Bits 'n pieces from east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

On Sunday, Congress agreed on a COVID-19 relief package. It includes $600 stimulus checks for every adult and child, but less than that for people earning more than $75,000, and no checks for those earning over $99,000. Federal unemployment will be $300 a week. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) coveted liability shield to protect businesses from virus-related lawsuits was excluded and an eviction moratorium was extended by one month. $275 billion was marked for projects like transportation, the Paycheck Protection Program, vaccine distribution and expansion of food benefits.

On Dec. 18, the U.S. Army chief of staff declared “there is no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of an American election.” The Atlantic pointed out that such a statement should not be needed, but it came in response to multiple media reports that President Donald Trump was making plans for a White House coup with advisers Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani.

Many countries in East Asia and the Pacific have returned to near-normal living despite COVID-19. How did they do it without vaccines? Time magazine reported that they have suppressed the virus with testing, isolating those infected, quarantining those exposed, wearing face masks and avoiding crowds.

So far, COVID-19 has cost the U.S. economy $16 trillion Time, reported. Currently, 40 percent of Americans have a pre-existing condition making them more vulnerable to COVID-19, and 9 percent have antibodies (Stanford University estimate). Letting the virus run free in younger Americans is expected to cause up to 2.5 million deaths. A study from South Korea shows as many as 90 percent of COVID-19 patients may have a lingering condition after recovery. The Week said those could include extreme tiredness, concentration difficulties or failing to regain senses of taste and smell. Research in the U.K. shows similar findings.

Vaccine distribution hit a glitch: The Trump Administration blamed Pfizer for production problems, but Pfizer said they shipped every load the government asked for and millions of doses are ready — pending further instructions. But, as NPR reported, several states were told that they would see a 40 percent cut in shipments. The uncertainty has made it difficult for managing distribution efficiently.

Trickle-down economics doesn’t work, according to a new study out of London School of Economics and King’s College London. The study reviewed data from “advanced economies” from the last 50 years. It found tax cuts mainly widened inequality and had no significant influence on jobs or growth. The study is already being referred to in Congress, where concern about how to rebuild an economy damaged by COVID-19 is under debate.

The International Monetary Fund said the global economy will shrink 4.4 percent this year. Kristalina Georgieva, head of the IMF, said that re-routing the economy will require three things: recognizing that exiting the health crisis comes first, making sure support for a better economy does not see premature withdrawal, and wise use of fiscal stimulus money. Of the latter, she said climate change should be a key focus. Job creation will involve bringing emissions down while putting people back to work. But she indicated that it needs to occur without making the rich richer, requiring policy intervention and “more proportionality in taxation” that supports growth.

Halting construction of the Trump Administration’s U.S.-Mexico border wall is expected to save $3.3 billion, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Building the 738 miles of new fencing was expected to cost $15 billion, of which a third came from Congress and the rest from the Defense Department. The fence has cut through national forests, wildlife preserves and public lands, and has been slowed where it involved eminent domain from private landowners. Four hundred miles have been completed. The new compromise pandemic relief bill included $1.4 billion for the wall.

Suspected Russian interference, in the form of widespread government computer hacking, did hit the National Nuclear Security Administration, The New York Times reported. So far, there’s no evidence that critical defense systems there were compromised. The cybersecurity breach is said to be the biggest in more than two decades. President-elect Joe Biden has promised action, but Trump, who is suspected of being in debt to Russia, has said nothing about a White House response.

Biden’s tax plans for restarting the economy and addressing equality likely hinge on Georgia’s Senate races, Bloomberg.com said. If two contested seats go to Democrats on Jan. 5, and a tie occurs in Congress, the vice president casts the deciding vote. Independent estimates are that Biden’s tax plan can raise up to $5 trillion by ending special tax arrangements for the wealthy to pass to their heirs, by taxing investment income the same as wages, by instituting a tax increase for those earning at least $400,000, and by putting a levy on offshore corporate profits. A New York Times survey found 45 percent of Republicans are in favor as well as 70 percent of Independents and 85 percent of Democrats.

Blast from the past: “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance,” said George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). He was Irish and a playwright, critic and political activist.