, and therefore the dependence on a healthy capitalist economy they quickly abandoned their principles and consistently supported anti-working class policies both in opposition and later in government .

From supporting the imperialist slaughter of World War I, to murdering workers abroad to maintain the British Empire, to slashing workers' wages to sending troops against striking dockers.

When the working class was on the offensive, Labour granted some reforms, as did the other parties. But, just like the other parties, when the working class retreated they eroded the reforms and attacked living standards. For example just a few years after the introduction of the free National Health Service Labour introduced prescription charges, then charges for glasses and false teeth.

As outlined, this was not because Labour Party members or officials were necessarily bad people but because at the end of the day they were politicians whose principle task was to keep the UK economy competitive in the global market.

The Bolsheviks

In Russia in 1917, when workers and peasants rose up and took over the factories and the land, the Bolsheviks argued for the setting up of a "revolutionary" workers' state. However, this state could not shake off its primary functions: as a violent defence of an elite, and attempting to develop and expand the economy to maintain itself.

The so-called "workers' state" turned against the working class: one-man management of factories was reinstated, strikes were outlawed and work became enforced at gunpoint. The state even liquidated those in its own quarters who disagreed with its new turn. Not long after the revolution, many of the original Bolsheviks had been executed by the government institutions they helped set up.

Against the state

This doesn't mean that our problems would be solved if the state disappeared tomorrow. It does mean, though, that the state is not detached from the basic conflict at the heart of capitalist society: that between employers and employees. Indeed, it is part of it and firmly on the side of employers.

Whenever workers have fought for improvements in our conditions, we have come into conflict not just with our bosses but also the state, who have used the police, the courts, the prisons and sometimes even the military to keep things as they were.

And where workers have attempted to use the state, or even take it over to further our interests, they have failed - because the very nature of the state is inherently opposed to the working class. They only succeeded in legitimising and strengthening the state which later turned against them.

It is our collective power and willingness to disrupt the economy that gives us the possibility of changing society. When we force the state to grant reforms we don't just win better conditions. Our actions point to a new society, based on a different set of principles. A society where our lives are more important than their 'economic growth'. A new type of society where there isn't a minority with wealth that need to be protected from those without; that is, a society where the state is unnecessary.

The state needs the economy to survive and so will always back those who control it. But the economy and the state are based on the work we do every day, and that gives us the power to disrupt them and eventually do away with them both.

More information

Private property, exclusion and the state -Junge Linke - Brief article examining the role the state plays in capitalist society.

The state: Its historical role - Peter Kropotkin - A classic anarchist text examining the state's role in society.

The state in capitalist society - Ralph Miliband - Excellent book analysing the nature of the state and how it cannot be used in workers' interests (not online unfortunately).

Capital and the state - Gilles Dauvé - More detailed libertarian communist analysis of the state.

Marxism, freedom and the state - Mikhail Bakunin - A collection of writings of the Russian anarchist with comments on the state which were sadly proved accurate with the experiences of state socialist revolutions.

The Bolsheviks and workers' control -Solidarity - A detailed examination of the anti-working class policies of the Bolsheviks in the earliest days of the Russian revolution.

Labouring in vain -Subversion - A critical history of the Labour Party from a working-class perspective.

#state #government #politics #economics #work #capitalism

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bhandarimarblekishangarh · 5 years ago

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Imported Marble,Imported Marble In India,Imported Marble In Kishangarh

IMPORTED MARBLE, IMPORTED MARBLE IN INDIA, IMPORTED MARBLE IN KISHANGARH BY BHANDARI MARBLE GROUP INDIA RAJASTHAN KISHANGARH

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olko71 · 5 years ago

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New Post has been published on All about business online

New Post has been published on http://yaroreviews.info/2019/10/u-s-unemployment-rate-hits-3-5-job-growth-moderate

U.S. unemployment rate hits 3.5%; job growth moderate

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WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to approach a 50-year low of 3.5% in September, with job growth increasing moderately, suggesting the slowing economy could avoid a recession for now despite trade tensions that are hammering manufacturing.

The Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report on Friday, however, contained reminders that the risks to the longest profitable expansion on record remained tilted to the downside. Wage growth stagnated & manufacturing payrolls declined for the first time in six months. The retail & utilities sectors in addition continued to shed jobs.

The report followed a string of weak profitable reports, including a plunge in manufacturing activity to more than a 10-year low in September & a sharp slowdown in services industry growth to levels final seen in 2016, that heightened fears the economy was flirting with a recession.

“The unemployment rate generally rises ahead of a recession, so a fresh decline pushes out the timeline for any potential recession into late 2020 at the earliest,” said Josh Wright, chief economist at iCIMS in New York.

The two-tenths of a percentage point drop in the unemployment rate from 3.7% in August pushed it to its lowest level since December 1969. The jobless rate, which had been stuck at 3.7% for three straight months, declined even as 117,000 people entered the labor force final month.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 136,000 jobs final month, the government’s survey of establishments showed. The economy created 45,000 more jobs in July & August than previously estimated. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls would increase by 145,000 jobs in September.

September’s job gains were below the monthly average of 161,000 this year, yet still above the roughly 100,000 needed each month to keep up with growth in the working-age population. The smaller household survey from which the unemployment rate is derived showed a jump of 391,000 in employment in September.

With signs that the Trump administration’s 15-month trade war with China is spilling over to the broader economy, continued labor market strength is a critical buffer against an profitable downturn. The trade war has eroded commerce confidence, sinking investment & manufacturing.

There is in addition political uncertainty in Washington after the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives launched an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump over accusations he pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, a main candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

These factors, together with benign wage inflation, are likely to immediate the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at least one more time this year, economists said. The U.S. central bank cut rates final month after reducing borrowing costs in July for the first time since 2008, to keep the profitable expansion, now in its 11th year, on track.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated on Friday that the economy was “in a satisfactory place,” adding that “our job is to keep it there as long as possible.”

The dollar .DXY was little changed against a basket of currencies. Prices of U.S. Treasuries rose marginally. Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher.

STRONG GOVERNMENT HIRING

“We continue to expect the Fed to cut its target interest rate after this month,” said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. “We believe it would have taken a much stronger number to convince Fed leadership that they have already taken out enough insurance against downside risks.”

Economic growth estimates for the third quarter range from as low as a 1.3% annualized rate to as high as a 1.9% pace. The economy grew at a 2.0% pace in the moment quarter, slowing from a 3.1% rate in the January-March period.

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Slower growth was reinforced by a report from the Commerce Department on Friday that showed the U.S. trade deficit widened 1.6% to $54.9 billion in August.

A broader degree of unemployment, which includes people who want to work yet have given up searching & those working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment, declined to 6.9% final month, the lowest level since December 2000, from 7.2% in August.

Despite the tight labor market, average hourly earnings were unchanged final month after advancing 0.4% in August. That lowered the annual increase in wages to 2.9% from 3.2% in August. The average workweek was unchanged at 34.4 hours.

Some economists believe wage growth is stalling because companies are hiring inexperienced workers in the face of labor shortages. Others blame the slowdown on ebbing demand for workers.

“With demand for labor softening & many companies contending with higher input costs as the trade war lingers & broadens, we do not expect to see any meaningful strengthening in wage growth in the coming months,” said Sarah House, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Hiring is slowing across all sectors, with the exception of government, which is being boosted by state & local government recruitment. Private payrolls increased by 114,000 jobs in September after rising by 122,000 in August.

The three-month average gain in private employment fell to 119,000, the smallest since July 2012, from 135,000 in August.

Manufacturing shed 2,000 jobs final month, the first decline in factory payrolls since March, after a gain of 2,000 jobs in August. Manufacturing has ironically borne the brunt of the Trump administration’s trade war, which the White House has argued is intended to boost the sector.

Last month’s decline in manufacturing payrolls was led by the automotive sector, which lost 4,100 jobs. Further losses are likely whether a strike by General Motors (GM.N) workers continues.

FILE PHOTO: A “Now Hiring” sign sits in the window of Tatte Bakery & Cafe in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., February 11, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo/File Photo/File Photo

Construction employment increased by 7,000 jobs after rising by 4,000 in August. Retail payrolls fell by 11,400 jobs, marking an eighth straight monthly drop.

Government employment increased by 22,000 jobs in September after surging by 46,000 in August. Hiring was boosted by state & local governments. Only 1,000 workers were hired final month for the 2020 Census. Government payrolls have increased by 147,000 over the year, driven by local governments.

Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Sandra Maler & Paul Simao

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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#affiiate marketing #article marketing #business online #businessNews #internet marketing #make money online #mobile marketing #video marketing #web marketing

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courtneytincher · 5 years ago

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Germany flies into ‘perfect storm’ as economy heads towards recession — live updates

German economy shrank 0.1pc in the first quarter as trade fears weighed on exports Angela Merkel says Europe’s largest economy is entering “difficult phase” Eurozone stocks open down on recession worries Analysis: The four reasons Germany is plunging towards recession Germany’s economy is halfway to recession, after shrinking in the three months to June as global tensions put pressure on its export-driven manufacturing sector. Europe’s largest economy contracted by 0.1pc in the second quarter, following what state statistical office Destatis called “a slight decline in economic performance”. Over the past year, Germany’s economy grew by just 0.4pc, its worst performance in years. A closely-watched survey of investors yesterday found German economic sentiment had plummeted to its lowest level since the Eurozone crisis in 2011. Speaking before the widely-anticipated fall was published, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany’s economy was entering a “difficult phase,” adding: “We will react depending on the situation.” If the German economy declines again between July and September — the third quarter — it will be seen as having entered a technical recession, which it narrowly avoided last year. European stock markets opened in the red this morning, with Germany’s DAX down around 0.4pc. The continent’s top indices had rallied yesterday after the US announced it would delay tariffs on around $150bn of Chinese exports, easing fears of an impending trade war. 8:45AM Round-up: Government urges no-deal preparation, FirstGroup wins West Coast and HS2 franchises Michael Gove is in charge of preparations for a no-deal Brexit Credit: Heathcliff O'Malley Two big stories from this morning: Government urges industry groups to prepare businesses for no-deal Brexit: The Government has asked industry groups to come up with “creative and practical” ways to help businesses prepare for a no-deal Brexit. FirstGroup wins lucrative West Coast rail and HS2 franchises: Firstgroup and Trenitalia have won the contract to run the West Coast rail franchise and the HS2 high speed railway, when it is built, in a deal that will see the Government share economic risk with the private operators. 8:25AM Merkel: ‘We’re heading into a difficult phase’ — re-cap Angela Merkel (right) with defence minister and heir apparent Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Credit: Markus Schreiber/ AP It was Angela Merkel’s first day back from her summer holidays on Monday, and the German Chancellor must have known she was returning to bad news. Today’s figures showed an expected 0.1pc second-quarter GDP contraction in Europe’s largest economy, as the export-heavy nation struggles with global disruption. Gross domestic product in the 2nd quarter of 2019 down 0.1% on the previous quarter. https://t.co/fsQPJMuMGiGDPpic.twitter.com/H1RSx7EDYf— Destatis news (@destatis_news) August 14, 2019 At a town hall yesterday, Ms Merkel was pushed on the state of Germany’s economy. “It’s true, we’re heading into a difficult phase,” she said, adding of today’s figures: “We will react depending on the situation.” “Domestic demand is still somewhat propping up the economy,” the outgoing Chancellor added. Germany published its draft budget yesterday, which maintained a policy of not increasing net debt: suggesting the plan isn’t to spend its way to growth. If the German economy is on its way to a recession, that will be confirmed in November. Sorting out the country’s economic issues, however, may ultimately fall to Ms Merkel’s successor. The Chancellor reiterated yesterday that she will not seek public office again after she steps down in 2021. 8:11AM ING: ‘The end of a golden decade for Germany’ Is it time for a shake-up in German industry? Credit: Ralph Orlowski/REUTERS ING economist Carsten Brzeski has assessed this morning’s GDP figures, and what kind of action they may prompt from Germany’s government and the European Central Bank, which last month hinted that it was preparing a package of measures to help stimulate the economy. He writes: Today’s GDP report definitely marks the end of a golden decade for the German economy. Since the end of the 2008/09 recession, the economy has grown by an average of 0.5pc [quarter on quarter]every quarter. In fact, the economy grew in 35 out of the last 40 quarters. However, under the surface of these impressive headline numbers, a worrisome trend has emerged. Since 3Q 2018, the economy has been in a de facto stagnation, with quarterly GDP growth at an average of zero percent... ...There is no need to panic, but instead to act. Looking ahead, the future path of the German economy highly depends on external events and government action. Obviously, any relief in the ongoing trade conflicts would benefit the German economy. Companies could still use extremely favourable financing conditions and invest. However, the principle of hope is not enough. The pressure on the German government to act will increase. Mr Brzeski said Europe’s largest economy now needs a stimulus package aimed at “digitisation, climate protection, energy transition, infrastructure and education”. Markets.com’s Neil Wilson added: The export heavy economy is suffering as global trade contracts. Unless maybe Merkel and co can shake off their dogma — it’s only been a hundred years since hyperinflation. �� No upside surprise in Germany. Real GDP fell by 0.1% q-o-q in Q2, decelerating from a 0.4% rise in Q1. We don’t have numerical details but destatis mentioned that domestic demand contributed positively to growth, while foreign trade was a drag (1/n) pic.twitter.com/sZoh7KKUyM— Nadia Gharbi (@nghrbi) August 14, 2019 7:56AM Final details on second quarter will reveal reasons underpinning contraction Claus Vistesen, from Pantheon Macroeconomics, says the data is “Not pretty, but slightly better than we had feared based on the monthly data.” He adds: This information is of very little use, though, until we see the final breakdown between investment and inventories. Looking ahead, early Q3 sentiment data suggest that the economy remains weak. The risk of a recession is now elevated, but indicators for domestic private demand remain relatively resilient, especially in the services sector and with respect to consumers’ spending. By contrast, leading indicators for manufacturing and construction suggest that investment is slowing, and today’s data suggest that the final Q2 details will confirm this. It’s worth remembering that today’s data follows a mega slump in German investor confidence, as revealed yesterday by research group ZEW. Here’s our full report on that data: Shock slump in German confidence adds to recession fears 7:33AM ‘Door is wide open to a German recession’ The mood in Germany is not great. Here's what Klaus Borger, an economist at public investment bank KfW, has said about the GDP figures: With the escalating trade conflicts of the USA, the ever more probable chaos (of) Brexit and the weaker world economy, the perfect storm has been brewing since the summer of last year. The door at least to a technical recession... is wide open. Germany’s most important export, cars, have driven the decline in its ailing manufacturing sector, but it’s not the only issue facing the country. My colleague Tom Rees had examined the four key problems facing the stumbling German economy: Is Germany sinking towards recession after another contraction? 7:16AM German contraction, train ticket hike and trade wars A Volkswagen factory worker Credit: FILIP SINGER/ EPA Good morning. The big news out this morning is that fears have increased that Germany is heading for a recession after suffering a 0.1pc contraction in its economy in the second quarter of the year. The shrinkage means Germany is now lagging the other largest economies in the eurozone, after the second quarter saw Italy flatline and France grow 0.2 percent. As hard data and soft indicators such as surveys of business, investor and consumer sentiment have eroded in recent weeks and months, economists have warned Europe's powerhouse could suffer falling output and even a technical recession — two successive quarters of negative growth. Federal statistics authority Destatis said higher spending by private households and the state as well as increased investments helped support the economy at home. But “foreign trade developments braked economic growth, since exports fell back more sharply than imports compared with the previous quarter,” the statisticians added. Elsewhere, markets may be pushed higher today after President Donald Trump delayed tariffs on some Chinese goods, including laptops and mobile phones, until December 15. The reprieve came after a call between US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese vice-premier Liu He ahead of tariffs that would have hit $300bn (£249bn) of imports from China on September 1. The two sides plan more talks in the next two weeks, according to Chinese state-run media. 5 things to start your day 1) Confidence in the German economy has crashed to its lowest level since the depths of the eurozone debt crisis, fuelling fears of a recession. 2) Fears are growing that the jobs miracle could be close to its end as unemployment edged up in June, the number of vacancies slid and productivity took its biggest plunge since 2013 Wages and unemployment 3) Today we'll find out how much more a train ticket will cost next year. Inflation figures released later will be used by the rail industry to calculate January’s rises. Increases in annual season ticket prices 4) Hong Kong protests heated up for a second day yesterdayand will be in focus again today as one of Asia's key transport hub remains closed. US senator Ben Cardin warned late last night that Hong Kong could lose the special trade status it has enjoyed under US law if Beijing intervenes directly. 5) Marshall Motors chief executive Daksh Gupta has said that buying a car would not only become more expensive in the event of a no-deal Brexit, but motorists could have a smaller range of vehicles to choose from. “If we don’t get a deal and sterling falls then Britain will become a much less attractive market and less profitable market for manufacturers,” he said. “We’ll probably see fewer cars coming into the UK.” What happened overnight Asian equities rallied on Wednesday as investors breathed a collective sigh of relief at news the US had delayed tariffs on a swathe of Chinese goods, easing tensions in the countries' bitter trade war. The news provided some much-needed respite for investors, who have come under intense pressure from a range of issues including concerns about the global economy, Hong Kong's protests, the trade war and Brexit. Wall Street’s three main indexes surged on the announcement with the tech-rich Nasdaq up 2pc, and the Dow and S&P; 500 more than 1pc higher. The US gains filtered through to Asia where Hong Kong climbed 0.5 percent. Elsewhere the surge in US stocks lifted MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan by 0.9pc. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.6pc while South Korea's KOSPI advanced 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei rose 0.6pc. High-yielding, riskier currencies also enjoyed some gains with the Mexican peso and South African rand more than one percent higher, South Korea's won gaining 0.8 percent and the Indonesian rupiah 0.6 percent up. China's yuan, which has plunged in the past two weeks on worries about the trade stand-off — sparking accusations Beijing is a currency manipulator — also bounced. Coming up today Analysts are expecting low-single-digit growth in Prudential’s results for the first half of the year. That’s not the main event — front and centre on Wednesday will be extra details on its plans to demerge its asset management operation (M&G; Prudential) and its plans for Brexit. Also reporting is builder Balfour Beatty, which has undergone a major restructuring in the wake of outsourcing giant Carillion’s sudden collapse. In March, the company announced it has increased profit despite a fall in revenue, and has said that it is aiming at “higher quality” work. Its shares have been feeling the pressure however. Interim results: Admiral, Apax Global Alpha, Avast, Awilco Drilling, Balfour Beatty, CLS Holdings, Hochschild Mining, Lookers, Prudential, Riverstone Energy, Zeal Network Economics: Inflation figures (UK), Sentiment, industrial production, employment and GDP (all Eurozone)

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joyzhong1 · 6 years ago

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Breaking Down the Wedge in Charlotte

The city has grown accustomed to two distinct sides of its own face: a division between haves in south Charlotte and have-nots everywhere else. But the lines between the poor and rich parts of Charlotte are eroding, and the poor are trying to find places to live anywhere they can

ONE, TWO, AND THREE AT A TIME, people emerge from the sunshine on an unseasonably warm February afternoon into the leasing office at Crest on Providence. They’re looking for somewhere to live. A young African-American couple peruses the brochures arranged in a Plexiglas rack near the door. “Greystar,” the man says, smiling as he catches the name of the complex’s property management company. “Nice.” Another young man in a dress shirt and tie leads the couple into an office.

In a room just off the entranceway, Shakira Weddington waits for another Crest employee to discuss the metrics familiar to renters: square footage, number of bedrooms, security deposit, rent. Weddington is 34 and also African-American; she works at Mount Holly Elementary School, south of the state line in Rock Hill. For a year, she’s rented an apartment for herself, her 10-year-old daughter, and seven-year-old son in east Charlotte, near Independence Boulevard and Albemarle Road. It’s fairly affordable, $1,050 for three bedrooms, and for a reason. “There’s a lot of violence happening there,” she tells me. “I want something that’s affordable but in a safer part of town.”

Weddington has made a deal with herself. She’s willing to pay a few hundred dollars more for an apartment in a better neighborhood with better schools. That’s why she’s looking at Crest, a complex on Providence Road just south of the Landsdowne neighborhood. The 473 units aren’t anything special, nothing like the luxury flats under construction along Providence and all over Charlotte. This complex was built in the late 1960s and early ’70s, when this side of town was practically country. So Weddington might be able to handle the higher rent.

During her tour, she checks out a three-bedroom apartment that rents for $1,427, a bit much but potentially workable. She could easily find more space for less money in another part of town. “But I don’t want to live on the west side of Charlotte in any way, shape, or form. I’d prefer the east side to that,” says Weddington, a Charlotte native who graduated from Providence High, not far from Crest. “South is really where I’d like to be.”

CREST AND ANOTHER COMPLEX, 574-unit Reserve at Providence, occupy a pocket of relatively affordable homes in the center of the most affluent part of the city, south Charlotte. The median household income in this Census tract was $31,908 in 2016, according to the most recent city Quality of Life data. The median household income for the tract just south of it: $92,235. Just north: $112,392. Just east: $119,313.

For at least a decade, planners, demographers, and community leaders have used a shorthand term for south Charlotte, a pie slice-shaped expanse from uptown Charlotte to the Union County and South Carolina lines and bounded generally by Interstate 77 to the west and U.S. Highway 74, Independence Boulevard, to the east: the Wedge. In general, the Wedge is where the rich white people live. They have better access to parks, jobs, supermarkets, their own vehicles, good schools. The rest of Charlotte—poorer, more racially mixed areas east, west, and north of uptown—take up everything else. On a map, it looks like a collar, or a towel draped around Charlotte’s neck. Officials and civic leaders call it the Crescent.

The division between Crescent and Wedge forms the foundation of discussions about the city’s unequal distribution of economic opportunity, especially since a 2014 Harvard University study ranked Charlotte last among 50 major American cities in economic mobility. “Charlotte-Mecklenburg has a deep history of segregation and discrimination that has manifested in community and neighborhood development over the years, and patterns of isolation that have evolved,” a community task force organized to fix the problem wrote in a widely publicized 2017 report. “Recent research indicates that this racial and economic segregation has deepened the gap in opportunity.”

Other research and anecdotal evidence suggest that the sharp lines on the Charlotte map between haves and have-nots have begun to blur—that it’s no longer a simple matter of the affluent south Charlotte Wedge and the struggling Crescent. The have-nots are scrambling to find pockets anywhere in Charlotte, or outside of it, where they might be able to scrape together enough resources to live and work.

The apartments at Crest and Reserve, in the heart of the Wedge, are what’s known as NOAH, or naturally occurring affordable housing. It’s not lost on either Weddington or the man who owns the company that owns Crest—where rents start at $785 per month for a one-bedroom, one-bath unit—that, compared to rents a decade ago, what’s considered affordable isn’t that affordable.

“We can always find tenants for these apartments,” says Daniel Levine, president of Levine Properties, which owns about 1,000 units in Charlotte and bought Crest in 2014. “It’s just a matter of price. In these better neighborhoods, people seeking safety or a better situation, they will find you.” Demand isn’t the issue. Other economic pressures are—a Charlotte housing market that’s exploded since it emerged from the recession in 2013 and a Mecklenburg County property tax revaluation this year that will reflect the boom in higher assessed values and tax bills for landowners, which tend to result in rent hikes.

“Let’s assume taxes go up 10 percent—and they’ll probably go up more than that, so the cost will go up $300 to $500 every unit, which will translate into a rent increase, just to break even, of about $25 to $42 a month. Now, for someone paying $790, that’s a lot of money,” Levine tells me. “We may not pass on everything in the first year, but I would imagine that within a couple of years, we’re going to have to pass all of that along. I hate it. But that’s just the cost of doing business in Charlotte-Mecklenburg today.”

New county commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, shown here in Pineville, attributes her victory over incumbent Bill James in part to changing demographics.

THE CHANGES SHOW UP IN, among other things, political representation. In November, 11-term Republican county commissioner Bill James, an avatar of white conservatism in south Charlotte, lost his District 6 seat to Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, 55, a New York-born Democrat with Cuban and Puerto Rican ancestry. Rodriguez-McDowell attributed her victory in part to demographics. “(T)imes are changing, demographics are changing,” she wrote on her campaign page. “Our district has changed!”

We meet in the parking lot of a Panera Bread on Pineville-Matthews Road, N.C. Highway 51, the main east-west route through southernmost Charlotte. District 6 hugs the state line from the county’s eastern border to its western, and the bottom of the Wedge encompasses the heart of the district. The Panera serves as a handy meeting place for the new commissioner, who’s still adjusting to public service on this Friday afternoon in February. “It’s been wild,” she says as we climb into her Honda Accord hybrid. “Been pretty darn busy. On the go 24/7.” We head west on 51.

She’s taking me to the town of Pineville, in the southwestern corner of the Wedge. The median household income here is $48,125, lowest among the eight cities and towns in Mecklenburg County. (The next lowest is Charlotte, at $58,202.) One in five Pineville residents lives at or below the poverty level. Three years ago, Jane Shutt and a few friends founded Pineville Neighbors Place, a nonprofit that provides for the poor what Shutt calls the “three Fs”: food, furniture, and financial assistance. The offices and food pantry occupy a tiny house on Industrial Drive off 51.

Shutt, who’s lived in Pineville for 35 years, founded Neighbors Place after she noticed a growing number of people who sought help at Pineville United Methodist Church, where she worked as a music director. “One of the things I’ve heard most as I started doing this work is, when I would talk to somebody who doesn’t live here, they express surprise that there’s anybody down here who needs help,” Shutt tells me. “Because there’s a perception of sweet, nice little town, and (Interstate) 485, and (Carolina Place) mall, and Ballantyne, and they can’t believe anybody would be struggling down here.”

Nearly two-thirds of her clients are black, many of them elderly and disabled, and a number of them are recent transplants who have supplanted the old factory town’s working-class whites. Nellie White, who joins us at Neighbors Place, is 74 and a native of Springfield, Massachusetts, who moved to North Carolina from Florida in August to be close to her daughter.

That part has worked out, but little else has. White has relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, lives on a monthly $1,137 Social Security payment, and has trouble with the rules of her housing subsidy and the relative lack of services compared to Massachusetts and Florida. That’s why she wanted to talk to Rodriguez-McDowell, which she does, passionately, in a raspy, rapid-fire cadence. “Would you please tell me, where am I going to find a live-in aide? I’m new here. I don’t know anybody,” she tells the commissioner. “And if I did, who is going to pay the live-in aide? I have no money, and I do mean none. I thought I had checked everything out. I wanted to meet a politician so I could fight for senior rights.”

Another new Pineville resident sits next to her at the table. Sonia Moore, 60, moved to the area from the Bronx five years ago—again, to be close to family—and at first lived with her son in the complex that’s now known as Crest on Providence. When the lease expired, she wanted to find her own place. But she says her doctors advised against it because she suffers from severe asthma and shouldn’t live alone. Her condition ruled out any upstairs apartment, too. Moore and her daughter searched for eight months for an adequate first-floor unit she could afford until, in September 2016, one opened up in Pineville.

“That’s how we wound up down here. Which is fine,” says Moore, who uses a walker. “The only problem down here is if I need to go somewhere, I have to cross the streets, because I don’t drive, and if I have to call CATS special transportation ahead of time, they’re not reliable. I understand that Charlotte is growing faster than they anticipated and that they don’t have the personnel to help us, because a lot of seniors are moving here, and, like me, they don’t drive. We have to depend on the system.”

And communities within the Wedge typically haven’t offered the public services available closer to uptown because, until recently, they haven’t had to. Shutt says she’s perceived a widening gap in Pineville between the richest and poorest—enclaves of affluence in new communities, like the new McCullough subdivision nearby, isolated from the poor. Rising home values will likely widen that gap, says Shutt, who was astonished to learn from the county how much her own home a few miles away had appreciated.

“Our house is now worth $265,000,” she says—not extravagant for Ballantyne, but for a semi-rural spot off Lancaster Highway south of Pineville?

“And that was a jump of …?,” asks Rodriguez-McDowell.

“We built it 20 years ago for one sixty-five.”

“Wow. So are you happy about that?”

“Uh, no.” It’d be one thing if she was planning to sell, “but I’m not going anywhere. Where do you find affordable (housing)? Rents have gone up faster than wages have,” Shutt says. “People used to move (farther) out to try to find affordable, and it’s just not here.”

That’s not entirely accurate. It is here. Otherwise, White and Moore would have to live elsewhere. But Moore spends most of her meager income on housing, and White depends on Section 8 housing vouchers, which makes “affordable” a relative term. They get what they can from Shutt and her nonprofit. “I love Jane,” White says as she hugs Shutt and we leave. “She’s my angel.”

***

PLANNERS SPEND a lot of time staring at maps. Three of them gaze at one on a projection screen in the city planning offices, on the eighth floor of the Government Center uptown. Evan Lowry, a data whiz, knew I was coming to talk to them about the Wedge’s evolution, so he’s prepared this map and two others that display changes in racial composition and household income in 2010 and 2017.

“I was looking at the data earlier this morning,” Lowry says. We’re in the conference room with his fellow planners Garet Johnson and Rachel Stark. “What I found was … that these areas that I’ve circled here are becoming less segregated just over that small amount of time.” He’s drawn an oval around an area east of uptown that encompasses the Plaza-Shamrock and Commonwealth Heights neighborhoods, and another around the Wilmore neighborhood just west of uptown. Minority-rich neighborhoods in 2010, they’re growing whiter. He’s drawn two other ovals in what’s generally thought of as the Wedge, both south of I-485.

“In these northern areas”—Plaza-Shamrock, Commonwealth Heights, and Wilmore—“it’s going more from minority to white, and in these southern areas, it’s going more from white to minority,” Lowry says as he points at the screen. “And a lot of that, in the extreme southern area, that’s the Asian-Indian influence down there. That’s how I see the Wedge changing.”

The Planning Department is working on new comprehensive zoning and development ordinances, which it expects to submit for City Council adoption in 2021. They’re critical documents, expected to set templates for the city’s growth for the next half-century or more. But to guide Charlotte’s future, the planners have to grasp Charlotte’s present, and that’s transforming before their eyes.

It’s altered considerably just in the little more than five years that Ed Driggs has represented City Council District 7. It’s the city’s southernmost, including Ballantyne and the nucleus of the area Rodriguez-McDowell represents for the county. “There’s more affordable housing in my district than people generally appreciate,” Driggs tells me. He observes that the post-recession desire of the young and affluent for walkable neighborhoods near the city center has driven former Crescent residents into the suburbs, including those in the Wedge. “These changes,” he says, “are just happening all around.”

Back at the Government Center, I ask the planners what they might portend for the decades to come. They laugh. “I left my crystal ball on my desk,” jokes Johnson, a city planner in Charlotte for a quarter-century. “I can go get it.”

She turns serious. “‘Crescent and Wedge’ is a great way to tell the big story … But the Crescent isn’t homogenous. The Wedge isn’t homogenous. So we really have to dig a little bit deeper, and that’s what makes the work for the comprehensive plan more difficult,” she says. “Ten years ago, that duality might have been more pronounced. You can get caught up looking at those big swaths. But there’s more to it. It’s more nuanced—and changing.”

***

I CATCH UP with Shakira Weddington the week after we meet at Crest on Providence. She’s decided to look elsewhere. “What I really want is a four-bedroom, and the prices there are way too high,” she tells me. “I figure I could get a house for that. So I think I’m going to go the house route.”

She no longer has her heart set on south Charlotte. “I’m looking anywhere right now,” she says, “just seeing what pops up.”

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Read full post at: http://www.joyzhong.com/breaking-down-the-wedge-in-charlotte/

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athibanenglish · 4 years ago

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Curfew extended in Tamil Nadu... What are the additional relaxations in 23 districts?

Since the curfew in Tamil Nadu has been extended till June 28, the districts have been divided into three categories and exempted. Of these, 23 districts have been given additional relaxation in Category 2.

The cases of corona infection are gradually decreasing in Tamil Nadu. Yesterday (June 20) alone 8,183 people were infected with Corona. 468 people have been affected in Chennai. Yesterday only 31,015 people had recovered and returned home. Yesterday only 180 people died of corona infection.

In this context, Chief Minister Stalin today (June 20) ordered extension of the curfew in Tamil Nadu till June 28 as the curfew will end tomorrow (June 21).

In this regard, Chief Minister Stalin in a statement issued today said, "Based on the incidence of disease in the districts, the districts have been classified as follows.

Category 1 - (11 Districts)

Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Karur, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai districts

Type 2 - (23 Districts)

Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Kallakurichi, Kanyakumari, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Ranipettai, Sivagangai, Theni, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Tirupati, Tiruvannamalai, Tuticorin, Trichy, Villupuram districts and Villupuram.

Category 3 - (4 Districts)

Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts

Within the districts classified as above, activities already permitted for 11 districts in Category 1 will continue to be permitted.

In addition, in 23 Category 2 districts, time reductions are allowed for certain activities, in addition to the following activities, which are already permitted.

* Individual grocery, grocery, vegetable, meat and fish shops will be allowed to operate from 6.00 am to 7.00 pm.

* Pedestrian stalls selling vegetables, fruits and flowers will be allowed to operate from 6.00 am to 7.00 pm.

* Parcel service will be allowed only in restaurants and bakeries (hotels, restaurants and bakeries) from 6 am to 9 pm. All e-commerce companies distributing food through e-commerce will be allowed to function at the above time only.

*All other e-commerce service providers (e-commerce) can function from 06.00 AM to 09.00 PM.

* Shops selling sweets and caramels will be allowed to operate from 6.00 am to 9 pm.

All necessary departments of the government will be allowed to operate with 100% staff. Other government offices will be allowed to function with 50% staff.

*Registrar's offices will be allowed to function fully,

* All private companies will be allowed to operate with 33% staff.

* Export companies, companies manufacturing and supplying inputs to export companies will be allowed to continue functioning with 100% staff following the standard guidelines.

* Other factories will be allowed to operate with 33% staff.

* Shops selling electrical items, bulbs, cables, switches and wires will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

* Cycle and two wheeler repair shops will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

* Hardware stores will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

* Vehicle parts shops will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

* Shops of companies and distributors selling vehicles will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

* Shops selling educational books and stationery will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

* Auto repair centers for auto dealers will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

*Shoes selling shoes will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5 pm.

* Glasses sales and repair shops will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

* Shops selling and repairing home appliances such as mixers, grinders, TVs will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

* Manufacture and sale of pottery and handicrafts will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

* Self-employed persons like Electrician, Plumber, Computer & Machine Repair Technician (Motor Technician) and Carpenter will be allowed to visit the home of service seekers for repairs from 6.00 AM to 5.00 PM with e-registration.

* Shops selling mobile phones and related products will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

*Construction material shops will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5.00 pm.

*All types of construction work will be allowed.

Administrative work related to admission of students in schools, colleges, universities and training centers will be allowed.

*Sports coaching staff will be allowed to operate from 6 am to 5 pm and play in open air without spectators.

*Maintenance work will be allowed in cinema halls only once a week with the permission of the Governor concerned.

* Passengers in hired vehicles, taxis and autos will be allowed to travel with e-registration. Apart from the driver, three passengers will be allowed to travel in taxis and only two passengers will be allowed to travel in autos apart from the driver.

*Housing companies (HFCs), non-bank financial institutions (NBFCs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs) will be allowed to operate with 33% staff.

Thus it is said.

#Advice #Coronavirus #Health #Meeting #Notification #Political #Stalin #Tamil-Nadu

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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For Clean Energy, Buy American or Buy It Quick and Cheap? In January, Patricia Fahy, a New York State legislator, was celebrating a new development project for the Port of Albany: the country’s first assembly plant dedicated to building offshore wind towers. “I was doing cartwheels,” said Ms. Fahy, who represents the area. Before long, however, she was caught in a political bind. A powerful union informed her that most of the equipment for New York’s big investment in offshore windmills would not be built by American workers but would come from abroad. Yet when Ms. Fahy proposed legislation to press developers to use locally made parts, she met opposition from environmentalists and wind industry officials. “They were like, ‘Oh, God, don’t cause us any problems,’” she recalled. Since President Biden’s election, Democratic politicians have extolled the win-win allure of the transition from fossil fuels, saying it can help avert a looming climate crisis while putting millions to work. “For too long we’ve failed to use the most important word when it comes to meeting the climate crisis: jobs, jobs, jobs,” Mr. Biden said in an address to Congress last month. But there is a tension between the goals of industrial workers and those of environmentalists — groups that Democrats count as politically crucial. The greater the emphasis on domestic manufacturing, the more expensive renewable energy will be, at least initially, and the longer it could take to meet renewable-energy targets. That tension could become apparent as the White House fleshes out its climate agenda. “It’s a classic trade-off,” said Anne Reynolds, who heads the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, a coalition of environmental and industry groups. “It would be better if we manufactured more solar panels in the U.S. But other countries invested public money for a decade. That’s why it’s cheaper to build them there.” There is some data to support the contention that climate goals can create jobs. The consulting firm Wood Mackenzie expects tens of thousands of new jobs per year later this decade just in offshore wind, an industry that barely exists in the United States today. And labor unions — even those whose members are most threatened by the shift to green energy, like mineworkers — increasingly accept this logic. In recent years, many unions have joined forces with supporters of renewable energy to create groups with names like the BlueGreen Alliance that press for ambitious jobs and climate legislation, in the vein of the $2.3 trillion proposal that Mr. Biden is calling the American Jobs Plan. But much of the supply chain for renewable energy and other clean technologies is in fact abroad. Nearly 70 percent of the value of a typical solar panel assembled in the United States accrues to firms in China or Chinese firms operating across Southeast Asia, according to a recent report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and BloombergNEF, an energy research group. Batteries for electric vehicles, their most valuable component, follow a similar pattern, the report found. And there is virtually no domestic supply chain specifically for offshore wind, an industry that Mr. Biden hopes to see grow from roughly a half-dozen turbines in the water today to thousands over the next decade. That supply chain is largely in Europe. Many proponents of a greener economy say that importing equipment is not a problem but a benefit — and that insisting on domestic production could raise the price of renewable energy and slow the transition from fossil fuels. “It is valuable to have flexible global supply chains that let us move fast,” said Craig Cornelius, who once managed the Energy Department’s solar program and is now chief executive of Clearway Energy Group, which develops solar and wind projects. Those emphasizing speed over sourcing argue that most of the jobs in renewable energy will be in the construction of solar and wind plants, not making equipment, because the manufacturing is increasingly automated. But labor groups worry that construction and installation jobs will be low paying and temporary. They say only manufacturing has traditionally offered higher pay and benefits and can sustain a work force for years. Partisans of manufacturing also point out that it often leads to jobs in new industries. Researchers have shown that the migration of consumer electronics to Asia in the 1960s and ’70s helped those countries become hubs for future technologies, like advanced batteries. As a result, labor leaders are pressing the administration to attach strict conditions to the subsidies it provides for green equipment. “We’re going to be demanding that the domestic content on this stuff has to be really high,” said Thomas M. Conway, the president of the United Steelworkers union and a close Biden ally. The experience of New York reveals how delicate these debates can be once specific jobs and projects are at stake. Late last year, the Communications Workers of America began considering ways to revive employment at a General Electric factory that the union represents in Schenectady, N.Y., near Albany. The factory has shed thousands of employees in recent decades. Around the same time, the state was close to approving bids for two major offshore wind projects. The eventual winner, a Norwegian developer, Equinor, promised to help bring a wind-tower assembly plant to New York and upgrade a port in Brooklyn. “All of a sudden I focus on the fact that we’re talking about wind manufacturing,” said Bob Master, the communications workers official who contacted Ms. Fahy, the state legislator. “G.E. makes turbines — there could be a New York supply chain. Let’s give it a try.” In early February, the union produced a draft of a bill that would ask developers like Equinor to buy their wind equipment from manufacturers in New York State “to the maximum extent feasible” — not just towers but other components, like blades and nacelles, which house the mechanical guts of a turbine. Ms. Fahy, a member of the Assembly, and State Senator Neil Breslin, a fellow Democrat from the Albany area, signed on as sponsors. Environmentalists and industry officials quickly raised concerns that the measure could discourage developers from coming to the state. “So far, Equinor has gone above and beyond what any other company has done,” said Lisa Dix, who led the Sierra Club’s campaign for renewable energy in New York until recently. “Why do we need more onerous requirements on companies given what we got?” Ms. Dix and other clean-energy advocates had worked with labor unions to persuade the state that construction jobs in offshore wind should offer union-scale wages and representation. And New York’s system for evaluating clean-energy bids already awarded points to developers that promised local economic benefits. Ms. Reynolds, the head of the environmental and industry coalition in New York, worried that going beyond the existing arrangement could make the cost of renewable energy unsustainable. “If it became bigger and more noticeable on electric bills, the common expectation is that political support for New York’s clean-energy programs would erode,” she said. The communications workers sought to offer reassurance, not entirely successfully. “I said to them, ‘We’re trade unionists: We ask for everything, the boss offers us nothing, and then we make a deal,’” Mr. Master said. “‘But I do think there’s no reason why turbines should be coming from France as opposed to Schenectady.’” The final language, a compromise negotiated with the state’s building trades council and passed by the Legislature in April, allows the state to award additional points in the bidding process to developers that pledge to create manufacturing jobs in the state, a slight refinement of the current approach. (It also effectively requires that workers who build, operate or maintain wind and solar plants either receive union-scale wages or can benefit from union representation.) While the law included a “buy American” provision for iron and steel, the state’s energy research and development agency, known as NYSERDA, can waive the requirement. The agency’s chief executive, Doreen Harris, said she was generally pleased that the existing approach remained intact and predicted that the state would have blade and nacelle factories within a few years. Some analysts agreed, arguing that most offshore wind equipment is so bulky — often hundreds of feet long — that it becomes impractical to ship across the Atlantic. “There’s a point at which importation of all goods and services doesn’t make economic sense,” said Jeff Tingley, an expert on the offshore wind supply chain at the consulting firm Xodus. But that has not always reflected the experience of the United Kingdom, which had installed more offshore wind turbines than any other country by the start of this year but had manufactured only a small portion of the equipment. “Even with the U.K. being the biggest market, the logistics costs weren’t big enough to justify new factories,” said Alun Roberts, an expert on offshore wind with the British-based consulting firm BVG Associates. A 2017 report indicated that the country manufactured well below 30 percent of its offshore wind equipment,and Mr. Roberts said the percentage had probably increased slightly since then. The country currently manufactures blades but no nacelles. All of which leaves the Biden administration with a difficult choice: If it genuinely wants to shift manufacturing to the United States, doing so could require some aggressive prodding. A senior White House official said the administration was exploring ways of requiring that a portion of wind and solar equipment be American-made when federal money was involved. But many current and former Democratic economic officials are skeptical of the idea, as are clean-energy advocates. “I worry about local content requirements for offshore wind from the federal government right now,” said Kathleen Theoharides, the Massachusetts secretary of energy and environmental affairs. “I don’t think adding anything that could potentially raise the cost of clean energy to the ratepayer is necessarily the right strategy.” Mr. Master said the recent legislation in New York was a victory given the difficulty of enacting stronger domestic content policies at the state level, but acknowledged that it fell short of his union’s goals. Both he and Ms. Fahy vowed to keep pressing to bring more offshore wind manufacturing jobs to New York. “I could be the queen of lost causes, but we want to get some energy around this,” Ms. Fahy said. “We need this here. I’m not just saying New York. This is a national conversation.” Source link Orbem News #American #buy #cheap #clean #Energy #Quick

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mrmichaelchadler · 6 years ago

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True/False 2019: Caballerango, American Factory, The Hottest August, Finding Frances

One of the best films at the festival, Juan Pablo González’s “Caballerango” captures spare haunted moments in Milpillas, a rural Mexican village that has been reeling from a series of suicides. A horse vacantly stares in the camera. A woman pulls the skin off chicken legs. Two men have a sprinting contest while a group places bets. People work while the world changes around them. The landscape remains the same.

These scenes have an indefinably eerie quality that stems from González’s choice to make his camera as invisible as possible. He lingers on events longer than most filmmakers, illustrating the passage of time as much as the action in the frame. He interviews people discussing the various losses that have affected them and their community—a son’s suicide, his sister’s miscarriage, his brother’s friends’ deaths—but the focus in “Caballerango” remains productively unstable. The suicides are treated as individual tragedies while also serving as microcosms for the economic deterioration in the area, an avenue that González would rather gesture towards than didactically explore.

González employs a creative rhythmic strategy to communicate his empathy towards the Milpillas community. He conditions his audience to observe the mundane at length, to “experience the frame instead of someone editing,” as he explained in Filmmaker Magazine to describe his short film “The Solitude of Memory.” Thus, when the unexpected invades the frame, it engenders surprise or awe, like a late-night vigil that stalks the streets. It’s an attempt to inure the audience into the pace of life in Milpillas while also demonstrating how ghosts, metaphoric and literal, permanently disrupt everyday lives. The spectral drives “Caballerango” while the people themselves reside at its center.

“American Factory”

Netflix bought Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s “American Factory” for under $3 million following its world premiere at Sundance earlier this year. This might be a drop in the bucket for a streaming service that essentially prints its own money, but it still ostensibly represents a belief that a documentary about a Chinese-owned car-glass manufacturing company in Dayton, Ohio can garner a sizable audience on their platform. Given that the film directly engages with Recession-sourced working class plight, unionization in face of indifferent corporate superstructures, and the difficulties of reconciling different cultures during the height of globalization, Netflix might have made a good bet.

In 2014, Chinese billionaire Cao Dewang opens up a Fuyao manufacturing plant in Dayton. For the locals, this represents a bright new opportunity, especially after General Motors shuttered their factory in 2008. At first, “American Factory” focuses on the humorous side of the culture clash: the Chinese workers, transplanted from the safety of their homes and families, learn about the nuances of their American peers in classroom settings, while the Americans deal with the Chinese workers’ hyper-detail-focused nature and staunch work ethic on the job. Yet, tensions quickly escalate as Chinese management become frustrated with their American counterparts as well as the country’s labor laws. Lax safety standards and the looming threat of automation spark union talks amongst the workers, which erodes all previous good will. The film becomes a chronicle of the age-old war between labor and management, only this time with easily drawn global implications vis-à-vis Chinese economic control and America’s bleak manufacturing future. The metaphors invent themselves when you’re watching irreconcilable worldviews engage with each other in real time.

Bognar and Reichert’s film maneuvers between different tones at ease. It’s a fish-out-of-water comedy one moment and a searing indictment of hellacious corporate practices the next. This casual tonal shifts allows the film’s truly horrifying moments to pop, like when an American supervisor tells his Chinese peer that he wishes he could tape his workers’ mouths shut so they wouldn’t talk as much on the job, or Dewang’s underlings expressing disbelief at the idea of Americans not working weekends. There’s probably one too many threads at play in the film, but even the most digressive elements contribute to a modern portrait of American labor fighting upwind against a culture that has all but abandoned them.

What keeps me from wholly embracing “American Factory” lies in Bognar and Reichert’s macro-structural decision to provide everyone, from the factory workers to Dewang himself, an equal platform. On paper, the choice is sound, a necessary step to providing a full picture, but when the film shifts focus to the unionization efforts, it occasionally scans as a blatant attempt for obvious villains to save face. Bognar and Reichert provide a steady, neutral presence, which obviously helps with access and trust, but their inability to express a strong critical viewpoint becomes a liability. Everyone is human, yes, but when certain individuals have the expressed goal of continually putting workers in harm’s way to save a buck, maybe some are more human than others.

I walked out of “American Factory” thinking that no one could possibly watch that film and come away believing that unions are anything less than a necessity. Sure enough, two people behind me were talking about how unions “made sense for a time,” but they ultimately bred laziness and stifled innovation. I don’t for a second doubt Bognar and Reichert’s intentions, but because “American Factory” plays to all time zones, it will inevitably confirm whatever pre-conceived biases you already hold. Granted, it’s not the job of “American Factory” to change minds, but at some point, the choice not to take a tougher political stance weakens the film.

“The Hottest August”

Brett Story’s “The Hottest August” technically focuses on the dark specter of the impending global climate disaster through the voices of New Yorkers over the span of a month, but its larger aim is to encapsulate the sense of dread that currently permeates the world. In August 2017, Story traveled across all five boroughs, either going to a specific event in the city or posting up at a single location, to film conversations about “the future.” Different anxieties fill the air—economic, social, racial, political—and the testimonies directly engage with the ineffable sense of catastrophe that feels like it’s lurking around the corner. Sometimes the responses are measured while others are tossed off. Trump’s recent inauguration hangs over the city, not to mention the violent aftermath of Unite the Right rally as well as the solar eclipse, which Story uses as a structural bookend. In between these interviews, actress Clare Coulter provides clinical, semi-otherworldly narration; she reads excerpts from Marx, Zadie Smith, and a “New Yorker” essay by Annie Dillard. Story’s film scans as a long-form exploration of the most chilling line from Paul Schrader’s “First Reformed”: “This social system isn’t built for multiple crises.”

Story and her editor Nels Bangerter visually and aurally communicate the low-grade terror that now fills our lives quite effectively. “The Hottest August” is freewheeling by its very nature, jumping from topic to topic similar to Story’s borough hopping. The collective fear, and the ways in which it’s expressed, mostly keeps the interviews connected. It’s how a young college graduate worried about job prospects can feel in line with middle-aged Staten Island bar patrons discussing racism, even if the expressed anxieties are diametrically opposed. Story lets her subjects talk freely and jumps in to further the conversation or question the answers. (The best example might be when she questions an art collecting hedge fund manager about the value of capitalism.) She encounters these New Yorkers at a critical point, and while all are self-aware about the respective despair, none feel particularly hopeless. Systemic collapse doesn’t necessarily crush individual hope.

Story clearly reverse-engineered “The Hottest August” from the numerous interviews she conducted, and though that’s a valid creative strategy, the project feels unproductively diffuse at times. It lives and dies by the charisma of her subjects, which vary wildly, and certain participants, like a futurist performance artist, just simply aren’t engaging enough to justify the time spent with them. I couldn’t help but wonder if the film would have a stronger impact on me if the scope were limited exclusively to climate change. At the same time, “The Hottest August” succeeds as a portrait of New York in crisis and I can easily see myself coming around to certain digressive elements on a second viewing. It’s a colossal film, one that I predict will be major if distributed, that bottles up our depressing zeitgeist with maximum insight, and yet I still felt underwhelmed. Maybe just living in this culture will do that to you sometimes.

“Finding Frances”

Though it never occurred to me when it was airing, “Nathan For You,” the satirical docu-reality series co-created by and starring comedian Nathan Fielder, is a perfect fit for True/False. Fielder’s elaborate, counterintuitive marketing proposals for struggling businesses—offering a gas station rebate that’s almost impossible to claim; exploiting the fair use doctrine to rebrand a struggling coffee shop as Dumb Starbucks; using a theatrical construct to help a dive bar get around a smoking ban—always straddled the line between performance art and non-fiction storytelling. Fielder and his team employed many of the principles of documentary filmmaking to pull off their stunts, finding humor in the gaps between their noble-but-misguided intentions and the participants’ willingness to go along with them. “Nathan For You” raises many of the standard philosophical and ethical questions that “serious” documentarians grapple with during their own projects, plus some legal ones as well. (A friend pointed out that Fielder must have kept Comedy Central’s legal team very busy over the course of the series.) All of these qualities make “Nathan For You” pure, unfettered True/False bait.

I won’t restate the plot of “Nathan For You’s” brilliant series finale “Finding Frances” in this space; it’s readily available to stream and you can read multiple recaps or reviews if you wish, including one penned by Errol Morris. However, I will say that watching the film/episode (I’m not getting into this debate) in the Missouri Theatre, where all 1,200 seats were filled with either Fielder acolytes or curious newcomers, was a genuine event. In retrospect, it was a perfect fit for the festival: an audacious crowd-pleaser that not only pushes Fielder’s project to its limit but also vibes neatly with the rest of the programming lineup. It’s no surprise that True/False has apparently been trying to get Fielder to come out to Columbia for some time. Sure enough, the crowd treated Fielder like a rock star when he arrived for the Q&A (the guy sitting next to me jumped to his feet and screamed as if Mick Jagger strolled across the stage). He answered multiple questions in his wonderful deadpan cadence and screened some deleted scenes for the audience. “Finding Frances” illustrates that True/False can indulge in its populist side without abandoning its principles.

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alienation2016-blog · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on Alienation

New Post has been published on https://alienation.biz/the-american-economy-might-surprisingly-benefit-from-the-falling-dollar/

The American Economy Might Surprisingly Benefit From the Falling Dollar

National and private debt numbers are approaching heights so distant that they upward thrust into the clouds. Half of the united states of America is in debt, and the opposite half is in virtual foreclosure. Only a marginal fraction of the populace is debt unfastened, however, most are in debt to someone. It’s painfully ironic when creditors are borrowers too. There is a temptation to be dismal approximately the scenario, however, we must now not take that course. The answer is to recognize what to do subsequent.

Economies Can Rebind Quickly

In times beyond, the bubbles popped with superb pressure and resulted in horrible results. On Black Thursday in 1929, thirty billion dollars disappeared in a single afternoon main to what’s typically called the Great Depression. Today, that could be one thousand billion bucks or greater. Imagine that, one trillion greenbacks long gone in six hours. After this event transpired, the economic system slumped for ten years until World War II began to call for greater from America. The financial system then rebounded unexpectedly as lots of factories with hundreds of thousands of latest jobs emerged with the assist of countrywide debt. After the warfare, the economic system became still booming and persevered to increase for pretty some time. Because factories and infrastructure on account of the conflict may want to crank out merchandise like in no way earlier than, debtors paid off their money owed each publicly and privately.

This Economy Can Rebind Too

Today, the financial system is seeing similarities to the Great Depression. But this time, it’s occurring after the warfare. The conflict in Iraq, right or wrong, proper or horrific, has been very costly as it did now not upload new infrastructure. It without a doubt used the infrastructure already present. Many factories earlier than the Iraq war had been running at 30% potential or much less. Now they’re strolling at 50-55%. But few new factories and industries were built. The equal factories making material for peacetime are actually the equal factories making material in wartime. When the conflict is over, those same factories will remain. This method there may be a little threat that the postwar financial system can be greater prepared to pay off warfare debts than was the submit WWII economy. Something else ought to manifest.

Wars now not restore economies because wars no longer construct infrastructure–at the least, now not for America. The dollar goes to fall, and fall fast. It might be inflated to a very excessive degree and could achieve this very quickly. The high-quality manner to cope is to own something precious so that when the dirt clears you to continue to have something humans will possibly need to buy.

But one enjoys the falling dollar is that different currencies, valued better than the greenback, may be looking to buy matters reasonably-priced. And while their currency is far extra valuable than the dollar, they may buy American. Countries will begin looking to American factories and American providers for items and exports. American exports could be cheap and American manufacturing will be noticeably busy. And busy manufacturing places hundreds of thousands to paintings-many thousands and thousands.

What You Can Expect and How You Can Benefit From It

It is likely that the dollar will begin falling dramatically in 2009. Consumers, commerce, and many industries will suffer. Other international locations with strong currencies will appearance to American factories for reasonably-priced items. The items might be so devalued that a foreign youngster’s wage may be capable to shop for an American TV with out financing.

We ought to understand that enterprise is the area to invest in a recession. It is the handiest place to put money into a recession. In the past, wars pushed enterprise alongside, and therefore the economic system. Then, debts might be repaid. Now, the simplest aspect to push industry along is self-control. If we invest someplace else, a falling dollar will wreck that investment. Don’t put money into bonds, ARMs, retail, patron offerings, or some thing intangible. Invest in mining and industrial agencies who manufacture physical objects and export them or deliver them to retail stores for distribution. The best different area to invest accurately is in charity, where profits are not measured in bucks.

Don’t Look Now, but It’s Already Happening

Most commerce, retail, and service organizations are taking horrible hits. Some industries are also suffering. Ford is planning on slicing thirty thousand jobs within the near future and Dell is making plans on slicing 8 thousand. But what you would possibly have ignored is that numerous industries, for example, this steel fabrication enterprise, suggested document profits in the fall of 2008 and hopes to be heading for a document 2009.

This business enterprise’s providers are having document income as properly due to extra marketplace demand. Since commodity expenses and herbal sources have fallen so rapidly, it has contributed to regular profits inside the industries that utilize those commodities. If this fashion is country wide, it represents a flow that America has not visible in a long time: a shift from a consumerist nation to a business kingdom.

Service industries like retail shops, theatres, fast meals restaurants, and the like are not capable of rebound an financial system. They just inform you how well the financial system is doing. Companies that truely produce bodily items, no longer sell them to customers, are the indication of a thriving economy. Selling takes place after an amazing is produced, no longer before. Companies that promote matters need to be a second priority after people who lead them to.

What Government Can Do Now

I could advise that the authorities surely reduce taxes and restrictions on industries and groups producing physical substances and goods. This could encompass mines, production agencies, countrywide infrastructure, and power-generating facilities. These companies offer nice jobs that certainly help the economy, upload purchaser objects to the pool and keep matters cheaper for the common American, and develop the economic system rather than simply use it.

The industries that make an economy effective and sustainable are mines and factories. When factories come to a city, the metropolis thrives with offerings and commerce. When factories leave a town, a wave of deficits, crime, and grey skies hit the place.

As the dollar keeps to decline, I respectfully propose that the new President help American industries get a head begin at the big amount of orders a good way to begin coming in from foreign countries looking for reasonably-priced exports.

The False Bush Economy

The as soon as robust robust US economy has been manipulated by many over the years, to the point now it now not follows sound monetary principles or practices. Many trust the central manipulate and authorities law is to blame, others the deregulation and greed are the culprits.

The fact stays, the awful news is not over and can be underscored with the aid of the almost day by day information on important US business after US business heading for bankruptcy.

Our economy, via a long time of mismanagement is now showing the symptoms of the real opportunity of collapsing. This is critical and ought to now not be taken gently.

The US financial system has been become a debtor economic system that’s a fake economic system. Savings has been replaced through debt, our once majestic manufacturing through a provider/facts industry, sound investing ideas by using leveraging inflated bucks in a growth to bust rollercoaster which handiest benefits a handful of savvy insiders who rake in billions in in a single day fulfillment.

Even after years of mismanagement we nevertheless locate Uncle Sam handing out cash like a inebriated sailor on shore depart after 6 months at sea. Does nobody see Uncle Sam is broke, he did no longer win the lottery, wherein is the cash coming from? More loans or the counterfeit federal printing press?

The reality is, Uncle (can you spare a dime) Sam can’t purchase his way out of this one, despite the fact that, he’s going to try. This financial system is the made of many years of faulty, ill counseled, uninformed and politically stimulated boomer politicians. Yet, they maintain down this path refusing to admit they do not know what they may be doing or admitting they haven’t a clue a way to restoration something.

The old defend the technology of tough people, who understood the importance of saving, those who understood what it meant to have no longer, to move hungry, to combat a warfare towards leaders bent on international domination are all long gone. We are actually left with their spooled youngsters, “the philosophy majors”.

Lets study the information. For years we’ve got exported our industries, our manufacturing, outsourced our jobs, allowed a lopsided import coverage while not taking care of our groups by using negotiating a sound export coverage, and many others.. There have been many reason given with the aid of both facets of presidency but the reality remains our ability as a state to create real wealth changed into exported and eroded relentlessly through our very own people.

The false financial system boomed, and so started out the cycle of boom and bust. Inflation turned into making humans rich, paper gains became the order of the day. The antique ideas of sound monetary practices were set aside for the brand new child boom financial mantras of leveraging to the hilt and letting inflation reduce the debt through the years.

Look at it this way, our housing growth became created by using loaning cash to unqualified debtors who couldn’t pay returned the loans they borrowed. The boomer politicians insisted on domestic ownership for renters who couldn’t qualify to shop for (more often than not due to the fact they don’t pay their payments). The greedy bankers noticed notable possibilities and the capacity to make the most this new marketplace of economically unsophisticated borrowers. This advent of recent customers began the lack inside the housing market, which set in motion the construction boom.

Then comes the speculators, for the reason that market changed into hot and increasing exponentially, human beings leveraged and purchased 2, three, 5, 10 homes. This pressure created a garage inflicting costs to sky rocket. Creating the booming fake financial system, domestic values have become inflated making people wealthy, but no longer via real productivity. Remember our productiveness turned into exported long in the past. As humans cashed out this fake advantage they had been spending the borrowed cash, the equity, that became no longer earned, but created out of thin air, on everything they may get their hands on.

They offered and bought assuming they could cash out again in six months and pay off that new debt. Until that debt have become so extraordinary the people debt to earnings ratios or DTI become so high it is able to no longer be falsified by way of the banks to qualify the borrower for a brand new mortgage.

Yes, many humans invested in the stock market with fake financial equity profits, the borrowed cash, offered products, home enhancements, built homes, holidays and many others.

The cash turned into flowed like wine, everyone turned into inebriated with cash. But with cash they did not earn, cash they could not have earned and dwelling manner past their method. Its okay, the authorities lives beyond it method, so why no longer us was the sensation. All the at the same time as telling grandma and grandpa, see your wrong I don’t need to keep my residence makes me cash.

The economy was amazing! But as with gravity, what is going up without a method of assist will come down hard. So, while banks may want to no longer create or manufacture shoppers of houses thru the loosening of credit, the housing bubble burst and so starts offevolved the fake economies drop to the floor. As the constant length of the sub-high mortgages have been because of alter and people renters who had been was debtors should now not find the money for to make the bills, they did what renters constantly do while the landlord increases the hire, they circulate!

This little unanticipated result had the result of rushing up the method of deflating the economy to in which it need to have been all alongside.

So it starts offevolved, we have the economy deflating to satisfy what human beings can clearly have the funds for via the real approach of help, profits from their jobs or organizations.

The worthless jobs, provider jobs, can be removed hastily as groups downsize to satisfy the real economy. Heavily aggressive business will soon simplest see the strong continue to exist, the robust are those who have savings to meet the lean instances, their competitors fall flat.

One aspect you must recognize the USA financial system has become expert at gearing up to fulfill demand. Shopping malls, restaurants, retailers and so forth. Can crop up over night time in a growth economic system to take gain of the boom. But have you ever observed, everything is faux, there may be no longevity, no stability, no commitment to community. Just excessive power greenbacks shifting in buying permits, bringing in out of doors crews to build a façade of a giant keep. Under reducing the long term stable businesses of that community, using them below and out of commercial enterprise becoming the handiest recreation on the town.

Just as speedy as set up they will close their doorways, layoff all the nearby help to off load the debt in their huge brief business. You most effective want to examine the stock market to see every principal US store goes down.

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newstfionline · 8 years ago

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As Economy Grows, North Korea’s Grip on Society Weakens

By Choe Sang-Hun, NY Times, April 30, 2017

SEOUL, South Korea--Despite decades of sanctions and international isolation, the economy in North Korea is showing surprising signs of life.

Scores of marketplaces have opened in cities across the country since the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, took power five years ago. A growing class of merchants and entrepreneurs is thriving under the protection of ruling party officials. Pyongyang, the capital, has seen a construction boom, and there are now enough cars on its once-empty streets for some residents to make a living washing them.

Reliable economic data is scarce. But recent defectors, regular visitors and economists who study the country say nascent market forces are beginning to reshape North Korea--a development that complicates efforts to curb Mr. Kim’s nuclear ambitions.

Even as President Trump bets on tougher sanctions, especially by China, to stop the North from developing nuclear-tipped missiles capable of striking the United States, the country’s improving economic health has made it easier for it to withstand such pressure and to acquire funds for its nuclear program.

While North Korea remains deeply impoverished, estimates of annual growth under Mr. Kim’s rule range from 1 percent to 5 percent, comparable to some fast-growing economies unencumbered by sanctions.

But a limited embrace of market forces in what is supposed to be a classless society also is a gamble for Mr. Kim, who in 2013 made economic growth a top policy goal on par with the development of a nuclear arsenal.

Mr. Kim, 33, has promised his long-suffering people that they will never have to “tighten their belts” again. But as he allows private enterprise to expand, he undermines the government’s central argument of socialist superiority over South Korea’s capitalist system.

There are already signs that market forces are weakening the government’s grip on society. Information is seeping in along with foreign goods, eroding the cult of personality surrounding Mr. Kim and his family. And as people support themselves and get what they need outside the state economy, they are less beholden to the authorities.

“Our attitude toward the government was this: If you can’t feed us, leave us alone so we can make a living through the market,” said Kim Jin-hee, who fled North Korea in 2014 and, like others interviewed for this article, uses a new name in the South to protect relatives she left behind.

After the government tried to clamp down on markets in 2009, she recalled, “I lost what little loyalty I had for the regime.”

Kim Jin-hee’s loyalty was first tested in the 1990s, when a famine caused by floods, drought and the loss of Soviet aid gripped North Korea. The government stopped providing food rations, and as many as two million people died.

Ms. Kim did what many others did to survive. She stopped showing up for her state job, at a machine-tool factory in the mining town of Musan, and spent her days at a makeshift market selling anything she could get her hands on. Similar markets appeared across the country.

After the food shortage eased, the market in Musan continued to grow. By the time she left the country, Ms. Kim said, more than 1,000 stalls were squeezed into it alongside her own.

Kim Jong-il, the father of the North’s current leader, had been ambivalent about the marketplaces before he died in 2011. Sometimes he tolerated them, using them to increase food supplies and soften the blow of tightening sanctions imposed by the United Nations on top of an American embargo dating to the Korean War. Other times, he sought to suppress them.

But since 2010, the number of government-approved markets in North Korea has doubled to 440, and satellite images show them growing in size in most cities. In a country with a population of 25 million, about 1.1 million people are now employed as retailers or managers in these markets, according to a study by the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

Unofficial market activity has flourished, too: people making and selling shoes, clothing, sweets and bread from their homes; traditional agricultural markets that appear in rural towns every 10 days; smugglers who peddle black-market goods like Hollywood movies, South Korean television dramas and smartphones that can be used near the Chinese border.

At least 40 percent of the population in North Korea is now engaged in some form of private enterprise, a level comparable to that of Hungary and Poland shortly after the fall of the Soviet bloc, the director of South Korea’s intelligence service, Lee Byung-ho, told lawmakers in a closed-doorbriefing in February.

This market activity is driven in part by frustration with the state’s inefficient and rigid planned economy. North Koreans once worked only in state farms and factories, receiving salaries and ration coupons to buy food and other necessities in state stores. But that system crumbled in the 1990s, and now many state workers earn barely a dollar a month. Economists estimate the cost of living in North Korea to be $60 per month.

“If you are an ordinary North Korean today, and if you don’t make money through markets, you are likely to die of hunger,” said Kim Nam-chol, 46, a defector from Hoeryong, a town near the Chinese border. “It’s that simple.”

Before fleeing in 2014, Mr. Kim survived as a smuggler in North Korea. He bought goods such as dried seafood, ginseng, antiques and even methamphetamine, and he carried them across the border to sell in China. There, he used his earnings to buy grain, saccharin, socks and plastic bags and took it back to sell in North Korean markets.

He said he had paid off border guards and security officers to slip back and forth, often by offering them cigarette packs stuffed with rolled-up $100 or 10,000-yen bills.

“I came to believe I could get away with anything in North Korea with bribes,” he said, “except the crime of criticizing the ruling Kim family.”

Eighty percent of consumer goods sold in North Korean markets originate in China, according to an estimate by Kim Young-hee, director of the North Korean economy department at the Korea Development Bank in the South.

But Kim Jong-un has exhorted the country to produce more goods locally in an effort to lessen its dependence on China, using the word jagang, or self-empowerment. His call has emboldened manufacturers to respond to market demand.

Shoes, liquor, cigarettes, socks, sweets, cooking oil, cosmetics and noodles produced in North Korea have already squeezed out or taken market share from Chinese-made versions, defectors said.

Regular visitors to Pyongyang, the showcase capital, say a real consumer economy is emerging. “Competition is everywhere, including between travel agencies, taxi companies and restaurants,” Rüdiger Frank, an economist at the University of Vienna who studies the North, wrote recently after visiting a shopping center there.

A cellphone service launched in 2008 has more than three million subscribers. With the state still struggling to produce electricity, imported solar panels have become a middle-class status symbol. And on sale at some grocery stores and informal markets on the side streets of Pyongyang is a beverage that state propaganda used to condemn as “cesspool water of capitalism”--Coca-Cola.

When Kim Jong-un stood on a balcony reviewing a parade in April, he was flanked by Hwang Pyong-so, the head of the military, and Pak Pong-ju, the premier in charge of the economy.

The formation was symbolic of Mr. Kim’s byungjin policy, which calls for the parallel pursuit of two policy goals: developing the economy and building nuclear weapons. Only a nuclear arsenal, Mr. Kim argues, will make North Korea secure from American invasion and let it focus on growth.

Mr. Kim has granted state factories more autonomy over what they produce, including authority to find their own suppliers and customers, as long as they hit revenue targets. And families in collective farms are now assigned to individual plots called pojeon. Once they meet a state quota, they can keep and sell any surplus on their own.

The measures resemble those adopted by China in the early years of its turn to capitalism in the 1980s. But North Korea has refrained from describing them as market-oriented reforms, preferring the phrase “economic management in our own style.”

In state-censored journals, though, economists are already publishing papers describing consumer-oriented markets, joint ventures and special economic zones.

It is unclear how much of recent increases in grain production were due to Mr. Kim’s policies. Defectors say factories remain hobbled by electricity shortages and decrepit machinery while many farmers have struggled to meet state quotas because they lack fertilizer and modern equipment.

More broadly, the economy remains constrained by limited foreign investment and the lack of legal protections for private enterprise or procedures for contract enforcement.

Plans to set up special economic zones have remained only plans, as investors have balked at North Korea’s poor infrastructure and record of seizing assets from foreigners, not to mention the sanctions against it.

But there is evidence that the state is growing increasingly dependent on the private sector.

Cha Moon-seok, a researcher at the Institute for Unification Education of South Korea, estimates that the government collects as much as $222,000 per day in taxes from the marketplaces it manages. In March, the authorities reportedly ordered people selling goods from their homes to move into formal marketplaces in an effort to collect even more.

“Officials need the markets as much as the people need them,” said Kim Jeong-ae, a journalist in Seoul who worked as a propagandist in North Korea before defecting.

Ms. Kim fled North Korea in 2003 but has kept in touch with a younger brother there whom she describes as a donju, or money owner.

Donju is the word is what North Koreans use to describe the new class of traders and businessmen that has emerged.

Kim Jeong-ae said that her brother provided fuel, food and crew members for fishing boats, and that he split the catch with a military-run fishing company.

“He lives in a large house with tall walls,” she added, “so other people can’t see what he has there.”

Called “red capitalists” by South Korean scholars, donju invest in construction projects, establish partnerships with resource-strapped state factories and bankroll imports from China to supply retailers in the marketplaces. They operate with “covers,” or party officials who protect their businesses. Some are relatives of party officials.

Others are ethnic Chinese citizens, who are allowed regular visits to China and can facilitate cross-border financial transactions, and people with relatives who have fled to South Korea and send them cash remittances.

Whenever the state begins a big project, like the new district of high-rise apartment buildings that Kim Jong-un unveiled before foreign journalists in April, donju are expected to make “loyalty donations.” Sometimes they pay in foreign currency. Sometimes they contribute building materials, fuel or food for construction workers.

“Kim Jong-un is no fool,” said Kang Mi-jin, a defector who once ran her own wholesale business. “He knows where the money is.”

Donju often receive medals and certificates in return for their donations, and use them to signal they are protected as they engage in business activities that are officially illegal.

They import buses and trucks and run their own transportation services using license plates obtained from state companies. Some donju even rent farmland and mines, working them with their own employees and equipment, or open private pharmacies, defectors said.

“Donju wear the socialist hide, operating as part of state-run companies,” Ms. Kang said. “But inside, they are thoroughly capitalist.”

Before Kim Jong-un took power, the government made a last attempt to rein in donju and control market forces. It called on citizens to shop only in state stores, banned the use of foreign currency and adopted new bank notes while limiting the amount of old notes that individuals could exchange.

The move wiped out much of the private wealth created and saved by both donju and ordinary people. Market activity ground to a near halt. Prices skyrocketed, and protests were reported in scattered cities.

The government eventually retreated and is believed to have issued an apology when officials convened villagers for their weekly education sessions. It also executed the country’s top monetary official, Pak Nam-gi.

The crisis is widely considered the moment when the government concluded it could no longer suppress the markets. A year later, Pak Pong-ju, a former prime minister who had been ousted for pushing market-oriented policies, was restored to power. He now manages the economy under Mr. Kim.

As the markets develop, growing numbers of North Koreans will see the vastly superior products made overseas and perhaps question their nation’s backward status.

“Thanks to the market, few North Koreans these days flee for food, as refugees in the 1990s did,” said the Rev. Kim Seung-eun, a pastor who has helped hundreds of defectors reach South Korea. “Instead, they now flee to South Korea to have a better life they learned through the markets.”

Jung Gwang-il, who leads a defectors’ group in Seoul called No Chain, said that with more North Koreans getting what they needed from markets rather than the state, their view of Mr. Kim was changing.

“North Koreans always called Kim Jong-un’s grandfather and father ‘the Great Leader’ or ‘the General,’” Mr. Jung said. “Now, when they talk among themselves, many just call Jong-un ‘the Kid.’ They fear him but have no respect for him.”

“They say, ‘What has he done for us?’” Mr. Jung said.

#North Korea #North Korean economy #Kim Jong-un

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