Latest news with #inequality
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Fury as Chinese bank offers to help rich clients' kids gain top internships
A Chinese bank has triggered outrage by offering to help its rich customers secure prestigious internships for their children, prompting a heated debate about privilege and inequality on social media. Industrial Bank, a regional lender from Fujian province, said in a now-deleted post on the social platform WeChat that it could arrange for its clients' offspring to gain work experience at top firms including Google and JP Morgan, according to screenshots circulating online. To qualify for the scheme, households would need to deposit large new sums with the bank: 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) for non-private banking customers and 5 million yuan for private banking clients, the post added. The scheme quickly went viral and triggered intense backlash on Chinese social media. The reaction has been particularly fierce given China's sky-high youth unemployment rate and a spate of recent scandals involving nepotism in the job market On Tuesday, Industrial Bank announced it had paused the offer and apologised for any 'misunderstandings caused by incomplete descriptions', according to the state-run news outlet Securities Times. In the statement, the company claimed it had not directly arranged internships for its customers' children, but had merely intended to refer them to external recruitment consultants, Securities Times reported.
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
The ‘Knowledge Class' Needs a Reality Check
Jukka Savolainen's op-ed 'The Alienated 'Knowledge Class' Could Turn Violent' (May 22) reminded me of the scene in 'Blazing Saddles' when Gene Wilder advises Cleavon Little not to confront Mongo. 'Don't do that,' he says. 'If you shoot him, you'll just make him mad.' As I see it, American universities are getting their just deserts. To say that the Trump administration should take its foot off the gas in its showdown against Harvard and its peers means these universities wouldn't receive the free-market discipline they badly need. Advanced-degree holders in political science or philosophy aren't filling a market need. This signal would normally lead fewer students to pursue these fields. This doesn't happen because taxpayers subsidize this inefficient employment pipeline through guaranteed student loans, tax-free endowments and government grants.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Kazakhstan's president on balancing Russia, China and the West
Kazakhstan sits at the crossroads of global power between Russia, China and key trade routes. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev talks to Al Jazeera about his reform agenda, the legacy of Nazarbayev, and plans to reduce inequality in a resource-rich nation. He also addresses Kazakhstan's economic dependency on oil and Russia, growing ties with China and the West, and criticisms over press freedom and political openness. With the war in Ukraine redrawing alliances, is Kazakhstan truly neutral, or simply under pressure?
New York Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
A Union That Pushed Cuomo to Resign Spends $1 Million to Elect Him
This is The Sprint for City Hall, a limited-run series on the critical Democratic primary race for mayor. Andrew M. Cuomo, the Democratic mayoral primary's front-runner and no stranger to million-dollar gifts, is getting another one, this time from a union. He and his rivals kicked their campaigns into a higher gear over Memorial Day weekend, with just four weeks to go until the primary and less than three before the start of early voting. Hi, I'm Dean Chang, the editor running The New York Times's coverage of the mayoral primary. This week's personal observation involves Cuomo, the former governor, who said Sunday that he disliked the term 'outer borough' because it implied that Manhattan was superior to the other four boroughs. Our style guide concurs. If this mayor thing doesn't work out, might there be an editing job in his future? In this edition of the newsletter, we'll look at Cuomo's leftward shift in messaging, break news about the union's spending on his behalf and reveal who some of the other candidates say was the best mayor in their lifetimes. Cuomo's tale of two cities Many of the Democratic candidates have emphasized the need to address inequality in the city, and argued that the next mayor should focus on helping New Yorkers keep up with the rising costs of rent, food and transportation. Not Cuomo. He is running on competence, citing his experience as governor and reputation as a pugnacious fighter. His rivals have noticed. They attack him as a friend of the business class who is out of touch with the concerns of real New Yorkers. Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker and a mayoral candidate, said on Saturday that those concerns include affordability, safety and health care. 'I know that Andrew Cuomo cannot relate to my everyday situation,' she said, adding that 'we are being shortchanged in communities like yours and mine.' The very next day in the Bronx, Cuomo, in one of his regular campaign appearances at a Black church, flipped the script. He mentioned his father, Mario M. Cuomo, and his famous speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, in which he invoked 'A Tale of Two Cities' to illustrate the nation's inequality under President Reagan. 'There are two cities right here,' the younger Cuomo said Sunday, speaking at the Church of God of Prophecy. 'We have the greatest wealth, and we have the greatest poverty. And we have the greatest opportunity, and we have the greatest places of despair, right here in this city.' His comments seemed to suggest a new phase in his campaign strategy, a demonstration that he, too, can talk about inequality. His mention of his father's speech and its catchphrase — 'a lot of people have stolen it since,' he said, perhaps in reference to Bill de Blasio — reminded me of my mother, and how she loves to talk about how the Chinese invented everything. Just don't tell the Cuomos or, for that matter, Charles Dickens. More news: A major push by a big union Cuomo is already the best-funded candidate in the race. Now, his comeback attempt is getting yet another financial boost — this time from a major hotel and casino union. The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, which endorsed Cuomo back in April, told The Times that it plans to spend $1 million on paid advertising and canvassing for him before Primary Day. The spending plans, which have not been previously reported, come as the hotel union rebuilds its relationship with Cuomo four years after urging him to resign as governor in the face of sexual harassment allegations. (Cuomo denied wrongdoing.) The stakes are high. The union, which represents about 40,000 hotel and casino workers, is preparing for a major, citywide contract negotiation next year, and Cuomo would likely have considerable sway if elected mayor. 'When we endorsed him, we said Andrew Cuomo is a leader who will be in the foxhole fighting alongside our members,' said Rich Maroko, the group's president. 'Now, we've got his back and we're bringing some heavy ammunition to the fight.' The hotel workers' union has not yet finalized the advertisements, but they are expected to include TV, digital and mail components from the union's campaign arm, Hotel Workers for Stronger Communities. The total is similar to what the group spent supporting Eric Adams in 2021. Cuomo is certainly not wanting for resources. Fix the City, a super PAC supporting his candidacy, has raised more than $9 million. A second outside group, Restore Sanity NYC, which does not have to disclose its donors before the election, began sending mail this month that promotes Cuomo's platform. And Cuomo announced on Friday that his campaign had raised $3.9 million. So far, only one other candidate in the race has benefited from a super PAC, and it is far smaller. The group, New Yorkers for Lower Costs, has raised $210,000 to help Mamdani. For a more detailed look at the candidates, go over to our Who's Running tracker. If you want to brush up on where the nine most prominent Democrats stand on various issues, we've got you covered. And if you want to find stories you may have missed, our mayor's race landing page is right here. Wishing for a mayor like LaGuardia We invited the leading Democratic candidates to our newsroom last week to discuss the race and their vision for the city. We'll roll out their responses over the coming days. (Cuomo has not, as of yet, committed to an interview.) Emma Fitzsimmons has a sneak preview: she'll tell us who each candidate picked as the best mayor in their lifetime. Mamdani got the ball rolling by praising de Blasio, who left office with a gutter-scraping approval rating. Why? Mamdani cited universal prekindergarten, de Blasio's signature policy. 'He created a template for what it could look like for city government to deliver on the affordability crisis in a manner that would make it easier to raise families in the city,' Mamdani said. Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker, picked John V. Lindsay, a charismatic leader who was elected mayor as a Republican in 1965 and whose tenure had mixed reviews. She said that her parents liked him when she was growing up. 'I would hearken back to their discretion and their wisdom,' she said. Myrie, a state senator, praised Michael R. Bloomberg as a strong manager and said that people felt safer when he was mayor. 'It's not that I agree with every outcome, but the city was managed,' Myrie said. 'There was a clear sense that whatever the vision he had in the moment, it would be executed.' Lander and Stringer, the current and former comptroller, both dodged the question a bit, initially naming Fiorello La Guardia, who was elected in 1933 before they were born. Lander then said that Bloomberg had managed the city best, but faulted him for growing income inequality and a rise in stop-and-frisk policing; he said de Blasio had the 'best single accomplishment' with universal prekindergarten. Stringer said the last few mayors had been 'minimalists' and he liked the 'moxie of Ed Koch.' Jessica Ramos, a state senator, praised de Blasio's creation of universal prekindergarten and Bloomberg's defense of immigrants. Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman, named David N. Dinkins. Whitney Tilson, a former hedge fund executive, picked Bloomberg and pointed out that he shared Bloomberg's status as an outsider and a businessman. 'I think you need someone who is outside the political machine,' he said. Kathleen Chalfant, Broadway actress Kathleen Chalfant, an award-winning stage actress, is probably best known for her roles in the original productions of 'Angels in America' and 'Wit.' She shared her ranked-choice ballot plans with Nick Fandos. Chalfant stars this spring in a new film, 'Familiar Touch,' about a woman confronting dementia. It will make its New York City premiere in June, just a few days before Chalfant, 80, plans to cast her ballot in the mayoral primary, with Mamdani, the youngest candidate in the race, ranked first. She said her support for Mamdani and Lander, her No. 2, had been shaped by participating in vigils with Israelis for Peace, a group calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and release of hostages taken by Hamas. (Chalfant is not herself Israeli or Jewish.) 'A recognition of the slaughter in Gaza and the necessity for finding a cease-fire and justice and peace for all the people who live between the river and the sea is very important to me,' she said. 'My first two candidates share that view.' Chalfant, who lives in Brooklyn Heights, said the rest of her ballot showed her 'strong progressive bias' and a desire to make the city more affordable. 'One of the wonders of living in New York is that we all live here together,' she said 'All of these people are trying to make the city a livable place, not only for those of us who are privileged, but for all the people who do the work, who keep the city going.' She does not plan to rank Cuomo not because of any ranked-choice strategy but because she said he does not share her values. Reliving a painful chapter Adams marked the fifth anniversary of her father's death from Covid-19 with an affecting campaign speech last week at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, a city-run hospital that was overburdened during the pandemic and turned her father away. Her 10-minute address was part a recounting of her father's legacy and part a personal rebuke of Cuomo's, as someone who led the state during the pandemic. Her remarks mark one way she is trying to cut into Cuomo's share of support among Black voters, a key Democratic bloc that has largely flocked to the former governor but is showing openness to her campaign, according to recent polls. 'Is Andrew Cuomo the only one at fault? Not really. He didn't create this kind of politics,' she said later. 'He just mastered it.'
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill': reject the con of a class-war manifesto
Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful' budget squeaked through the US House of Representatives last Thursday – a shiny populist package hiding a brutal class agenda. No taxes on tips! Bigger child tax credits! But look closer and the bill is a sleight of hand. The middle-class perks expire in 2028 – just as Mr Trump's second term would end – while permanent tax cuts for the rich, and delayed cuts to means-tested welfare, entrench inequality. It's not a budget. It's a bait-and-switch. It turns Democrats' fiscal caution into a liability – one that punishes their own base. Republicans understand what Democrats still don't: deficits aren't the danger. It's what you do with them that matters. This bill supercharges inequality: a $1.1tn giveaway to Americans earning more than $500,000 a year – funded by pushing poorer families off Medicaid and food assistance. It slashes green energy subsidies. Experts say it could add $3.1tn to the debt – but it's more than millionaire tax breaks. It raises Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding by 365% for detention, 500% for deportations – fuel for Mr Trump's crackdown. It's also trickle-up economics sold as working‑class salvation. Democrats voting against it now face the optics of opposing 'tax relief for waitresses' – even though a third of such workers make too little to pay income tax and won't benefit at all. The bill now moves to the Senate, where Republicans must juggle fiscal hawkishness on welfare with silence on pro-rich tax cuts – hoping voters won't notice their hypocrisy. No filibuster looms, but any Senate changes must pass with a simple majority - and then survive the House, where even modest tweaks could alienate hardliners or upset fragile support. But too many Democrats remain trapped by outdated budget dogma. While Republicans rack up deficits for the rich, Democrats cling to the Reagan-era Byrd rule and 'pay for' logic – treating a 1970s economy as today's reality. The former is a procedural constraint, but it was born of a political age obsessed with balanced budgets, and it continues to shrink ambition by demanding offsets for moral imperatives. In 2021, the most effective anti-child-poverty policy in decades expired because some Democrats fretted over funding it, despite record corporate profits. The US needs to tax the wealthy properly – not least because rampant inequality is destroying democracy. But the economist Stephanie Kelton is right that the question about deficits isn't so much 'how big?' but 'who benefits?' That's the language Democrats need. Not budget sermons. Deficits should be for public purpose, not private plunder. Rather than scare stories about debt, Democrats should say America can run a deficit to fund healthcare, housing and green tech – not to bankroll authoritarian deportation squads or gift cash to the donor class. The real risk isn't rejecting Mr Trump's tax‑and‑spend agenda – it's countering it with arithmetic. Voters don't want better calculations, they want better convictions. In 2021, Joe Biden urged conservative Democrats to break their addiction to 'pay-fors' and embrace a politics of purpose – spending driven by values, not accounting gimmicks. Their refusal is partly why the party struggles with its message today. Mr Trump's budget may blow up the deficit, but it also blows up the illusion that Democrats can win with numbers. The only way out of the trap is to fight not over how much the federal government spends but whom it spends it on.
