Thai Lawmakers Pass $117 Billion Budget to Help Revive Economy
The budget bill for the year starting Oct. 1 was backed by 257 lawmakers in the 500-member House of Representatives late Friday, following a three-day debate. A total of 229 members opposed the spending plan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
How Trump's Travel Crackdown Is Hurting Americans at Home and Abroad
This is part of Reason's 2025 summer travel issue. Click here to read the rest of the issue. As the Trump administration began snatching college students, detaining legal European tourists, denying entry to British crust-punks, rejecting transgender passports, deporting tattooed Salvadorans, insulting the sovereignty of Canadians, and floating plans to ban visitors from 43 countries, the domestic travel and tourism industry braced itself for bad news. "Historical data underscores that trade and geopolitical tensions influence travel demand," warned the research firm Tourism Economics in late February. The group had previously estimated that inbound visits to the U.S. in 2025 would rise 8.8 percent over last year; now it was forecasting a 5.1 percent drop. What's more, inbound travel spending this year "could fall by 12.3 [percent], amounting to a $22 billion annual loss." Sure enough, the year-over-year foreign visitor numbers in March were brutal. Down a jaw-dropping 18.4 percent, they were led by a sharp drop-off from America's No. 1 supplier: Canada. Then came President Donald Trump's 11th week in office. On April 2, the populist president capped a lifelong enthusiasm for tariffs ("the most beautiful word in the dictionary," he has said on multiple occasions) by announcing import taxes that averaged 22 percent, the largest ratchet in U.S. history. The move came as a triple whammy to America's globe-leading $200 billion travel and tourism industry. First, as the luxury travel agent Kate Sullivan told TravelPulse, "the cost of hard goods will increase for hotels, airlines, and other industry sectors, who will likely need to increase rates and fares to cover the increases." Second, the disruptions to the global trading system will hit especially hard some of the fastest-growing sources of U.S. visitation—China, India, and Japan. And finally, the concomitant souring of overseas public opinion, particularly in regions (Scandinavia, Southeast Asia, North America) singled out for criticism by the Trump administration, is already depressing numbers. "The U.S. is not perceived as a welcoming destination," travel agency owner Marco Jahn told the Associated Press after the tariffs were announced. Americans whose incomes are not tethered to the enthusiasms of overseas visitors may have the impression that such industry turmoil will leave their own travel plans unscathed. Alas, they are mistaken. For starters, domestic hoteliers are heavily reliant on imports for furniture, especially from high-tariffed China and Vietnam. Trump's own hotels are filled with foreign-made dishware, chandeliers, and even American flags. Making goods more expensive immediately reduces Americans' discretionary spending, which is the bucket from which travel budgets are drawn. Recessions decrease vacations, sometimes sharply; after Trump's tariffs, most of the major economic forecasting agencies (Moody's, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morningstar) jacked up their expectations for an economic downturn. Consumer confidence also tracks closely with travel planning; the former was at a four-year low even before "Liberation Day" tariffs. Further losses in the stock market—as of press time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 3 percent since Inauguration Day—would also depress demand. It gets worse for the American traveler. Over the decades, the dollar has been propped up by Washington's leadership role in global tariff reduction; now that those tables have been turned, the greenback will be less desirable as the world's backstop currency, placing downward pressure on its value (particularly if America's heretofore world-beating economy begins to sputter). The dollar in Trump's first four months slid 7 percent against the euro. American bookings to the now-more-expensive overseas were already down 13 percent this year before Trump's tariffs. It's not just cost: A mid-March Travel Weekly survey of 400 agents found that 59 percent had heard customer concern about anti-American sentiment abroad, with 22 percent reporting resultant cancellations. A YouGov poll in early March showed that not a single European country surveyed had a net positive view of the U.S., with favorability plummeting between 6 and 28 percentage points over the previous quarter. "In Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Spain and Italy, these are the lowest figures…since we began tracking this question," the pollster wrote. So Americans will be traveling domestically, right? Not so fast. Starting on May 7, a whole 17 years after it was originally supposed to happen, Americans are no longer allowed to board a commercial flight unless using a REAL ID. Except Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said, "If it's not compliant, they may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step, but people will be allowed to fly." As of April, the Transportation Security Administration was reporting that 19 percent of current travelers were passing through checkpoints without Real ID–compliant documents. That's one "papers, please" hassle; another has the potential to affect citizens who don't even board a plane. Amid his Day 1 blizzard of executive orders, Trump signed the ominous-sounding Protecting the American People Against Invasion executive order, requiring foreigners of all nationalities to register with and get fingerprinted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) within 30 days of being in the country, unless they are exempted by a preexisting visa. Aimed at (and interpreted as) cracking down on resident illegal aliens, the order also affects the millions of Canadians who until now have been allowed to travel visa-free into the U.S. for up to six months. What does this have to do with U.S. citizens? Enforcement. As of April 11, according to the DHS' final rule, "An alien's willful failure or refusal to apply to register or to be fingerprinted is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment for up to six months, or both." Registered aliens "must at all times carry and have in their personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card," or else face a $5,000 fine or 30 days in jail. How does law enforcement determine that a human who either does not have or refuses to show identification is actually an alien? This will surely be tested in court. Not being fully free to move about the country is, regrettably, a condition that most Americans have already been living with, in the form of Immigration and Customs Enforcement roadside checkpoints within 100 miles of international borders (a zone that covers two-thirds of the population). And for 99 percent of us, coughing up documentation we were already carrying is a low-impact inconvenience. But millions of Americans this year will still travel in foreign lands, where they are likely to run into an iron rule of international relations: What we do to foreigners, foreigners are eventually going to do to us. Right now, U.S. passport holders can visit most of the world's countries without a visa or with a visa on arrival for up to 90 days. If the DHS gets into the habit of detaining and fingerprinting Europeans after their 30th day of vacation, you can expect that liberalism to constrict. There is precedent. In 2009, as a result of the 9/11 terror attacks, the U.S. created the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, requiring extra fees, wait times, probing questions, and machine-readable passports of visitors even from the now-43 countries in the Visa Waiver Program. The European Union responded with the European Travel Information and Authorization System, which would have been instituted years ago had Eurocrats developed technological competence in the meantime. (Current D-Day estimates are for the end of 2026.) The era of permissionless and comparatively anonymous travel is over. Trade wars are making international exchange more expensive and less fun. And even those of us who choose America and stay off planes may find ourselves asked to prove our legal status to a man with a gun. The past was another country indeed, one that many of us wish we could still visit. The post How Trump's Travel Crackdown Is Hurting Americans at Home and Abroad appeared first on Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
5 Big Reasons Leadership Effectiveness Is Imperative In Construction
The U.S. construction industry is standing at the edge of one of the most transformative decades in its history. Fueled by a $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure package and steady private-sector demand, the market was previously projected to expand from $1.77 trillion in 2024 to more than $2.12 trillion in 2025. At the same time, advances in technology and artificial intelligence are reshaping how projects are designed, managed, and delivered, while the rapid acceleration of clean energy initiatives is fueling unprecedented demand for new infrastructure and retrofitting. Another powerful force is the surge in data center development, as the digital economy and AI adoption require massive investments in high-capacity facilities. Yet beneath this headline growth lies a paradox. While opportunity abounds, growth alone does not guarantee long-term success. The companies that thrive will not be those with the largest projects in the pipeline, but those that invest in leadership, talent development, and organizational resilience to sustain performance at scale. In short, success will not hinge on cranes and concrete. It will hinge on people. The Leadership Imperative in a High-Growth Era Construction firms are scaling at unprecedented rates, but growth exposes cracks. As companies double or triple headcount, leadership gaps widen, succession planning falters, and decision-making slows under the weight of bureaucracy. Without intentional leadership development, the very growth firms are chasing can become the catalyst for cultural erosion and stalled performance. Research consistently underscores the impact. Organizations with robust leadership pipelines enjoy 1.5 times higher employee retention and 29% higher profitability than peers that neglect leadership development. For construction firms, where projects are complex, labor markets tight, and safety paramount, the consequences of leadership neglect are magnified. True leadership development isn't about checking a box with occasional training. It's about embedding leadership competencies into every layer of the organization—from executives shaping strategy to front-line supervisors setting daily standards of excellence. This top-down approach doesn't just prepare the next generation of leaders; it ensures cultural continuity and operational alignment during periods of hypergrowth. 1 - Safety: A Cultural and Financial Lever In construction, safety is more than a compliance issue—it is a leadership issue. The industry knows that unsafe environments cost lives. What's discussed less often is how safety incidents erode profitability, damage reputation, and accelerate turnover. Consider the numbers. Safety-related costs can consume 6–9% of project budgets. Conversely, companies that embrace a safety-leadership culture—where leaders model accountability, empower crews to intervene, and create psychological safety around reporting—see incidents fall by 20–50%. That isn't just fewer accidents. It's 15–25% higher productivity, improved morale, and greater client trust. The leaders who treat safety as a cultural cornerstone—not a compliance afterthought—will differentiate themselves in a crowded market. 2 - Reducing Rework: Through Continuous Improvement Few inefficiencies are as costly to construction firms as rework. Industry studies estimate rework can account for 5–10% of total project costs. For a firm managing billions in projects, the math is staggering. The solution isn't more oversight; it's more learning. Borrowing from high-performance domains like the military and aviation, structured debriefing systems create continuous feedback loops. Teams analyze what went well, what failed, and what must change. These insights become operational improvements that cut rework and drive efficiency across projects. Companies that operationalize these practices report 30–40% reductions in rework—savings that directly impact margins and competitiveness. More importantly, these practices foster cultures of adaptability and collaboration that scale far beyond a single project. 3 - Scaling Like a Startup: Even as an Enterprise Growth in construction doesn't always resemble the disciplined pace of Fortune 500 scaling. It often looks like a startup—rapid expansion, evolving systems, and a constant push to deliver more with less. Yet even the largest construction firms are learning that agility is no longer optional. Rigid hierarchies and siloed communication create drag at precisely the moment companies must move faster. By treating growth like a late-stage startup—emphasizing agile leadership, rapid decision-making, and scalable systems—construction companies can accelerate without breaking. Evidence backs this approach. Firms adopting agile leadership practices report 60% faster decision cycles and 30% greater project delivery efficiency. In an industry where delays can erase millions in value, agility becomes a competitive weapon. 4 - The Retention Challenge: Building Careers, Not Just Jobs The talent shortage in construction is not a future concern—it's a present crisis. Nearly 40% of the skilled workforce will retire within the next decade, creating an acute need for succession planning and career development. Yet turnover remains stubbornly high, and the cost is enormous. Replacing a single frontline employee costs 16–20% of their annual salary, not to mention lost knowledge and productivity. Mid-level managers and senior position can cost closer to 100% of salary to replace. So, even small incremental improvements in employee retention can have a dramatic impact. The most competitive firms are addressing turnover not with signing bonuses alone, but with systemic investments in onboarding, mentorship, and career pathing. Employees who see a future for themselves in the company are far more likely to stay. Structured onboarding and mentoring programs, for example, can improve retention by 50% in the first 18 months and accelerate time to full productivity by 20%. For younger generations entering the workforce, culture and development opportunities matter as much as compensation. Companies that fail to address this reality will lose talent to those that do. 5 - Building a Competitive Advantage Through People When you combine these levers—leadership development, safety culture, continuous improvement, agility, and career pathing—a clear pattern emerges. The construction firms that will thrive over the next five years are those that view organizational development as a growth strategy, not a cost center. This is not hypothetical. At EXCELR8, in our partnerships with leading construction companies, embedding leadership competencies and scalable operating systems - supported by AI-powered tools - has created the foundation for multi-year sustainable growth. In other organizations, structured mentoring frameworks stabilized turnover while strengthening cultural integration across expanding teams. In still others, leadership development programs tied directly to safety initiatives helped reduce incidents on job sites and reinforce trust across the workforce. The results speak for themselves: reduced costs, stronger margins, improved morale, and the ability to seize opportunities that competitors cannot. The Call to Action for Construction Leaders The U.S. construction industry will not suffer from a lack of projects in the coming years. The greater risk is that firms will lack the leadership, culture, and systems to execute at scale. In an environment of slowing growth rates, rising costs, and fierce competition, the human side of the business becomes the decisive edge. The path forward is clear: Growth in construction is inevitable. Sustained success is not. The difference will be made by leaders willing to go beyond the blueprint and invest in what truly drives performance: their people.
Time Business News
an hour ago
- Time Business News
Debbie Wasserman Schultz on the Legislative Frontlines
Debbie Wasserman Schultz has built a reputation in Congress as a determined advocate for civil rights, healthcare reform, and public safety. Representing Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2005, she has consistently championed legislation that addresses the needs of vulnerable communities while working to strengthen the nation's democratic values. Throughout her career, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been a strong defender of civil rights. She has taken bold positions on issues ranging from voting rights to LGBTQ equality. As a member of Congress, she has supported legislation aimed at expanding voter access, opposing discriminatory practices, and ensuring that every citizen has an equal voice in the democratic process. Her advocacy extends to protecting religious and ethnic minorities. Most recently, she has been at the forefront of efforts to create a national strategy to combat antisemitism, working across party lines to address the rise in hate crimes and extremist rhetoric. She views these initiatives not only as a matter of protecting one community, but as a fundamental defense of American democracy. For Debbie Wasserman Schultz, healthcare reform has always been more than a talking point. A breast cancer survivor herself, she has been a leading voice for policies that expand access to preventive care and early detection services. Her leadership on the EARLY Act has helped fund breast cancer education programs for young women, potentially saving thousands of lives through increased awareness and timely screenings. She has also recently introduced the Reducing Hereditary Cancer Act, a bipartisan bill designed to make genetic cancer testing more accessible to Americans who are at risk. By removing financial and coverage barriers, she hopes to create a healthcare system that focuses on prevention and equity, ensuring no patient is denied care because of cost or insurance limitations. In addition to her work on civil rights and healthcare, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been an advocate for public safety measures that protect communities while respecting individual rights. She has supported common-sense gun safety reforms, investments in law enforcement training, and improved coordination among public safety agencies. Her legislative work also extends to protecting children and families. She has championed laws like the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, which addresses child drownings by requiring safety standards for public pools and spas. These efforts reflect her broader commitment to legislation that has a tangible impact on everyday lives. While Congress is often marked by partisan gridlock, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has shown an ability to collaborate with colleagues from both sides of the aisle. Her bipartisan efforts on anti-hate initiatives, healthcare reform, and safety legislation demonstrate her belief that meaningful change requires cooperation and dialogue, even among political opponents. This approach has allowed her to move forward on initiatives that might otherwise stall in a divided political climate. By focusing on shared values such as safety, health, and equality, she has been able to advance legislation that benefits a broad range of Americans. As she continues her work in Congress, Debbie Wasserman Schultz remains committed to her core mission: defending civil rights, improving healthcare access, and safeguarding communities. She has made it clear that she sees these priorities as interconnected, with each influencing the strength and resilience of the nation as a whole. Her ongoing legislative efforts, from combating hate crimes to expanding medical testing access, are grounded in a belief that the government should be both responsive and proactive in addressing the needs of its people. This vision, combined with her experience and willingness to work across political divides, positions her as a significant force in shaping policy on some of the most pressing issues facing the country today. For constituents in Florida and for Americans across the nation, Debbie Wasserman Schultz continues to serve as a steadfast advocate, ensuring that civil rights, healthcare, and public safety remain at the top of the congressional agenda. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
