Chinese military base in Tajikistan

 China creates another military base in Tajikistan. The approval has been granted by the Tajik parliament. The government of Tajikistan said that they need this military base to counter security threats from Afghanistan. This base will be located right on the border with Afghanistan. This base will be owned by the Tajik defense group, but it will be built with Chinese funding. The incentive of this military base is that it would carry out policing duties focused on combating organized crime. Also, the Tajik government has also offered full control of the pre-existing Chinese military base to Beijing. This base is located close to Pakistan. Tajikistan has offered absolute autonomy to China of this military base. Moreover, China will not have to pay rent for this base. What is the reason for this decision? In my opinion, to get more aid from China. China is trying to build its military base in Central Asia. Central Asia was always an important region for Russia. During the Soviet Union, countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and others in Central Asia were part of the Soviet Union. During the last decade, China is expanding its military, economic influence in this region. Also, China is the largest partner of all countries in Central Asia. Many students used to apply for universities in Moscow. However, this trend has changed in the last decade. China offers numerous opportunities for students from Central Asia. China is winning the game in Central Asia. Its gain might seem small. However, Chinese geographical influence in this region would be profound

Initiative to Curb Effects of Medical Debt in Our Future

The political action group known as Fair Fight, led by voting rights activist Stacy Abrams, has taken on a new initiative to tackle medical debt for working families. The group has taken its first step by donating $1.34 million to an initiative that will help alleviate debt for many families starting in the US South. The project is run by another organization called RIP Medical Debt and aims to settle debt for more than 108,000 families in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arizona.

Of the many issues crippling the United States today, medical bills are among the most dangerous for a family financially. One costly disease, injury, or condition can devastate a working class family as they will be forced to pay down debt for many years to come. In some cases, the debt payment can now extend across generations as the price to pay reaches astronomical levels. It is also more likely for you to have health problems if you live in a low income area so you are more likely to develop more serious health issues and the need for more debt to cover the costs. In this regard, it is holding people back from reaching their full potential as exorbitant medical bills keep hard working people in the vicious cycle of paying down debt instead of improving their standard of living.

This donation is a good first step in opening people's eyes to alternatives to the bleak reality. Ultimately, it will be up to our representatives on the state and federal level to pass legislation to expand medical benefits and cap the ever-increasing medical care prices. But to get to that stage, there needs to be a change in hearts and minds to make this an issue top of mind when voters go to the polls in the future. It will require a large public outcry to inflict change at this scale and I hope these organizations will have enough impact to make a difference.

Credit: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stacey-abrams-fair-fight-action-donation-medical-debt/

Is Texas is a paradise city?

 Austin became one of the fastest-growing cities in the US. New constructions are everywhere. During the pandemic, Austin was the most popular place for Americans to move during the pandemic. Many people moved from California to Texas due to the cost of living in California. According to data, living in California is 50% more expensive than the average cost of living in the United States. Another reason is the way Texas boosted its surging technology industry. Apple constructs a massive campus here. While Samsung is considering building a new facility. Around a month ago, Elon Musk announced that he will move Tesla’s headquarters to Texas, from California. Businesses and people like Texas’ climate. Also, low taxes is a huge benefit for any business. However, all these migrations to Texas might cause some problems for the city. Such as lack of public transportations, competition growth, and increase in the cost of goods

The Fed is expected to announce end to bond-buying program as investors seek clues on first hike

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/02/federal-reserve-investors-seek-clues-on-interest-rate-hikes.html

The article discusses how the Federal Reserve is expecting to announce the unwinding of its monthly bond-buying program. This program was implemented to support the economy during the pandemic. Other sources expect that the Fed will fight the trend of higher prices by beginning to raise interest rates next year. The article further goes on to discuss that traders are pricing in more than two interest rate hikes for next year, however the majority of Fed officials do not even see one in 2022 in their most recent forecast. This is due to inflation, which is now at a 30 year high which has seemed to linger longer than the "transitory" description the Fed had included in its recent policy statements.

Inflation rose 0.3% for September, driving the year-over-year gain to 4.4%. Companies continue to struggle to find workers but are also raising wages to keep and attract employees. Economic experts believe that the Fed is being "stubborn" in accepting that inflation is being stickier than what they expected. Rick Rieder, the chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock, said the Fed needs to show it would be willing to raise interest rates if it had to.

In regards to interest rates, it is expected that Powell will not talk about raising interest rates, but he likely won't discourage the market's pricing in of rate hikes either. Interest rates and inflation tend to be the biggest topic of discussion at the moment, especially with the holidays right around the corner.

The Car Industry could cause Economic Crisis

 There are roughly around 1.2 billion cars in the world. There is always a high demand for cars across the world. However, right now car industries are struggling with production which leaves millions of workers across the world at risk for unemployment. 

The auto industry is said to account for roughly 3% of the world's economic output. The supply chain crisis has severely impacted the auto industry.  One of the main issues was the lack of semiconductors. They were forced to slow production or even stop it all together while waiting on parts. This puts millions of workers across the world wondering if they will be called into work tomorrow. You have the manufacturing countries of the auto industry such as the United States, Germany, and Japan scrambling. Companies such as GM, Ford, Honda, and Volkswagen are producing much less which requires fewer workers. Japan has experienced a 46% decrease in its exports this year compared to last. On top of that, it is affecting countless countries that provide parts to these large manufactures. With fewer cars rolling off the assembly line you have less of a need for tires, instrument panels, and more impacting all of those workforces as well. Germany has had to shut down some factories all together and other countries have done the same. 

This issue is one that should clear up over time, but some people do not have time. They need a job now. It's a waiting game right now with the bottleneck of semiconductors and other parts that will impact how fast things get back to normal. 

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/02/business/car-shortage-global-economy.html