Fed study offers new clues that help explain America’s gloomy mood

Rick Newman

·Senior Columnist

Updated Tue, May 21, 2024

An enduring oddity of Joe Biden's presidency is that consumer confidence is weak and Biden’s approval ratings poor, despite record job gains and solid economic growth.

So, what’s going on? A new Federal Reserve analysis of household finances offers some clues.

In its annual survey of consumers, the Fed found that 72% said they were doing "at least OK" with their finances, meaning people were either "living comfortably" (33%) or "doing OK" (39%).

That's close to 2022's level of 73%, but is down sharply from 78% in 2021 and matches a low reached in April 2020. The last full year of data that saw this portion of consumers say they were doing "at least OK" was 2016.

And the portion of Americans who feel worse off than they did a few years ago — even if this rises by a little — could determine whether voters in this year’s presidential election think Biden deserves another term.

Here are four insights from the Fed’s latest analysis.

The pandemic still shapes consumer attitudes

As noted previously, the best level of financial fitness consumers reported during the last 11 years came in 2021, when 78% said they were doing at least OK. The second-best level came in July 2020 at 77%. But it wasn't because the economy was booming.

In 2020, the COVID pandemic was raging and many Americans were locked down at home. Things were better in 2021, after vaccines started rolling out, but the economy didn’t fully recover from the COVID setback until deep into 2022.

Here's what else was going on in 2020 and 2021: Americans received massive amounts of stimulus money, including checks from the government, aid to businesses, tax breaks for parents, and suspended payments for student loan borrowers.

President Joe Biden speaks about the PACT Act at the Westwood Park YMCA, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Nashua, N.H. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Those programs are now basically over. Many Americans banked extra money during the pandemic, but economists think those “excess savings” are now fully depleted.

What consumers may really be saying is that they feel worse off now compared with the COVID years, when unprecedented amounts of federal aid produced an abnormal and temporary bubble of financial security.

The problem for Biden is a recency bias from voters, meaning a lot of folks won’t do an apples-to-apples comparison of their well-being now compared with pre-COVID levels.

They’ll simply feel the deterioration from the days when "stimmy checks" beefed up their bank balances, and blame the guy in charge.

Working parents are unusually stressed

One notable group that has been doing worse during the last year is parents.

The portion that said they’re "doing OK" financially dropped to 64% in 2023 from 69% in 2022. All others, excluding parents, stayed the same at 75%.

From 2021 to 2023, the portion of parents that said they’re "doing OK" dropped by 11 percentage points. Among the group representing everybody else, it dropped by just four points.

That could reflect one stimulus measure that substantially boosted the child tax credit, but expired at the end of 2021.

Census Department data shows the child poverty rate plunged to 5.2% in 2021 from 9.7% in 2020 — then jumped all the way up to 12.4% in 2022.

Most experts think these huge variations come from on-and-off COVID stimulus, including the child tax credit expansion. Biden and many Democrats want to make that expansion permanent, but they haven’t been able to get the votes in Congress.

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Food inflation is the worst

In the Fed's survey, 35% of respondents cited inflation as a problem, and the Fed highlighted food prices as a particular concern.

"When describing challenges related to inflation, many people mentioned the cost of food and groceries," the report explains. That’s similar to the findings of a November Yahoo Finance-Ipsos survey in which 67% of respondents said food inflation was hurting them the most. Gasoline came second, at just 15%.

Food prices have moderated, with the year-over-year inflation rate now just 1.1%.

As most consumers know, however, food prices are up 21% during the last four years, and they're likely not going back down. Consumers are largely stuck paying those higher prices.

Some things are going right

The biggest improvement from 2022 to 2023 was an increase among non-retirees who say their retirement savings plan is on track. That rose to 34% from 31%, and it’s probably higher now, given the stock market rally of the last six months.

As for retirees, they’re doing pretty well, with 80% saying they’re doing OK financially. That's the best of any demographic group in the study.

If they were the only ones voting in 2024, Biden might be in pretty good shape.

US federal budget crosses grim

milestone as interest payments 

overtake defense spending

Rick Newman
·Senior Columnist

Wed, May 22, 2024

The United States has long had the world’s biggest defense budget, with spending this year set to approach $900 billion.

Yet this spending is rapidly being eclipsed by the fastest-growing portion of federal outflows: interest payments on the national debt.

For the first seven months of fiscal year 2024, which began last October, net interest payments totaled $514 billion, outpacing defense by $20 billion. Budget analysts think that trend will continue, making 2024 the first year ever that the United States will spend more on interest payments than on national defense.

Just two years ago, interest payments were the seventh-largest federal spending category, behind Social Security, health programs other than Medicare, income assistance, national defense, Medicare, and education.

Interest is now the third-biggest expenditure after Social Security and health. And not because any of the other programs are shrinking. While most government expenditures grow modestly from year to year, interest expenses in 2024 are running 41% higher than in 2023.

Interest payments are ballooning for two obvious reasons.

The first is that annual deficits have exploded, leaving the nation with a gargantuan $34.6 trillion in total federal debt, 156% higher than the national debt at the end of 2010.

In the 1990s, the average federal deficit was $138 billion per year. In the 2000s, it was $318 billion. In the 2010s, it was $829 billion. Since 2020, the annual deficit has swelled to $2.24 trillion, largely due to pandemic-related stimulus measures in 2020 and 2021. The projection for 2024 is a $1.5 trillion shortfall.

As a percentage of GDP, the annual deficit has nearly doubled in just 10 years, from 2.8% in 2014 to a projected 5.3% in 2024. So there's just a lot more borrowing to pay interest on.

The government is also paying more to borrow as interest rates have shot up over the last two years. Like consumers buying homes and cars, Uncle Sam benefits from cheap money when rates are low and bears a heavier burden when rates are high.

From 2010 through 2021, the average interest rate on all Treasury securities sold to the public was just 2.1%, which helped keep total interest payments manageable.

But in 2022, the Federal Reserve started jacking up rates to tame inflation, and the government now pays an average interest rate of 3.3%. So, the amount of borrowed money keeps going up, and the cost of borrowing that money is rising too.

More taxpayer money going to interest expenses will eventually leave less money for everything else, and at some point, the Treasury won’t be able to borrow its way out of the problem anymore.

It's an unsustainable situation, which could lead investors to lose faith in the government’s creditworthiness and demand even higher rates to buy Treasurys.

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The urgency of the problem, however, is open to debate.

At the recent Milken Institute conference in Los Angeles, luminaries such as billionaire investor Ken Griffin and former House Speaker Paul Ryan warned of a looming debt crisis if the government’s interest costs continue to mushroom. But many prominent financiers also touted the United States as the best destination in the world for investment, despite all its problems.

And many predictions of a debt crisis when interest expenses were a lot lower have so far turned out to be wrong.

Soldiers stand in front of an U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet during a briefing in a hangar at the U.S. Spangdahlem Air base, Germany September 3, 2015. (REUTERS/Ina Fassbender) (REUTERS / Reuters)

Two people who seem unperturbed by America’s debt burden are President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the two leading candidates in this year’s race for the White House. Neither is making deficit reduction a focus of his presidential campaign.

Biden does have a plan of sorts. He’d raise taxes on businesses and the wealthy and use some of that revenue to trim annual deficits. But Biden also wants to spend more on social programs, which could offset any savings.

Trump says he’d encourage more oil and natural gas drilling, which would somehow produce a windfall of tax revenue that would pay down the debt. But there’s no obvious way that would happen, no matter how much drilling takes place.

Besides, both men have presided over a huge run-up in the national debt.

The national debt rose by $7.8 trillion during Trump’s four years as president and $6.8 trillion during Biden’s first three years and four months.

Earlier this year, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget helped Yahoo Finance analyze who’s responsible for the national debt, and the blame falls more or less equally on administrations of both parties borrowing to finance wars, tax cuts, spending programs, and stimulus measures during recessions.

When the time does arrive to fix the debt, the inevitable solution will be a mix of spending cuts and tax hikes that will make a lot of people unhappy.

Which reveals the real reason no politician wants to address the problem — everyone hopes it'll be the guy after them.

Rick Newman is a senior columnist for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @rickjnewman.

Despite A 12% Rise, 49% Of Americans Believe Stocks Are Down. Why?

Adrian Volenik
Mon, Jun 3, 2024,

Despite A 12% Rise, 49% Of Americans Believe Stocks Are Down. Why?

A recent Harris Poll conducted for the Guardian reveals that 49% of respondents believe the U.S. stock market index is down for the year. This perception persists despite a significant 12% rise in the S&P 500 this year, which reached a record high on May 21.

The same poll reveals that 67% of Republicans, 53% of Independents, and 49% of Democrats wrongly believe the U.S. is in a recession. Similarly, 55% of poll respondents think the economy is contracting.

These results reveal that it isn’t a partisan issue — people across the board don’t feel the effects of the rising stock market. That discrepancy should raise some eyebrows in Washington, especially since many Americans connect the state of the economy to the Biden administration. Notably, 58% of those surveyed blame mismanagement by the current administration for worsening economic conditions.

Despite positive economic indicators, such as GDP growth and a low unemployment rate under 4% for the 27th straight month — a nearly 50-year low, public perception remains pessimistic. These metrics should inspire confidence in the economy’s resilience and potential for additional growth, yet they clearly don’t.

The rising cost of living is a significant factor behind this pessimism. Despite a decline in inflation, prices remain higher than they were a few years ago, causing people to experience the strain of higher costs. This financial pressure likely shapes people’s views of the economy, making them more pessimistic.

Misinformation also influences public perception. The economy is complex, and mixed messages from different sources can confuse people. They hear different things from different sources, making it hard to know what’s happening. For some, this confusion can change the economy and what they think is happening.

Lastly, we shouldn’t overlook the emotional impact of past economic problems. After experiencing high inflation and interest rates, people are cautious and worried about the future. This nervousness is reflected in a University of Michigan survey, which showed that consumer confidence fell to its lowest point in six months in May.

As Election Day nears, this ongoing economic pessimism will likely affect voter attitudes, and persuading voters to adopt a more positive outlook could be difficult for Biden.

Tech companies bet on carbon removal startups as AI tests climate goals


Akiko Fujita
·Host
Mon, Jun 3, 2024,

Carbon removal technologies are becoming increasingly important for companies, particularly for tech giants locked in a fierce battle to become the leader in artificial intelligence.

Once considered a diversion for the critical work of cutting emissions, carbon removal projects that extract and sequester carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere — such as direct air capture facilities or reforestation efforts — are now seen as a necessary step to hit key climate change targets.


“There are some portions of company emissions that you will just never abate,” Karan Mistry, managing director and partner for Boston Consulting Group, told Yahoo Finance. “[Companies are] recognizing that they have a net zero target and they want to actually get to zero and honor their very public commitments, they have to invest in some sort of removal technology.”

Frontier Fund, a consortium of investors that includes Alphabet (GOOG), JPMorgan (JPM), and Meta (META), has purchased contracts to remove more than 510,203 tons of carbon to date.

The fund made one of its biggest commitments last year when it committed to paying $57.1 million to enhanced rock weathering startup Lithos Carbon to remove 154,000 tons of carbon from the atmosphere.

"All of these frontrunners in the carbon market, they’re not just interested in what they can buy today," Henry Liu, head of engineering at Lithos Carbon, told Yahoo Finance. "They’re investing in the future of the carbon dioxide removal market. [With] the scale of the market, they recognize that investment is needed. So they’re looking to support pathways.”

A bank of fans draws air through specialized filters at Climeworks' Mammoth carbon removal plant on May 24, 2024, in Reykjavik, Iceland. (John Moore/Getty Images) (John Moore via Getty Images)
Tech buys into carbon removal

Although the number of companies making net-zero commitments has continued to grow, so have overall global emissions. And emerging technologies are making achieving those commitments more difficult.

The scale and speed of data processing needed for AI technology require so much energy, the International Energy Agency recently warned that consumption from data centers, AI, and the cryptocurrency sector could double by 2026.

That realization has led to a surge in investments in carbon removal startups. Direct air capture firms and those utilizing nature-based carbon removal methods raised more than $1 billion combined in 2023, according to PitchBook data. The number of carbon removal credits sold jumped more than 650% from the previous year, according to CDR.fyi.

The energy, manufacturing, and transportation sectors are leading those investments, but some of the biggest tech companies in the world are also investing in carbon removal to tackle emissions.

Microsoft (MSFT), a key player in the AI race, is one of the largest buyers, with more than 7.6 million purchases of carbon credits since 2020.

The company has already seen its carbon emissions jump 30% from 2020, according to its sustainability report. Four years ago, the company set out to become carbon negative by the end of the decade, calling it the company’s moonshot.

Microsoft CEO Brad Smith speaks at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) on Feb. 26, 2024, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. (Kike Rincon/Europa Press via Getty Images) (Europa Press News via Getty Images)

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Microsoft president Brad Smith admitted the goal would be harder to reach with the company’s AI ambitions.

“In many ways, the moon is five times as far away as it was in 2020, if you think of our own forecast for the expansion of AI and its electrical needs,” he said.
Challenges in the fledgling market

While carbon credits have largely been limited to voluntary markets, companies are planning for the increasing possibility of regulation mandating purchases to reach net-zero goals. The problem is that demand is expected to outstrip supply, even with hundreds of startups working to remove carbon, on behalf of emitting companies.

BCG analysis estimates an annual demand for durable carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to reach 40 million to 200 million tons of CO2 by the end of this decade. Supply is projected to be 15 million-32 million tons.

Companies are looking to get ahead of that crunch by investing in nascent technologies with clear processes for monitoring, reporting, and verifying the quality of carbon removed.

However, impact is still hard to quantify, depending on the removal process. Companies that offer what is considered some of the highest integrity offsets remain among the most expensive, largely because the technology has not scaled.

“If you want someone to buy a CDR offset or a carbon offset, you want them to feel good that they actually bought what they said they did,” Mistry said.

Saplings grown at the nursery of the nonprofit environmental group Rioterra, await planting to restore areas of a nearby rainforest in Itapua do Oeste, Brazil, Feb. 18, 2020. (REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini) (REUTERS / Reuters)

Direct air capture (DAC) has the simplest measuring system, according to Mistry, whose firm has invested in a handful of DAC companies, including Climeworks. But it requires building large factories that can suck carbon dioxide out of the air, and it costs $600 to $1000 to capture a ton of carbon.

Methods that rely on agricultural waste are considered cheaper, but they require a lot of land. Planting trees may be among the most economical, but Mistry argues that carbon storage isn’t as permanent.

“You can estimate how much carbon is in the tree, but there are questions like, what happens if it gets cut down? What happens if there’s a forest fire?” Mistry said.

These questions over credibility have hampered the market recently, with studies showing that many carbon offsets haven't led to the kind of carbon removal they promised.

However, the carbon market did receive a vote of support from the Biden administration last Tuesday when it unveiled a framework for using voluntary carbon offsets, an admission that the country will not achieve its net-zero goal by 2050 through emissions reductions alone.

“​​We need to use all the tools at our disposal — creatively, thoughtfully, and at scale,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, praising the role of carbon removal technology in helping companies achieve their climate goals. Though she stressed: “Corporate buyers should prioritize reducing their own emissions, particularly through transition planning.”

'A really scary feeling': Private security firm accused of using force against UCLA protesters

Connor Sheets
May 23, 2024

Private security guards with Apex Security Group and Contemporary Services Corporation patrol UCLA on May 7, following days of protests on campus. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)


When authorities launched the first of many flash-bang-style devices early on the morning of May 2, it shattered the relative calm of UCLA’s pro-Palestinian encampment and drove a stream of protesters running toward makeshift barricades that blocked the exits.

Two students said they witnessed a student protester standing near Powell Library attempt to move a metal barrier to accommodate the people fleeing. Instead, he was met with force by members of Apex Security Group, according to the witnesses, who were interviewed together and requested anonymity in fear of retaliation by the university or law enforcement.

“Members of the security team started attacking him. I think it was around five to seven of the security guards,” one of the students said. “Two or three of them were trying to hit him on the head, and the others were trying to restrain him.”


The protester broke free from the private security guards and fled. Within minutes, a deep bruise materialized on the young man's face where one of the guards had punched him, the second student witness said. The student who was allegedly hit was not identified and could not be reached for comment.

“It was really unwarranted. He just, like, moved back a little bit and then they attacked,” the second witness said. “It was a really scary feeling. I’d never seen someone get beat up like that in person before.”



The incident was the first of at least two that witnesses said involved Apex Security Group guards acting aggressively at UCLA in recent weeks. Witnesses who spoke with The Times accused the guards of assaulting and accosting demonstrators who posed no threat and leaving the scene at a key moment on May 1, as counterprotesters escalated violence that left at least 30 people injured.

Read more: 'Shut it down!' How group chats, rumors and fear sparked a night of violence at UCLA

Apex and its parent company, the Northridge-based security giant Contemporary Services Corporation, did not respond to requests for comment. Apex's website says it employs "off-duty and retired law enforcement officers who provide supplemental services for clients that require support above and beyond standard event security and crowd management services.”

Hired guards are increasingly ubiquitous at college protests, with Apex and CSC contracted for security on campuses from Los Angeles to New York. The guards perform crowd control and many of the duties traditionally carried out by police officers, and can carry weapons if properly licensed. They can detain people, but typically as private citizens, not sworn law enforcement, which means they enjoy fewer of the legal protections afforded police. Entry-level private security guards — who in many cases receive just a few days of training — are often directed by those who hire them to use force only as a last resort.

It's unclear what instructions Apex had from UCLA.

Security guards with Apex Security Group and Contemporary Services Corporation stand by at UCLA as pro-Palestinian activists demonstrate in front of Dodd Hall on May 6. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Ryan King, a spokesman for the office of the University of California's president, Michael V. Drake, said in an email that Drake announced on May 7 "an independent investigation" into what led to the violence on April 30. The university did not respond directly to questions about its relationships with Apex and CSC or the incidents with the firms on campus.

"The University awaits the findings of that investigation," King said. He added that the 10 UC campuses each have their own police departments "that have control and jurisdiction on their respective campuses and may request local law enforcement support or contract for additional security assistance as necessary. Each campus coordinates their response to conditions on the ground with their respective leadership."

Some protesters at UCLA and beyond have questioned why universities and law enforcement agencies increasingly rely on private security firms when cracking down on overwhelmingly nonviolent protests.

But contracting with security companies is “a common and reasonable practice,” according to Rick Santoro, a New Jersey-based security expert with more than 30 years of experience.

“Typically, public law enforcement agencies do not have the resources to provide security services on a long-term basis in situations such as labor actions [and] civil unrest,” he said via email. “It’s practical and necessary in many cases for colleges and universities to use private security contractors either exclusively or to supplement” police in such situations.

At UCLA, while Apex guards were accused of getting physical with some students on May 2, they were also filmed standing by the previous night as some pro-Israel protesters tore down barricades and incited violence.

The Apex guards, who appeared to have been unarmed, were brought in at the behest of former UCLA Police Chief John Thomas, who was removed from the post this week as he faced withering criticism over his handling of the protests.

University leaders had repeatedly directed Thomas to create a safety plan, three sources told the Los Angeles Times this month. He was told, the sources said, to spend whatever was necessary to maintain peace and order. Thomas developed a plan, the sources said, to deploy private security who would not be authorized to arrest anyone and who were told to contact the UCLA police if the situation on the ground escalated. Whether Apex personnel received directions to leave the scene in the event of violence remains unknown.

But a group of Apex security guards posted at the perimeter of the encampment ultimately left without intervening, according to witnesses and video from the scene. Mayhem ensued, with clashes between the opposing groups of protesters lasting until police in riot gear arrived more than two hours later.

Apex Security Group guards stand by as protesters clash on the UCLA campus the day before the pro-Palestinian encampment was dismantled. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)

::

Allegations of physical altercations between Apex personnel and student protesters did not stop with the dismantling of the camp.

On May 15, a 2023 UCLA graduate returned to the campus to participate in a pro-Palestine demonstration. The alum, who uses the pronouns "they" and "her," said they had scrawled messages including “Free Palestine” and “How many people did you kill today?” in chalk on sidewalks and school buildings as the marchers made their way across the Westwood campus.

As the procession wound down near the university’s Shapiro Fountain, about 10 Apex guards gathered around the 5-foot-tall protester, who asked to remain anonymous, citing concerns about retaliation by law enforcement.

Three men wearing black windbreakers with APEX SECURITY GROUP emblazoned in white letters across the back and light khaki pants can be seen grabbing them by the arms in videos of the incident reviewed by The Times. Several CSC guards are visible in the background of one of the videos.

“Let them go. You’re not a f—ing cop," an onlooker yelled at one of the Apex guards. "What are you doing to them? Why are you grabbing them?”

The alum was released moments later as a guard took their tote bag and opened it up on a nearby ledge.

“Give me back my bag you f—ing pig,” they yelled as the guard rifled through the bag's contents before pulling out a red pen and holding it up in the air.

Read more: For two young journalists, showdown at UCLA camp was baptism by fire

“Come here, Miss, here’s your bag back. I have her marker that you graffitied with. Here you go,” the guard said loudly. The alum yelled back that it was a pen, not a marker. “Hold on. So she graffitied, so everybody knows. And you can’t graffiti. Here you go. Here’s your bag back.”

The alum maintained they were drawing in chalk, not making graffiti.

Apex did not respond to questions about the incident.

There have been other recent instances of protesters accusing the company of harsh tactics. In January, Apex sent dozens of guards to Berkeley, where they assisted in the clearing of tents and makeshift homes erected in People’s Park a few blocks from UC Berkeley in an attempt to block the redevelopment of the landmark site.

Columbia University used the firm as part of its controversial response to a pro-Palestinian protest movement last month.

“One security guard said the university’s contractor, Apex Security Group Inc., was recruiting more workers for its 7 p.m.-to-7 a.m. shift at a rate of $240 a day,” the New York Post reported.

The company has branches in more than a dozen cities and regularly works high-profile gigs, including Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, L.A. Rams and Chargers games, and other major events.

Apex's parent company, CSC, was founded in 1967 by Damon Zumwalt, then a student athlete at UCLA. Unlike the off-duty and retired officers hired by Apex, the larger firm recruits security guards who have varying backgrounds, using a screening process that is less stringent compared with law enforcement agencies.

California requires a few dozen hours of training to become a licensed security guard. Many police departments, including the LAPD, require officers to complete a six-month stint in a police academy, followed by additional months of field training.

As a result, there's a vast pay gap between low-end private security personnel and sworn law enforcement officers. Most security guards make little more than minimum wage versus well over $100,000 a year plus government benefits for experienced cops.

It’s cheaper for a university to bring in minimally trained private security guards when needed than to hire permanent, full-time police officers, but “you get what you pay for,” according to Norman D. Bates, a security expert, attorney and founder of the Massachusetts-based security consulting firm Liability Consultants.

“The downside is lack of training, lack of experience,” he said. “The ultimate result is people are victimized, and they end up suing.”

Contemporary Services Corporation guards patrol UCLA. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Law enforcement veterans like those Apex hires tend to be more calm and efficient in high-stress situations than their civilian counterparts, according to James F. Pastor, an attorney who runs a security consulting firm in Florida.

Many who contract with the company are looking for a higher level of service and capacity than a more all-purpose firm like CSC can provide. But there can be a flip side to years of experience, said Pastor, a former Chicago police officer.

“There’s a lot of good security officers out there that can manage people, that have experience in de-escalation techniques and communication techniques and just frankly using a level of professionalism to get the job done without getting too physical,” he said, but “there’s a lot of cops who lose that ability either through frustration or burnout over the years.”

Read more: Police report no serious injuries. But scenes from inside UCLA camp, protesters tell a different story

Public universities in California have paid millions to CSC in recent years. In 2023 alone, UC San Francisco paid the firm more than $3.5 million, while UCLA paid the company nearly $185,000, according to California state spending records compiled by openthebooks.com, a project of the nonprofit open government organization American Transparency.

Since 2017, according to the spending records, several other state universities and colleges have also hired CSC, while no other state agency has.

In California between 2021 and 2023, the records show, less than $330,000 of state funds were paid directly to Apex Security Group, all by Cal State East Bay and San Francisco State. It’s unclear whether payments made to CSC can cover services rendered by Apex.

King, of the UC president's office, said via email that information about how much money UCLA and other UCs have paid Apex and CSC and what contracts they have with the security firms was not "immediately available."

Even with incidents like those alleged at UCLA, private guards are here to stay at concerts, sporting events and on college campuses.

“What I see now is a driving towards private security,” Pastor said. “I think post-George Floyd, the reality is police are having a much more difficult time recruiting and keeping trained police officers. So I think that tide is turning where they’re seeing the value of having a private security officer next to them.”

An Iowa basic income project gives low-income residents $500 a month. They say it helps them make rent and buy food.

Kenneth Niemeyer
Sun, June 2, 2024 


A basic income program in central Iowa says people mostly spend the $500 monthly payments on food.Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock


Iowa recently passed a law banning local governments from providing basic income programs.


But one providing $500 a month to low-income residents says it will continue using private funds.


Most participants said they spent the money on food and housing in the first year.

Conservatives in Iowa voted to ban local governments from sponsoring basic income programs earlier this year. But one program in the middle of the state says it's seeing successful results — and will keep going.

The "UpLift" program in central Iowa provides up to $500 a month for 110 low-income residents. Though the legislation could threaten its future, its organizers say it will continue — for now — using private funding. They said the program is showing similar results to other basic income programs around the country: Residents are mostly spending the money on food and shelter.

Ashley Ezzio, a senior project coordinator at The Tom and Ruth Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement, which is conducting the study, told The Des Moines Register that most participants are spending the money on essentials.

A study of the program, which started last May, found that food and groceries made up about 42% of costs in the first year, Ezzio said.

Uplift tracks spending categories and asks participants to take periodic surveys through the University of Pennsylvania and Des Moines University. About 80% of the participants completed the first survey, Uplift said.

Last month, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law that bans county and city governments from providing basic income programs. State Rep. Steve Holthave called for the bans, calling basic income programs "socialism on steroids" and "an attack on American values."

Guaranteed basic income programs typically offer no-strings-attached monthly payments between $500 and $1,000 to specific groups, like new moms, Black women, or trans people, all low-income residents. They differ from their idealistic cousin — a universal basic income. UBI, made famous by Andrew Yang during the 2016 presidential election, would provide a monthly payment to all citizens.

UpLift's findings in Iowa mirror those of basic income programs across the country.

In Austin, one study found that residents in a program that received $1,000 monthly payments for a year spent the no-strings-attached cash mostly on housing and food.

Still, conservatives in Texas are also pushing back against such programs. The state Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Houston-area program in April that gave low-income residents $500 a month after the state attorney general called it "unconstitutional."

New Mexico experimented with a basic income program that gave $500 a month to immigrant families. They used the money to pay rent and secure jobs.

Allie Kelly
Wed, May 29, 2024


New Mexico's basic income pilot provided $500 monthly to 330 immigrant households.


Pandemic relief excluded many immigrants, leading to economic hardship for undocumented families.


The pilot showed improved employment and education outcomes for participants.

New Mexico's basic income pilot set out to fill a gap in America's financial safety net: many immigrants aren't able to access help.

Pandemic-era relief was largely restricted to US citizens, leaving undocumented households and families with mixed citizenship status without stimulus, rental assistance, or unemployment checks.

With growing economic need, community leaders in New Mexico decided to try a different strategy — no-strings-attached cash payments.

"Mixed-status immigrant families don't always enjoy the same public benefits that other families and workers do because of their status," Marcela Díaz, executive director of economic justice organization Somos Un Pueblo Unido, told Business Insider. "What does it look like for them to have an extra $500 a month? How does it affect food security, their health, their well-being, and educational outcomes?"

Beginning in February 2022, the guaranteed income program served 330 mixed-immigration status households. Participants received $500 a month, no strings attached, for a full year. Fifty randomly selected households had their payments extended for an additional six months.

The New Mexico Economic Relief Working Group — a coalition of community organizations and nonprofits, including Somos Un Pueblo Unido, New Mexico Voices for Children, and UpTogether — administered the program, and funding came from private donors and philanthropy.

The pilot joins the ranks of over 100 basic income pilots that have launched across the US since 2019. In contrast to traditional social services, the programs allow families to choose how they spend the money. Participants have told BI they have used cash payments to pay rent, afford groceries, pay off debt, and support their families.

New Mexico's program is among the first basic income programs to operate at the state level and to specifically serve immigrant households.

The pilot's success has also provided momentum for future basic income programs in the region. A new state-funded pilot cash program for people enrolled in workforce training programs passed in the New Mexico House in February. The $1 million project, which seeks approval in the state Senate, would help participants cover housing, food, and transportation for three years.

"People use the money to feed themselves and to keep a roof over their head," Javier Rojo, senior research and policy analyst with New Mexico Voices for Children and author of the pilot report, told BI. "They use it very wisely to put themselves in a better position economically in the future."
With basic income, participants saw improved employment and education outcomes

The New Mexico pilot served mixed-status households in 13 counties across the state. The program's state-level scope allowed participants in both rural and urban areas to benefit.

Almost all pilot participants were families with children. Ninety-five percent reported having to use household savings to pay bills, 85% reported being housing insecure, and 74% lacked health insurance.

Before the pilot began, participants in rural areas experienced higher housing and food insecurity than urban participants but also saw better employment incomes after the program concluded. Basic income reduced the amount of urban participants who skipped basic necessities to pay for housing by 13% by the end of the pilot.

The children of participants were also more likely to be learning at their grade level and on track to graduate than before the basic income.

A woman in Doña Ana County also said her job security improved because she was able to buy a cell phone.

"I clean houses. At the beginning of the pandemic, I didn't have a phone, so it was very difficult for me to connect with potential clients," she told researchers, "With the help of my new phone, I've been able to set up more appointments and create a more stable work schedule."

Republican legislatures continue to seek to ban basic income across the US, saying it will make low-income Americans too reliant on government assistance.

Rojo, however, said the New Mexico pilot results show that participants became more active in the labor market with the support of cash payments. Some families reported using their basic income to secure the transportation or childcare they needed to support a full-time work schedule.

Going forward, he would like to continue seeing basic income used at the city, state, and federal level to support low-income families.

"People know best what their needs are and people know how to use their money to better themselves," he said. "Trust them."

NEWFOUNDLAND

MHAs set aside political stripes to remove time limits for survivors of child abuse

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 

Newfoundland and Labrador Justice Minister John Hogan, pictured here in 2023, received praise Tuesday from opposing MHAs or engaging with them to pass changes to the Limitations Act. (Terry Roberts/CBC - image credit)

In a rare act of cohesion, all members of Newfoundland and Labrador's legislature came together on Tuesday to pass a piece of legislation that removes time limits for survivors of child abuse, and ends the provincial government's practice of fighting their compensation claims based on statutes of limitations.

Opposition members praised Justice Minister John Hogan for engaging with them after they lobbied the government for months to change the law.

The province's longstanding Limitations Act placed a two-year time limit on non-sexual abuse claims, which prevented people from holding their abusers and those liable for their treatment to account for physical or psychological abuse they endured as children.

"This day is a very important day. and it's going to be very important for many people in our province," said Progressive Conservative justice critic Helen Conway-Ottenheimer.

The bill passed third reading Tuesday afternoon. Once it receives royal assent, it will immediately affect at least two cases currently before the courts in which the government is being sued for the mistreatment of children.

Jack Whalen built a replica of the solitary confinement cell where he estimates he spent about two years of his life. He drove it to Ottawa, and parked outside the national human rights monument.

Jack Whalen built a replica of the solitary confinement cell where he estimates he spent about two years of his life. He drove it to Ottawa and parked outside the national human rights monument. (Christian Patry/CBC)

In the most publicized case, former St. John's resident Jack Whalen sued the province over its use of solitary confinement at a youth detention centre in Whitbourne. He estimates he spent more than 700 days in solitary as a teenager at the Whitbourne Boys' Home in the 1970s. Lawyers for the provincial government didn't deny it happened, but said Whalen was out of time to come forward with his claim.

Whalen has spent the past year protesting the law, with the unanimous support of all non-Liberal MHAs.

The government committed to amending the law in April, however its first pass limited the changes to survivors of assault causing bodily harm. That wouldn't have applied to Whalen's case.

"That was sort of restricted to being able to prove the harm, like with marks upon the body," said NDP MHA Lela Evans. "So for us, that was a huge concern."

A draft of the changes made its way to the media before it was tabled in the legislature, causing uproar in the House of Assembly. Opposition MHAs insisted they should be allowed to consult outside experts before debating a bill in the legislature, and asked Hogan to take a committee approach to the bill.

Tumult leads to teamwork

Over the ensuing days, MHAs from all parties said Hogan worked with them to craft an amendment to the bill that was acceptable to everyone.

In the end, an amendment, put forward by Evans and seconded by Conway-Ottenheimer, included the phrase "trespass of a person," which covers assault, battery and false imprisonment. It's believed this section will apply to Whalen's case.

The amendment was accepted by the government and will become part of the bill.

NDP MHA Lela Evans says the latest criticism of the province's largest penal institution amounts to an abuse of human rights.

NDP MHA Lela Evans says the changes will allow survivors of various forms of abuse to access justice. (Mike Simms/CBC)

"I will never be able to speak about this act, the Limitation Act, without thinking about Jack Whalen," Evans said after it passed. "Jack Whalen was showing us what he and others have gone through and have been failed by the justice system. We were given the opportunity to correct that."

Evans also commended Independent MHAs Eddie Joyce and Paul Lane for using their limited time in the House of Assembly to repeatedly bring up Whalen's case and the petition to overhaul the Limitations Act.

Joyce used his time Tuesday to address Whalen, who was watching at home in Ontario.

"Not only is this going to help you, but this is going to help a lot of people you will never meet. But because of you, they'll be much better off. They'll be able to get the services that they need and they'll be able to actually get closure, if there's any way to get closure."

Bill also removes limits for domestic violence

The new act also includes a pair of changes for survivors of domestic abuse.

The NDP amendment gave the same protections to people in intimate partner relationships as it did to minors, meaning a victim of domestic violence could sue their abuser without worrying about time limits.

The government's proposed changes also removed limitation periods for cases of sexual assault in intimate partner relationships.

That closed a loophole left behind by sweeping changes in the 1990s that were intended to allow survivors of sexual abuse at the Mount Cashel Orphanage to sue over their treatment.

Those changes applied only in situations where a person was dependent on their abuser or under their care.

Evans said the NDP were happy to see those changes and hope to see more in the future.

Hogan said the province still needs to amend a separate piece of legislation: the Proceedings Against the Crown Act, which prevents the government from being sued for its liability in sexual abuse cases before 1973.

"We didn't really have the time and we weren't prepared to rush and amendment to the Proceedings Against the Crown Act," Hogan said Tuesday.

He wouldn't give a timeline for the changes but promised the government will get it done.

Panama prepares to evacuate first island in face of rising sea levels

Matías Delacroix And Juan Zamorano
Sat, June 1, 2024 at 1

GARDI SUGDUB, Panama (AP) — On a tiny island off Panama’s Caribbean coast, about 300 families are packing their belongings in preparation for a dramatic change. Generations of Gunas who have grown up on Gardi Sugdub in a life dedicated to the sea and tourism will trade that next week for the mainland’s solid ground.

They go voluntarily — sort of.

The Gunas of Gardi Sugdub are the first of 63 communities along Panama’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts that government officials and scientists expect to be forced to relocate by rising sea levels in the coming decades.

On a recent day, the island’s Indigenous residents rowed or sputtered off with outboard motors to fish. Children, some in uniforms and others in the colorful local textiles called “molas,” chattered as they hustled through the warren of narrow dirt streets on their way to school.

“We’re a little sad, because we’re going to leave behind the homes we’ve known all our lives, the relationship with the sea, where we fish, where we bathe and where the tourists come, but the sea is sinking the island little by little,” said Nadín Morales, 24, who prepared to move with her mother, uncle and boyfriend.

An official with Panama’s ministry of housing said that some people have decided to stay on the island until it's no longer safe, without revealing a specific number. Authorities won’t force them to leave, the official said on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue.

Gardi Sugdub is one of about 50 populated islands in the archipelago of the Guna Yala territory. It is only about 400 yards (366 meters) long and 150 yards (137 meters) wide. From above, it’s roughly a prickly oval surrounded by dozens of short docks where residents tie up their boats.

Every year, especially when the strong winds whip up the sea in November and December, water fills the streets and enters the homes. Climate change isn't only leading to a rise in sea levels, but it's also warming oceans and thereby powering stronger storms.

The Gunas have tried to reinforce the island’s edge with rocks, pilings and coral, but seawater keeps coming.

“Lately, I’ve seen that climate change has had a major impact,” Morales said. “Now the tide comes to a level it didn’t before, and the heat is unbearable.”

The Guna’s autonomous government decided two decades ago that they needed to think about leaving the island, but at that time it was because the island was getting too crowded. The effects of climate change accelerated that thinking, said Evelio López, a 61-year-old teacher on the island.

He plans to move with relatives to the new site on the mainland that the government developed at a cost of $12 million. The concrete houses sit on a grid of paved streets carved out of the lush tropical jungle just over a mile (2 kilometers) from the port, where an eight-minute boat ride carries them to Gardi Sugdub.

Leaving the island is "a great challenge, because more than 200 years of our culture is from the sea, so leaving this island means a lot of things,” López said. “Leaving the sea, the economic activities that we have there on the island, and now we’re going to be on solid ground, in the forest. We’re going to see what the result is in the long run.”

Steven Paton, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s physical monitoring program in Panama, said that the upcoming move “is a direct consequence of climate change through the increase in sea level.”

“The islands on average are only a half-meter above sea level, and as that level rises, sooner or later the Gunas are going to have to abandon all of the islands almost surely by the end of the century or earlier.”

“All of the world's coasts are being affected by this at different speeds,” Paton said.

Residents of a small coastal community in Mexico moved inland last year after storms continued to take away their homes. Governments are being forced to take action, from the Italian lagoon city of Venice to the coastal communities of New Zealand.

A recent study by Panama’s Environmental Ministry’s Climate Change directorate, with support from universities in Panama and Spain, estimated that by 2050, Panama would lose about 2.01% of its coastal territory to increases in sea levels.

Panama estimates that it will cost about $1.2 billion to relocate the 38,000 or so inhabitants who will face rising sea levels in the short- and medium-term, said Ligia Castro, climate change director for the Environmental Ministry.

On Gardi Sugdub, women who make the elaborately embroidered molas worn by Guna women hang them outside their homes when finished, trying to catch the eye of visiting tourists.

The island and others along the coast have benefitted for years from year-round tourism.

Braucilio de la Ossa, the deputy secretary of Carti, the port facing Gardi Sugdub, said that he planned to move with his wife, daughter, sister-in-law and mother-in-law. Some of his wife’s relatives will stay on the island.

He said the biggest challenge for those moving would be the lifestyle change of moving from the sea inland even though the distance is relatively small.

“Now that they will be in the forest their way of living will be different,” he said.

___

Juan Zamorano reported from Panama City.

Matías Delacroix And Juan Zamorano, The Associated Press




















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Panama prepares to evacuate first island in face of rising sea levels

The Associated Press

Kangaroos, Tigers and Other Animals Are Thriving 5 Years After Being Rescued from Uncredited Canada Zoo

Nicholas Rice
Sun, June 2, 2024 

"They will never face cruelty again," said Sue Tygielski, senior director of Black Beauty Ranch, part of the Humane Society of the United States

Christi Gilbreth/The HSUSTiger Theodora and lion Douala at the Black Beauty Ranch

A group of former zoo animals are continuing to live their best lives at a Texas ranch.

Five years ago, various zoo animals were rescued from the St. Edouard Zoo, an unaccredited facility in Canada, by the Humane Society International. They are now living at the Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison.

Among the animals are tigers Serenity and Theodora, Douala the lioness, a zebra named Zuko and Wolfgang the wildebeest.

Kangaroos Ross, Rachel and Joey are also living happily at the Texas establishment.

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Christi Gilbreth/The HSUSZuko the Zebra

At the St. Edouard Zoo, the animals were living in filthy and unfit conditions, the Humane Society International detailed in a press release obtained by PEOPLE.

The kangaroos were found in an indoor area "huddled together with no sunlight," the lion was discovered "showing signs of stress like pacing," and Zuko the zebra lived among "urine and feces," the zoo said.

Now, in their new habitat, the animals have adapted and are living life to the fullest.

Tigers Serenity and Theodora, for example, play with water in their area, "splashing and swimming without a care in the world," while the wildebeest, whom the zoo described as being "one of the most stressed animals in the zoo barn," now enjoys having Zuko as his neighbor on the other side of his fence.

Christi Gilbreth/The HSUSJoey the kangaroo

Related: Animal Rescues in California Are Treating More Than 100 Starving Pelicans: 'We Urgently Need Donations'

“Five years ago these animals were rescued from deplorable conditions, some in chewed-up, dark, dungeon-like stalls where they could barely move, while others were trying to dig out of their habitats," Sue Tygielski, senior director of Black Beauty Ranch, part of the Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement.

"Here at Black Beauty, their lives changed in every way. They are receiving exceptional care, having their needs met and are given the freedom to exhibit their natural behaviors and be the animals they deserve to be," she added. "They have become confident individuals able to flourish under our care. They will never face cruelty again.”

Paradise lost: The fate of Nova Scotia’s final palm trees revealed

Nathan Coleman
Wed, May 29, 2024 


Paradise lost: The fate of Nova Scotia’s final palm trees revealed

In 2018, the City of Halifax, N.S., embarked on a pilot project to plant palm trees that would put milder winters to the test.

The municipality planted nine palm trees in total throughout the region to bring diversity to park spaces. Park staff even boxed them up during the winter months to insulate their bases and trunks in an effort to maintain warmth.

And now we fast forward to 2024.

This year’s harsh winter produced the snowiest February on record in Halifax.

As a result, it put the nail in the coffin for the final two palm trees that remained, even after they were just been replanted in 2022. The trees simply couldn’t adapt to the cold that comes with a typical Nova Scotia winter.

"We were able to keep trees alive for nearly four years, but their health slowly declined over time due to the winters here," said Ryan Nearing, Halifax Regional Municipality public affairs advisor, in a statement provided to The Weather Network. "They were not replaced by palm trees, but rather, more hardy, ornamental trees. We have no plans to plant additional palm trees at this point."