#coronavirus doubling rate

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive (Daily updates!)

By Tamino Dreisam

An autumn coronavirus wave has been developing in Germany for several weeks, as is shown by all indicators. The German government’s infection radar, which analyses the viral load in wastewater based on data from over 100 sewage treatment plants, shows that the incidence of infection had only fallen minimally compared to the summer wave. In recent weeks, the numbers have risen again significantly.

At the peak of the summer wave in July, the viral load was 118,000 gene copies per litre of wastewater. At the beginning of August, it fell to 103,000 and is currently at 163,000 gene copies. Overall, the viral load was therefore more than twice as high throughout the summer as the previous year.

According to estimates by GrippeWeb, a portal of the Robert Koch Institute public health body, the current COVID-19 incidence rate in the population is around 1,400 per 100,000 inhabitants. This means that 1.4 percent of the German population is infected with the virus every week. The increase is steep. The previous week the incidence was 1,200, at the beginning of August it was 600.

In Bavaria, wastewater monitoring shows an even more significant increase. In Munich, for example, the viral load in wastewater has more than doubled compared to the previous week and is thus higher than it has been since the beginning of the year. The Oktoberfest, which, with its 6.7 million visitors, served as a two-week-long superspreader event, bears central responsibility for this. In Rhineland-Palatinate, the State Investigation Office reported a 78 percent increase in the number of cases compared to the previous week.

Various other indicators from the federal government’s infection radar also show a sharp rise in the number of infections. For example, the number of visits to the doctor due to acute respiratory illnesses with COVID-19 is two to three times higher than in the summer, at 89 per 100,000 inhabitants per week.

The number of hospitalisations due to severe respiratory illness with COVID-19 stands at a seven-day incidence of 2.2, which is three times higher than at the beginning of July. The number of deaths, which currently stands at 80 per week, has also tripled compared to the beginning of July.

Virologist and specialist in microbiology and infection epidemiology Timo Ulrichs told Focus Online: “An autumn wave could well be imminent, and the new fitness of the sub-variant KP.3.1.1 could also contribute to this.”

KP.3.1.1, a successor to the JN.1 lineage, is already dominant in several countries and does, indeed, play a central role in the current autumn wave in Germany.

A new study by Japanese scientists published in the medical journal The Lancet states: “KP.3.1.1 has a significantly higher reproduction number than its predecessors KP.2, KP.2.3 and KP.3.” The predecessor variants KP.2 and KP.3 had already led to an increase in infections in the summer months, although the weather conditions are less favourable for the spread of the disease in summer than in winter.

In Germany, KP.3.1.1 currently accounts for 43 percent of infections and is therefore predominant. At the same time, the recombinant subline XEC has a share of 28 percent—and the trend is rising. XEC was first discovered in Germany in June and has spread from there to 27 countries. Virologists estimate that it has around twice the growth advantage of KP.3.1.1 and will be the dominant variant in winter.

Above all, the emergence of new variants disproves the lie that the pandemic is over. In fact, the pandemic is not over, and it is only a matter of time before an even deadlier variant emerges. Contrary to the claims made by politicians and the media, COVID-19 is therefore in no way comparable to influenza.

The State Statistical Office of Baden-Württemberg recently published figures investigating precisely this. It concluded that a total of 186 people died from influenza in Baden-Württemberg in 2023. At the same time, 3,343 deaths from coronavirus were recorded, i.e. almost 18 times as many. And this in the year in which all protective measures were ended with the argument that the pandemic was over.

In the summer months, the difference in the number of deaths was even more pronounced. While five people died of the flu in Baden-Württemberg from June to August 2023, there were 128 coronavirus deaths, 25 times as many.

Currently, around 12 percent of all people who have to be treated in hospital for a respiratory illness are there because of a coronavirus infection.

The director of virology at the Technical University of Munich, Ulrike Protzer, said: “Coronavirus is not a cold, and it won’t become one. Just like RSV and influenza, the virus penetrates particularly deep into the lungs, attacks the respiratory tract more strongly and can also affect other organs in the body.”

Unlike RSV and influenza, coronavirus also carries a high risk of long-term effects that can impact almost any organ and can also have a devastating impact on basic abilities such as moving, seeing or working. The probability of acquiring Long COVID is around 10 percent with the first infection and increases with each subsequent infection.

Exposing the population to the coronavirus forever and allowing the people to be infected again and again can therefore only mean degrading and destroying the health and lives of millions of people in the long term.

[darkmaga-returns]

White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx has come out to say that “the science” has “done wrong in public health.” Vaccine hesitancy rates have been rising since it was exposed that the mRNA vaccine did more harm than good. Birx has admitted that the COVID vaccine was never meant to be a preventative measure.

“The science” should not have forced the general population to take an experimental vaccination, Dr. Birx admits. The vaccine was initially designed, allegedly, to protect people “at risk for severe disease” and/or those over 65 with comorbidities. Even then, the vaccine did not protect any segment of the population from transmission and infection. So the most vulnerable in the population were not only still exposed to COVID-19, but they were then at risk for developing potentially fatal side effects brought on by the vaccine itself.

A December poll by Pew Research found that 60% of Americans would not take another booster vaccine. Every dataset shows vaccine hesitancy rates rising, but Dr. Birx believes that overall vaccination rates have fallen by 50%.

“The childhood vaccines, like many of the diseases, you get it once, you don’t get it again,” she explained. “And this is getting the children to have that disease without getting the deadly consequences. That is not what the COVID vaccine was designed to do. It wasn’t designed to prevent infection, and if you look at the vaccine hesitancy rates, they’ve doubled since COVID.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Gina Florio

Published: Apr 5, 2023

Mental illness has been steadily on the rise for a number of years now. Teenagers especially are suffering from depression and anxiety in ways that generations before have never experienced. And it started long before the coronavirus pandemic. Recent data showed that one in every three American high school girls contemplated suicide in 2021, and between 2009 and 2015, the number of girls between 10 and 14 who were admitted to the emergency room for self-harm tripled. By the time 2016 rolled around, 90% of all teen girls used social media every single day while simultaneously seeing their friends in person less and less. But the mental health crisis certainly doesn't end with teenagers. More people than ever are taking psychiatric drugs. As of January 2021, there are 76,940,157 people taking some kind of antidepressant, antipsychotic, sleeping pills, tranquilizers, or lithium. But there's something in particular happening with the demographic of young liberal women.

Liberals are known to be much more involved with what's happening politically than conservatives. In fact, for many liberals, political activism is an entire personality that has made them hyperaware and even pessimistic about our society. Data has also shown that liberal people are less likely to prioritize activities that bring them personal fulfillment, such as a faith community, marriage, and family. Only 37% of liberals are married, while 56% of conservatives are married. Marriage has long been associated with better health, increased happiness, and even longer life expectancy.

It's also worth noting that more than 60% of liberals are under the age of 50, and almost one in every three liberals are under the age of 30. Comparatively, four in 10 conservatives are under the age of 50. Perhaps the levels of unhappiness may be correlated with age, as people 50 and above tend to report higher levels of happiness and fulfillment in their life compared to their younger counterparts.

A recent Gallup poll shows that women are increasingly unhappier with the way they are treated in society. In 2016, 61% of women said they were satisfied with the way women were treated in our country, compared to the 44% of women today who claim that they are happy with the way women are treated. Between 2001 and 2016, women's satisfaction with how they were treated seemed to stay about the same, but something happened in 2017 that changed everything. And the difference really shows up in liberal women. About 70% of conservative women feel they are treated fairly by society, but only 44% of liberal women say the same.

38% of liberal women between the ages of 18 and 29 identify as LGBT, and the number of Gen Z individuals who identify as LGBT almost doubled in the last few years. Much data has shown that LGBT individuals struggle with mental illness much more than other demographics, so it would only make sense that so many liberals (many of whom identify as LGBT) have higher rates of mental illness.

A 2020 survey showed that 56% of white liberal women between ages 18 and 29 were diagnosed with a mental health condition, compared to 27% of conservative women in the same age bracket. 40% of liberal women between 30 and 49 reported having a mental health condition, compared to 26% of conservative women of the same age.

[ Link: https://x.com/i/status/1382818208084848653 ]

While all of these numbers may point to correlations rather than causalities, they certainly raise some questions worth asking. What, in particular, is happening with liberal women that makes them more inclined to report higher levels of unhappiness and mental illness? Are mentally ill people simply more drawn to liberal politics, or is the liberal ideology opening the door to a lack of fulfillment?

[ao3feed-scorbus]

[Podfic] Scorpius Malfoy Orchestrates a Double Date

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/zUE0JAk by sweaters_in_the_summer Draco and Harry have been rivals since childhood, and now they teach paleontology at the same university. Scorpius talks Draco into bringing him to the movies, but neglects to mention that they're watching Jurassic Park. Or that they're meeting Harry and Albus. Very AU: Muggle, American, modern—but a good modern, where Jurassic Park comes out in a coronavirus-free 2020, instead of 1993. Words: 14, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Severus Potter Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Professor Harry Potter, Professor Draco Malfoy, Single Parent Draco Malfoy, Single Parent Harry Potter, Co-workers, Enemies, Complicated Relationships, Secret Relationship, Scorpius Malfoy & Albus Severus Potter Friendship, Pining Scorpius Malfoy, First Crush, Double Dating, Father-Son Relationship, Movie: Jurassic Park (1993), POV Scorpius Malfoy, POV First Person, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Podfic, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Download, Audio Format: Streaming read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/55906783

[dragonwolf1979-blog]

Keeping it real... if you want more facts let me know..

America gained 7 million new jobs – more than three times government experts’ projections.

Middle-Class family income increased nearly $6,000 – more than five times the gains during the entire previous administration.

The unemployment rate reached 3.5 percent, the lowest in a half-century.

Achieved 40 months in a row with more job openings than job-hirings.

More Americans reported being employed than ever before – nearly 160 million.

Jobless claims hit a nearly 50-year low.

The number of people claiming unemployment insurance as a share of the population hit its lowest on record.

Incomes rose in every single metro area in the United States for the first time in nearly 3 decades.

Delivered a future of greater promise and opportunity for citizens of all backgrounds.

Unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and those without a high school diploma all reached record lows.

Unemployment for women hit its lowest rate in nearly 70 years.

Lifted nearly 7 million people off of food stamps.

Poverty rates for African Americans and Hispanic Americans reached record lows.

Income inequality fell for two straight years, and by the largest amount in over a decade.

The bottom 50 percent of American households saw a 40 percent increase in net worth.

Wages rose fastest for low-income and blue collar workers – a 16 percent pay increase.

African American homeownership increased from 41.7 percent to 46.4 percent.

Brought jobs, factories, and industries back to the USA.

Created more than 1.2 million manufacturing and construction jobs.

Put in place policies to bring back supply chains from overseas.

Small business optimism broke a 35-year old record in 2018.

Hit record stock market numbers and record 401ks.

The DOW closed above 20,000 for the first time in 2017 and topped 30,000 in 2020.

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ have repeatedly notched record highs.

Rebuilding and investing in rural America.

Signed an Executive Order on Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology Products, which is bringing innovative new technologies to market in American farming and agriculture.

Strengthened America’s rural economy by investing over $1.3 billion through the Agriculture Department’s ReConnect Program to bring high-speed broadband infrastructure to rural America.

Achieved a record-setting economic comeback by rejecting blanket lockdowns.

An October 2020 Gallup survey found 56 percent of Americans said they were better off during a pandemic than four years prior.

During the third quarter of 2020, the economy grew at a rate of 33.1 percent – the most rapid GDP growth ever recorded.

Since coronavirus lockdowns ended, the economy has added back over 12 million jobs, more than half the jobs lost.

Jobs have been recovered 23 times faster than the previous administration’s recovery.

Unemployment fell to 6.7 percent in December, from a pandemic peak of 14.7 percent in April – beating expectations of well over 10 percent unemployment through the end of 2020.

Under the previous administration, it took 49 months for the unemployment rate to fall from 10 percent to under 7 percent compared to just 3 months for the Trump Administration.

Since April, the Hispanic unemployment rate has fallen by 9.6 percent, Asian-American unemployment by 8.6 percent, and Black American unemployment by 6.8 percent.

80 percent of small businesses are now open, up from just 53 percent in April.

Small business confidence hit a new high.

Homebuilder confidence reached an all-time high, and home sales hit their highest reading since December 2006.

Manufacturing optimism nearly doubled.

Household net worth rose $7.4 trillion in Q2 2020 to $112 trillion, an all-time high.

Home prices hit an all-time record high.

The United States rejected crippling lockdowns that crush the economy and inflict countless public health harms and instead safely reopened its economy.

Business confidence is higher in America than in any other G7 or European Union country.

Stabilized America’s financial markets with the establishment of a number of Treasury Department supported facilities at the Federal Reserve.

Tax Relief for the Middle Class

Passed $3.2 trillion in historic tax relief and reformed the tax code.

Signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – the largest tax reform package in history.

More than 6 million American workers received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to the tax cuts.

A typical family of four earning $75,000 received an income tax cut of more than $2,000 – slashing their tax bill in half.

Doubled the standard deduction – making the first $24,000 earned by a married couple completely tax-free.

Doubled the child tax credit.

Virtually eliminated the unfair Estate Tax, or Death Tax.

Cut the business tax rate from 35 percent – the highest in the developed world – all the way down to 21 percent.

Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.

Businesses can now deduct 100 percent of the cost of their capital investments in the year the investment is made.

Since the passage of tax cuts, the share of total wealth held by the bottom half of households has increased, while the share held by the top 1 percent has decreased.

Over 400 companies have announced bonuses, wage increases, new hires, or new investments in the United States.

Over $1.5 trillion was repatriated into the United States from overseas.

Lower investment cost and higher capital returns led to faster growth in the middle class, real wages, and international competitiveness.

Jobs and investments are pouring into Opportunity Zones.

Created nearly 9,000 Opportunity Zones where capital gains on long-term investments are taxed at zero.

Opportunity Zone designations have increased property values within them by 1.1 percent, creating an estimated $11 billion in wealth for the nearly half of Opportunity Zone residents who own their own home.

Opportunity Zones have attracted $75 billion in funds and driven $52 billion of new investment in economically distressed communities, creating at least 500,000 new jobs.

Approximately 1 million Americans will be lifted from poverty as a result of these new investments.

Private equity investments into businesses in Opportunity Zones were nearly 30 percent higher than investments into businesses in similar areas that were not designated Opportunity Zones.

Massive Deregulation

Ended the regulatory assault on American Businesses and Workers.

Instead of 2-for-1, we eliminated 8 old regulations for every 1 new regulation adopted.

Provided the average American household an extra $3,100 every year.

Reduced the direct cost of regulatory compliance by $50 billion, and will reduce costs by an additional $50 billion in FY 2020 alone.

Removed nearly 25,000 pages from the Federal Register – more than any other president. The previous administration added over 16,000 pages.

Established the Governors’ Initiative on Regulatory Innovation to reduce outdated regulations at the state, local, and tribal levels.

Signed an executive order to make it easier for businesses to offer retirement plans.

Signed two executive orders to increase transparency in Federal agencies and protect Americans and their small businesses from administrative abuse.

Modernized the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the first time in over 40 years.

Reduced approval times for major infrastructure projects from 10 or more years down to 2 years or less.

Helped community banks by signing legislation that rolled back costly provisions of Dodd-Frank.

Established the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing to bring down housing costs.

Removed regulations that threatened the development of a strong and stable internet.

Eased and simplified restrictions on rocket launches, helping to spur commercial investment in space projects.

Published a whole-of-government strategy focused on ensuring American leadership in automated vehicle technology.

Streamlined energy efficiency regulations for American families and businesses, including preserving affordable lightbulbs, enhancing the utility of showerheads, and enabling greater time savings with dishwashers.

Removed unnecessary regulations that restrict the seafood industry and impede job creation.

Modernized the Department of Agriculture’s biotechnology regulations to put America in the lead to develop new technologies.

Took action to suspend regulations that would have slowed our response to COVID-19, including lifting restrictions on manufacturers to more quickly produce ventilators.

Successfully rolled back burdensome regulatory overreach.

Rescinded the previous administration’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, which would have abolished zoning for single-family housing to build low-income, federally subsidized apartments.

Issued a final rule on the Fair Housing Act’s disparate impact standard.

Eliminated the Waters of the United States Rule and replaced it with the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, providing relief and certainty for farmers and property owners.

Repealed the previous administration’s costly fuel economy regulations by finalizing the Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles rule, which will make cars more affordable, and lower the price of new vehicles by an estimated $2,200.

Americans now have more money in their pockets.

Deregulation had an especially beneficial impact on low-income Americans who pay a much higher share of their incomes for overregulation.

Cut red tape in the healthcare industry, providing Americans with more affordable healthcare and saving Americans nearly 10 percent on prescription drugs.

Deregulatory efforts yielded savings to the medical community an estimated $6.6 billion – with a reduction of 42 million hours of regulatory compliance work through 2021.

Removed government barriers to personal freedom and consumer choice in healthcare.

Once fully in effect, 20 major deregulatory actions undertaken by the Trump Administration are expected to save American consumers and businesses over $220 billion per year.

Signed 16 pieces of deregulatory legislation that will result in a $40 billion increase in annual real incomes.

Fair and Reciprocal Trade

Secured historic trade deals to defend American workers.

Immediately withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Ended the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and replaced it with the brand new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The USMCA contains powerful new protections for American manufacturers, auto-makers, farmers, dairy producers, and workers.

The USMCA is expected to generate over $68 billion in economic activity and potentially create over 550,000 new jobs over ten years.

Signed an executive order making it government policy to Buy American and Hire American, and took action to stop the outsourcing of jobs overseas.

Negotiated with Japan to slash tariffs and open its market to $7 billion in American agricultural products and ended its ban on potatoes and lamb.

Over 90 percent of American agricultural exports to Japan now receive preferential treatment, and most are duty-free.

Negotiated another deal with Japan to boost $40 billion worth of digital trade.

Renegotiated the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, doubling the cap on imports of American vehicles and extending the American light truck tariff.

Reached a written, fully-enforceable Phase One trade agreement with China on confronting pirated and counterfeit goods, and the protection of American ideas, trade secrets, patents, and trademarks.

China agreed to purchase an additional $200 billion worth of United States exports and opened market access for over 4,000 American facilities to exports while all tariffs remained in effect.

Achieved a mutual agreement with the European Union (EU) that addresses unfair trade practices and increases duty-free exports by 180 percent to $420 million.

Secured a pledge from the EU to eliminate tariffs on American lobster – the first United States-European Union negotiated tariff reduction in over 20 years.

Scored a historic victory by overhauling the Universal Postal Union, whose outdated policies were undermining American workers and interests.

Engaged extensively with trade partners like the EU and Japan to advance reforms to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Issued a first-ever comprehensive report on the WTO Appellate Body’s failures to comply with WTO rules and interpret WTO agreements as written.

Blocked nominees to the WTO’s Appellate Body until WTO Members recognize and address longstanding issues with Appellate Body activism.

Submitted 5 papers to the WTO Committee on Agriculture to improve Members’ understanding of how trade policies are implemented, highlight areas for improved transparency, and encourage members to maintain up-to-date notifications on market access and domestic support.

Took strong actions to confront unfair trade practices and put America First.

Imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions worth of Chinese goods to protect American jobs and stop China’s abuses under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Directed an all-of-government effort to halt and punish efforts by the Communist Party of China to steal and profit from American innovations and intellectual property.

Imposed tariffs on foreign aluminum and foreign steel to protect our vital industries and support our national security.

Approved tariffs on $1.8 billion in imports of washing machines and $8.5 billion in imports of solar panels.

Blocked illegal timber imports from Peru.

Took action against France for its digital services tax that unfairly targets American technology companies.

Launched investigations into digital services taxes that have been proposed or adopted by 10 other countries.

Historic support for American farmers.

Successfully negotiated more than 50 agreements with countries around the world to increase foreign market access and boost exports of American agriculture products, supporting more than 1 million American jobs.

Authorized $28 billion in aid for farmers who have been subjected to unfair trade practices – fully funded by the tariffs paid by China.

China lifted its ban on poultry, opened its market to beef, and agreed to purchase at least $80 billion of American agricultural products in the next two years.

The European Union agreed to increase beef imports by 180 percent and opened up its market to more imports of soybeans.

South Korea lifted its ban on American poultry and eggs, and agreed to provide market access for record exports of American rice.

Argentina lifted its ban on American pork.

Brazil agreed to increase wheat imports by $180 million a year and raised its quotas for purchases of United States ethanol.

Guatemala and Tunisia opened up their markets to American eggs.

Won tariff exemptions in Ecuador for wheat and soybeans.

Suspended $817 million in trade preferences for Thailand under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program due to its failure to adequately provide reasonable market access for American pork products.

The amount of food stamps redeemed at farmers markets increased from $1.4 million in May 2020 to $1.75 million in September 2020 – a 50 percent increase over last year.

Rapidly deployed the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which provided $30 billion in support to farmers and ranchers facing decreased prices and market disruption when COVID-19 impacted the food supply chain.

Authorized more than $6 billion for the Farmers to Families Food Box program, which delivered over 128 million boxes of locally sourced, produce, meat, and dairy products to charity and faith-based organizations nationwide.

Delegated authorities via the Defense Production Act to protect breaks in the American food supply chain as a result of COVID-19.

American Energy Independence

Unleashed America’s oil and natural gas potential.

For the first time in nearly 70 years, the United States has become a net energy exporter.

The United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world.

Natural gas production reached a record-high of 34.9 quads in 2019, following record high production in 2018 and in 2017.

The United States has been a net natural gas exporter for three consecutive years and has an export capacity of nearly 10 billion cubic feet per day.

Withdrew from the unfair, one-sided Paris Climate Agreement.

Canceled the previous administration’s Clean Power Plan, and replaced it with the new Affordable Clean Energy rule.

Approved the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.

Opened up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska to oil and gas leasing.

Repealed the last administration’s Federal Coal Leasing Moratorium, which prohibited coal leasing on Federal lands.

Reformed permitting rules to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and speed approval for mines.

Fixed the New Source Review permitting program, which punished companies for upgrading or repairing coal power plants.

Fixed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) steam electric and coal ash rules.

The average American family saved $2,500 a year in lower electric bills and lower prices at the gas pump.

Signed legislation repealing the harmful Stream Protection Rule.

Reduced the time to approve drilling permits on public lands by half, increasing permit applications to drill on public lands by 300 percent.

Expedited approval of the NuStar’s New Burgos pipeline to export American gasoline to Mexico.

Streamlined Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal permitting and allowed long-term LNG export authorizations to be extended through 2050.

The United States is now among the top three LNG exporters in the world.

Increased LNG exports five-fold since January 2017, reaching an all-time high in January 2020.

LNG exports are expected to reduce the American trade deficit by over $10 billion.

Granted more than 20 new long-term approvals for LNG exports to non-free trade agreement countries.

The development of natural gas and LNG infrastructure in the United States is providing tens of thousands of jobs, and has led to the investment of tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure.

There are now 6 LNG export facilities operating in the United States, with 2 additional export projects under construction.

The amount of nuclear energy production in 2019 was the highest on record, through a combination of increased capacity from power plant upgrades and shorter refueling and maintenance cycles.

Prevented Russian energy coercion across Europe through various lines of effort, including the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation, civil nuclear deals with Romania and Poland, and opposition to Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Issued the Presidential Permit for the A2A railroad between Canada and Alaska, providing energy resources to emerging markets.

Increased access to our country’s abundant natural resources in order to achieve energy independence.

Renewable energy production and consumption both reached record highs in 2019.

Enacted policies that helped double the amount of electricity generated by solar and helped increase the amount of wind generation by 32 percent from 2016 through 2019.

Accelerated construction of energy infrastructure to ensure American energy producers can deliver their products to the market.

Cut red tape holding back the construction of new energy infrastructure.

Authorized ethanol producers to sell E15 year-round and allowed higher-ethanol gasoline to be distributed from existing pumps at filling stations.

Ensured greater transparency and certainty in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.

Negotiated leasing capacity in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Australia, providing American taxpayers a return on this infrastructure investment.

To name a few....

[cleverhottubmiracle]

These are the immigration facts: Immigrants and immigration are good for our country, our communities, and our economy. Efforts to cut legal immigration – particularly in the recovery from the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic – will keep American families separated, hurt public health, and damage our economy as the country continues to recover from the pandemic. New arrivals to the U.S. help drive business creation, fuel innovation, fill essential workforce needs, and strengthen the middle class. Family-based immigration promotes family unity and integration, all core principles of American values. And many immigrants will go on to become citizens, taking the solemn oath of allegiance to America and the Constitution. The success of our nation comes, in large part, from our longstanding tradition of encouraging people seeking a better life to leave everything they know to contribute to the United States. Severely limiting legal immigration puts this at risk. Instead, we should protect and expand current immigration levels and work to pass immigration reform that makes it safer, faster, and more efficient for prospective immigrants to enter the U.S. and begin contributing. We cannot afford to shut out the life-saving contributions that immigrants and immigration bring to our country. POPULATION IMPACT Myth: The U.S. doesn’t need immigration to increase its population. Fact: Between 2010 and 2020, the U.S. saw its slowest population growth of any decade since the 1930s. In recent years, fewer children have been born. Immigration levels have also decreased. Future immigration is needed to increase the U.S. population size overall, but also to maintain a senior to working-age ratio for growing the U.S. economy. According to FWD.us projections, the U.S. should double immigration levels to remain globally competitive with other economies and keep fiscal programs like Social Security strong. Most projected population growth in the U.S. is due to immigration. If immigration to the U.S. were to cease, the U.S. population would be about the same size in 2050 as it would be today. AMERICAN WORKFORCE Myth: Immigration hurts American workers. Immigrants take jobs from Americans and drive wages down. FACT: Immigrants are highly entrepreneurial, launching new companies at twice the rate of native-born Americans and creating large numbers of jobs. All of this increases employment opportunities for native-born American workers, boosts wages and strengthens the middle class. As the U.S. economy begins to reopen, job creators will be absolutely critical to boosting recovery in communities across the country. Research shows that immigrants generally complement, rather than compete with American workers, because they have different skill sets and educational backgrounds. The U.S. economy is dynamic and not zero-sum: when one individual obtains a job, it does not mean another individual loses a job. In fact, immigrants help grow the economy by filling labor needs, purchasing goods and paying taxes. When more people work, productivity increases. And as an increasing number of Americans retire in coming years, immigrants will help fill labor demand and maintain the social safety net. “Immigrants added $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2016 and $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018.” National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ECONOMIC IMPACT Myth: Immigrants are a drain on the U.S. economy and reducing immigration would make our economy stronger. FACT: The United States needs immigrants to stay competitive and drive economic growth, Particularly as our economy starts to reopen, individuals who create jobs are absolutely critical to our recovery. Immigrants are innovators, job creators, and consumers with an enormous spending power that drives our economy, and creates employment opportunities for all Americans. Immigrants added $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2016 and $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018. In 2018, after immigrants spent billions of dollars on state and local, and federal taxes, they were left with $1.2 trillion in spending power, which they used to purchase goods and services, stimulating local business activity. Proposed cuts to our legal immigration system would have devastating effects on our economy, decreasing GDP by 2% over twenty years, shrinking growth by 12.5%, and cutting 4.6 million jobs. Rust Belt states would be hit particularly hard, as they rely on immigration to stabilize their populations and revive their economies. EDUCATION Myth: Immigrants are poorly educated and have no skills to offer Americans. FACT: Immigrants tend to be well-educated and skilled in their fields. 43% of recently-arrived family and diversity-based immigrants are college graduates – compared to 29% of native-born Americans. More than half of STEM degrees awarded by U.S. universities go to international students, and about half of applicants for H-1B temporary work visas have a Masters degree or above from a U.S. university. Immigrants represent 30% of new entrepreneurs, despite making up only 13% of the population keeping the workforce flexible, allowing companies to grow faster, and increasing the productivity of American workers by bringing in individuals with diverse skill sets and new ideas. In fact, 45% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants and their children, employing over 10 million people worldwide. “If current legal immigration levels were cut by 50%, the Social Security fund would lose $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next 75 years.” Urban Institute TAXES AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES Myth: Immigrants are a burden to essential services like schools, hospitals and highways. FACT: Immigrants make significant contributions to our economy on virtually every front – including on tax revenue, where they contribute $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018. This includes undocumented immigrants, who contribute roughly $11.74 billion a year in state and local taxes, including more than $7 billion in sales and excise taxes, $3.6 billion in property taxes, and $1.1 billion in personal income taxes. These billions of tax dollars fund our schools, hospitals, emergency response services, highways, and other essential services. These revenues would increase by $2.18 billion annually if undocumented immigrants were given legal status as part of an immigration reform package. Additionally, immigrants make enormous contributions to Social Security. If current legal immigration levels were cut by 50%, the Social Security fund would lose $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next 75 years. ANNUAL LEVELS OF IMMIGRATION Myth: The U.S. doesn’t need more immigrants and the American people want to see a reduction in immigration. FACT: Americans want more immigration, not less. Over 75% of Americans oppose making cuts to our legal immigration system, and three-quarters of Americans say that immigration is good for the U.S. As the U.S. population ages, immigrants and their families are crucial for our economy. According to the Census Bureau, the 65-and-older population will nearly double by 2050, reducing the number of people in our workforce. On the other hand, 79% of immigrants in the U.S. are working-age compared to 61% of their native-born counterparts. “Employment-based immigrants are critical to the U.S. economy as they meet the temporary and permanent needs of U.S. employers in diverse industries.” National Immigration Forum EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION Myth: American businesses use work visas to underpay immigrant workers and replace American workers. FACT: Many U.S. companies hire foreign-born professionals to supplement their workforce, using a mix of permanent, employment-based immigration visas (called “green cards”) and temporary visas, like the H-2A visa for agricultural workers or the H-1B visa for highly-skilled specialty workers. For temporary roles, employers must demonstrate that they will pay their new hires at least the average wage paid to similarly situated workers, and for permanent immigration programs, employers must go through a rigorous labor certification process to demonstrate there are no qualified Americans available to fill the role. Research demonstrates that immigrant workers do not hurt the wages of native-born workers, and, on the contrary, complement them. Employment-based immigrants are critical to the U.S. economy as they meet the temporary and permanent needs of U.S. employers in diverse industries. These contributions are even more critical as the U.S. economy continues to recover from the pandemic. And the kinds of jobs that immigrants have filled during the pandemic have supported the health and safety of communities across the country, and undoubtedly saved millions of American lives: this includes essential frontline workers in healthcare roles, individuals researching treatments or vaccines for coronavirus, or as farmworkers keeping the supply chain safe and putting food on tables across the country, to name just a few. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Myth: International students take jobs away from Americans. FACT: International students make countless contributions to campuses across the country, and their entrepreneurial spirit, innovative skills, and spending power contribute to the American economy. They spend billions of dollars as consumers, frequently pay higher tuition rates, which subsidize domestic students keeping tuition costs down, support local businesses, and have gone on to found companies like Google, Yahoo!, and Trulia, employing hundreds of thousands of Americans. In fact, during the 2018-2019 academic year, international students studying in the U.S. contributed $41 billion and supported 458,290 jobs to the economy. International students are pursuing degrees in many sectors including in the science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM fields. MASS DEPORTATION Myth: Deporting as many undocumented immigrants as possible is good for the American economy. FACT: Beyond the staggering moral costs and far-reaching trauma of separating millions of American families, the deportation of 11 million people would impoverish many American families and create enormous social costs. Mass deportation would force a nearly $8 trillion hit to the economy over the next 14 years and jeopardize our housing market. Further, it would take 20 years, and cost U.S. taxpayers between $400 to $600 billion. “Providing a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. would…, over 10 years, boost U.S. GDP by $1.2 trillion.” Center for American Progress PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP Myth: Providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would hurt American workers. FACT: Providing a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. would increase their wages and spending power and, over 10 years, boost U.S. GDP by $1.2 trillion. If the U.S. provided a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship, it would increase Americans’ income by $791 billion and generate $184 billion in additional state and local and federal tax revenue from currently undocumented immigrants, and add more than 200,000 jobs to the U.S. economy per year. Millions of undocumented immigrants are serving in essential frontline roles right now, including the estimated 48% of agricultural workers who are immigrants, and who are keeping the food supply chain safe and keeping food on tables across America. “Nearly 200,000 DACA recipients are serving in essential frontline roles… of the pandemic, including nearly 40,000 healthcare workers.” Center for Migration Studies DREAMERS AND THE ECONOMY Myth: Dreamers are a drain on the economy. Giving them legal status would only make things worse for struggling Americans. FACT: Dreamers have built their lives here, and they are Americans in every way except on paper; they also make enormous economic contributions to the U.S. More than 89% of DACA recipients are either employed, and helping to boost the U.S. economy through their spending, and tax dollars. And nearly 200,000 DACA recipients are serving in essential frontline roles in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, including nearly 40,000 as healthcare workers; deporting Dreamers would tear apart families and cost even more lives. If Congress fails to provide protections for these young people, the U.S. GDP could lose out on $460 billion over the next decade. However, if Dreamers were instead provided with legal status and a pathway to citizenship, as much as $1 trillion could be added to the GDP over a decade. HUMANITARIAN PROTECTIONS Myth: Resettling refugees in the United States is too expensive, and not worth the financial burden of taxpayers. FACT: The United States has long been a welcoming safe haven for those forcibly displaced and fleeing violence, extreme poverty, and persecution, and our country has been immeasurably better for it. Refugees are important contributors to the U.S. economy, and investing one dollar in helping refugees get settled, can yield almost twice as much in economic benefits in just 5 years. More than 70% of refugees are of working-age, a higher percentage than the U.S.-born population, and in 2015, refugees contributed $20.9 billion in taxes and had a spending power of $56.3 billion. Refugees have higher rates of entrepreneurship than native-born Americans, and in 2015, 13% of refugees were entrepreneurs, driving long term job creation. Originally printed on fwd.us on July 21,2020 (function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src=" fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Source link

[norajworld]

These are the immigration facts: Immigrants and immigration are good for our country, our communities, and our economy. Efforts to cut legal immigration – particularly in the recovery from the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic – will keep American families separated, hurt public health, and damage our economy as the country continues to recover from the pandemic. New arrivals to the U.S. help drive business creation, fuel innovation, fill essential workforce needs, and strengthen the middle class. Family-based immigration promotes family unity and integration, all core principles of American values. And many immigrants will go on to become citizens, taking the solemn oath of allegiance to America and the Constitution. The success of our nation comes, in large part, from our longstanding tradition of encouraging people seeking a better life to leave everything they know to contribute to the United States. Severely limiting legal immigration puts this at risk. Instead, we should protect and expand current immigration levels and work to pass immigration reform that makes it safer, faster, and more efficient for prospective immigrants to enter the U.S. and begin contributing. We cannot afford to shut out the life-saving contributions that immigrants and immigration bring to our country. POPULATION IMPACT Myth: The U.S. doesn’t need immigration to increase its population. Fact: Between 2010 and 2020, the U.S. saw its slowest population growth of any decade since the 1930s. In recent years, fewer children have been born. Immigration levels have also decreased. Future immigration is needed to increase the U.S. population size overall, but also to maintain a senior to working-age ratio for growing the U.S. economy. According to FWD.us projections, the U.S. should double immigration levels to remain globally competitive with other economies and keep fiscal programs like Social Security strong. Most projected population growth in the U.S. is due to immigration. If immigration to the U.S. were to cease, the U.S. population would be about the same size in 2050 as it would be today. AMERICAN WORKFORCE Myth: Immigration hurts American workers. Immigrants take jobs from Americans and drive wages down. FACT: Immigrants are highly entrepreneurial, launching new companies at twice the rate of native-born Americans and creating large numbers of jobs. All of this increases employment opportunities for native-born American workers, boosts wages and strengthens the middle class. As the U.S. economy begins to reopen, job creators will be absolutely critical to boosting recovery in communities across the country. Research shows that immigrants generally complement, rather than compete with American workers, because they have different skill sets and educational backgrounds. The U.S. economy is dynamic and not zero-sum: when one individual obtains a job, it does not mean another individual loses a job. In fact, immigrants help grow the economy by filling labor needs, purchasing goods and paying taxes. When more people work, productivity increases. And as an increasing number of Americans retire in coming years, immigrants will help fill labor demand and maintain the social safety net. “Immigrants added $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2016 and $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018.” National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ECONOMIC IMPACT Myth: Immigrants are a drain on the U.S. economy and reducing immigration would make our economy stronger. FACT: The United States needs immigrants to stay competitive and drive economic growth, Particularly as our economy starts to reopen, individuals who create jobs are absolutely critical to our recovery. Immigrants are innovators, job creators, and consumers with an enormous spending power that drives our economy, and creates employment opportunities for all Americans. Immigrants added $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2016 and $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018. In 2018, after immigrants spent billions of dollars on state and local, and federal taxes, they were left with $1.2 trillion in spending power, which they used to purchase goods and services, stimulating local business activity. Proposed cuts to our legal immigration system would have devastating effects on our economy, decreasing GDP by 2% over twenty years, shrinking growth by 12.5%, and cutting 4.6 million jobs. Rust Belt states would be hit particularly hard, as they rely on immigration to stabilize their populations and revive their economies. EDUCATION Myth: Immigrants are poorly educated and have no skills to offer Americans. FACT: Immigrants tend to be well-educated and skilled in their fields. 43% of recently-arrived family and diversity-based immigrants are college graduates – compared to 29% of native-born Americans. More than half of STEM degrees awarded by U.S. universities go to international students, and about half of applicants for H-1B temporary work visas have a Masters degree or above from a U.S. university. Immigrants represent 30% of new entrepreneurs, despite making up only 13% of the population keeping the workforce flexible, allowing companies to grow faster, and increasing the productivity of American workers by bringing in individuals with diverse skill sets and new ideas. In fact, 45% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants and their children, employing over 10 million people worldwide. “If current legal immigration levels were cut by 50%, the Social Security fund would lose $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next 75 years.” Urban Institute TAXES AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES Myth: Immigrants are a burden to essential services like schools, hospitals and highways. FACT: Immigrants make significant contributions to our economy on virtually every front – including on tax revenue, where they contribute $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018. This includes undocumented immigrants, who contribute roughly $11.74 billion a year in state and local taxes, including more than $7 billion in sales and excise taxes, $3.6 billion in property taxes, and $1.1 billion in personal income taxes. These billions of tax dollars fund our schools, hospitals, emergency response services, highways, and other essential services. These revenues would increase by $2.18 billion annually if undocumented immigrants were given legal status as part of an immigration reform package. Additionally, immigrants make enormous contributions to Social Security. If current legal immigration levels were cut by 50%, the Social Security fund would lose $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next 75 years. ANNUAL LEVELS OF IMMIGRATION Myth: The U.S. doesn’t need more immigrants and the American people want to see a reduction in immigration. FACT: Americans want more immigration, not less. Over 75% of Americans oppose making cuts to our legal immigration system, and three-quarters of Americans say that immigration is good for the U.S. As the U.S. population ages, immigrants and their families are crucial for our economy. According to the Census Bureau, the 65-and-older population will nearly double by 2050, reducing the number of people in our workforce. On the other hand, 79% of immigrants in the U.S. are working-age compared to 61% of their native-born counterparts. “Employment-based immigrants are critical to the U.S. economy as they meet the temporary and permanent needs of U.S. employers in diverse industries.” National Immigration Forum EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION Myth: American businesses use work visas to underpay immigrant workers and replace American workers. FACT: Many U.S. companies hire foreign-born professionals to supplement their workforce, using a mix of permanent, employment-based immigration visas (called “green cards”) and temporary visas, like the H-2A visa for agricultural workers or the H-1B visa for highly-skilled specialty workers. For temporary roles, employers must demonstrate that they will pay their new hires at least the average wage paid to similarly situated workers, and for permanent immigration programs, employers must go through a rigorous labor certification process to demonstrate there are no qualified Americans available to fill the role. Research demonstrates that immigrant workers do not hurt the wages of native-born workers, and, on the contrary, complement them. Employment-based immigrants are critical to the U.S. economy as they meet the temporary and permanent needs of U.S. employers in diverse industries. These contributions are even more critical as the U.S. economy continues to recover from the pandemic. And the kinds of jobs that immigrants have filled during the pandemic have supported the health and safety of communities across the country, and undoubtedly saved millions of American lives: this includes essential frontline workers in healthcare roles, individuals researching treatments or vaccines for coronavirus, or as farmworkers keeping the supply chain safe and putting food on tables across the country, to name just a few. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Myth: International students take jobs away from Americans. FACT: International students make countless contributions to campuses across the country, and their entrepreneurial spirit, innovative skills, and spending power contribute to the American economy. They spend billions of dollars as consumers, frequently pay higher tuition rates, which subsidize domestic students keeping tuition costs down, support local businesses, and have gone on to found companies like Google, Yahoo!, and Trulia, employing hundreds of thousands of Americans. In fact, during the 2018-2019 academic year, international students studying in the U.S. contributed $41 billion and supported 458,290 jobs to the economy. International students are pursuing degrees in many sectors including in the science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM fields. MASS DEPORTATION Myth: Deporting as many undocumented immigrants as possible is good for the American economy. FACT: Beyond the staggering moral costs and far-reaching trauma of separating millions of American families, the deportation of 11 million people would impoverish many American families and create enormous social costs. Mass deportation would force a nearly $8 trillion hit to the economy over the next 14 years and jeopardize our housing market. Further, it would take 20 years, and cost U.S. taxpayers between $400 to $600 billion. “Providing a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. would…, over 10 years, boost U.S. GDP by $1.2 trillion.” Center for American Progress PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP Myth: Providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would hurt American workers. FACT: Providing a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. would increase their wages and spending power and, over 10 years, boost U.S. GDP by $1.2 trillion. If the U.S. provided a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship, it would increase Americans’ income by $791 billion and generate $184 billion in additional state and local and federal tax revenue from currently undocumented immigrants, and add more than 200,000 jobs to the U.S. economy per year. Millions of undocumented immigrants are serving in essential frontline roles right now, including the estimated 48% of agricultural workers who are immigrants, and who are keeping the food supply chain safe and keeping food on tables across America. “Nearly 200,000 DACA recipients are serving in essential frontline roles… of the pandemic, including nearly 40,000 healthcare workers.” Center for Migration Studies DREAMERS AND THE ECONOMY Myth: Dreamers are a drain on the economy. Giving them legal status would only make things worse for struggling Americans. FACT: Dreamers have built their lives here, and they are Americans in every way except on paper; they also make enormous economic contributions to the U.S. More than 89% of DACA recipients are either employed, and helping to boost the U.S. economy through their spending, and tax dollars. And nearly 200,000 DACA recipients are serving in essential frontline roles in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, including nearly 40,000 as healthcare workers; deporting Dreamers would tear apart families and cost even more lives. If Congress fails to provide protections for these young people, the U.S. GDP could lose out on $460 billion over the next decade. However, if Dreamers were instead provided with legal status and a pathway to citizenship, as much as $1 trillion could be added to the GDP over a decade. HUMANITARIAN PROTECTIONS Myth: Resettling refugees in the United States is too expensive, and not worth the financial burden of taxpayers. FACT: The United States has long been a welcoming safe haven for those forcibly displaced and fleeing violence, extreme poverty, and persecution, and our country has been immeasurably better for it. Refugees are important contributors to the U.S. economy, and investing one dollar in helping refugees get settled, can yield almost twice as much in economic benefits in just 5 years. More than 70% of refugees are of working-age, a higher percentage than the U.S.-born population, and in 2015, refugees contributed $20.9 billion in taxes and had a spending power of $56.3 billion. Refugees have higher rates of entrepreneurship than native-born Americans, and in 2015, 13% of refugees were entrepreneurs, driving long term job creation. Originally printed on fwd.us on July 21,2020 (function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src=" fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Source link

[dragonwolf1979-blog]

America gained 7 million new jobs – more than three times government experts’ projections.

Middle-Class family income increased nearly $6,000 – more than five times the gains during the entire previous administration.

The unemployment rate reached 3.5 percent, the lowest in a half-century.

Achieved 40 months in a row with more job openings than job-hirings.

More Americans reported being employed than ever before – nearly 160 million.

Jobless claims hit a nearly 50-year low.

The number of people claiming unemployment insurance as a share of the population hit its lowest on record.

Incomes rose in every single metro area in the United States for the first time in nearly 3 decades.

Delivered a future of greater promise and opportunity for citizens of all backgrounds.

Unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and those without a high school diploma all reached record lows.

Unemployment for women hit its lowest rate in nearly 70 years.

Lifted nearly 7 million people off of food stamps.

Poverty rates for African Americans and Hispanic Americans reached record lows.

Income inequality fell for two straight years, and by the largest amount in over a decade.

The bottom 50 percent of American households saw a 40 percent increase in net worth.

Wages rose fastest for low-income and blue collar workers – a 16 percent pay increase.

African American homeownership increased from 41.7 percent to 46.4 percent.

Brought jobs, factories, and industries back to the USA.

Created more than 1.2 million manufacturing and construction jobs.

Put in place policies to bring back supply chains from overseas.

Small business optimism broke a 35-year old record in 2018.

Hit record stock market numbers and record 401ks.

The DOW closed above 20,000 for the first time in 2017 and topped 30,000 in 2020.

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ have repeatedly notched record highs.

Rebuilding and investing in rural America.

Signed an Executive Order on Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology Products, which is bringing innovative new technologies to market in American farming and agriculture.

Strengthened America’s rural economy by investing over $1.3 billion through the Agriculture Department’s ReConnect Program to bring high-speed broadband infrastructure to rural America.

Achieved a record-setting economic comeback by rejecting blanket lockdowns.

An October 2020 Gallup survey found 56 percent of Americans said they were better off during a pandemic than four years prior.

During the third quarter of 2020, the economy grew at a rate of 33.1 percent – the most rapid GDP growth ever recorded.

Since coronavirus lockdowns ended, the economy has added back over 12 million jobs, more than half the jobs lost.

Jobs have been recovered 23 times faster than the previous administration’s recovery.

Unemployment fell to 6.7 percent in December, from a pandemic peak of 14.7 percent in April – beating expectations of well over 10 percent unemployment through the end of 2020.

Under the previous administration, it took 49 months for the unemployment rate to fall from 10 percent to under 7 percent compared to just 3 months for the Trump Administration.

Since April, the Hispanic unemployment rate has fallen by 9.6 percent, Asian-American unemployment by 8.6 percent, and Black American unemployment by 6.8 percent.

80 percent of small businesses are now open, up from just 53 percent in April.

Small business confidence hit a new high.

Homebuilder confidence reached an all-time high, and home sales hit their highest reading since December 2006.

Manufacturing optimism nearly doubled.

Household net worth rose $7.4 trillion in Q2 2020 to $112 trillion, an all-time high.

Home prices hit an all-time record high.

The United States rejected crippling lockdowns that crush the economy and inflict countless public health harms and instead safely reopened its economy.

Business confidence is higher in America than in any other G7 or European Union country.

Stabilized America’s financial markets with the establishment of a number of Treasury Department supported facilities at the Federal Reserve.

Tax Relief for the Middle Class

Passed $3.2 trillion in historic tax relief and reformed the tax code.

Signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – the largest tax reform package in history.

More than 6 million American workers received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to the tax cuts.

A typical family of four earning $75,000 received an income tax cut of more than $2,000 – slashing their tax bill in half.

Doubled the standard deduction – making the first $24,000 earned by a married couple completely tax-free.

Doubled the child tax credit.

Virtually eliminated the unfair Estate Tax, or Death Tax.

Cut the business tax rate from 35 percent – the highest in the developed world – all the way down to 21 percent.

Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.

Businesses can now deduct 100 percent of the cost of their capital investments in the year the investment is made.

Since the passage of tax cuts, the share of total wealth held by the bottom half of households has increased, while the share held by the top 1 percent has decreased.

Over 400 companies have announced bonuses, wage increases, new hires, or new investments in the United States.

Over $1.5 trillion was repatriated into the United States from overseas.

Lower investment cost and higher capital returns led to faster growth in the middle class, real wages, and international competitiveness.

Jobs and investments are pouring into Opportunity Zones.

Created nearly 9,000 Opportunity Zones where capital gains on long-term investments are taxed at zero.

Opportunity Zone designations have increased property values within them by 1.1 percent, creating an estimated $11 billion in wealth for the nearly half of Opportunity Zone residents who own their own home.

Opportunity Zones have attracted $75 billion in funds and driven $52 billion of new investment in economically distressed communities, creating at least 500,000 new jobs.

Approximately 1 million Americans will be lifted from poverty as a result of these new investments.

Private equity investments into businesses in Opportunity Zones were nearly 30 percent higher than investments into businesses in similar areas that were not designated Opportunity Zones.

Massive Deregulation

Ended the regulatory assault on American Businesses and Workers.

Instead of 2-for-1, we eliminated 8 old regulations for every 1 new regulation adopted.

Provided the average American household an extra $3,100 every year.

Reduced the direct cost of regulatory compliance by $50 billion, and will reduce costs by an additional $50 billion in FY 2020 alone.

Removed nearly 25,000 pages from the Federal Register – more than any other president. The previous administration added over 16,000 pages.

Established the Governors’ Initiative on Regulatory Innovation to reduce outdated regulations at the state, local, and tribal levels.

Signed an executive order to make it easier for businesses to offer retirement plans.

Signed two executive orders to increase transparency in Federal agencies and protect Americans and their small businesses from administrative abuse.

Modernized the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the first time in over 40 years.

Reduced approval times for major infrastructure projects from 10 or more years down to 2 years or less.

Helped community banks by signing legislation that rolled back costly provisions of Dodd-Frank.

Established the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing to bring down housing costs.

Removed regulations that threatened the development of a strong and stable internet.

Eased and simplified restrictions on rocket launches, helping to spur commercial investment in space projects.

Published a whole-of-government strategy focused on ensuring American leadership in automated vehicle technology.

Streamlined energy efficiency regulations for American families and businesses, including preserving affordable lightbulbs, enhancing the utility of showerheads, and enabling greater time savings with dishwashers.

Removed unnecessary regulations that restrict the seafood industry and impede job creation.

Modernized the Department of Agriculture’s biotechnology regulations to put America in the lead to develop new technologies.

Took action to suspend regulations that would have slowed our response to COVID-19, including lifting restrictions on manufacturers to more quickly produce ventilators.

Successfully rolled back burdensome regulatory overreach.

Rescinded the previous administration’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, which would have abolished zoning for single-family housing to build low-income, federally subsidized apartments.

Issued a final rule on the Fair Housing Act’s disparate impact standard.

Eliminated the Waters of the United States Rule and replaced it with the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, providing relief and certainty for farmers and property owners.

Repealed the previous administration’s costly fuel economy regulations by finalizing the Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles rule, which will make cars more affordable, and lower the price of new vehicles by an estimated $2,200.

Americans now have more money in their pockets.

Deregulation had an especially beneficial impact on low-income Americans who pay a much higher share of their incomes for overregulation.

Cut red tape in the healthcare industry, providing Americans with more affordable healthcare and saving Americans nearly 10 percent on prescription drugs.

Deregulatory efforts yielded savings to the medical community an estimated $6.6 billion – with a reduction of 42 million hours of regulatory compliance work through 2021.

Removed government barriers to personal freedom and consumer choice in healthcare.

Once fully in effect, 20 major deregulatory actions undertaken by the Trump Administration are expected to save American consumers and businesses over $220 billion per year.

Signed 16 pieces of deregulatory legislation that will result in a $40 billion increase in annual real incomes.

Fair and Reciprocal Trade

Secured historic trade deals to defend American workers.

Immediately withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Ended the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and replaced it with the brand new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The USMCA contains powerful new protections for American manufacturers, auto-makers, farmers, dairy producers, and workers.

The USMCA is expected to generate over $68 billion in economic activity and potentially create over 550,000 new jobs over ten years.

Signed an executive order making it government policy to Buy American and Hire American, and took action to stop the outsourcing of jobs overseas.

Negotiated with Japan to slash tariffs and open its market to $7 billion in American agricultural products and ended its ban on potatoes and lamb.

Over 90 percent of American agricultural exports to Japan now receive preferential treatment, and most are duty-free.

Negotiated another deal with Japan to boost $40 billion worth of digital trade.

Renegotiated the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, doubling the cap on imports of American vehicles and extending the American light truck tariff.

Reached a written, fully-enforceable Phase One trade agreement with China on confronting pirated and counterfeit goods, and the protection of American ideas, trade secrets, patents, and trademarks.

China agreed to purchase an additional $200 billion worth of United States exports and opened market access for over 4,000 American facilities to exports while all tariffs remained in effect.

Achieved a mutual agreement with the European Union (EU) that addresses unfair trade practices and increases duty-free exports by 180 percent to $420 million.

Secured a pledge from the EU to eliminate tariffs on American lobster – the first United States-European Union negotiated tariff reduction in over 20 years.

Scored a historic victory by overhauling the Universal Postal Union, whose outdated policies were undermining American workers and interests.

Engaged extensively with trade partners like the EU and Japan to advance reforms to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Issued a first-ever comprehensive report on the WTO Appellate Body’s failures to comply with WTO rules and interpret WTO agreements as written.

Blocked nominees to the WTO’s Appellate Body until WTO Members recognize and address longstanding issues with Appellate Body activism.

Submitted 5 papers to the WTO Committee on Agriculture to improve Members’ understanding of how trade policies are implemented, highlight areas for improved transparency, and encourage members to maintain up-to-date notifications on market access and domestic support.

Took strong actions to confront unfair trade practices and put America First.

Imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions worth of Chinese goods to protect American jobs and stop China’s abuses under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Directed an all-of-government effort to halt and punish efforts by the Communist Party of China to steal and profit from American innovations and intellectual property.

Imposed tariffs on foreign aluminum and foreign steel to protect our vital industries and support our national security.

Approved tariffs on $1.8 billion in imports of washing machines and $8.5 billion in imports of solar panels.

Blocked illegal timber imports from Peru.

Took action against France for its digital services tax that unfairly targets American technology companies.

Launched investigations into digital services taxes that have been proposed or adopted by 10 other countries.

Historic support for American farmers.

Successfully negotiated more than 50 agreements with countries around the world to increase foreign market access and boost exports of American agriculture products, supporting more than 1 million American jobs.

Authorized $28 billion in aid for farmers who have been subjected to unfair trade practices – fully funded by the tariffs paid by China.

China lifted its ban on poultry, opened its market to beef, and agreed to purchase at least $80 billion of American agricultural products in the next two years.

The European Union agreed to increase beef imports by 180 percent and opened up its market to more imports of soybeans.

South Korea lifted its ban on American poultry and eggs, and agreed to provide market access for record exports of American rice.

Argentina lifted its ban on American pork.

Brazil agreed to increase wheat imports by $180 million a year and raised its quotas for purchases of United States ethanol.

Guatemala and Tunisia opened up their markets to American eggs.

Won tariff exemptions in Ecuador for wheat and soybeans.

Suspended $817 million in trade preferences for Thailand under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program due to its failure to adequately provide reasonable market access for American pork products.

The amount of food stamps redeemed at farmers markets increased from $1.4 million in May 2020 to $1.75 million in September 2020 – a 50 percent increase over last year.

Rapidly deployed the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which provided $30 billion in support to farmers and ranchers facing decreased prices and market disruption when COVID-19 impacted the food supply chain.

Authorized more than $6 billion for the Farmers to Families Food Box program, which delivered over 128 million boxes of locally sourced, produce, meat, and dairy products to charity and faith-based organizations nationwide.

Delegated authorities via the Defense Production Act to protect breaks in the American food supply chain as a result of COVID-19.

American Energy Independence

Unleashed America’s oil and natural gas potential.

For the first time in nearly 70 years, the United States has become a net energy exporter.

The United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world.

Natural gas production reached a record-high of 34.9 quads in 2019, following record high production in 2018 and in 2017.

The United States has been a net natural gas exporter for three consecutive years and has an export capacity of nearly 10 billion cubic feet per day.

Withdrew from the unfair, one-sided Paris Climate Agreement.

Canceled the previous administration’s Clean Power Plan, and replaced it with the new Affordable Clean Energy rule.

Approved the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.

Opened up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska to oil and gas leasing.

Repealed the last administration’s Federal Coal Leasing Moratorium, which prohibited coal leasing on Federal lands.

Reformed permitting rules to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and speed approval for mines.

Fixed the New Source Review permitting program, which punished companies for upgrading or repairing coal power plants.

Fixed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) steam electric and coal ash rules.

The average American family saved $2,500 a year in lower electric bills and lower prices at the gas pump.

Signed legislation repealing the harmful Stream Protection Rule.

Reduced the time to approve drilling permits on public lands by half, increasing permit applications to drill on public lands by 300 percent.

Expedited approval of the NuStar’s New Burgos pipeline to export American gasoline to Mexico.

Streamlined Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal permitting and allowed long-term LNG export authorizations to be extended through 2050.

The United States is now among the top three LNG exporters in the world.

Increased LNG exports five-fold since January 2017, reaching an all-time high in January 2020.

LNG exports are expected to reduce the American trade deficit by over $10 billion.

Granted more than 20 new long-term approvals for LNG exports to non-free trade agreement countries.

The development of natural gas and LNG infrastructure in the United States is providing tens of thousands of jobs, and has led to the investment of tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure.

There are now 6 LNG export facilities operating in the United States, with 2 additional export projects under construction.

The amount of nuclear energy production in 2019 was the highest on record, through a combination of increased capacity from power plant upgrades and shorter refueling and maintenance cycles.

Prevented Russian energy coercion across Europe through various lines of effort, including the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation, civil nuclear deals with Romania and Poland, and opposition to Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Issued the Presidential Permit for the A2A railroad between Canada and Alaska, providing energy resources to emerging markets.

Increased access to our country’s abundant natural resources in order to achieve energy independence.

Renewable energy production and consumption both reached record highs in 2019.

Enacted policies that helped double the amount of electricity generated by solar and helped increase the amount of wind generation by 32 percent from 2016 through 2019.

Accelerated construction of energy infrastructure to ensure American energy producers can deliver their products to the market.

Cut red tape holding back the construction of new energy infrastructure.

Authorized ethanol producers to sell E15 year-round and allowed higher-ethanol gasoline to be distributed from existing pumps at filling stations.

Ensured greater transparency and certainty in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.

Negotiated leasing capacity in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Australia, providing American taxpayers a return on this infrastructure investment.

[ellajme0]

These are the immigration facts: Immigrants and immigration are good for our country, our communities, and our economy. Efforts to cut legal immigration – particularly in the recovery from the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic – will keep American families separated, hurt public health, and damage our economy as the country continues to recover from the pandemic. New arrivals to the U.S. help drive business creation, fuel innovation, fill essential workforce needs, and strengthen the middle class. Family-based immigration promotes family unity and integration, all core principles of American values. And many immigrants will go on to become citizens, taking the solemn oath of allegiance to America and the Constitution. The success of our nation comes, in large part, from our longstanding tradition of encouraging people seeking a better life to leave everything they know to contribute to the United States. Severely limiting legal immigration puts this at risk. Instead, we should protect and expand current immigration levels and work to pass immigration reform that makes it safer, faster, and more efficient for prospective immigrants to enter the U.S. and begin contributing. We cannot afford to shut out the life-saving contributions that immigrants and immigration bring to our country. POPULATION IMPACT Myth: The U.S. doesn’t need immigration to increase its population. Fact: Between 2010 and 2020, the U.S. saw its slowest population growth of any decade since the 1930s. In recent years, fewer children have been born. Immigration levels have also decreased. Future immigration is needed to increase the U.S. population size overall, but also to maintain a senior to working-age ratio for growing the U.S. economy. According to FWD.us projections, the U.S. should double immigration levels to remain globally competitive with other economies and keep fiscal programs like Social Security strong. Most projected population growth in the U.S. is due to immigration. If immigration to the U.S. were to cease, the U.S. population would be about the same size in 2050 as it would be today. AMERICAN WORKFORCE Myth: Immigration hurts American workers. Immigrants take jobs from Americans and drive wages down. FACT: Immigrants are highly entrepreneurial, launching new companies at twice the rate of native-born Americans and creating large numbers of jobs. All of this increases employment opportunities for native-born American workers, boosts wages and strengthens the middle class. As the U.S. economy begins to reopen, job creators will be absolutely critical to boosting recovery in communities across the country. Research shows that immigrants generally complement, rather than compete with American workers, because they have different skill sets and educational backgrounds. The U.S. economy is dynamic and not zero-sum: when one individual obtains a job, it does not mean another individual loses a job. In fact, immigrants help grow the economy by filling labor needs, purchasing goods and paying taxes. When more people work, productivity increases. And as an increasing number of Americans retire in coming years, immigrants will help fill labor demand and maintain the social safety net. “Immigrants added $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2016 and $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018.” National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ECONOMIC IMPACT Myth: Immigrants are a drain on the U.S. economy and reducing immigration would make our economy stronger. FACT: The United States needs immigrants to stay competitive and drive economic growth, Particularly as our economy starts to reopen, individuals who create jobs are absolutely critical to our recovery. Immigrants are innovators, job creators, and consumers with an enormous spending power that drives our economy, and creates employment opportunities for all Americans. Immigrants added $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2016 and $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018. In 2018, after immigrants spent billions of dollars on state and local, and federal taxes, they were left with $1.2 trillion in spending power, which they used to purchase goods and services, stimulating local business activity. Proposed cuts to our legal immigration system would have devastating effects on our economy, decreasing GDP by 2% over twenty years, shrinking growth by 12.5%, and cutting 4.6 million jobs. Rust Belt states would be hit particularly hard, as they rely on immigration to stabilize their populations and revive their economies. EDUCATION Myth: Immigrants are poorly educated and have no skills to offer Americans. FACT: Immigrants tend to be well-educated and skilled in their fields. 43% of recently-arrived family and diversity-based immigrants are college graduates – compared to 29% of native-born Americans. More than half of STEM degrees awarded by U.S. universities go to international students, and about half of applicants for H-1B temporary work visas have a Masters degree or above from a U.S. university. Immigrants represent 30% of new entrepreneurs, despite making up only 13% of the population keeping the workforce flexible, allowing companies to grow faster, and increasing the productivity of American workers by bringing in individuals with diverse skill sets and new ideas. In fact, 45% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants and their children, employing over 10 million people worldwide. “If current legal immigration levels were cut by 50%, the Social Security fund would lose $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next 75 years.” Urban Institute TAXES AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES Myth: Immigrants are a burden to essential services like schools, hospitals and highways. FACT: Immigrants make significant contributions to our economy on virtually every front – including on tax revenue, where they contribute $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018. This includes undocumented immigrants, who contribute roughly $11.74 billion a year in state and local taxes, including more than $7 billion in sales and excise taxes, $3.6 billion in property taxes, and $1.1 billion in personal income taxes. These billions of tax dollars fund our schools, hospitals, emergency response services, highways, and other essential services. These revenues would increase by $2.18 billion annually if undocumented immigrants were given legal status as part of an immigration reform package. Additionally, immigrants make enormous contributions to Social Security. If current legal immigration levels were cut by 50%, the Social Security fund would lose $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next 75 years. ANNUAL LEVELS OF IMMIGRATION Myth: The U.S. doesn’t need more immigrants and the American people want to see a reduction in immigration. FACT: Americans want more immigration, not less. Over 75% of Americans oppose making cuts to our legal immigration system, and three-quarters of Americans say that immigration is good for the U.S. As the U.S. population ages, immigrants and their families are crucial for our economy. According to the Census Bureau, the 65-and-older population will nearly double by 2050, reducing the number of people in our workforce. On the other hand, 79% of immigrants in the U.S. are working-age compared to 61% of their native-born counterparts. “Employment-based immigrants are critical to the U.S. economy as they meet the temporary and permanent needs of U.S. employers in diverse industries.” National Immigration Forum EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION Myth: American businesses use work visas to underpay immigrant workers and replace American workers. FACT: Many U.S. companies hire foreign-born professionals to supplement their workforce, using a mix of permanent, employment-based immigration visas (called “green cards”) and temporary visas, like the H-2A visa for agricultural workers or the H-1B visa for highly-skilled specialty workers. For temporary roles, employers must demonstrate that they will pay their new hires at least the average wage paid to similarly situated workers, and for permanent immigration programs, employers must go through a rigorous labor certification process to demonstrate there are no qualified Americans available to fill the role. Research demonstrates that immigrant workers do not hurt the wages of native-born workers, and, on the contrary, complement them. Employment-based immigrants are critical to the U.S. economy as they meet the temporary and permanent needs of U.S. employers in diverse industries. These contributions are even more critical as the U.S. economy continues to recover from the pandemic. And the kinds of jobs that immigrants have filled during the pandemic have supported the health and safety of communities across the country, and undoubtedly saved millions of American lives: this includes essential frontline workers in healthcare roles, individuals researching treatments or vaccines for coronavirus, or as farmworkers keeping the supply chain safe and putting food on tables across the country, to name just a few. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Myth: International students take jobs away from Americans. FACT: International students make countless contributions to campuses across the country, and their entrepreneurial spirit, innovative skills, and spending power contribute to the American economy. They spend billions of dollars as consumers, frequently pay higher tuition rates, which subsidize domestic students keeping tuition costs down, support local businesses, and have gone on to found companies like Google, Yahoo!, and Trulia, employing hundreds of thousands of Americans. In fact, during the 2018-2019 academic year, international students studying in the U.S. contributed $41 billion and supported 458,290 jobs to the economy. International students are pursuing degrees in many sectors including in the science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM fields. MASS DEPORTATION Myth: Deporting as many undocumented immigrants as possible is good for the American economy. FACT: Beyond the staggering moral costs and far-reaching trauma of separating millions of American families, the deportation of 11 million people would impoverish many American families and create enormous social costs. Mass deportation would force a nearly $8 trillion hit to the economy over the next 14 years and jeopardize our housing market. Further, it would take 20 years, and cost U.S. taxpayers between $400 to $600 billion. “Providing a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. would…, over 10 years, boost U.S. GDP by $1.2 trillion.” Center for American Progress PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP Myth: Providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would hurt American workers. FACT: Providing a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. would increase their wages and spending power and, over 10 years, boost U.S. GDP by $1.2 trillion. If the U.S. provided a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship, it would increase Americans’ income by $791 billion and generate $184 billion in additional state and local and federal tax revenue from currently undocumented immigrants, and add more than 200,000 jobs to the U.S. economy per year. Millions of undocumented immigrants are serving in essential frontline roles right now, including the estimated 48% of agricultural workers who are immigrants, and who are keeping the food supply chain safe and keeping food on tables across America. “Nearly 200,000 DACA recipients are serving in essential frontline roles… of the pandemic, including nearly 40,000 healthcare workers.” Center for Migration Studies DREAMERS AND THE ECONOMY Myth: Dreamers are a drain on the economy. Giving them legal status would only make things worse for struggling Americans. FACT: Dreamers have built their lives here, and they are Americans in every way except on paper; they also make enormous economic contributions to the U.S. More than 89% of DACA recipients are either employed, and helping to boost the U.S. economy through their spending, and tax dollars. And nearly 200,000 DACA recipients are serving in essential frontline roles in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, including nearly 40,000 as healthcare workers; deporting Dreamers would tear apart families and cost even more lives. If Congress fails to provide protections for these young people, the U.S. GDP could lose out on $460 billion over the next decade. However, if Dreamers were instead provided with legal status and a pathway to citizenship, as much as $1 trillion could be added to the GDP over a decade. HUMANITARIAN PROTECTIONS Myth: Resettling refugees in the United States is too expensive, and not worth the financial burden of taxpayers. FACT: The United States has long been a welcoming safe haven for those forcibly displaced and fleeing violence, extreme poverty, and persecution, and our country has been immeasurably better for it. Refugees are important contributors to the U.S. economy, and investing one dollar in helping refugees get settled, can yield almost twice as much in economic benefits in just 5 years. More than 70% of refugees are of working-age, a higher percentage than the U.S.-born population, and in 2015, refugees contributed $20.9 billion in taxes and had a spending power of $56.3 billion. Refugees have higher rates of entrepreneurship than native-born Americans, and in 2015, 13% of refugees were entrepreneurs, driving long term job creation. Originally printed on fwd.us on July 21,2020 (function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src=" fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Source link

[chilimili212]

These are the immigration facts: Immigrants and immigration are good for our country, our communities, and our economy. Efforts to cut legal immigration – particularly in the recovery from the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic – will keep American families separated, hurt public health, and damage our economy as the country continues to recover from the pandemic. New arrivals to the U.S. help drive business creation, fuel innovation, fill essential workforce needs, and strengthen the middle class. Family-based immigration promotes family unity and integration, all core principles of American values. And many immigrants will go on to become citizens, taking the solemn oath of allegiance to America and the Constitution. The success of our nation comes, in large part, from our longstanding tradition of encouraging people seeking a better life to leave everything they know to contribute to the United States. Severely limiting legal immigration puts this at risk. Instead, we should protect and expand current immigration levels and work to pass immigration reform that makes it safer, faster, and more efficient for prospective immigrants to enter the U.S. and begin contributing. We cannot afford to shut out the life-saving contributions that immigrants and immigration bring to our country. POPULATION IMPACT Myth: The U.S. doesn’t need immigration to increase its population. Fact: Between 2010 and 2020, the U.S. saw its slowest population growth of any decade since the 1930s. In recent years, fewer children have been born. Immigration levels have also decreased. Future immigration is needed to increase the U.S. population size overall, but also to maintain a senior to working-age ratio for growing the U.S. economy. According to FWD.us projections, the U.S. should double immigration levels to remain globally competitive with other economies and keep fiscal programs like Social Security strong. Most projected population growth in the U.S. is due to immigration. If immigration to the U.S. were to cease, the U.S. population would be about the same size in 2050 as it would be today. AMERICAN WORKFORCE Myth: Immigration hurts American workers. Immigrants take jobs from Americans and drive wages down. FACT: Immigrants are highly entrepreneurial, launching new companies at twice the rate of native-born Americans and creating large numbers of jobs. All of this increases employment opportunities for native-born American workers, boosts wages and strengthens the middle class. As the U.S. economy begins to reopen, job creators will be absolutely critical to boosting recovery in communities across the country. Research shows that immigrants generally complement, rather than compete with American workers, because they have different skill sets and educational backgrounds. The U.S. economy is dynamic and not zero-sum: when one individual obtains a job, it does not mean another individual loses a job. In fact, immigrants help grow the economy by filling labor needs, purchasing goods and paying taxes. When more people work, productivity increases. And as an increasing number of Americans retire in coming years, immigrants will help fill labor demand and maintain the social safety net. “Immigrants added $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2016 and $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018.” National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ECONOMIC IMPACT Myth: Immigrants are a drain on the U.S. economy and reducing immigration would make our economy stronger. FACT: The United States needs immigrants to stay competitive and drive economic growth, Particularly as our economy starts to reopen, individuals who create jobs are absolutely critical to our recovery. Immigrants are innovators, job creators, and consumers with an enormous spending power that drives our economy, and creates employment opportunities for all Americans. Immigrants added $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2016 and $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018. In 2018, after immigrants spent billions of dollars on state and local, and federal taxes, they were left with $1.2 trillion in spending power, which they used to purchase goods and services, stimulating local business activity. Proposed cuts to our legal immigration system would have devastating effects on our economy, decreasing GDP by 2% over twenty years, shrinking growth by 12.5%, and cutting 4.6 million jobs. Rust Belt states would be hit particularly hard, as they rely on immigration to stabilize their populations and revive their economies. EDUCATION Myth: Immigrants are poorly educated and have no skills to offer Americans. FACT: Immigrants tend to be well-educated and skilled in their fields. 43% of recently-arrived family and diversity-based immigrants are college graduates – compared to 29% of native-born Americans. More than half of STEM degrees awarded by U.S. universities go to international students, and about half of applicants for H-1B temporary work visas have a Masters degree or above from a U.S. university. Immigrants represent 30% of new entrepreneurs, despite making up only 13% of the population keeping the workforce flexible, allowing companies to grow faster, and increasing the productivity of American workers by bringing in individuals with diverse skill sets and new ideas. In fact, 45% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants and their children, employing over 10 million people worldwide. “If current legal immigration levels were cut by 50%, the Social Security fund would lose $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next 75 years.” Urban Institute TAXES AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES Myth: Immigrants are a burden to essential services like schools, hospitals and highways. FACT: Immigrants make significant contributions to our economy on virtually every front – including on tax revenue, where they contribute $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018. This includes undocumented immigrants, who contribute roughly $11.74 billion a year in state and local taxes, including more than $7 billion in sales and excise taxes, $3.6 billion in property taxes, and $1.1 billion in personal income taxes. These billions of tax dollars fund our schools, hospitals, emergency response services, highways, and other essential services. These revenues would increase by $2.18 billion annually if undocumented immigrants were given legal status as part of an immigration reform package. Additionally, immigrants make enormous contributions to Social Security. If current legal immigration levels were cut by 50%, the Social Security fund would lose $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next 75 years. ANNUAL LEVELS OF IMMIGRATION Myth: The U.S. doesn’t need more immigrants and the American people want to see a reduction in immigration. FACT: Americans want more immigration, not less. Over 75% of Americans oppose making cuts to our legal immigration system, and three-quarters of Americans say that immigration is good for the U.S. As the U.S. population ages, immigrants and their families are crucial for our economy. According to the Census Bureau, the 65-and-older population will nearly double by 2050, reducing the number of people in our workforce. On the other hand, 79% of immigrants in the U.S. are working-age compared to 61% of their native-born counterparts. “Employment-based immigrants are critical to the U.S. economy as they meet the temporary and permanent needs of U.S. employers in diverse industries.” National Immigration Forum EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION Myth: American businesses use work visas to underpay immigrant workers and replace American workers. FACT: Many U.S. companies hire foreign-born professionals to supplement their workforce, using a mix of permanent, employment-based immigration visas (called “green cards”) and temporary visas, like the H-2A visa for agricultural workers or the H-1B visa for highly-skilled specialty workers. For temporary roles, employers must demonstrate that they will pay their new hires at least the average wage paid to similarly situated workers, and for permanent immigration programs, employers must go through a rigorous labor certification process to demonstrate there are no qualified Americans available to fill the role. Research demonstrates that immigrant workers do not hurt the wages of native-born workers, and, on the contrary, complement them. Employment-based immigrants are critical to the U.S. economy as they meet the temporary and permanent needs of U.S. employers in diverse industries. These contributions are even more critical as the U.S. economy continues to recover from the pandemic. And the kinds of jobs that immigrants have filled during the pandemic have supported the health and safety of communities across the country, and undoubtedly saved millions of American lives: this includes essential frontline workers in healthcare roles, individuals researching treatments or vaccines for coronavirus, or as farmworkers keeping the supply chain safe and putting food on tables across the country, to name just a few. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Myth: International students take jobs away from Americans. FACT: International students make countless contributions to campuses across the country, and their entrepreneurial spirit, innovative skills, and spending power contribute to the American economy. They spend billions of dollars as consumers, frequently pay higher tuition rates, which subsidize domestic students keeping tuition costs down, support local businesses, and have gone on to found companies like Google, Yahoo!, and Trulia, employing hundreds of thousands of Americans. In fact, during the 2018-2019 academic year, international students studying in the U.S. contributed $41 billion and supported 458,290 jobs to the economy. International students are pursuing degrees in many sectors including in the science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM fields. MASS DEPORTATION Myth: Deporting as many undocumented immigrants as possible is good for the American economy. FACT: Beyond the staggering moral costs and far-reaching trauma of separating millions of American families, the deportation of 11 million people would impoverish many American families and create enormous social costs. Mass deportation would force a nearly $8 trillion hit to the economy over the next 14 years and jeopardize our housing market. Further, it would take 20 years, and cost U.S. taxpayers between $400 to $600 billion. “Providing a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. would…, over 10 years, boost U.S. GDP by $1.2 trillion.” Center for American Progress PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP Myth: Providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would hurt American workers. FACT: Providing a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. would increase their wages and spending power and, over 10 years, boost U.S. GDP by $1.2 trillion. If the U.S. provided a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship, it would increase Americans’ income by $791 billion and generate $184 billion in additional state and local and federal tax revenue from currently undocumented immigrants, and add more than 200,000 jobs to the U.S. economy per year. Millions of undocumented immigrants are serving in essential frontline roles right now, including the estimated 48% of agricultural workers who are immigrants, and who are keeping the food supply chain safe and keeping food on tables across America. “Nearly 200,000 DACA recipients are serving in essential frontline roles… of the pandemic, including nearly 40,000 healthcare workers.” Center for Migration Studies DREAMERS AND THE ECONOMY Myth: Dreamers are a drain on the economy. Giving them legal status would only make things worse for struggling Americans. FACT: Dreamers have built their lives here, and they are Americans in every way except on paper; they also make enormous economic contributions to the U.S. More than 89% of DACA recipients are either employed, and helping to boost the U.S. economy through their spending, and tax dollars. And nearly 200,000 DACA recipients are serving in essential frontline roles in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, including nearly 40,000 as healthcare workers; deporting Dreamers would tear apart families and cost even more lives. If Congress fails to provide protections for these young people, the U.S. GDP could lose out on $460 billion over the next decade. However, if Dreamers were instead provided with legal status and a pathway to citizenship, as much as $1 trillion could be added to the GDP over a decade. HUMANITARIAN PROTECTIONS Myth: Resettling refugees in the United States is too expensive, and not worth the financial burden of taxpayers. FACT: The United States has long been a welcoming safe haven for those forcibly displaced and fleeing violence, extreme poverty, and persecution, and our country has been immeasurably better for it. Refugees are important contributors to the U.S. economy, and investing one dollar in helping refugees get settled, can yield almost twice as much in economic benefits in just 5 years. More than 70% of refugees are of working-age, a higher percentage than the U.S.-born population, and in 2015, refugees contributed $20.9 billion in taxes and had a spending power of $56.3 billion. Refugees have higher rates of entrepreneurship than native-born Americans, and in 2015, 13% of refugees were entrepreneurs, driving long term job creation. Originally printed on fwd.us on July 21,2020 (function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src=" fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Source link

[oliviajoyice21]

These are the immigration facts: Immigrants and immigration are good for our country, our communities, and our economy. Efforts to cut legal immigration – particularly in the recovery from the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic – will keep American families separated, hurt public health, and damage our economy as the country continues to recover from the pandemic. New arrivals to the U.S. help drive business creation, fuel innovation, fill essential workforce needs, and strengthen the middle class. Family-based immigration promotes family unity and integration, all core principles of American values. And many immigrants will go on to become citizens, taking the solemn oath of allegiance to America and the Constitution. The success of our nation comes, in large part, from our longstanding tradition of encouraging people seeking a better life to leave everything they know to contribute to the United States. Severely limiting legal immigration puts this at risk. Instead, we should protect and expand current immigration levels and work to pass immigration reform that makes it safer, faster, and more efficient for prospective immigrants to enter the U.S. and begin contributing. We cannot afford to shut out the life-saving contributions that immigrants and immigration bring to our country. POPULATION IMPACT Myth: The U.S. doesn’t need immigration to increase its population. Fact: Between 2010 and 2020, the U.S. saw its slowest population growth of any decade since the 1930s. In recent years, fewer children have been born. Immigration levels have also decreased. Future immigration is needed to increase the U.S. population size overall, but also to maintain a senior to working-age ratio for growing the U.S. economy. According to FWD.us projections, the U.S. should double immigration levels to remain globally competitive with other economies and keep fiscal programs like Social Security strong. Most projected population growth in the U.S. is due to immigration. If immigration to the U.S. were to cease, the U.S. population would be about the same size in 2050 as it would be today. AMERICAN WORKFORCE Myth: Immigration hurts American workers. Immigrants take jobs from Americans and drive wages down. FACT: Immigrants are highly entrepreneurial, launching new companies at twice the rate of native-born Americans and creating large numbers of jobs. All of this increases employment opportunities for native-born American workers, boosts wages and strengthens the middle class. As the U.S. economy begins to reopen, job creators will be absolutely critical to boosting recovery in communities across the country. Research shows that immigrants generally complement, rather than compete with American workers, because they have different skill sets and educational backgrounds. The U.S. economy is dynamic and not zero-sum: when one individual obtains a job, it does not mean another individual loses a job. In fact, immigrants help grow the economy by filling labor needs, purchasing goods and paying taxes. When more people work, productivity increases. And as an increasing number of Americans retire in coming years, immigrants will help fill labor demand and maintain the social safety net. “Immigrants added $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2016 and $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018.” National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ECONOMIC IMPACT Myth: Immigrants are a drain on the U.S. economy and reducing immigration would make our economy stronger. FACT: The United States needs immigrants to stay competitive and drive economic growth, Particularly as our economy starts to reopen, individuals who create jobs are absolutely critical to our recovery. Immigrants are innovators, job creators, and consumers with an enormous spending power that drives our economy, and creates employment opportunities for all Americans. Immigrants added $2 trillion to the U.S. GDP in 2016 and $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018. In 2018, after immigrants spent billions of dollars on state and local, and federal taxes, they were left with $1.2 trillion in spending power, which they used to purchase goods and services, stimulating local business activity. Proposed cuts to our legal immigration system would have devastating effects on our economy, decreasing GDP by 2% over twenty years, shrinking growth by 12.5%, and cutting 4.6 million jobs. Rust Belt states would be hit particularly hard, as they rely on immigration to stabilize their populations and revive their economies. EDUCATION Myth: Immigrants are poorly educated and have no skills to offer Americans. FACT: Immigrants tend to be well-educated and skilled in their fields. 43% of recently-arrived family and diversity-based immigrants are college graduates – compared to 29% of native-born Americans. More than half of STEM degrees awarded by U.S. universities go to international students, and about half of applicants for H-1B temporary work visas have a Masters degree or above from a U.S. university. Immigrants represent 30% of new entrepreneurs, despite making up only 13% of the population keeping the workforce flexible, allowing companies to grow faster, and increasing the productivity of American workers by bringing in individuals with diverse skill sets and new ideas. In fact, 45% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants and their children, employing over 10 million people worldwide. “If current legal immigration levels were cut by 50%, the Social Security fund would lose $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next 75 years.” Urban Institute TAXES AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES Myth: Immigrants are a burden to essential services like schools, hospitals and highways. FACT: Immigrants make significant contributions to our economy on virtually every front – including on tax revenue, where they contribute $458.7 billion to state, local, and federal taxes in 2018. This includes undocumented immigrants, who contribute roughly $11.74 billion a year in state and local taxes, including more than $7 billion in sales and excise taxes, $3.6 billion in property taxes, and $1.1 billion in personal income taxes. These billions of tax dollars fund our schools, hospitals, emergency response services, highways, and other essential services. These revenues would increase by $2.18 billion annually if undocumented immigrants were given legal status as part of an immigration reform package. Additionally, immigrants make enormous contributions to Social Security. If current legal immigration levels were cut by 50%, the Social Security fund would lose $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next 75 years. ANNUAL LEVELS OF IMMIGRATION Myth: The U.S. doesn’t need more immigrants and the American people want to see a reduction in immigration. FACT: Americans want more immigration, not less. Over 75% of Americans oppose making cuts to our legal immigration system, and three-quarters of Americans say that immigration is good for the U.S. As the U.S. population ages, immigrants and their families are crucial for our economy. According to the Census Bureau, the 65-and-older population will nearly double by 2050, reducing the number of people in our workforce. On the other hand, 79% of immigrants in the U.S. are working-age compared to 61% of their native-born counterparts. “Employment-based immigrants are critical to the U.S. economy as they meet the temporary and permanent needs of U.S. employers in diverse industries.” National Immigration Forum EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION Myth: American businesses use work visas to underpay immigrant workers and replace American workers. FACT: Many U.S. companies hire foreign-born professionals to supplement their workforce, using a mix of permanent, employment-based immigration visas (called “green cards”) and temporary visas, like the H-2A visa for agricultural workers or the H-1B visa for highly-skilled specialty workers. For temporary roles, employers must demonstrate that they will pay their new hires at least the average wage paid to similarly situated workers, and for permanent immigration programs, employers must go through a rigorous labor certification process to demonstrate there are no qualified Americans available to fill the role. Research demonstrates that immigrant workers do not hurt the wages of native-born workers, and, on the contrary, complement them. Employment-based immigrants are critical to the U.S. economy as they meet the temporary and permanent needs of U.S. employers in diverse industries. These contributions are even more critical as the U.S. economy continues to recover from the pandemic. And the kinds of jobs that immigrants have filled during the pandemic have supported the health and safety of communities across the country, and undoubtedly saved millions of American lives: this includes essential frontline workers in healthcare roles, individuals researching treatments or vaccines for coronavirus, or as farmworkers keeping the supply chain safe and putting food on tables across the country, to name just a few. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Myth: International students take jobs away from Americans. FACT: International students make countless contributions to campuses across the country, and their entrepreneurial spirit, innovative skills, and spending power contribute to the American economy. They spend billions of dollars as consumers, frequently pay higher tuition rates, which subsidize domestic students keeping tuition costs down, support local businesses, and have gone on to found companies like Google, Yahoo!, and Trulia, employing hundreds of thousands of Americans. In fact, during the 2018-2019 academic year, international students studying in the U.S. contributed $41 billion and supported 458,290 jobs to the economy. International students are pursuing degrees in many sectors including in the science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM fields. MASS DEPORTATION Myth: Deporting as many undocumented immigrants as possible is good for the American economy. FACT: Beyond the staggering moral costs and far-reaching trauma of separating millions of American families, the deportation of 11 million people would impoverish many American families and create enormous social costs. Mass deportation would force a nearly $8 trillion hit to the economy over the next 14 years and jeopardize our housing market. Further, it would take 20 years, and cost U.S. taxpayers between $400 to $600 billion. “Providing a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. would…, over 10 years, boost U.S. GDP by $1.2 trillion.” Center for American Progress PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP Myth: Providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would hurt American workers. FACT: Providing a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. would increase their wages and spending power and, over 10 years, boost U.S. GDP by $1.2 trillion. If the U.S. provided a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship, it would increase Americans’ income by $791 billion and generate $184 billion in additional state and local and federal tax revenue from currently undocumented immigrants, and add more than 200,000 jobs to the U.S. economy per year. Millions of undocumented immigrants are serving in essential frontline roles right now, including the estimated 48% of agricultural workers who are immigrants, and who are keeping the food supply chain safe and keeping food on tables across America. “Nearly 200,000 DACA recipients are serving in essential frontline roles… of the pandemic, including nearly 40,000 healthcare workers.” Center for Migration Studies DREAMERS AND THE ECONOMY Myth: Dreamers are a drain on the economy. Giving them legal status would only make things worse for struggling Americans. FACT: Dreamers have built their lives here, and they are Americans in every way except on paper; they also make enormous economic contributions to the U.S. More than 89% of DACA recipients are either employed, and helping to boost the U.S. economy through their spending, and tax dollars. And nearly 200,000 DACA recipients are serving in essential frontline roles in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, including nearly 40,000 as healthcare workers; deporting Dreamers would tear apart families and cost even more lives. If Congress fails to provide protections for these young people, the U.S. GDP could lose out on $460 billion over the next decade. However, if Dreamers were instead provided with legal status and a pathway to citizenship, as much as $1 trillion could be added to the GDP over a decade. HUMANITARIAN PROTECTIONS Myth: Resettling refugees in the United States is too expensive, and not worth the financial burden of taxpayers. FACT: The United States has long been a welcoming safe haven for those forcibly displaced and fleeing violence, extreme poverty, and persecution, and our country has been immeasurably better for it. Refugees are important contributors to the U.S. economy, and investing one dollar in helping refugees get settled, can yield almost twice as much in economic benefits in just 5 years. More than 70% of refugees are of working-age, a higher percentage than the U.S.-born population, and in 2015, refugees contributed $20.9 billion in taxes and had a spending power of $56.3 billion. Refugees have higher rates of entrepreneurship than native-born Americans, and in 2015, 13% of refugees were entrepreneurs, driving long term job creation. Originally printed on fwd.us on July 21,2020 (function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src=" fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Source link

[rohitpalan]

Forecasting Exponential Growth: The Global Cloud Communication Platforms Market 2020-2030

The global cloud communication platform market will experience a double-digit CAGR over the forecast period, 2020-2030. Upsurge in investments in IT infrastructure for cloud service providers (CSPs), internet service providers (ISPs), and hyperscalers have been critical in driving market growth. Further, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has compelled several organizations to turn to work from home (WFH) model, thereby, resulting in increasing deployment of cloud communication platform solutions.

Digital collaboration tool providers, including Zoom, and Microsoft, are witnessing a remarkable upswing in usage across continents due to lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. Given the shortage of on-site IT personnel, companies are utilizing cloud-based solutions to maintain and monitor their storage, and server installations in data centers. Enterprises are leveraging full potential of cloud to establish resilient and disaster-immune models to satiate the remote workforce, as well as ensure data security and enterprise application integrity.

Request a Sample of this Report: https://www.fmisamplereport.com/sample/rep-gb-3349

“While the COVID-19 pandemic is having a detrimental impact on the global economic order, it is having a mildly positive impact on cloud communication platform market. Although the pandemic is troubling cloud service providers, in uncertain times, the public cloud infrastructure is delivering flexibility and safe house for organizations striving to maintain normal operations” says the FMI study.

Cloud Communication Platform Market – Key Takeaways

The healthcare industry would remain key revenue generator, given rising trend of bring your own device (BYOD), and increasing need for mobility in the industry.

Benefits such as low costs, and greater functionality are bolstering the adoption of Unified communications as a service (UCaaS).

Large enterprises would remain the primary customer of cloud communication platform services.

Market in North America continues its positive trend, backed by increasing adoption of UCaaS and IVR solutions.

Cloud Communication Platform Market – Key Driving Factors

Rising preference for online backup and database solutions has boded well for market.

Increasing shift towards cloud-based unified communication services to push adoption rate.

Swelling demand for high-speed data transfer mediums in developing regions to offer growth potential to market players.

Cloud Communication Platform Market – Key Constraints

Security and privacy risks associated with shared communication networks are restricting widespread adoption.

Redesigning the network for cloud requires high initial cost.

Anticipated Market Impact of Coronavirus Outbreak

The COVID-19 pandemic has hampered the revenue growth of almost every industry, including the cloud communication platform market. Alerted by the situation, several private, and government organizations have transitioned to remote working, thus, translating into swelling adoption of cloud communication platform solutions. In addition, customers are significantly banking on video streaming services as they strictly following self-isolating regulations. Such evolving trends are auguring well for the cloud communication platform market. The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market expanded by nearly 1.4X in 2019 and will see a surge in demand amidst the COVID-19 crisis, as remote working becomes the new normal.

Competition Landscape

Key players in the cloud communication platform market are Cisco Systems Inc., IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Avaya Inc., Ozonetel Systems Pvt. Ltd., and Dialogic Inc. Players are focusing on collaborations and new service launches in order to expand their presence further during the COVID-19 recession and extend their customer base.

[ismaelfarmer]

The status quo of the drug problem in the US

1. Drug abuse has become a chronic disease in American society For example, the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics includes the following eight drug types: alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, fentanyl, opiates (mainly controlled psychotropic drugs), prescription stimulants, methamphetamine, and heroin. About 46 percent of them used marijuana and prescription doping, about 36 percent used opiates and methamphetamine, and 31 percent, 15 percent and 10 percent used prescription doping, heroin and cocaine, respectively. In 2021, the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics showed that about 19.4% of the population used illicit drugs at least once; among about 280 million Americans aged 12 or older, 31.9 million currently use drugs, 11.7 percent used illicit drugs and 19.4 percent used illicit drugs or abused prescription drugs in the past year. If alcohol and tobacco use are also included, about 165 million people in the United States currently experience drug abuse. As many as 48.2 million Americans over age 18 have used marijuana at least once in the past 12 months. Cannabis use has increased by 15.9% from 2018 to 2019. Marijuana is illegal under US federal law, but 15 states have legalized its recreational use. After the COVID-19 outbreak, the US marijuana industry bucked the trend. In March 2020, with many businesses shut down due to COVID-19, marijuana pharmacies in eight legalized states maintained their "basic business", allowing continued sales of marijuana during home quarantine. Legal marijuana sales in the United States hit a record $17.5 billion in 2020, up 46 percent from 2019, according to the BDSA, a data platform for marijuana sales. In the past 12 months, 10.1 million Americans have taken opium at least once. According to the CDC, opiates are to blame for the surge in drug deaths. From April 2020 to April 2021, the number of deaths from excessive opium use in the United States reached 75,000, accounting for more than 75% of the total US population killed by overdose, an increase of 50% from the same period of the previous year. American deaths from alcohol abuse are 95,000 a year. During the new coronavirus pandemic, more than 60 percent of Americans have increased their alcohol use. According to the latest survey data, 25.8 percent of people aged 18 and over have drunk alcohol in the past month, with an average of 261 Americans dying every day, and 80 percent are adults over 35. In this group, the highest drug use rate was observed at 18 to 25 years, at 39% and 34% at 26 to 29 years. Before the age of 13, the number of users who tried illegal drugs reached 70%, and there was a clear trend of younger age of drugs. About 1,150 adolescents aged 14 died from overdoses between January 2021 and June 2021 between 14 to 18, up 20 percent from 2020 and more than double the number of deaths in 2019, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.this

[ao3feed-scorbus]

[Podfic] Scorpius Malfoy Orchestrates a Double Date

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/xNcsbLr by sweaters_in_the_summer Draco and Harry have been rivals since childhood, and now they teach paleontology at the same university. Scorpius talks Draco into bringing him to the movies, but neglects to mention that they're watching Jurassic Park. Or that they're meeting Harry and Albus. Very AU: Muggle, American, modern—but a good modern, where Jurassic Park comes out in a coronavirus-free 2020, instead of 1993. Words: 14, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Severus Potter Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Professor Harry Potter, Professor Draco Malfoy, Single Parent Draco Malfoy, Single Parent Harry Potter, Co-workers, Enemies, Complicated Relationships, Secret Relationship, Scorpius Malfoy & Albus Severus Potter Friendship, Pining Scorpius Malfoy, First Crush, Double Dating, Father-Son Relationship, Movie: Jurassic Park (1993), POV Scorpius Malfoy, POV First Person, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Podfic, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Download, Audio Format: Streaming read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/55906783

[acleanpressurecleaning]

Cleaning Services Brisbane – Why External House Washes Are Important

Whether you’re preparing your home for sale, or a body corporate looking for regular pressure cleaning services, a professional external house wash can add significant value to your property. Brisbane House washing professionals are Soft Wash Australia accredited and use a low-pressure cleaning method to safely clean surfaces.

This includes the roof and gutters, windows and doors, as well as patios and rock gardens.

Roof and Gutters

One of the most Cleaning Services Brisbane jobs in any home is keeping gutters clear. Brisbane’s subtropical climate brings heavy rainfall and diverse flora that shed leaves yearround, making it easy for gutters to become clogged.

Blocked gutters prevent rainwater from flowing down into the stormwater system and out to drainpipes. Instead, water flows under the tiles and into the building’s ceiling, where it can cause water damage to the ceiling, light fittings and walls.

Regular gutter cleaning is a cheap way to protect your roof and save money on expensive repairs. Qualified gutter cleaners use a high-powered vacuum cleaner to suck out debris and flush away stubborn dirt. They also check that downspouts are unblocked and work to ensure the guttering slant is properly maintained. This prevents soil erosion and minimises the risk of mosquitoes, termites and other pests taking up residence in your house. They are also trained to take the right precautions when working at heights.

Windows and Doors

Clean windows and doors are a big part of the exterior of your home. Whether you have double-paned windows or sliders, it’s important to remove window coverings and wipe down all surfaces. It’s best to start with the frames and then move onto the windows themselves. This helps to avoid dripping dirty water all over your newly cleaned panes.

It’s also a good idea to schedule your cleaning on a cloudy day. This way, the heat from the sun won’t dry your cleaning solution before you can wipe it away.

Professional cleaners have a wealth of experience, skills, and technical equipment that they can utilise to tackle even the most stubborn grime. They’re also well trained in specific techniques and methods to get the job done right. You can find top-rated cleaners near you by searching on Oneflare, which recommends businesses based on your location and the type of cleaning job you need. You can then book a service directly from their profile or via instant message.

Decks and Patios

Whether you’re looking for a way to enjoy the view of your backyard or add to the appeal of your home, a deck and patio are both excellent choices. However, keeping them clean can be a bit of a chore. This is why it’s a good idea to schedule cleaning services Brisbane for your deck and patio twice per year.

The best time for cleaning is during spring or autumn, as these are when the weather is mildest. Before you start, clear the area of containers and furniture, trim back plants that are overhanging or touching the deck and hose down the surface to remove dirt and debris.

Wooden decks are usually constructed of timber, composite or PVC decking boards and may be raised up off the ground with stairs or built low to the ground. Similarly, patios are made of paving stones and may be set on a concrete slab or low-to-theground frame.

Hard Surfaces

There is a high pressure cleaning misconception that hard surfaces, such as tabletops, countertops, kitchen appliances and doorknobs, are not susceptible to germs because they are non-porous. However, these surfaces are actually microbial breeding grounds for bacteria and viruses. It is especially important to pay attention to cleaning and disinfecting hard surfaces during this coronavirus outbreak.

During a professional deep clean, hard surfaces like tile flooring and counters are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected to remove embedded dirt and bacteria. This helps to improve indoor air quality and reduce symptoms of allergies or respiratory issues.

Experienced cleaners also have advanced tools and equipment for tackling tough cleaning jobs. They may even include insurance in their service offerings to provide additional peace of mind. You can find a reliable affordable cleaner Brisbane with the help of the easy-to-navigate Oneflare platform. It lists only top-rated and trusted cleaners in your area. Ask friends and family for recommendations or use the search tool to find a suitable cleaner near you.

[newstfionline]

Monday, March 11, 2024

Has San Francisco Lost Its Liberal Soul? (NYT) Have San Francisco voters lost the bleeding hearts they have been known for—or are they just frustrated? City voters resoundingly passed two ballot measures this week that probably wouldn’t have seen the light of day a few years ago. One measure gives more power to the police, and the other requires welfare recipients who are thought to have a drug addiction to enter treatment as a condition of continuing to receive benefits. Critics of the measures said that residents had veered to the right and that billionaires had bought the city by throwing money at campaigns for the measures. But Mayor London Breed, who faces a tough race for re-election in November and who placed the two measures on the ballot, brushed off claims that the city had lost its liberal soul. San Francisco’s reputation has plummeted—unfairly, many residents say—since the start of the pandemic, because of open-air drug use, property crime and the sharp drop in office occupancy downtown. Breed, a political moderate by San Francisco standards, has responded by tacking to the right, and this week voters backed her priorities.

With Haiti in Chaos, a Humanitarian Crisis Is Rapidly Unfolding (NYT) Dr. Ronald V. LaRoche has not been able to cross into dangerous territory to inspect the hospital he runs in Haiti’s Delmas 18 neighborhood since it was ransacked by gangs last week, but a TikTok video he saw offered clues to its current condition: It was on fire. He learned from neighbors and others who dared venture into gang territory that Jude-Anne Hospital had been looted and cleared of anything of value. It was the second hospital he has had to close. “They took everything—the operating rooms, the X-rays, everything from the labs and the pharmacies,” Dr. LaRoche said. “Imagine! They are taking windows from hospitals! Doors!” Haiti is in the throes of an uprising not seen in decades. As politicians around the region scramble to hash out a diplomatic solution to a political crisis that has the prime minister, Ariel Henry, stranded in Puerto Rico and gangs attacking police stations, a humanitarian disaster is quickly escalating. The food supply is threatened, and access to water and health care has been severely curtailed. (AP) The U.S. military said Sunday that it had flown in forces to beef up security at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti and allow nonessential personnel to leave. Caribbean leaders have called for an emergency meeting Monday in Jamaica on what they called Haiti’s “dire” situation. They have invited the United States, France, Canada, the United Nations and Brazil to the meeting.

Brazil’s staggering dengue fever crisis (Washington Post) Patients lying motionless in the waiting room, moaning for help. Desperate hunts for an open hospital bed. Emergency room arguments over medication. Not since the darkest days of the covid-19 pandemic, when hospital systems all over this country ruptured under the weight of the disease, has Brazil witnessed such scenes. But this time, it’s not the coronavirus that has led states all over the country to declare a state of emergency and even spurred the construction of a field hospital in the nation’s capital of Brasília. It’s dengue fever. The disease is ripping through much of South America, where scientists say rising temperatures due to climate change have both extended the territorial range of the mosquito that carries dengue and increased its proliferation. In the first two months of this year, Paraguay registered nearly 100,000 suspected cases—more than five times the typical rate. Peru, wracked by its own outbreak, has declared an emergency in much of the country. Argentina, too, has seen an explosion of cases. But the disease has surged with particular virulence in Brazil, where epidemiologists expect the number of dengue cases to reach into the millions—more than doubling the previous record—and potentially kill thousands of people.

Russia’s new guided bomb (CNN) Russia has begun using a powerful aerial bomb that has decimated Ukrainian defenses and tilted the balance on the front lines. It has done so by converting a basic Soviet-era weapon into a gliding bomb that can cause a crater fifteen meters wide. The bomb is the FAB-1500, essentially a 1.5-tonne weapon of which nearly half comprises high explosives. It is delivered from above by fighter jets from a distance of some 60-70 kilometers, out of range of many Ukrainian air defenses. The FAB-1500 is directed towards its target by a guidance system and pop-out wings that allow it to glide towards its target. The FAB-1500 is the most powerful in a family of Soviet-era ‘dumb bombs’ now being converted at a plant near Moscow into a cheap but potent version of a missile, andit costs pennies in comparison with a missile.

Pope says Ukraine should have ‘courage of the white flag’ of negotiations (Reuters) Pope Francis has said in an interview that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the “white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia that followed Moscow’s full-scale invasion two years ago and that has killed tens of thousands. Francis made his comments in an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, well before Friday’s latest offer by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia to end the war. In the interview Francis was asked for his position on a debate between those who say Ukraine should give up as it has not been able to repel Russian forces, and those who say doing so would legitimise actions by the strongest party. The interviewer used the term “white flag” in the question. “It is one interpretation, that is true,” Francis said. “But I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates,” Francis said, adding that talks should take place with the help of international powers. “The word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate,” Francis said.

How China’s Family Planning Propaganda Has Changed (NYT) For decades, China harshly restricted the number of children couples could have, arguing that everyone would be better off with fewer mouths to feed. The government’s one-child policy was woven into the fabric of everyday life, through slogans on street banners and in popular culture and public art. Now, faced with a shrinking and aging population, China is using many of the same propaganda channels to send the opposite message: Have more babies. The government has also been offering financial incentives for couples to have two or three children. But the efforts have not been successful. The birthrate in China has fallen steeply, and last year was the lowest since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Instead of enforcing birth limits, the government has shifted gears to promote a “pro-birth culture,” organizing beauty pageants for pregnant women and producing rap videos about the advantages of having children. In recent years, the state broadcaster’s annual spring festival gala, one of the country’s most-watched TV events, has prominently featured public service ads promoting families with two or three children.

Indonesia floods, landslide kill 19, with seven missing (Reuters) Days of torrential rain have brought floods and landslides in Indonesia’s province of West Sumatra, forcing the evacuation of more than 70,000 people, while killing at least 19, with seven going missing, authorities said on Sunday. The havoc since last Thursday in the provincial capital of Padang and eight other areas has damaged nearly 700 homes, scores of bridges and schools and 113 hectares (280 acres) of farmland.

UNRWA report says Israel coerced some agency employees to falsely admit Hamas links (Reuters) The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said some employees released into Gaza from Israeli detention reported having been pressured by Israeli authorities into falsely stating that the agency has Hamas links and that staff took part in the Oct. 7 attacks. The assertions are contained in a report by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reviewed by Reuters and dated February 2024 which detailed allegations of mistreatment in Israeli detention made by unidentified Palestinians, including several working for UNRWA. The document said several UNRWA Palestinian staffers had been detained by the Israeli army, and added that the ill-treatment and abuse they said they had experienced included severe physical beatings, waterboarding, and threats of harm to family members.

As U.S. Rushes to Build Gaza Port, Major Challenges Loom (NYT) As the United States military rushes to assemble a temporary port on the Gaza coast, daunting practical challenges to the seaborne humanitarian effort to stave off famine in the territory are becoming increasingly apparent. The obstacles include logistics, cost and security issues, diplomats and aid officials say. But the desperate conditions in Gaza, depicted in images of starving children, make the American-led international plan a necessity, they say, especially given the tight security imposed by Israel that is slowing land shipments of food, water and medicine. Even if it can overcome the hurdles, the international initiative is likely to take several weeks, if not months, to reach its goal of delivering two million meals a day to the people of Gaza.

Biden says an Israeli assault on Rafah would cross a 'red line.' (WSJ) The Biden administration is warning Israel of the risks of attacking the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians displaced by fighting have taken refuge. The looming operation is a potential showdown between the White House and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which sees the assault as vital for the defeat of Hamas. President Biden this weekend left open the possibility that the U.S. might withhold some types of military assistance to Israel if a Rafah operation caused extensive civilian casualties, though he said a complete cutoff of weapons shipments wasn’t an option. Israel has warned that unless a deal is reached by Ramadan—which begins with the new-moon sighting expected Monday or Tuesday—to release hostages and pause the fighting, its military will push ahead with an offensive in Rafah.

Mass kidnappings of Nigerian students leave parents in shock and despair (AP) Rashidat Hamza is in despair. All but one of her six children are among the nearly 300 students abducted from their school in Nigeria’s conflict-battered northwest. “We have never seen this kind of thing where our children were abducted from their school,” she told an Associated Press team that arrived in the Kaduna State town to report on Thursday’s attack. “We don’t know what to do, but we believe in God.” The kidnapping in Kuriga was only one of three mass kidnappings in northern Nigeria since late last week, a reminder of the security crisis plaguing Africa’s most populous country. A group of gunmen abducted 15 children from a school in another northwestern state, Sokoto, before dawn Saturday, and a few days earlier 200 people were kidnapped in northeastern Borno State.