PANDEMIC FUELS GAME ADDICTION By Jackson Elliott
EXPLOITING RESOURCES
China’s influence on resource exploitation in South America is ‘unstoppable.’ p.18 DECEMBER 17–23, 2021 | $6.95
REAL ESTATE
What is iBuying and why is it popular in real estate sales? p.28
ART OF CONVERSATION
Mastering small talk makes any gathering more enjoyable. p.61
Editor’s Note
‘Weaponized’ Psychology MUCH HAS BEEN SAID about the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on the country. One impact that hasn't received much attention so far is the rise in gaming addiction. The sharp increase in gaming as people were forced to stay home has been a windfall for video game makers. Activision Blizzard saw revenues from one of its most popular games, Call of Duty, rise by 72 percent, while Chinese gaming company Tencent's total revenues rose by 25 percent. However, another figure that's been on the rise over the past year is the number of gamers seeking help for addiction. Online Gamers Anonymous, a nationwide gaming addiction support group, says it has seen its number of monthly visitors quadruple. Critics of the industry accuse companies of having "weaponized" psychology to make games more addictive—and lucrative. In some extreme cases, players are spending thousands of dollars a month on games. Read in the cover story of this week's INSIGHT about how gaming addiction is affecting more and more Americans, as well as expert advice on how to get out of it. Jasper Fakkert Editor-in-chief
STEPHEN GREGORY PUBLISHER JASPER FAKKERT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CHANNALY PHILIPP LIFE & TRADITION, TRAVEL EDITOR CHRISY TRUDEAU MIND & BODY EDITOR CRYSTAL SHI HOME, FOOD EDITOR SHARON KILARSKI ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
ON THE COVER Game addiction has been on the rise since people across the nation were forced to stay home during the pandemic. CAVAN IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES
BILL LINDSEY LUXURY EDITOR FEI MENG, BIBA KAJEVICH & JUNHAO SU ILLUSTRATORS SHANSHAN HU PRODUCTION CONTACT US THE EPOCH TIMES ASSOCIATION INC. 229 W.28TH ST., FL.7 NEW YORK, NY 10001 ADVERTISING ADVERTISENOW@EPOCHTIMES.COM SUBSCRIPTIONS, GENERAL INQUIRIES, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR HELP.THEEPOCHTIMES.COM (USPS21-800)IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY THE EPOCH MEDIA GROUP, 9550 FLAIR DR. SUITE 411, EL MONTE CA 91731-2922. PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT EL MONTE, CA, AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO THE EPOCH TIMES, 229 W. 28TH STREET, FLOOR 5, NEW YORK, NY 10001.
2 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
ISSUE 10 | DECEMBER 17–23, 2021
18 | Exploiting
50 | Boxer’s Wisdom
Resources China's influence on resource exploitation in South America is "unstoppable."
Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis offered timeless advice.
51 | Saving Languages Daniel Bogre Udell seeks to prevent language extinction.
28 | Real Estate
What is iBuying and why is it popular in real estate sales?
52 | Pandemic Policies Jeffrey Tucker questions the “wild new experiment in social management.”
44 | Environment
Buttigieg offers American consumers a simple solution for inflation.
45 | Apple in China
Apple will spend $275 billion in China over five years.
46 | US Economy What is making people skeptical about economic prospects?
47 | Tax Policy
Biden's corporate minimum tax proposal comes under scrutiny.
48 | Global Economy Emerging markets are becoming more dependent on U.S. dollars.
56 | Equestrian Dream
Features
12 | Space Competition China is extending its “three warfares” strategy into space. 20 | Federal Reserve The U.S. central bank is stuck between the pandemic and inflation. 30 | Lockdown Addicts Many gamers spent their lockdown time in front of their consoles of choice; now, they are paying both monetarily and mentally. 38 | Crime Surge Lawmakers suggest the reinstitution of the cash bail policy following a string of robberies across Los Angeles.
49 | US–China
Relations DiDi’s exit from the NYSE marks a new era in U.S.–China decoupling.
Passenger railroad operator Amtrak said it will suspend its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees and no longer expects service disruptions in January. MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES
The Val du Lac estate near Cape Town is ideal for horse lovers.
58 | New Mexico
Albuquerque is a highdesert playground for outdoor activities.
60 | Innovative
Farming Farmer Lee Jones grows for top chefs— and the planet’s future.
61 | Art of
Conversation Mastering small talk makes any gathering more enjoyable.
64 | Stretch Your Wings Earning a private pilot's license lets you play in the clouds.
67 | Writing Tools
These luxurious pens qualify as handheld works of art.
I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 3
SPOTLIGHT
IN STATE
THE CASKET OF FORMER Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) lies in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington on Dec. 9. PHOTO BY ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
INCLUDED IN YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
Exclusive interviews, shows, documentaries, movies and more.
Go to THEEPOCHTIMES.COM 6 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
NAT ION • WOR L D • W H AT H A P P E N E D T H I S W E E K
The Week
Issue. 10
PHOTO BY THOMAS SAMSON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Millions of Devices at Risk Over New Software Vulnerability Cybersecurity firm Mandiant says 'Chinese government actors’ trying to breach systems.
✒
A NEWLY DISCOVERED FLAW in a common piece of open-source software is prompting researchers and companies to update their systems in a bid to prevent hacks and ransomware attacks. The vulnerability, known as CVE-2021-44228, was disclosed on Dec. 9, which allows remote access to servers and code execution, some experts have said. Meanwhile, Log4j is used in a large number of enterprise systems, raising concerns that it may be easily exploited. Since the vulnerability, which some dubbed “Log4Shell,” so is widespread and is likely present in highly trafficked websites and apps, users may also see that their favorite websites and apps are impacted. I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 7
The Week in Short US
“We have been clear that we share Congress's view that action must be taken to hold the PRC accountable for its human rights abuses.” Jen Psaki, White House presssecretary, on the bill that President Joe Biden will sign to ban all goods from the Xinjiang region in China.
CDC Study: mRNA Vaccine Protection Against COVID-19 Is Waning A CENTERS FOR
8 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
WHITE HOUSE PRESS
secretary Jen Psaki confirmed to reporters the Biden administration won't extend the pause on student loan payments. Borrower balances were frozen by the Trump administration nearly two years ago with the passage of the CARES Act in March 2020. Since then, interest has stopped adding up and collections on defaulted debt have been on hold. The Biden administration has also extended the payment freeze. Its latest extension on the debt expires on Feb. 1, 2022. “In the coming weeks, we will release more details about our plans,” Psaki said.
MILLION
OREGON LAWMAKERS have
passed a $400 million bipartisan spending package to prevent mass evictions, crack down on illegal marijuana cultivation, help farmers and ranchers impacted by drought, and provide funds to resettle Afghan refugees.
100,000 BARRELS
NEW TRAVEL restrictions driven by a rise in COVID-19 infections is poised to slow the recovery in global oil demand, according to a report from the International Energy Agency, which dropped its oil demand forecast by 100,000 barrels per day for the remainder of 2021 and all of 2022, mostly due to reduced jet fuel use.
Trump’s Media Group Announces Partnership With Rumble FORMER PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s media group, the
Trump Media & Technology Group, announced on Dec. 14 that it has entered into a technology and cloud services agreement with Rumble, a Canadian video platform. As part of the agreement, Rumble will deliver video and streaming for TRUTH Social, an upcoming social media app and platform Trump announced in October.
THIS PAGE FROM TOP LEFT: ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES, PUBLIC DOMAIN, M-FOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK, SEAN RAYFORD/GETTY IMAGES, LUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS, BRANDON BELL/GETTY IMAGES
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study of hospitalized veterans showed their antibody response dropped four months after receiving either of the two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The CDC-backed study found that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were effective at preventing hospitalization for veterans four months after they got their second dose, although their COVID-19 antibody levels dropped. Among those who received the Moderna vaccine, scientists recorded “slightly higher” COVID-19 antibody levels than those who received the Pfizer shot. The researchers noted that four months after the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were administered to the veterans, their effectiveness at preventing hospitalizations was 86 percent and 75 percent, respectively.
White House Says Student Loan Payments to Resume in February
400
$
The Week in Short US The U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 29.
ALZHEIMER’S
Scientists Claim to Have Discovered the Cause of Alzheimer’s R E S E A R C H E R S S AY T H E Y
DEBT CEILING
Congress Clears Bill to Raise Debt Ceiling by $2.5 Trillion THE HOUSE HAS voted to raise the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion until 2023, just in time
for the deadline set by the Treasury Department, potentially avoiding an economic crisis. Lawmakers passed the bill, which increases the limit to close to $31 trillion, in a 221–209 vote with just one Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), voting yes. The Senate had previously approved the measure in a 50–49 party-line vote with no GOP support after months of disagreements between Democrats and Republicans, with the latter refusing to help raise the Democrats’ “out-of-control spending spree.” The bill now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law, ending months of back and forth between both parties and a potential U.S. default that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had warned would be economically “catastrophic.” Currently, federal debt is $28.9 trillion and the latest increase to the debt ceiling is the largest in recent history. VACCINE
Louisiana Governor to Require COVID-19 Vaccine for School Immunizations
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LOUISIANA GOV. JOHN Bel Edwards con-
firmed he is moving forward with adding COVID-19 vaccines to the required list of school immunizations, despite the state’s House Health and Welfare Committee voting to reject the proposal at a hearing. In a letter to House Committee on Health and Welfare Chairman Larry Bagley, the governor said he disapproved of the committee’s rejection, and he plans to allow the rule to go into effect because it Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards speaks in will “save lives” and help the state emerge Baton Rouge, La., on July 7, 2016. from the pandemic. Under the proposed amendment, SARS-CoV-2 shots would be added to the list of required vaccinations for school entry. Vaccinations and all potential boosters would also be required for school attendance. The rule will go into effect beginning with the 2022–2023 school year. The requirement would only apply to age groups for whom the FDA has given full approval of the vaccine, which is currently ages 16 and up, unless expanded.
may have discovered the molecular-level cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists at the University of California–Riverside, in recent findings, said the key to understanding Alzheimer’s may have to do with “tau” proteins that likely caused neurofibrillary tangles— which are found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Researchers focused on the different structures a single molecule can manufacture, known as an isomer. The team scanned proteins in brain samples that were donated to their lab. In brains in which there was an accumulation of the tau protein but no Alzheimer’s diagnosis, they found that the “normal” tau had a different-handed form than in individuals who had plaques or tangles and who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The proteins also survived longer than what is considered normal, the researchers said. If a protein stays too long—generally more than 48 hours—before the body clears it, some amino acids in the proteins convert into the “other-handed” isomer, they noted.
A teenager holds the hand of a woman with Alzheimer's disease in a retirement home in St. Quirin, France, on Oct. 18, 2016. I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 9
The Week in Short World UK
UK Gov Wins COVID Pass Vote Despite Record-Size Tory Rebellion PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson has
The 2022 Olympics in Chongli district, Hebei Province, China, on Jan. 22, 2016. CHINA
China Pays US Social Media Influencers to Promote Beijing Olympics BEIJING IS PAYING American social media influencers in a scheme to promote
the upcoming Winter Olympics amid a wave of diplomatic boycotts from the West. Under a $300,000 contract with the Chinese Consulate in New York, Vippi Media, a New Jersey consulting firm, will oversee a marketing campaign through mid-March across Instagram, TikTok, and live-streaming platform Twitch. The main goal is to present a favorable portrayal of the Beijing Winter Olympics and U.S.–China relations, according to a disclosure filed with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agent Registration Act. ASIA & PACIFIC
S. Korea, Australia Adopt Joint Statement on South China Sea Disputes ed a joint statement on the South China Sea, a region that China claims as its own, underscoring Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (R) that territorial disputes must be and South Korean President Moon Jae-in wit“resolved peacefully” in accor- ness a signing ceremony at Parliament House dance with international law. in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 13. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison jointly signed the statement after the summit talks at Parliament House in Canberra. Territorial disputes in the South China Sea are ongoing, with Beijing continuing to pursue its claims to 90 percent of the seas based on its so-called nine-dash line.” The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, and agreed to strengthen coordination to uphold these principles. 10 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
EU
Aggression Against Ukraine Will Lead to ‘Massive’ Sanctions, EU Warns THE HEAD of the European Union’s
executive commission has warned Russia that the 27-member bloc has additional sanctions ready should Moscow invade neighboring Ukraine. “I want to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers, expressing concern over reports of Russia’s “massive buildup of military aid along Ukraine’s eastern border. “There’s a whole set of economic sanctions in place targeting [Russia’s] financial and energy sector, dual-use goods, and defense.”
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SOUTH KOREA and Australia adopt-
fended off the largest Tory rebellion during his premiership with the support of Labour on mandatory NHS COVID Passes for nightclubs and large venues. Among the 320 Conservative members of Parliament who voted on the measure, almost one-third (96) voted against it. Labour is the only opposition party that supported the mandate, with 142 members of Parliament voting for the measure and eight against. As of Dec. 15, all adults are required to present NHS COVID Passes as a condition of entry to nightclubs, indoor events with 500 or more unseated attendees, outdoor events with 4,000 or more unseated attendees, and any events with 10,000 or more attendees.
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World in Photos
World in Photos
(From top) Farmers forced from their homes by volcanic activity embark on a Spanish naval ship at Tazacorte's harbor, on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, on Dec. 11. The Cumbre Vieja volcano has been erupting since Sept. 19, forcing more than 6,000 people to evacuate. A boy looks at a burnt house in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, on Dec. 15. The death toll from a massive gas truck explosion in Haiti has risen to 75, officials said. Relatives and friends of a Guatemalan who died in a traffic accident in Mexico, gather at his house in Chajul village, west of Guatemala City, on Dec. 12. Fifty-four migrants were killed on Dec. 9 in Mexico, after the truck they were hiding in overturned on their way to the United States. Two men look through what is left of a friend's roof after extreme weather hit the area, in Bowling Green, Ky., on Dec. 13.
I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 11
MILITARY
SPACE: BATTLEGROUND THE NEW
How Beijing seeks to take the moon, and then Earth
A
CHINESE ROBOT TRUNDLES ABOUT
12 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
ever hungry for new knowledge about Earth’s only moon. The secrecy shrouding the project, however, unnerves strategists who don’t see this little rover as merely one small step for mankind, but as one giant leap for Chinese military capabilities. Indeed, some experts believe that Yutu-2’s lunar rock collection isn’t only a continuation of Sino–U.S. competition, but might actually provide the keys to victory in a future war.
Space Is a Warfighting Domain Michael Listner is an attorney of a very peculiar sort. He specializes in space policy and has, for some years, led the publication of “The Précis,” a legal newsletter that examines the basis of space law and its ramifications for international policy in every field from business to national security. He says the CCP is extending its “Three Warfares” strategy into space. This vast new frontier will be central to the regime’s campaigns of media aggrandizement, the subject of psychological warfare, and, vitally, the centerpiece of new legal
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in the dust. It collects rock samples, measures chemical compounds, and observes craters never before seen by humankind. It’s beyond the reach of U.S. sensors. It’s beyond the rule of international laws and norms. It’s on a mission. It’s on the dark side of the moon. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been operating Yutu-2 on the far side of Luna since 2019. Ostensibly part of the CCP’s lunar exploration program, rovers such as Yutu-2 are preparing the way for the construction of a new robotic research base on the moon. That base, in turn, will prepare the way for a crewed moon landing and a new lunar base managed jointly by China and Russia. The exploration phase of this process, of which Yutu-2 is a part, is planned to extend through 2025 with six more missions conducted by China and Russia. Following that, construction on the base is expected to last until at least 2035, with full operational capacity being achieved by 2036. The ambition piques the interest of scientists,
The moon race has the potential to revolutionize international relations more than any other facet of Sino–American competition. Experts believe that whoever gets there first wins.
In Focus Space
The International Space Station on May 29, 2011.
✒ Text By Andrew Thornebrooke
10,000 SATELLITES
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battles that will reshape the international order as China seeks to claim the United States’ global hegemon status for its own. The strategy, he said, is designed to undermine and perhaps defeat the enemy without firing a shot. “Space is a warfighting domain,” Listner said. “It’s going to be part of the struggle and it’s going to be part of a future conflict.” “They are fighting on all these fronts right now,” Listner added of the CCP’s three warfares strategy in space. “In fact, I really look at it as preparing the battlefield.” That effort to shape the battlefield, central to any military, is particularly meaningful to Chinese military strategists who, since at least the fifth century B.C., have studied the writings of the eminent philosopher of war Sun Tzu, who argued that preparing the battlefield was the means of mastering the enemy. As such, it’s feared that the Chinese regime will effectively ensure that should conflict break out, it has the strategic advantage by preparing a favorable legal landscape, positioning assets in or-
bit, and building alliances in its space operations. The reason for the continuation of this effort on the moon is simple enough: America can’t work without space. “The American dependence and reliance on space is almost absolute,” said Paul Crespo, president of the Center for American Defense Studies. “From communications to banking to air and ground travel and GPS, our economy, society, and military cannot survive without U.S. space dominance.” Crespo, a Marine veteran who served in the Defense Intelligence Agency, has spent years examining the CCP’s malign influence abroad and its efforts to degrade and undermine its adversaries through dual-use technologies and legal warfare. Both Crespo and Listner fear that the moon will be China’s next “nine-dash line,” and that it will be used to bend the rule of law to the CCP’s advantage, just as it has in the South China Sea. The Chinese regime claims about 85 percent of the disputed South China Sea demarcated by its nine-dash line, a claim that was rejected by a 2016 international tribunal. Several other countries also lay claim to parts of the waterway. Despite the ruling, Beijing has built military outposts on artificial islands and reefs in the region, and deployed coast guard ships and Chinese fishing boats to intimidate foreign vessels, block access to waterways, and seize shoals and reefs. Experts fear the CCP will use its moon and space infrastructure to similarly box out competition and control the happenings of the region, in violation of international laws and norms. “The CCP has proven it has no respect for international law or norms, and is willing to bully, threaten, coerce and push its way into any place it deems vital to its strategic goals,” Crespo said. “That’s crystal clear with its illegal expansion into, and claims on, most of the South China Sea.” “This certainly will be even more true for China in space where the norms are far less established and codified.” I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 13
In Focus Space
A Long March 3B rocket carrying the Beidou-3GEO3 satellite lifts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang, Sichuan Province, China, on June 23, 2020. The CCP publicly denies that its space systems and projects, including its plans for the moon and satellites, are used for military purposes.
Michael Listner, space expert
The United States’ response to CCP space adventurism has been mixed. During the administration of President Donald Trump, the nation took a hardline stance and sought to outrace the CCP to the moon. Indeed, the Artemis Accords were initially designed to guide those nations that were to partake in the Artemis Program, a U.S.-led effort to establish a base on the moon. Trump’s Space Policy Directive-1, likewise, sought to “lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities.” To accommodate these ambitions, NASA attempted to step up its original goal of establishing a moon presence from 2028 to 2024. That date was quickly pushed back to 2025, however. Since then, NASA has changed course again, and slated 2025 as the earliest date for a U.S. flight around the moon, but which won’t land on the moon.
Usurping the Advantage The moon race has the potential to revolutionize international relations more than any other facet 14 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
of Sino–American competition. When it comes to dictating what the law is beyond the earth’s atmosphere, Crespo and Listner believe that who gets there first wins. “It’s all really about great power competition,” Listner said. “The general consensus about great power competition is who’s going to eventually make the rules in an international arena. In other words, who’s going to have the most influence in shaping what’s legal and what the worldview looks like in the next few decades.” Listner described the struggle between the United States and China for influence in shaping the world and its norms as one of competing visions, in which two radically different ways of understanding and operating in the world are being pitted against one another. That struggle, he said, is playing out in space. “Right now, there are two competing visions,” Listner said. “One is the Artemis Accords, which the Trump administration started.” “The Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China countered with their own competing vision, called the International Lunar Research station.”
FROM LEFT: STR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, SAMUEL CORUM-POOL/GETTY IMAGES
“Space is a warfighting domain. It’s going to be part of the struggle and it’s going to be part of a future conflict. ”
In Focus Space
The Artemis Accords, Listner said, are a framework for international cooperation regarding the exploration and use of Luna, Mars, and other astronomical objects. The effort is based largely on the U.N. Outer Space Treaty of 1967, and seeks to affirm peaceful cooperation, promote interoperability, and register objects in space with uniform standards. The Outer Space Treaty currently has 111 signatories, including China and Russia. The Artemis Accords, first signed in 2020, has 14 signatories; China and Russia didn’t sign, viewing the effort as a commercial agreement needlessly favorable to the United States. The International Lunar Research Station, on the other hand, is the CCP and Russia’s effort to wrest international space leadership away from the United States’ NASA, and champion a new, Eurasian order.
“The CCP has proven it has no respect for international law or norms, and is willing to bully, threaten, coerce, and push its way into any place it deems vital to its strategic goals.” Paul Crespo, president, Center for American Defense Studies
Indeed, little Yutu-2 is just the first of seven exploratory missions planned by China and Russia, which will prepare the way for the construction of the base. That matters when the future of space dominance is on the line. “It’s about the competing view of what the rule of law is going to be and who’s going to make the rules on the lunar surface and in exploiting space,” Listner said. “Whoever gets there first and starts building will be the one who makes the rules.” To that end, Crespo warned that the CCP is attempting to reforge space in its own image, undercutting the United States’ ability to sustain itself not only as a world superpower, but possibly as a civilization. “Neutralizing our space dominance will severe-
ly hamper our ability to win any major conflict, and ultimately even our ability to maintain a stable, modern, functioning society,” he said. “If the Chinese move beyond simply neutralizing our dominance and gain clear space dominance themselves, that will become almost a fait accompli in terms of America losing its ability to remain a world power, and even simply an independent sovereign nation.” Listner said that it’s gray-zone conflict at its finest, and that the United States and China are engaged in war by any other name. “From the perspective of the PRC, we’re at war,” Listner said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman (R) of the U.S. Space Force and Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett present the official flag of the U.S. Space Force in the Oval Office on May 15, 2020.
The Lunar Threat That gray-zone conflict, in which nations engage in hostilities stopping somewhere short of opening fire, is in full swing in outer space. “Any manned Chinese and/or Russian base on the moon would provide them a significant strategic advantage militarily, legally, and economically,” Crespo said. In early December, Gen. David Thompson, the U.S. Space Force’s first vice chief of space operations, said that the CCP is launching attacks on U.S. space infrastructure “every single day.” These reversible attacks, in which U.S. satellite architecture or cyber systems are compromised temporarily, are latrgely understood to be a testing of the waters. That is, preparation for a real war. Thompson said in separate remarks that the Chinese regime is developing space capabilities at double the rate of the United States. Moreover, its growing array of platforms designed for space warfare is growing. “[The Chinese] have robots in space that conduct attacks,” Thompson said. “They can conduct I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 15
In Focus Space
The rockets used to launch China's rover to the moon is the same type to launch its new hypersonic weapons system.
its weaponization efforts. Increased presence would allow China greater communication and control of its space assets, most notably satellite architecture, which is key to U.S. and allied GPS systems that the military depends upon. Experts have long argued that a preemptive strike on U.S. GPS systems would be China’s first move in a war, including one over Taiwan. Other potentialities are more hypothetical, such as the long-theorized use of a kinetic bombardment system that could leverage Earth’s gravitational pull against it. Such a system could effectively turn objects as simple as tungsten rods into weapons of mass destruction due to the velocity with which they would hit the earth. This would effectively allow a satellite- or moon-based system to throw heavy objects at the Earth with the destructive power of a meteor, a feat for which the proposed weapon has long been termed “Rods from God.” Though costlier than other systems, the idea for such a system has existed since the Cold War, and the Pentagon reportedly considered developing it in 2006 before pursuing hypersonic glide vehicle research instead. Listner said the CCP’s continued conquest of space was partially owed to the failure of U.S. and allied leaders to recognize fundamental differences in Western and Eurasian ways of conceptualizing the world and politics. “Fundamentally, we have to understand that the PRC and the Russian Federation do not think like the U.S. and Western nations,” Listner said. His comments reflected a growing consensus, recognized by new U.S. congressional reports, that the CCP is advancing a global campaign to champion Marxism as an alternative to American capitalism, and to supplant the United States as a global hegemon. To this end, the international community may like to play at lawmaking, such as is the case with the Artemis Accords, but the CCP has demonstrated a repeated unwillingness to adhere to such norms. “NGOs, peace groups, and disarmament groups believe the PRC and the Russians think like us when they don’t,” Listner said. “It’s called ‘mirror thinking,’ and it’s a very, very dangerous trap to play into.”
A Base for Whom? Perhaps nowhere is this trap more apparent than in the CCP’s so-called dual-use policy. The CCP publicly denies that its space systems and projects, including its moon plans and satellite, are used for military purposes. For instance, it characterized its grabber satellite as a means of cleaning space junk, and its hypersonic missile 16 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
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In early December, Gen. David Thompson, the U.S. Space Force’s first vice chief of space operations, said that the CCP is launching attacks on U.S. space infrastructure “every single day.”
jamming attacks and laser dazzling attacks. They have a full suite of cyber capabilities.” “If we don’t start accelerating our development and delivery capabilities, they will exceed us. And 2030 is not an unreasonable estimate,” he said. Such advancements point to weaknesses in existing laws such as the Outer Space Treaty, which many people erroneously believe bans the development of space weapons. “Conventional weapons in space aren’t banned by the Outer Space Treaty, as can be seen by the Russian Federation’s ASAT [Anti-satellite weapon] demonstration a few weeks ago,” Listner said. “However, nuclear weapons in certain circumstances are prohibited by the Outer Space Treaty.” Listner’s remarks refer to the recent demonstration by Russia of an ASAT missile that it used to explode a satellite in orbit. Critics accused Russia of putting the lives of astronauts at risk, as the thousands of pieces of debris could destroy space vehicles. The event was similar to an incident carried out by China in 2007. Indeed, the CCP is rapidly expanding its military capabilities as part of an all-out push to usurp military and commercial dominance from the United States. That effort is designed to provide the CCP with an overwhelming new blitzkrieg of military technologies worthy of science fiction. The effort includes the development of hypersonic weapons, electromagnetic pulse devices, new naval vessels capable of launching rockets into space, and a nuclear reactor to power space travel, reportedly 100 times more powerful than those planned by the United States. In all, the CCP plans to launch 10,000 satellites by 2030 in its efforts to topple U.S. space dominance. There are several ways in which the CCP could use the moon, or space assets more generally, to exploit weaknesses in its adversaries or further
In Focus Space
Russia’s Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft blast off from the launch pad at the Russianleased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 20, 2019.
test as a reusable spacecraft. Critics of the CCP point out that the ambiguity about whether such technology is ultimately civilian or military in nature is a feature of dual use. Dual use is the practical realization of the CCP’s policy of “civil-military fusion,” aimed at erasing all barriers between private and public life to ensure that all civilian technologies also advance Chinese military dominance. The rockets used to launch Yutu-2 to Luna are one such example. The same type of rocket was used to launch the CCP’s new hypersonic weapons system, which U.S. leaders fear is a nuclear first-strike weapon. CCP leaders said that the test was for the benefit of its space program. “Virtually everything that enables a country to launch objects into space is indistinguishable from intercontinental ballistic missiles or hypersonic weapons,” Crespo said. “For China, that distinction is fairly moot.” Crespo said that that ambiguity is part of the program, designed to obscure whether the military or civilian function of any project was intended to be dominant. Such ambiguity makes a difference on the moon, where all Chinese taikonauts are in the employ of the Chinese military. “Any moon base serves scientific purposes
while also clearly providing China a strategic lunar presence that will need to be defended, and can be used for surveillance, reconnaissance or military attacks of all types against satellites and other space assets,” Crespo said. “No lunar base will be purely civilian to the CCP.”
100 TIMES
THE CCP’S expansion effort includes the development of hypersonic weapons, electromagnetic pulse devices, new naval vessels capable of launching rockets into space, and a nuclear reactor to power space travel, reportedly 100 times more powerful than those planned by the United States.
A World to Gain Space has been described by researcher Paul Szymanski as “the most obscure battlefield.” Its obscurity doesn’t, however, diminish its centrality to the future of nations. To the contrary, the economic, military, and political ramifications of space, and of the control of Luna, in particular, are nigh impossible to overstate. “Space is America’s greatest asset and its greatest vulnerability,” Crespo said. “The Chinese and Russians see it as our Achilles heel.” To that end, one may consider the strategic value of space as the foremost point of CCP ambitions. It is the gateway through which one growing power might leapfrog a global hegemon to dictate the future of earthly affairs. Indeed, it isn’t an overstatement to say that the moon is to the CCP what the Alps were to Hannibal. Should it be taken, the rest may fall like dominoes. “The stakes are that high,” Crespo said. “Whoever controls space may control the world.” I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 17
RES OURES
BEIJING’S INFLUENCE
SPREADS
Trading investment for oil, copper, lithium, and iron reserves is the new Chinese imperialism By Autumn Spredemann
S CHINA CONTINUES EXPANDING
A Complicated Working Relationship Deep within the Bolivian Pantanal, China made another important investment: one of the world's 18 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
largest iron deposits in the mountain of El Mutún. Former socialist President Evo Morales awarded Chinese company Sinosteel the $546 million project, which resumed in 2021 after a series of delays kept the enterprise from making significant progress since 2017. In nearby Puerto Suárez, a collection of heavy machinery sits loaded on trucks, awaiting transport down a dirt road that leads to El Mutún. The trucks are a happy occasion for some local residents who see them as an opportunity for a brighter future with Sinosteel. “Other companies tried before [to excavate] and they were either kicked out or failed to get the iron,” local resident Desiderio Montano told INSIGHT. China isn't the first country to try tapping into Bolivia's iron cache. Indian company Jindal bowed out of a contract struck with Morales's government in 2007, and Brazilian company EBX was ejected in 2006 by the same administration for attempting to access the mineral reserves illegally. Sinosteel’s arrival is a blessing because of the jobs and infrastructure it will bring to Puerto Suárez, Bolivia, and nearby Puerto Quijarro, Bolivia, according to Montano.
Former Bolivia socialist President Evo Morales awarded Chinese company Sinosteel a $546 million project to build a steel plant in El Mutún, which holds one of the world’s largest iron deposits.
ALL PHOTOS BY CESAR CALANI / THE EPOCH TIMES
its influence in South America through investments, some local communities in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador have pushed back and are speaking out against the emerging investment partner over issues of mistreatment and pollution. Bolivia awarded the Chinese regime a 49 percent stake in its lithium reserves—the largest of its kind in the world—in 2019 in a $2.3 billion deal. China invested $79.2 million in Ecuador between 2010 and 2019 to acquire mineral rights and also secured an $80 million project granting it oil rights in the Amazon. In Peru, which is the world’s second-largest producer of copper, China’s investment in the mining sector represents $15 billion. Despite these large cash infusions, there’s a noticeable lack of investment in local communities or infrastructure, leading to what China–Latin America relations analyst Fernando Menéndez calls “imperialism with Chinese characteristics.”
Latin America In Bolivia’s vast salt flats, Chinese company Xinjiang TBEA Group employs local workers for the hardest tasks for little pay.
“It’s how you end up with things like paved roads in the middle of nowhere with little to no civilian population. They invest little, but take a whole lot.” Fernando Menendez, China–Latin America relations analyst
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However, Menéndez pointed to a distinct pattern with China’s investments in South America: They’re strictly limited to the scope of their projects, investing nothing into local communities beyond the reach of their profits. “It’s how you end up with things like paved roads in the middle of nowhere, with little to no civilian population. They invest little, but take a whole lot,” he told INSIGHT. When it comes to working together, Bolivians have a love-hate relationship with China. In the nation's vast salt flats, Chinese company Xinjiang TBEA Group employs local workers for the hardest tasks, which demand long hours at extremely high altitudes for little pay. At more than 12,000 feet outside of the town of Uyuni, Bolivia, local resident Miguel Flores told INSIGHT that he has one of the better jobs working for the Chinese lithium company. “I’m a driver, and I work seven days [straight] before getting the next seven days off,” Flores said. He said being a driver is better than working in other parts of the extraction project, but he still puts in 12-hour days. “People at the mine work even longer hours and get paid less for harder [physical] jobs,” Flores said. While Flores admits that working for China isn’t ideal, there’s little option for stable employment in the remote towns crouched at the edge of Bolivia’s salt flats. He’s also not the first to describe unjust conditions and compensation for Bolivian workers employed by Chinese companies. In 2019, a video surfaced of an altercation between Bolivian road workers and a Chinese foreman. A fight broke out after the foreman attempted to run over the workers with a bulldozer for refusing to work. A union representative from the Central Obrera Departamental de Cochabamba said the workers had been on strike for three days at a job site in Bulo Bulo, Bolivia, because they hadn’t received payment for their work. The foreman attempted to crush the workers with heavy machinery, which prompted locals to swarm the bulldozer, pull the foreman outside,
and beat him. A Bolivian can be heard shouting “go back to your country [expletive]” as members of the Chinese management team attempted to rescue the foreman. In the same video, a worker screamed, “He tried to kill us!” Bolivian economist Eduardo Hoffmann told INSIGHT that China is, without a doubt, attempting to foster a totalitarian regime outside of its borders.
It Takes a Village In Ecuador, a village of indigenous Waorani is suing PetroOriental, which is a subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), over claims of atmospheric pollution that their community was suffering from as a result of oil extraction in Block 14. Much like their neighbors in Bolivia and Ecuador, Peruvian communities have also fought back against Chinese businesses. In 2019, protesters set fire to the offices of Confipetrol and the CNPC during a labor protest in the town of El Alto, Peru, in Talara province. The incident occurred after a request for better working conditions was denied by Chinese management during a negotiation with Peruvian workers. The rejected grievances triggered a violent response from the workers, prompting CNPC officials to flee the premises. In 2012, Chinese mining company Chinalco evicted 5,000 people from the town of Morococha, Peru, in the department of Junín, which is part of the Peruvian central highlands, to build a mine. Though most residents were forcibly relocated, 65 families resisted eviction until December 2018, when Chinalco attempted to demolish what remained of the town, including the houses where people were still living.
An ‘Unstoppable’ Force? Hoffmann said the economics and politics of China's deals in Latin America can no longer be separated. “Their influence is too big,” he said. “They’re unstoppable now.” Hoffmann also said China’s large consumer base has pushed them to be more aggressive in their production efforts. Menéndez noted that Latin American governments’ haphazard and short-sighted deals with China are to blame for the poor treatment of local residents and the cavalier attitude toward the environment. “They’ve taken this approach with a large power player who thinks in terms of centuries,” he said. “The people cashing the checks aren’t thinking strategically.” I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 19
Since onset of the pandemic, the Federal Reserve has printed about one-third of all U.S. dollars ever created. PHOTO BY OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF JOSEPHINE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, PUBLIC DOMAIN, JOSEPHINE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON/THE EPOCH TIMES, SHUTTERSTOCK
20 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
Economy Federal Reserve
I N F L AT ION
FED JUGGLES TWO SWORDS:
GROWTH AND INFLATION The US central bank is stuck between a pandemic and rising prices
T
By Andrew Moran HE U.S. ECONOMY HAS
been cushioned with trillions of dollars in stimulus and relief. With inflation becoming the dominant trend over the past year, the Federal Reserve is beginning to wind down its pandemic-era tools. But can the economic recovery be sustained without these mechanisms? The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. annual inflation rate surged to 6.8 percent in November; its highest level since 1982. Last month, everything was more expensive, with food and gasoline prices soaring 6.1 percent and 58 percent, respectively. Apparel climbed 5 percent, new vehicles rose 11.1 percent, used cars and trucks soared 31.4 percent, and shelter increased 3.8 percent.
The number of items falling was minuscule. Potatoes dipped 0.2 percent, prescription drugs fell 0.3 percent, and college textbooks slid 0.2 percent. Suffice it to say, strategists agree that it looks like the Fed and the Treasury Department are justified in finally removing the term “transitory” from their commentary. But what is next on the public policy front? The U.S. central bank has initiated its tapering of the pandemic-era quantitative easing stimulus and relief measures. The Fed is expected to unwind this asset-buying program by the summer of 2022, although there have been signals that the institution could accelerate its tapering endeavors. It remains uncertain what the Fed will do about interest rates. According to the CME Group FedWatch tool, May could be the month that the central I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 21
Economy Federal Reserve
22 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
He added that the Fed has manufactured asset bubbles and then burst these bubbles, producing recessions. “We’re trapped in this monetary cycle of boom and bust, rather than allowing the business cycle to smooth things out and create better economic prosperity for everyone,” he said. In addition to Fed policy, there are other factors persisting in the broader economy, including jobs and supply chain disruptions. An October survey, conducted by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Richmond, revealed that chief financial officers think the ongoing supply chain crisis will linger into the “second half of 2022 or later.” On the labor front, the number of job openings in the United States rose by 431,000 to 11 million in October, topping most market estimates. This was close to a fresh record high as companies contin-
The talk at the Fed is that inflation will be a fixture of the economy well into 2022.
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bank raises the benchmark rate, potentially acting as a cure to the inflation tsunami that has flooded the economic recovery. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has signaled that the central bank has the patience to take its time on rates. Either way, there is some skepticism that even two rate increases next year will be sufficient to curb inflation and result in an economic downturn. Lance Roberts, chief strategist at RIA Advisors, told NTD Business that the coming rate increases could “trigger an economics fallout.” “You go back to 1980, every single time the Federal Reserve has started a rate-hiking campaign, it’s resulted in either a market crash or recession or some type of crisis,” Roberts said. “The question is not will their interest rate hikes eventually do this? The question is only when. And the problem is, we don’t know what level that is. So, is it 2 percent interest rates? Is it 3? Is it 4?”
Economy Federal Reserve
“You go back to 1980, every single time the Federal Reserve has started a rate hiking campaign, it’s resulted in either a market crash or recession or some type of crisis. ” Lance Roberts, chief strategist, RIA Advisors
ued to struggle to find workers. Job quits in the United States also remained near all-time highs, with 4.157 million resignations in October. There’s still plenty of uncertainty heading into the next calendar year that it could be challenging to gauge the efficacy of monetary policy normalization, says Kevin Rich, a consultant to Perth Mint. “The Fed has been very balanced in communication of its desire to taper asset purchases but cautious to not slow GDP growth or market performance by tapering too soon,” Rich told INSIGHT’ “Insight” magazine. “The question of interest rate hikes is still a long way ahead and only will become clear once asset purchases have ended or are about to end. The past two years the Fed has shown it will err on the side of allowing spikes in prices versus watering down GDP growth, so there is no reason to think this will change next year.”
Inflation in 2022 President Joe Biden’s approval rating on the economy stands at about 38.5 percent, based on Real Clear Politics’ average polling data. A November CNN survey performed by SSRS suggested that 58 percent of Americans don’t believe Biden is paying attention to the nation’s most pressing issues. The poll found that 36 percent of respondents believe that the economy is the country’s top problem. Of this group, more than two-thirds assert that the president hasn’t been attentive to this matter.
Global food costs are inching toward a record, contributing to additional inflationary pressures for consumers and businesses. Suffice it to say, as more consumers become bearish on the post-COVID landscape, the American people want the president to save the U.S. economy. Indeed, many Americans possess a dour outlook on the health of their finances. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations shows that short-term median inflation expectations have surged to a record high of nearly 6 percent. Consumers are bracing for higher prices across the board, except for medical care. For the broader economy, views remain bearish. While the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index improved in December, it is still hovering at its lowest level in nearly a decade. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index slumped in November. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index declined to a seven-month low in October. Some experts aren’t convinced that they are ready for these conditions despite consumers’ concerns, mainly on the rampant price inflation front. “My view is that the majority of consumers are still not prepared for fast pace inflation,” Stoyan Panayotov, the founder and CEO of Babylon Wealth, said in an interview with In-
sight. “Many consumers are holding large amounts of cash in their bank accounts. We are looking at $20 trillion in money supply, M1—cash and cash equivalents. Pre-pandemic, the M1 was equal to around $4 trillion.” At the same time, he noted that the dollar value of personal savings has been trending downward after a period of pent-up savings during the public health crisis. But will inflation remain the chief buzzword around the kitchen table and on Wall Street heading into 2022? The talk at the Fed is that inflation will be a fixture of the economy well into 2022. New York Fed’s John Williams predicts inflation will taper off to around 2 percent next year. Likewise, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly anticipates “eye-popping” inflation to subside sometime next year. At the White House, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen forecasts that inflation pressures could ease before the 2022 U.S. midterm elections if COVID-19 dissipates. But not everyone is confident of these rosy projections. “Supply chain strains, labor market shortages, and the arrival of corporate pricing power have pushed inflation to a 30-year high. The Federal Reserve I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 23
Consumers are bracing for higher prices across the board.
Economy
24 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
tion’s Swamponomics TV, adding that he hasn’t seen any policies put forward to suggest the central bank is taking the issue seriously. Perth Mint’s Rich believes that employment data needs to offer a more consistent reading before it can be determined how inflation will perform next year. “But as we continue to exit the pandemic and these figures become more reliable, if we see the labor market really tighten and wage inflation continue then that could shift the expectations toward broad and higher inflation over the short to medium term,” he said. On the fiscal side, Biden and the Democrats have approved multitrillion-dollar spending schemes, causing some institutions to raise eyebrows amid an inflationary environment. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a statement following the inflation data release, urging the administration to hit the pause button on the reconciliation bill. “With prices rising 6.8 percent over the past year, squeezing budgets for families and small businesses alike, it is time for Congress to hit pause on the reconciliation bill and not add any more fuel to the inflationary fire,” Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “The already enacted American Rescue Plan will result in over $525 billion
in additional spending and tax cuts in FY 2022, per the Congressional Budget Office. The House-passed reconciliation bill would add another $150 billion in transfer payments and tax cuts as well as additional spending. All of this is a recipe for more inflation throughout the next year. Rather than ‘building back better’—the reconciliation bill will just be bringing back bad inflation.”
Where Will Price Pressures Be Found? In addition to the supply chain chaos and labor struggles, there is a broad array of other inflation pressures. Global food costs are inching toward a record, contributing to additional inflationary pressures for consumers and businesses. Climbing freight costs, bad weather conditions in many crucial markets, surging fertilizer prices, and even public policy measures have weighed on food inflation. The labor shortage in the food sector is also contributing to inflationary problems. Meat-packing facilities have fallen behind because labor availability has limited capacity issues. This has resulted in companies trying to find employees to work nights and weeks, forcing employers to offer higher compensation. “Just six weeks ago, the Biden Administration tried to blame the meat and poultry industry for the rising cost of food,” said Julie Anna Potts, president
FROM LEFT: MICHAEL CIAGLO/GETTY IMAGES, ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
expects these influences to fade through 2022, but we are not so sure,” James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, said in a note. “Firms have millions of job vacancies to fill so competition to find workers with the right skill set will remain intense. Demand-supply issues are a global phenomenon with semiconductor producers warning shortages could last through 2023. In an environment of strong demand, record order backlogs, and ongoing supply constraints, cost increases can continue to be passed onto customers.” Others contend that the U.S. central bank can’t successfully tackle inflation because its underlying models are fractured. “I think it’s pretty darn obvious that the Fed cannot control inflation on the downside, or the upside, given the current experience,” Danielle DiMartino Booth of Quill Intelligence told CNBC. Stephen Moore, a former member of The Wall Street Journal editorial board and noted author of “Trumponomics,” accused the Fed of being “behind the curve for now six to nine months on dealing with this inflation problem.” “Now we’re just seeing that the inflation problem is a tax. It’s a tax on the American people. It’s also what I call the cruelest tax. It’s a tax that affects lowest income people the most,” Moore stated in an interview with Liberty Na-
Economy Federal Reserve
and CEO of the North American Meat Institute, in a statement to Congress in November. Tyson Foods, the world’s second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork, recently confirmed spending approximately $500 million on wage hikes and other bonuses this year. On the energy front, crude oil prices are projected to stay high. However, there is a debate on how much a barrel of oil will cost next year. In its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) slashed its price forecasts as it expects West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to average $66.42 a barrel, while Brent is slated to average $70.05 per barrel. The government agency attributed the lower forecast to sliding energy demand. JP Morgan Global Equity Research estimates that oil prices will top $125 per barrel in 2022 and $150 in 2023 because of capacity-driven production shortfalls by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies in OPEC+. “As the group’s (OPEC+) real volume potential is discovered, this should drive a higher risk premium to oil prices,” researchers said in a Nov. 29 note. “We think OPEC+ will slow committed increases in early 2022, and believe the group is unlikely to increase supply unless oil prices are well underpinned.” Rich doesn’t think it is a black-andwhite issue. Instead, he contends, energy prices will “show more volatility” moving forward. “This volatility won’t always be to the upside, and we’ve seen what OPEC can and has done historically to drive energy prices in either direction,” he said. “So, I’d say yes, expect higher prices at times, and pull backs in price as well, as the transition away from oil has a long way to go.”
“It’s not like this takes great thinkers. You have to stop the flow of money into the economy,” he said. But with the Biden administration’s social-spending and climate change initiatives, it’s unclear if policymakers will cease injecting money into the economy to support growth and push ahead with the Build Back Better agenda. Whatever the case, investors aren’t taking any chances. Retail and professional traders are getting prepared for inflation’s permanent stay next year as they have started altering their asset allocation, notes Stoyan Panayotov. In this environment, investors are purchasing more stocks and real estate, moving away from conventional bonds, and swapping gold and silver with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
U.S. annual inflation rate surged to 6.8 percent in November, the highest level since 1982.
Can the US Economy Survive Without Support? Since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the Fed has printed about one-third of all U.S. dollars ever created. This historic monetary expansion was designed to cushion the economic blows of the global health crisis. But while it might have limited the nightmarish scenarios of the pandemic, it has produced a double-edged sword, says Robert Genetski, one of the nation’s leading economists and financial advisors. “From a monetary standpoint, the recovery will end when Fed policy limits the amount of money to less than the economy’s ability to produce goods and services,” Genetski told Insight. “The Fed can create such conditions by either not buying securities or by selling them.” He believes that the central bank will refrain from raising interest rates fast enough so as not to hurt the economic recovery. “If, as I expect, inflation remains high in 2022, sometime in 2023 or 2024, the Fed will likely raise interest rates enough to limit the supply of money and bring about a downturn in the economy,” Genetski said. Ultimately, market observers purport that the Fed has two options. The institution can tighten monetary policy to fight inflation and threaten growth or maintain stimulus and relief efforts that elevate inflation but support the economy. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has pivoted before, and he could do it again.
Is It Time to Get Ready for 2022? As the United States switches over to the next calendar year, and the private sector grapples with close to a four-decade-high inflation level, will the issue of higher prices come to a resolution? Stephen Moore doesn’t think inflation is a challenging problem to solve.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (L) forecasts that inflation pressures could ease before the 2022 U.S. mid-term elections if COVID-19 dissipates. I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 25
SPOTLIGHT
NATURAL DISASTER
A U.S. FLAG WAVES AMONG DEBRIS of a destroyed home in Dawson Springs, Ky., on Dec. 14, four days after tornadoes hit the area. PHOTO BY CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Business Home Sales
R E A L E S TAT E
WILL ‘iBUYING’ REPLACE TRADITIONAL REAL ESTATE SALES?
The iBuying market share increased more than 230 percent in the first 6 months of 2021 By Mary Prenon FTER THREE SUCCESSFUL
28 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
Because her home needed some “TLC,” she was worried she wouldn’t have enough time to make the repairs and sell it on time. Taylor chose Offerpad, which offered her a competitive bid and bought her home “as is.” “They also offered me flexible closing arrangements that allowed me to remain in the home until my new home was completed.” iBuying is a relatively new concept, with firms such as Opendoor, Offerpad, RedfinNow, and others sprouting up within the last 10 years. Simply explained, an investment firm presents a home seller with an offer–usually within 24 hours–circumventing the traditional home-selling activities like preliminary repairs, staging, showings, and back-and-forth negotiations with prospective buyers. The iBuyer firms, in turn, may make some repairs to the homes and then sell them on the open market. While real estate giant Zillow recently announced the closure of its iBuying operation, Zillow Offers, after just two years and multimillion-dollar losses, competitors such as Opendoor and Offerpad are seeing their business and profits skyrocket. Opendoor’s third-quarter revenue of $2.3 billion is up 91 percent from its second quarter, with almost 6,000 homes sold. Its projections for the fourth quarter are $3.1 billion to $3.2 billion. Offerpad’s third-quarter report indicates a 190 percent revenue increase to $540.3 million, with 1,673 homes sold. According to the website iProperty Management, a data resource for property investors, landlords, and tenants, the iBuying market share increased
iBuying is a relatively new concept, with firms such as Opendoor, Offerpad, RedfinNow, and others sprouting up within the last 10 years.
FROM LEFT: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, COURTESY OF OPENDOOR
home sales, Daniel Edwin and his wife were getting ready to sell again, but this time, the Atlanta couple knew they didn’t want to go the traditional route. Worried about the stress of home repairs, an endless stream of showings, and the possibility of buyer financing falling through, the Edwins made the choice to list their home with an “iBuying” or “instant buying” firm. The result was a valid offer within 24 hours and an easy sale. “We decided to try an iBuyer, and after researching all our options, we decided to go with Opendoor, which gave us a competitive offer we were happy with,” Edwin told INSIGHT. “I even checked with a local Realtor who was shocked when I shared the Opendoor number and saw how competitive it was.” While iBuying transactions can often result in lower offers than those from direct listings on the open market, Edwin said they had no regrets using this growing alternative sales platform. “This avoided the hassle of disrupting my working schedule, playing the bidding war game, and worrying about appraisal gaps,” he noted. “My favorite part was the flexibility of checkout. I wouldn’t have changed one thing about the experience.” Lexi Taylor also opted for an iBuyer when she sold her Houston home. “I was having a home built and was under a contingency contract that required that I sell my home within three months of my contract date,” she told INSIGHT.
Business Home Sales
A single-family home recently sold through Opendoor in Phoenix. Since its inception, Opendoor has handled more than 100,000 real estate transactions.
A realtor’s sign outside a home in Washington, in this file photo.
more than 230 percent in the first six months of 2021. Still, iBuyers control only about 1 percent of the national metropolitan real estate market. A November iProperty Management report indicates that just over 9 percent of iBuyer sales are purchased by institutional investors such as rental firms, and the median iBuyer purchase price is $284,500. Conversely, the iBuyer’s purchase price is 24 percent lower than the national median home price of $375,639. While iProperty Management shows Phoenix among the top iBuying locations, North Carolina actually was home to the top three iBuyer markets in early 2021, with market shares averaging 2.7 percent. Raleigh took the top spot, followed closely by Charlotte and Durham.
‘Speed, Simplicity, and Certainty’
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Founded in 2014 in San Francisco, Opendoor bills itself as the leading digital platform for residential real estate. With more than 2,500 employees, Opendoor operates in 44 markets, predominately in the South and West. Since its inception, Opendoor has handled over 100,000 real estate transactions. “Basically, we created Opendoor to help people avoid the pitfalls and problems that often occur with real estate transactions,” Kerry Melcher, Opendoor’s head of real estate, told INSIGHT. “Our goal is to offer speed, simplicity, and certainty so home sellers know that the sale is really going to happen. We take the guesswork out of the equation.” Even amid the current seller’s market nationwide, Melcher indicates that business is booming. “Our offers are very competitive with the open market—we’re not a home flipper, so we don’t underbuy and oversell,” she said. As with traditional real estate, sellers will pay about 5 percent in commission fees, which is often less than a real estate agent’s typical commission fee of 6 percent. Some homeowners will also face additional fees for needed home repairs, and those funds will be subtracted from the offer price.
“All of our sellers go through a virtual assessment via video, so we don’t normally use home inspectors,” Melcher said. Opendoor typically doesn’t get involved with the luxury market, although it has purchased homes as high as $1.4 million in the Los Angeles area. On the buying end, potential homeowners can use the company’s website or app to search, tour, and make offers online. “They negotiate directly with Opendoor so we can streamline the process,” Melcher said. “We do recommend they hire a home inspector and we offer a title and mortgage division. The closing is digital as well.” Offerpad is a similar iBuying firm, founded in 2015 in Chandler, Arizona. Like Opendoor, it operates primarily in the South and West and is currently in 21 markets. Offerpad typically deals with homes built after 1960 with a value of less than $1 million and lot sizes of an acre or less. For home sellers, the company’s service fees range from 4 to 7 percent. Homebuyers also have the ease of searching, touring, and presenting offers online. Offerpad’s mission is to present a new level of freedom in home selling that lets people know exactly what price they’ll receive, when the sale will close, and when they’ll move. “Selling to Offerpad means no disruptions in normal routine–there are no home showings and no open houses,” Laura Collins, Offerpad’s director of public relations, told INSIGHT. “Sellers can have their cash offer in just 24 hours, and they can plan to close their sale in as little as two weeks or push it out months. We also offer a free local move.” Weighing the possibility of receiving a higher offer on the open market, many home sellers using Offerpad like the control and convenience that instant buying offers. “This also lets them save money on in-between move accommodations or mortgage payments for two homes at once,” Collins said. While Opendoor and Offerpad both plan to expand into more markets in 2022, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has few worries about iBuying taking over the real estate industry. “There is always room for competition in America’s real estate market, which should ultimately only deliver better options and services to consumers,” NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith told INSIGHT. “Real estate transactions are unique because they are rooted in a Code of Ethics and built on the foundation of cooperation among competitors. These ideals have served consumers for more than 100 years, and we’re confident the values of cooperation, accuracy, and transparency will continue to define our industry as we move forward.” I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 29
Video game maker Activision Blizzard saw revenues on the firstperson shooter game Call of Duty rise by 72 percent from 2020 to 2021.
VI DE O GA M E S
GAMING ADDICTION SOARED DUR ING L O C K D O W N S Dramatic rise in gamers seeking addiction recovery as stay-at-home orders take toll
U R I N G T H E PA N D E M I C ,
nationwide stay-at-home orders handed gaming companies a golden opportunity. Under restrictive nationwide COVID-19 lockdowns, for many people, gaming was one of the few active recreations, social activities, and creative outlets available. From 2020 to 2021, revenue for gaming companies skyrocketed. Video game maker Activision Blizzard saw revenues on the first-person shooter game Call of Duty rise by 72 percent, the massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORG) World of Warcraft by 7 percent, and apps by its King subsidiary rise by 22 percent.
30 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
Chinese gaming company Tencent saw its total revenue rise by 25 percent in the same time frame. It owns first-person shooters Fortnite and Rainbow Six Siege, online battle game League of Legends, multiplayer base builder app Clash of Clans, battle royale game Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, and more games. In dollar terms, Activision Blizzard’s revenue rose to $2.275 billion from $1.79 billion, and Tencent’s revenue rose to $20.6 billion from $15.252 billion. Activision Blizzard and Tencent didn’t respond to requests for comment. By contrast, the movie industry that traditionally competes with video games has tanked. AMC Entertainment Holdings had revenue of $941.5 million in 2020’s first quarter and $692 million in revenue in 2021’s first quarter. Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. saw its revenue drop
About the same proportion of gamers and gamblers—3 percent—are addicted.
FROM LEFT: PRYIMAK ANASTASIIA/SHUTTERSTOCK, FREDRICK TENDONG/UNSPLASH
D
By Jackson Elliott
A video game addict once said that ‘he wanted to play the game the rest of his life.’ When he tried to quit, he shot himself.
by about $140 million in the same period. But this massive profit from games isn’t just a case of free-market business as usual, some experts say. Gaming companies often use manipulative methods similar to gambling, and the number of people addicted to video games has risen as well. Nationwide gaming addiction support group Online Gamers Anonymous has seen its number of monthly visitors more than quadruple. Gaming addiction recovery centers in Austin, Texas, and Chicago have also seen the number of people seeking addiction help rise dramatically. Much of gaming’s revenue comes from things that gamers hate the most, features experts say are intentionally designed to mimic gambling, take advantage of human impatience, and capture the money of gamers in traps engineered
from cutting-edge psychology. “It’s like selling your soul to the dark side,” addiction expert Dr. Nicholas Kardaras said of psychologists who work for gaming companies. “You’re going to use your talents to help addict people.” As gaming’s revenues have increased, companies have “weaponized” psychology to wring money out of the more than 244 million gamers in the United States, he said. U.S. video gaming is divided among console-based games, computer-based games, and mobile gaming apps, although there is some overlap between these categories. Three-quarters of American households have some kind of gaming console, but mobile gaming apps make up more than 50 percent of gaming revenue. About 80 percent of gaming revenue comes from games that are free to I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 31
The Lead Hidden Dangers
play, but offer in-game purchases. “It’s a whole seismic shift away from traditional marketing and PR,” Kardaras said. “There’s a difference between creating a catchy jingle to sell a car, as opposed to really sinking your hooks into the psyche of a vulnerable child to then create a consumer slave for the rest of their lives.”
The Dark Side
32 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
“It’s $100 a throw. A $100! This game is designed for children. It’s marketed to children, and then there’s a $100 thing in-app.”
A banner for the mobile gaming company King hangs outside the New York Stock Exchange on March 26, 2014. Game maker Activision Blizzard saw revenues on apps by its King subsidiary rise by 22 percent from 2020 to 2021.
Jack Black, actor and father
virtual item instead of a cash payout. Two loot boxes in Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch team shooter game cost about $2. But the more a player buys, the sweeter the deal. There’s no guarantee whether a gamer will get the item he or she wants when opening a loot box, so the game incentivizes players to buy many. Other games rely on gems, diamonds, or other in-game purchase items to make money. Free apps offer players a chance to play a game. But certain parts of the app are slow, irritating, or difficult to manage. For instance, upgrading a building in Tencent’s base-builder app Clash of Clans can often take hours, during which a gamer can’t progress. But with purchasable gems, the same building can upgrade instantly. This game mechanic can result in players spending thousands of dollars on games without parental permission. On The Tonight Show, comedian Jack Black told the audience that his 8-year-old son spent more
244 MILLION The estimated number of gamers in the United States.
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES, CHALABALA/ GETTY IMAGES, MACROVECTOR/SHUTTERSTOCK
The gaming features that make the most money were born in casinos, said Kardaras. They are designed to be habit-forming. “Gaming, like gambling, uses what’s called an intermittent reward schedule, which happens to be the most habit-forming kind,” he said. “This is the slot machine reward schedule. Slot machines wouldn’t be as habit-forming if you won every time.” To turn video games and app games into cash, companies use every foothold they can. Gaming companies use secret monetization formulas to target players based on their individual data. For instance, apps record when players have spent money in the past and make similar offers under similar conditions. Digital life has affected American culture in shocking ways, Kardaras said. In a famous experiment in the 1970s, psychologist Walter Mischel tested the ability of children to delay gratification by offering them a choice between one marshmallow immediately, or two marshmallows later. In the 1970s, almost all older children waited for the larger reward, Kardaras said. The test was effectively a measure of maturity. But today, even older children tend to take the marshmallow without waiting. Kardaras said the change in impulsivity comes from a digital culture that promotes instant gratification. “What the pandemic did was throw kerosene on the fire that had already been burning,” he said. “We’d already been primed for impulsivity because of our digital immersion, because of that instant gratification feedback loop that we all experience.” The best weapons in the gaming industry’s money-making arsenal all rely on impulsivity and impatience. Loot boxes let gamers pay money for items ingame that are otherwise difficult, or impossible, to get. Gamers can either play games for hours to get an item or pay money to buy it. These boxes exist both in apps and in traditional video games. But loot boxes don’t just sell items. Instead, each individual loot box has a chance to unlock the one item a gamer wants. In effect, a loot box is a slot machine accessible to children that offers a chance to win a desirable
The Lead Hidden Dangers
In 2014, Apple paid out $32.5 million to 37,000 customers for in-app purchases made by children without parental knowledge.
than $3,000 on in-game “diamonds” without his father’s knowledge. “My boy, he doesn’t know. He’s just like, ‘I’m gonna get the big sack of diamonds,’” Black said. “It’s $100 a throw. A $100! This game is designed for children. It’s marketed to children, and then there’s a $100 thing in-app?” These issues aren’t just anecdotal. In 2014, Apple paid out $32.5 million to 37,000 customers for in-app purchases made by children without parental knowledge. Although parents can get refunds for these purchases by contacting Apple, these issues can sometimes go unnoticed on a credit card bill.
Gamers Versus the System Unsurprisingly, many gamers hate these features. When gaming company Electronic Arts (EA) revealed that Star Wars Battlefront II included loot boxes that players had to buy to play as iconic characters like Darth Vader, gamers online responded with outrage. When EA’s developer announced the change on Reddit, gamers downvoted the post en masse. Today, it’s the most downvoted post on Reddit by 640,000 points.
To many gamers, in-app purchases resemble panhandling more than they resemble selling. The irritating demands for cash only stop when they pay up. Even so, the hated features continue to make cash hand over fist. Money from games that are free with in-app purchases makes up 85 percent of gaming revenue, according to research collected by Fortunly.com.
The Science
Loot boxes offer a chance for gamers to win a desirable virtual item that are otherwise difficult to get, but there's no guarantee whether the item will be obtained, which incentivizes players to keep buying.
About 3 percent of gamers are addicted to video games, according to a 2020 study by researchers from the University of Adelaide. Experts disagree on whether video games are actually addictive. Extremely immersive video games are so new that it’s still debatable just why people still play them so much. Both sides make compelling cases. Some experts say video games are addictive in the same way, and for the same reason, that gambling is addictive. When people get the adrenaline rush of a victory, exciting rewards, and a feeling of progress, they continue playing games even when they have more important things to do. I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 33
The Lead Hidden Dangers
About the same proportion of gamers and gamblers are addicted. Other psychologists say the problem isn’t addictive games, but underlying issues within people. Psychology professor Christopher Ferguson said that people who blame games for addictive behavior are causing a moral panic. Games aren’t addictive, but some people are addicts by nature, Ferguson said. A small proportion of people get addicted to any interesting activity, he added. There are food addicts, sex addicts, work addicts, and gaming addicts, not because these activities are addictive, but because some people have addictive personalities, Ferguson argued. “If someone goes on a week-long bender on heroin, that’s bad,” said Ferguson. “Whereas if you have a person that plays Civilization for a week a bit obsessively, it’s not really the same thing.” Ferguson said that gaming during the lockdowns has been a good thing. It kept people indoors, socially connected, and entertained during a stressful time. “Games saved lives during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “Whether directly, by keeping people inside so they didn’t get COVID-19, or by giving people social outlets so they didn’t get mental health disorders, or become suicidal.” Right now, those who argue gaming is unusually addictive are winning the public policy debate. The World Health Organization (WHO) and American Psychiatric Association (APA) categorized excessive gaming as a disorder. China outlawed gaming for children during the week and limited weekend gaming. But Chinese company Tencent runs one of the biggest gaming app empires. “It’s not shocking that a country like China would use whatever means necessary to addict the children of other countries while being cautious about their own kids,” Kardaras said.
Addictive or not, too much gaming can have a terrible impact on people. In extreme cases, addicted gamers can spend up to $5,000 a month on video games, said professional counselor Matt Lawson of Chicago Compass Counseling. But, in most addiction cases, people spend around a couple of thousand dollars a month. Despite these figures, the real cost of game addiction is time and sleep, Lawson said. “The kids are staying up really late, past parents telling them to go to sleep,” he said. “People will spend hours, and hours, and hours, and hours, in these games.” 34 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
In some rare cases, people have died in ways related to their video game habits. Shawn Woolley shot himself after spending massive amounts of time playing EverQuest, an online multiplayer fantasy game. Woolley had lost touch with his family and gave up on life outside the game, said his mother, Liz Woolley. When he tried to quit, he shot himself, with the game still running on the computer. “He got addicted within three months,” she said. “He lost his job. He got evicted from his apartment. He no longer cared about the future. He told me in all seriousness that he wanted to play the game the rest of his life.” Liz Woolley is the founder of Online Gamers Anonymous, a recovery group for obsessive gamers. Only a tiny percentage of obsessive gaming cases SDLOHEU .SU FO f o d n ik em os v a h result in death. Most are far less serious. Scott, a former gaming addict from Virginia, tub ,elosnc g imag sp a g n i ma g e l i b o m said he spent weeks at a time sleeping five hours naht erom pu ekam per night because he was playing EverQuest agnimag fo tnecrp and World of Warcraft. At one point, he spent .eun ver
75%
FROM TOP: ED JONES/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, SHUTTERSTOCKSHUTTERSTOCK
Getting Played
In extreme cases, addicted gamers can spend up to $5,000 a month on video games.
The Lead Hidden Dangers
30 hours a week gaming. “The biggest problem was sleep deprivation from getting to bed at one, or two, or three, in the morning,” Scott said. “That can cause huge problems and compound other problems. It’s kind of like a vicious, downward spiral.” Without sleep, Scott said he had low energy levels, poor memory, felt grumpy, and got impatient easily. He didn’t want to be around other people. These issues damaged his relationship with friends and family. At first, Scott said he thought his gaming was a bad habit. But when he tried to stop, he found it strangely difficult. When people stop bad habits, they feel great, he said. But when people stop addictions, they feel horrible. “We go through withdrawal symptoms,” he said. “We feel extremely restless and irritable. We feel very impulsive about it. We’re definitely not productive. “Our brain feels scrambled and we feel lost without the crutch that we’ve been using. And so that’s
why addiction is such a huge problem is because it’s so, so miserable.” These symptoms aren’t unusual for addicted people. Aaron, another gaming addict, said that he felt depressed for three months when he stopped gaming obsessively. “The only reason I was able to break out of the addiction cycle was that I moved back in with my dad and his internet could not support my gaming habits, which forced me to quit,” he said. “The withdrawals and depression was the toughest part.” Scott said that it took four years for him to get over his addiction. To do so, he stopped playing all video games. “I can’t play at all. If I play, it all leads back,” he said. “So I need to stop completely.” It isn’t just the simple psychological reward system that gets people obsessed with a game. A sense of progress and meaning underlies much of game addiction, Aaron said. “Games are addicting because it is a chance to be in a world that you control. A world where you can matter and make a difference. They are easy to understand and honestly, they are an economical thrill,” said Aaron. Although gaming addicts come from all ages, counselor Jeremy Edge said most of his video-game-addicted clients are boys between 15 and 17. Edge founded the internet addiction site Escapingthe.com. Most people with gaming addiction feel little purpose in life, Edge said. “They have no drive, or direction,” he said of gaming addicts. “I’ve also seen that’s kind of a big factor, where they’ll they find purpose in games so they’ll increase their time there.” Lockdowns and COVID-19 news made the real world joyless, lonely, and purposeless, Kardaras said. Video games offered all these things. Or the pixels that seemed like these things. “Let’s see what happens if we make people socially isolated, much more sedentary, make any kind of human contact technology-dependent,” Kardaras said. “And we saw what happened. Suicide rates increased, gaming increased, increased depression, increased cognitive delays happened with kids, kids went through what was called COVID fog.” Both sides of the addiction debate agree that lockdowns have created the ideal environment to escape through addiction. Lonely, purposeless people make great addicts. “There is some evidence that everybody’s becoming a little bit more mentally ill now,” said Ferguson. “We’re just going through a very difficult period right now as a culture.”
“There’s a difference between creating a catchy jingle to sell a car, as opposed to really sinking your hooks into the psyche of a vulnerable child to then create a consumer slave for the rest of their lives.” Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, addiction expert
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SPOTLIGHT
OLYMPIC PROTEST
SWISS POLICEMEN REMOVE TIBETAN activists from the Students for a Free Tibet association as they perform a sit in at the entrance of the International Olympic Committee headquarters, in protest of February's Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, in Lausanne on Dec. 11. PHOTO BY VALENTIN FLAURAUD/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
LOS ANGELES POLICE Department officers, in this file photo. PHOTO BY KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES`
38 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
In Focus Bail Reform
CRIME
LOS ANGELES’
CRIME SURGE
‘THE Y ’RE STILL MAKING THE ARRESTS, BUT NOBODY IS STAYING IN JAIL’ By Jamie Joseph
JOHN FREDRICKS/THE EPOCH TIMES
L
O S A N G E L E S — F O R T O N N A , the manager
of a shop in the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles, her experience in recent days is like many other small-business owners who have been victimized amid a trend of organized retail crime across the city. She declined to give her last name. “Recently, it’s become normal,” she told INSIGHT, her voice shaking. “They grab stuff and they leave.” Her vape shop had been robbed an hour earlier. Weary from so many thefts at her business, Tonna didn’t even bother calling the police. One of her customers did, but it was already too late. The suspect had fled. Tonna is one of dozens of shop owners in the city who say they’ve had enough. Changing political tides and social justice reforms, many say, have changed everything. “They just grab whatever they want, and you call the police and nothing happens,” she said. Some say it began with the passage by California voters of Proposition 47, which reclassified certain felony crimes as misdemeanors. One of the effects of the measure, passed in 2014, also significantly reduced the penalty for robberies. Now suspects can steal property valued under $950 and it’s only classified as a misdemeanor.
$
950
WITH THE PASSAGE
of Proposition 47 in 2014, suspects can steal property valued under $950, knowing it will be classified as only a misdemeanor.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The goal of the measure was to reduce overcrowding in prisons and prioritize jail space for higher criminal offenses. However, victims of robberies and those opposing the proposition say it’s only increased crime and boosted the confidence of criminals. The Public Policy Institute of California reported a correlation between Prop. 47 and “a rise in larceny (or personal property) thefts, especially thefts from motor vehicles” in 2018. At the time of the study, however, researchers didn’t find a link between violent crimes and the ballot measure. But following nearly a dozen large-scale incidents of so-called “smash-and-grab” robberies last month—with more occurring every day—critics continue to call on lawmakers to reexamine the policy. Thus far, officials have announced 14 arrests after a string of robberies across major Los Angeles shopping centers, resulting in nearly $340,000 worth of merchandise stolen. All suspects arrested were released from police custody within a week, with some let go in hours, while others were bailed out due to California’s zero cash bail policy—another 2020 controversial policy. The California Supreme Court this year did away with cash bail for defendants who can’t afford it, arguing that “conditioning freedom solely on whether an arrestee can afford bail is unconstitutional.” The zero cash bail policy applies to most misI N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 39
In Focus Bail Reform
Joe Busciano, Los Angeles councilmember
demeanors and lower-level felonies, meaning that when suspects are arrested for theft, they’re released back onto the streets hours later. The policy took effect during the COVID-19 pandemic to mitigate the spread of the virus in jails. It hasn’t been rolled back. Los Angeles Councilman Joe Busciano announced on Dec. 8 a resolution to support the reinstitution of cash bail in the county. He said the suspension of cash bail “created a free-for-all environment where criminals are charged one day and released the next.” His resolution states there has been a substantial increase in violent crime and robberies. Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said earlier this year that the cash bail system “allows wealthy people who are dangerous to purchase their freedom, while those without means who pose no risk to public safety languish in jail awaiting trial.” 40 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
A screenshot of security footage recorded during a daytime robbery in Hancock Park, Calif., on Nov. 28. FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT, VALERIE MACON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
“[The suspension of cash bail] created a free-forall environment where criminals are charged one day and released the next.”
At the state level, some lawmakers are trying to repeal Prop. 47 and rescind other “soft on crime” policies in light of recent incidents. “You’ve had lawmakers on both sides who have previously raised concerns about what’s happened in the wake of Prop. 47, so I think that absolutely, there should be bipartisan support, because public safety is not a partisan issue,” California Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) told Insight. Kiley said a new breed of district attorneys “who are not putting public safety first” is also to blame. “They are putting ideology first.” He’s currently drafting a constitutional amendment to combat the proposition. Kiley said Gascón and San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin “decline to prosecute people even when the laws do allow for it.” Some statutes in the books may help prosecutors combat the crime surge. If a shoplifter has prior convictions—including murder, vehicular manslaughter while under the influence, assault leading to a sexual offender status, assault against law enforcement, or possession of a weapon of mass destruction—they can be charged with felony shoplifting and fined up to $10,000. Still, it may not be enough. “We have taken away the tools that law enforcement officers need to keep our communities safe,” Kiley said.
In Focus Bail Reform
The zero cash bail policy applies to most misdemeanors and lowerlevel felonies, meaning when suspects are arrested for theft, they’re released back onto the streets hours later.
Protesters call for defunding the police in Los Angeles, on July 1, 2020. After a heavy-handed budget cut to the LAPD, the city police commission recently voted to approve a $213 million budget increase for the department next year.
340,000
$
WORTH OF MERCHANDISE
were stolen in a string of robberies across major Los Angeles shopping centers since last month.
In the wake of statewide thefts during the holiday season and intense media coverage, Boudin and San Francisco prosecutors recently announced felony charges against nine suspects in an effort to crack down on serial offenders. The issue crosses party lines, but matters of public safety have become political in California. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Police Chief Michel Moore this month urged state leaders to suspend the zero bail policy. According to Moore, last week’s series of robberies were the highest number the city has seen for the entire year, with a total of 200 reported. “There are people who need to be behind bars,” Garcetti said during a Dec. 2 press conference. “How many times does the same person have to steal a car? Three? Four or five times?” Garcetti said that perhaps now is the time to get back to business as usual, after the city—early in the pandemic—released inmates to prevent the spread of the virus. “We’re in a better place with COVID,” he said. “We should be able to also open up our jails. And we should be able to have judges that put people behind those bars as well.” Moore cited an increase in vehicle thefts citywide for the first time in a decade and said the suspects “stealing them are the chronic offenders.” Meanwhile, halfway across the country, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has blamed retailers for not doing enough to deter shoplifters. “We still have retailers that won’t institute plans like having security officers in their stores, making sure that they’ve got cameras that are actually operational, locking up their merchandise at night, chaining high-end bags. These purses can be something that is attracting a lot of organized retail theft units,” Lightfoot said Dec. 6. For the mom-and-pop retail owners in Los An-
geles who can’t afford to hire a security guard or implement the safety measures that larger retail chains can afford, some businesses continue to suffer. According to Tonna, the new crime wave has given pause to some workers, citing safety concerns. “It is scary, because a lot of people don’t want to work,” Tonna said. “They don’t want to be here.” According to authorities, suspects often work in groups, wear ski masks, and wield firearms. Shop owners and customers alike have been threatened across California, with San Francisco and Los Angeles being the primary hot spots. Residents have also been the victims of a spate of home robberies, with security footage of violent assaults spreading across social media.
Law Enforcement Morale Low, LAPD Detective Says It’s all just another issue for businesses to deal with after a tough year and a half in lockdown. And some LAPD officers fear they can’t protect stores anymore because of current laws, coupled with department units being downsized. After an initial heavy-handed budget cut to the LAPD after protests following the death of George Floyd, the LA police commission recently voted to approve a $213 million budget increase for the department next year. The funds will increase police staffing. Detective Jamie McBride, a director of the Los Angeles Police Protective League—a 99-year-old police union—told Insight that law enforcement communities across California are frustrated “because they’re still making the arrests, but nobody is staying in jail.” “It’s literally a revolving door. We feel like we’re letting the citizens down,” he said. “The small businesses that survived COVID—you open up and now they’re just like literally ripping everything away from these people.” McBride, who’s been part of the LAPD for I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 41
Since last month, officials have announced 14 arrests over a string of robberies across major Los Angeles shopping centers.
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like the ones that Tonna has experienced, because some businesses have simply stopped reporting the crimes because of a lack of consequences. “It shouldn’t matter if you’re a Republican or Democrat,” McBride said. “We all want to feel safe in our home, when we go to the store, and everything else. And in order to do that, we need to bring back tougher laws and keep people in jail.”
Crime On the Rise During Pandemic Retail crimes aren’t rising just in the Golden State. According to a 2021 survey by a national retail trade association, organized retail crime became more prevalent nationwide during the pandemic. “Yet despite the growing dangers from organized retail crime, no federal law prevents this type of activity. That leaves prosecutions—if they do occur—in a patchwork of local jurisdictions, even though the crimes are typically multi-jurisdictional and multi-state,” the study notes. John Kabateck, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business, told Insight that state leaders need to shine a light on these crimes and give the small-business community in California a voice. “One of the things that I think everybody is wondering is: Who’s fighting for the small-business owner, and who’s working to defend the small-business owner in these times?” Kabateck said. “It’s really frustrating to see this spate of crimes emerge at such a fast pace and volume and with very little attention from our policymakers about what they’re doing to help the entrepreneurs struggling, the small mom-and-pop business owners, and those who don’t have the luxury of the multitude of resources that most big box stores are fortunate to have and enjoy.” He said it’s “tragic” for the employers who can’t replace stolen inventory, especially during the current supply chain disruption.
“The small businesses that survived COVID—you open up and now they’re just like literally ripping everything away from these people.” Det. Jamie McBride, director, Los Angeles Police Protective League
JOHN FREDRICKS/THE EPOCH TIMES
more than 30 years, blamed the state’s progressive policies and District Attorney Gascón for reversing “tough on crime” prosecutions. He said people are being robbed in broad daylight, while walking out of coffee shops on Melrose Avenue, in food courts, and on private property. Prior to the passage of Prop. 47, shoplifters would be subject to prosecution under the state’s burglary laws, which contained felony penalties of up to six years in prison. But Gov. Gavin Newsom recently defended Prop. 47, and said some local officials choose not to prosecute criminals under other existing state laws, although he didn’t specify which ones. He also said any thefts under the $950 limit should be charged as misdemeanors or loaded into felony complaints if they are repeated offenses. “If people are breaking in, people stealing your property, they need to be arrested,” Newsom said during a press conference on Dec. 2. “Police need to arrest them. Prosecutors need to prosecute them. Judges need to hold people accountable for breaking the law.” “These are not victimless crimes, and I have no empathy for these criminal elements.” McBride said if he could talk to every police chief in California, he would tell them “they need to protect their citizens, and they need to grant concealed weapons permits to every law-abiding citizen because we in law enforcement in California cannot keep them safe.” McBride added that Newsom is “out of touch with reality” for not attributing the recent crime wave to the effects of Prop. 47. According to 2020 California statistics, some crime has decreased since Prop. 47 took effect, including property crimes, down nearly 8 percent; larceny, down 15 percent, and a 4 percent drop in burglaries. But these numbers don’t factor in the incidents
P OL I T IC S • E C ONOM Y • OPI N ION T H AT M AT T E R S
Perspectives
Issue. 10
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg looks at a Tesla Model S during an electric vehicles event outside of the Department of Transportation in Washington on Oct. 20. PHOTO BY DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
Driving Green Doesn’t Save Money Amid rising electricity prices and high maintenance costs, buying expensive electric vehicles is a ludicrous means of fighting inflation. 44
✒
APPLE GIVES $275B TO CHINA 45
MAKING COMPANIES ‘PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE’ 47
AMERICA: DOING WELL BUT FEELING BAD 46
EMERGING MARKETS, THE DOLLAR, AND THE IMF 48
I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 43
THOMAS MCARDLE was a White House speechwriter for President George W. Bush and writes for IssuesInsights.com.
Thomas McArdle
Buttigieg’s Suggestion to US Consumers Transportation secretary let the cat out of the bag
T
r a n s p o r tat i o n Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whom some Democrats see as President Joe Biden’s successor, told MSNBC late last month that because of “incentives that make it more affordable to buy an electric vehicle” in the Build Back Better bill, “families thinking about getting an EV … once they own that electric vehicle, will never have to worry about gas prices again.” Leave aside that the price of electricity is also rising steeply. The makers of electric vehicles themselves—including EV guru Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla— have declared the Democrats’ green transportation bribes to be a politicized sham. Biden’s proposals would augment the current $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit with a $4,500 credit restricted to the purchase of vehicles assembled by organized labor within the United States. That leaves out, for instance, the 136,000 American workers employed in Toyota’s 10 U.S.-based manufacturing facilities and 1,500 dealerships. One of the big reasons for Tesla’s successes has been its bypassing of the increasingly anti-worker United Auto Workers, whose lavish contracts have been financed for decades by car buyers in the sticker price. “Shameless,” Musk’s “Tesla Facts” wrote on Twitter a month ago, pointing out that “the infamous $4,500 ‘UAW bribe’ in the ‘Build Back Better Act’ (H.R. 5376) excludes employee-owned U.S. car factories, such as Tesla, even if they form a union (!).” This administration is so joined at the hip with corrupt, self-serving Big Labor that it punishes even a liberal, environmentalist such as Musk. In 2020, Tesla gave more than ever before—over $660,000—to Democrats, while giving less than 9 percent of its political contributions to Republicans.
44 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
But all that booty failed to buy even someone as green as Musk immunity from the Democrats’ class warfare. Then there’s the price of these vehicles, and the built-in problems their buyers find themselves parked with.
The left say they want you to drive green, but they really don’t want you driving at all. You can purchase the much-celebrated, million-selling Tesla 3 and get about 265 miles on your battery for a shade under $40,700, with a full charge taking six hours. CurrentAutomotive.com, while noting that “the vast majority of electric vehicle drivers never need to worry about paying to replace” their car’s massive battery apparatus, documented how one Tesla 3 owner found himself spending nearly $16,000, including over 13 hours of labor, to replace his battery following a mishap involving a large rock, a circumstance the owner found to be uncovered by the 8-yearor-100,000-mile, whichever comes first, Tesla warranty. You could also apply your current $7,500 federal tax credit to the Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV, which starts at a shade under $43,000 and whose standard battery will get you 230 miles. In a Ford-supported publicity stunt last summer, three men in Britain drove 840 miles in a Mach-E, to demonstrate that electric cars were viable for “real-world long-distance use.” But, at variance with the real world, the air conditioning was kept off, “the windows closed and the radio was not used, and the team traveled through the night to avoid any traffic congestion.” The trip, utilizing “top-drawer driving skills ... months of planning,” and “selecting and test-
ing the right car for a journey of hundreds of miles” made it into the Guinness Book of World Records in spite of it taking no less than 27 hours. To illustrate the stark comparison between electric and fossil fuel, the current record holders for the more than 2,900-mile Cannonball Run from New York City to the Pacific coast near Los Angeles completed their more than three-times-as-long journey in less time than that: 25 hours and 39 minutes, traveling in their gasoline-powered Audi S6 (whose modifications included an extra tank in the trunk holding 67 gallons). Buttigieg’s mindless environmentalist extremism has come to possess the Democratic Party. The left say they want you to drive green, but they really don’t want you driving at all. Transportation For America,” an activist group run by Beth Osborne, an Obama administration assistant secretary of transportation who was on Biden’s short list for the cabinet post that ultimately went to Buttigieg, issued a report on a skewed poll it co-sponsored a year and a half ago, which actually claimed to have found that Americans don’t like cars. The report posited that “Voters consider cars to be nuisances” and “cars are an unwanted necessity.” In truth, Americans adore their cars, so much so that today, in spite of a new car costing an average exceeding $46,000 this year—over $5,200 higher than last year—in the new inflationary environment only 16 percent of Americans were delaying their purchases of new vehicles in hopes of holding out for the prices to come down. (Odd behavior indeed in pursuit of a supposed unwanted nuisance.) The Biden administration is spending America into a world in which each of us must always look to the state to get us from here to there.
ANDERS CORR is a principal at Corr Analytics Inc., publisher of the Journal of Political Risk. He is an expert in political science and government.
Anders Corr
Apple Gives $275B to China Forced tech transfer to China is a stab in America’s back
pple chief executive Tim Cook inked a $275 billion giveaway in 2016 that explains the tech company’s success in China, according to secret documents reportedly seen by The Information. The Chinese market is no small part of Apple’s approximately $3 trillion market capitalization. This makes it the world’s largest company. So the Apple CEO could be incentivized to give away the company’s technology and ignore human rights abuses to maximize his bonuses in the short term, while not only selling out Apple shareholders, but U.S. democracy as well. What did Apple give away to maintain its access to the Chinese market in 2016? At the time, Chinese authorities were angry about Apple not doing enough for China’s economy and shutting “down iTunes books and movies in April 2016,” according to the report’s source. To sweeten the negotiations, Cook apparently agreed to a $1 billion investment in Didi Global, Uber’s Chinese competitor, at a critical time in the fight between the two companies for ride-hailing market shares in China. A few days later, Apple agreed to spend $275 billion in China over five years, including on what should be considered forced technology development and transfer. According to The Information’s Wayne Ma, the deal “committed Apple to aiding roughly a dozen causes favored by China,” including “a pledge to help Chinese manufacturers develop ‘the most advanced manufacturing technologies’ and ‘support the training of high-quality Chinese talents.’” The secret agreement with Beijing stated that Apple would “use more components from Chinese suppliers in its devices, sign deals with Chinese software firms, collaborate on technology with Chinese universities, and directly invest in Chinese tech companies,” according to Ma.
“Apple promised to invest ‘many billions of dollars more’ than what the company was already spending annually in China,” he said. “Some of that money would go toward building new retail stores, research and development centers, and renewable energy projects.”
Apple is an apparent beneficiary of Xinjiang’s forced labor transfer programs through its suppliers O-Film Technology and Foxconn. Apple is among other U.S. corporations—including Nike and Coca-Cola—lobbying Congress against the core provisions in a measure that was just approved by the House against the use of Uyghur forced labor in China. The provisions reasonably assume, because of China’s opaque labor standards and the lack of a free press, that goods made in Xinjiang are produced with forced labor, except where companies prove otherwise. Much of the world’s cotton and polysilicon, used in Apple products, come from Xinjiang. Uyghurs from the Xinjiang region, as well as Tibetans and Falun Gong practitioners, are undergoing genocide in China, according to the definition in the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Uyghur genocide has been recognized by the United States, the UK, Canada, and several European government entities. Part of this genocide is forced labor, which Apple apparently doesn’t care much about relative to its China-linked revenues. One of Apple’s Xinjiang-related lobbying firms, led by former staffers of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)—whose family has business interests in China—is called “Fierce Government Relations.” The fierceness is coming from the Chi-
nese Communist Party (CCP). According to a 2020 report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), Apple is a beneficiary of Xinjiang’s forced labor transfer programs through Apple suppliers O-Film Technology and Foxconn. “Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 82 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing, and automotive sectors, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony, and Volkswagen,” ASPI report authors Vicky Xiuzhong Xu, Danielle Cave, James Leibold, Kelsey Munro, and Nathan Ruser wrote. The report states that O-Film technology accepts what appears to be forced Uyghur laborers. Yet Apple was supplied by O-Film. Cook visited the company, and promoted it on social media and through an Apple press release that was later deleted. “Prior to Cook’s visit, between 28 April and 1 May 2017, 700 Uyghurs were reportedly transferred from Lop County, Hotan Prefecture, in Xinjiang to work at a separate O-Film factory in Nanchang, Jiangxi province,” the ASPI report reads. A local Xinjiang paper said that workers at O-Film had minders from Lop County who were “politically reliable.” The workers “were expected to ‘gradually alter their ideology’ and turn into ‘modern, capable youth’ who ‘understand the Party’s blessing, feel gratitude toward the Party, and contribute to stability,’” according to the report. That sounds like forced labor. It’s time for U.S. corporations, including Apple, to improve their ethical practices. They shouldn’t be involved with any country, government, or political party that’s committing even a single genocide, much less three. China is that country. Beijing is that government. The CCP is that party. End U.S. complicity with forced labor and genocide now. I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 45
MILTON EZRATI is chief economist for Vested, a contributing editor at The National Interest, and author of "Thirty Tomorrows" and "Bite-Sized Investing.”
Milton Ezrati
America: Doing Well but Feeling Bad
Data describes a strong economy, but the public has become wary
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ews reports carry what seems to be a contradiction. Data show a good economic recovery from the lingering effects of pandemic-induced lockdowns and quarantines. Yet, all the polls announce that people worry about economic prospects. The mainstream media, not surprisingly, explains this difference in terms of public ignorance. Such condescension may make reporters and commentators feel superior, but the public isn’t so blind as claimed. The difference might better be explained this way: The data looks at the present and the past, while the public is looking forward. To be sure, the economic data does look good. Despite much-referenced supply chain problems, the economy created almost 6 million jobs between January and November, including some 700,000 in just the past two months. Unemployment, as a percent of the workforce, dropped to 4.2 percent in November from 6.7 percent a year ago. Hourly earnings have risen at almost a 5 percent annual rate, a pace not seen in years. New home sales have jumped 7.5 percent in just the past two months. Orders at manufacturers have risen some 22 percent from year-ago levels, and lists of unfilled orders continue to expand, pointing to more activity in coming months. American checking accounts, according to Federal Reserve (Fed) data, have risen some 50 percent from year-ago levels, while household net worth has risen by a like amount since the early days of the pandemic. Yet, measures of public confidence have dropped precipitously. A recent Harris poll shows that
46 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
some 56 percent of Americans see the economy on the wrong track, a big change from last June when a similar poll reported that only some 39 percent felt this way. According to that same poll, 57 percent of Americans see the economy as “weak,” up from 43 percent last June. The Gallup index of public confidence recently registered a value of minus 25, a huge difference from last spring’s positive reading. Some 40 percent of Americans say that this is a bad time to buy a home, the highest percentage since the early 1980s, when inflation was running high, and the economy was in recession.
Because the most severe price increases have occurred among essentials, the hardship has fallen most on the least well off in society. Even in the face of upbeat data, this persistent public concern has obvious causes. For a start, people can see trouble in the new Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19. They fear, not unreasonably, that it might spark a new round of lockdowns and quarantines. It has already halted much international travel. They have also learned in the past couple years that politics in Washington and state capitals could impel such lockdowns and quarantines even if the new variant does not require them. And then there is inflation. For months, as the prices of groceries, gasoline, and other essentials soared, Washington dismissed the pain as “transitory.” While official Washington remained insouciant, people saw the cost of living outpace even
robust wage gains so that most found themselves worse off than they were a year ago. And because the most severe price increases have occurred among essentials, the hardship has fallen most on the least well off in society. The average American is not ignorant of these economic facts. Still more capable of creating public concern are the uncertainties about policy responses to inflation. Since Washington now has admitted that the “transitory” description was misplaced, people know that some change in policy is likely. The Federal Reserve has already announced a gradual end to its practice of putting money into the economy through direct purchases on financial markets, what the Fed calls “quantitative easing.” If inflation remains persistent, interest rate hikes will follow. The average Joe or Jane may not quote chapter and verse from economic theory, but they can sense the direction of things and how the turn in Fed policy will make credit scarcer, will make bank loans and mortgages more expensive, and that these realities will restrain economic growth. They also are aware that even as President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” bill waits on a vote in Congress, the inflation will make for less expansive and generous fiscal measures from here on out. So despite appearances, there is no contradiction. Things are going well enough now. People know that, but prospects nonetheless aren’t so bright. The reporters and many commentators are looking at one set of facts. The public is not ignorant of what the media see. Rather, it’s looking at something else that is perhaps a good deal more important.
EMEL AKAN is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times in Washington, D.C. Previously she worked in the financial sector as an investment banker at JPMorgan.
Emel Akan
Making Companies ‘Pay Their Fair Share’ Biden’s corporate minimum tax plan comes under scrutiny
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o z e n s o f b i g corporations, including Nike and FedEx, have paid no federal income taxes for years, which is prompting Democrats to introduce a minimum tax on earnings. While the concept is alluring to many, tax policy experts are increasingly warning of the undesirable outcomes of the proposal. President Joe Biden’s nearly $2 trillion social and climate spending plan calls for imposing a 15 percent minimum tax on the book income of corporations that report over $1 billion in profits. The change would apply for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2022. The proposal, which is in lieu of a higher statutory corporate tax rate, seeks to prevent widespread tax avoidance by large corporations. And it’s popular among voters of both parties, as many people think it’s absurd that a pro-China company such as Nike gets a free ride in America. Companies can take advantage of a host of deductions and exemptions in the tax code, which are mainly designed to encourage investments in research and development, and innovation. Some also use tax breaks for renewable energy or for executive stock options to significantly reduce their tax liabilities. As a result, at least 55 of the largest U.S. companies paid no federal income taxes in 2020 despite having substantial pretax profits in the United States, according to a study by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). And a recent analysis by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and ITEP showed that 70 corporations would have collectively paid $22 billion more in taxes if the minimum tax had been in effect. Amazon, Facebook, Google, HP, and Netflix are among the 70 corporations cited as “tax dodgers” in the report. President Joe Biden promised that his Build Back Better plan would fix this problem.
Automobile, coal, and utilities would be the three most hardhit industries by the minimum tax proposal. “I’m not a socialist; I’m a capitalist,” Biden said, defending his agenda during a recent speech in Missouri. “You should be able to make a million or a 100 million bucks if you can, but pay your fair share,” he said, doing his signature move of whispering into the microphone. The corporate minimum tax provision is a key revenue raiser for Biden’s spending plan, generating nearly $320 billion over 10 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. While it sounds like a commonsense policy, its economic impact has come under question. It’s “the most economically damaging provision” in the House-approved bill, according to the right-leaning Tax Foundation, with a potential to cost about 27,000 jobs. The minimum tax would “disallow bonus or accelerated depreciation deductions that reduce the firms’ effective tax rate,” said Garrett Watson, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation. This will have a big impact on invest-
ment decisions, he said. Denying a full deduction for investment upfront increases the cost of making capital investments for businesses. Automobile, coal, and utilities would be the three most hard-hit industries by the minimum tax proposal, the Tax Foundation says. Critics also argue that this would undermine the Made in America movement. Under the minimum tax regime, general business tax credits, including the ones for R&D and green energy, would be preserved. But others, such as bonus depreciation for capital investments and deduction for the fair market value of stock-based compensation, would be impacted by the change. Senior officials at the Treasury Department have raised concerns internally about the new minimum tax, according to a recent Washington Post article. The plan will lead to “a ton of unintended consequences because you have not really spent a lot of time thinking through this,” one official anonymously told the Post. Companies would have to prepare two parallel books—calculating their tax liabilities first under the current tax code and then determining how much they owe after adjusting for requirements of the new minimum tax regime. This would introduce more complexity for businesses. The other risk, according to critics, is that companies could turn to more debt instead of equity for financing to increase their interest expenses and reduce their tax liabilities. It’s unclear whether the Senate will revisit the design passed by the House. But as it stands, critics say the minimum tax will likely raise far less tax revenue than Democrats believe due to the continued tax credits for R&D or green energy and loss carryforwards. It would also make the tax system more complicated while discouraging business investments, which are key to economic growth and productivity. I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 47
DANIEL LACALLE is chief economist at hedge fund Tressis and author of “Freedom or Equality,” “Escape from the Central Bank Trap,” and “Life in the Financial Markets.”
Daniel Lacalle
Emerging Markets, the Dollar, and the IMF IMF rarely penalizes governments that overspend and overtax
s mor e countr ies copy the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy without the global demand for the U.S. dollar, financing trade and fiscal deficits by printing a weakening currency, nations become more dependent on the U.S. dollar. Neither domestic nor international citizens demand local currency, and governments continue to build large fiscal and trade imbalances believing the magic money tree will solve everything. However, as confidence in their domestic currency collapses, global U.S. dollar-denominated debt soars, because very few investors want local currency risk and central banks need to build U.S. dollar reserves to cushion the monetary debasement blow. Implementing aggressive so-called expansionary policies almost always backfires, because the effect on growth of large spending plans is minimal, and the destruction of the purchasing power of the currency rises. Governments always want to believe that they’ll be able to disguise their imbalances with monetary debasement, but the effect is the opposite. It’s, therefore, no surprise that most global currencies have depreciated against the U.S. dollar even in a year of high Federal Reserve injections and commodity price rises. When a commodity-exporting country sees its currency collapse despite rising exports, you know that—again—the myth of modern monetary theory has evaporated. As the domestic economy and currency in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, or Turkey get worse, governments turn the blame onto the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The relationship of countries with the IMF always makes the headlines when governments have already spent the money they borrowed and don’t want to return it. Interestingly, few seem to 48 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
Governments always want to believe that they can disguise their fiscal and trade imbalances with monetary debasement, but the effect is the opposite. criticize the IMF when it rescues governments from their fiscal imbalances, and harsh comments only surface when the money must be paid back. The first thing that citizens should understand is that the best kind of relationship a government should have with the IMF is the same as the one we should have with borrowing: Use it the least amount possible. Citizens must understand that the objective of the IMF isn’t to solve the structural problems of an economy, but to provide liquidity and help governments maintain their credit position. If a government squanders the money it has raised and destroys its confidence, that’s not the IMF’s fault. Moreover, if that government continues to increase imbalances as if funds were free and irrelevant, neither the IMF nor any other global credit entity is going to rescue it. The IMF’s problem isn’t that it’s too
demanding with governments or that it suffocates economies, but that it’s extremely benign with profligate governments and that it never stops states that solve everything by raising taxes and sinking taxpayers’ disposable income. If the IMF is to blame for something, it’s for often being too soft on extractive and confiscatory government policies. The IMF rarely tells governments what to do. At best, it suggests and tends to be extremely accommodative of tax hikes. For the IMF, government is the pillar of credit credibility, and public spending is rarely questioned. While the IMF does acknowledge the rising burden on taxpayers and the impact of increasing the tax wedge on growth and employment, it rarely penalizes governments that overspend and overtax. The problem with recommending spending and borrowing in periods of low rates and excess liquidity is that, when everything explodes, governments complain of alleged “austerity” requests. When the IMF suggests moderating spending, states rebel, even if they’ve squandered previous support. International organizations rarely curb a governments’ desire for intervention, and on many occasions encourage it. It’s true that the IMF may be wrong in its predictions, but it’s one of the most accurate international bodies and, when it’s wrong, it’s usually out of optimism, accepting the expectations of the government in office as valid. The lesson of this crisis is that if governments want to avoid negative consequences in the future, they should ignore the siren calls that tell them to increase imbalances to “grow.” History has proven that spending and borrowing today always leads to a crisis tomorrow. Two plus two doesn’t equal 22. The less they copy the Fed or ask for IMF support, the better.
Fan Yu
FAN YU is an expert in finance and economics and has contributed analyses on China's economy since 2015.
DiDi Exit Speeds China Decoupling Beijing appears onboard with pulling its companies out of the US
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hinese ride-hailing company DiDi’s announced delisting from the New York Stock Exchange effectively ends the Chinese technology industry’s parade of public offerings in the United States. DiDi’s run as a listed company has been tumultuous. Its stock has lost nearly 50 percent of its value since its initial public offering (IPO) six months ago. While DiDi stated that it came to the conclusion of delisting on its own, that decision wasn’t the company’s to make. The firm reportedly went ahead with an IPO without obtaining approval from Chinese regulators, even after those regulators had voiced concerns around certain “cybersecurity” issues about its data storage. How legitimate those concerns were is beside the point. After reports surfaced over the past few weeks that the Cybersecurity Administration of China (CAC) was pushing DiDi to delist, its fate as a U.S.-listed firm was sealed. DiDi is planning to list its traded shares in Hong Kong after pulling out of New York. This event will usher an end to the era of Chinese technology giants selling shares in U.S. markets. Since Sina’s IPO in 2000, a parade of Chinese firms used what’s called a variable interest entity (VIE) structure to circumvent Chinese laws to raise foreign capital. Some of the largest companies in China, including Alibaba, JD.com, and NetEase have followed this formula. The SEC laid out rules in early December that Chinese companies listed in the United States must open their books for examination by U.S. investors or face delisting within three years. The investment community is holding out hope for an eventual agreement between the SEC and Chi-
China wants foreign capital, but it must be by the CCP’s rules. nese Communist Party (CCP) authorities to share audit work papers, but there has been very little progress on that front. Instead, Beijing appears onboard with pulling its companies out of the United States. The CAC has introduced increasingly strict rules governing Chinese companies pursuing foreign IPOs on the basis of data and national security concerns. While Chinese entrepreneurs want to cash out via foreign IPOs, CCP leader Xi Jinping wants to keep companies— and by extension, the wealth of their founders—in the country, where they can be monitored and controlled. “Data security” could just be an excuse. However, Xi’s underlying policy has been steadfast and clear. China wants foreign capital, but it must be by the CCP’s rules. We’ve also seen Hong Kong’s transformation from a mostly free, de facto beachhead of foreign capital to a Chinese city fully within the grip of the CCP. Beijing introduced separate rules for companies pursuing a listing in China and Hong Kong and for those
doing so outside of mainland China earlier in 2021. The result? Only one Chinese company priced an IPO in the United States during the second half of 2021. The future of existing U.S.-listed Chinese companies appears to be increasingly precarious. Many are already pursuing a dual listing in Hong Kong to make a future U.S. delisting less painful. On the VIE structure, which has had its longevity questioned, Beijing recently suggested that it could remain as a viable structure for foreign capital to flow into Chinese companies. But its future could be restricted to non-technology companies, as tech companies may be forced to stay home. One thing is clear: China is setting up Hong Kong as the preferred site of “foreign” stock listing. The city is within China’s borders, and foreign investment firms enjoy more economic and capital freedom there than they do on the mainland. Any changes in Beijing’s attitude toward the VIE structure are unlikely to affect companies’ abilities to list in Hong Kong. What does that mean for U.S. investors? Beijing is taking the initiative to decouple from a stock market listing perspective. There will be tighter control over how Chinese companies can raise foreign capital. Few, if any, Chinese companies will IPO in the United States going forward. U.S. investors will still be able to invest in China if they choose to do so. Investment firms should have specific China-focused funds to provide investors wanting exposure to China with a deliberate, ring-fenced allocation of exposure that can be analyzed separately from the rest of their portfolios. And investors need to demand returns equal to the risk they’re taking. Investing in China will be more difficult, but given the risk, it should have always been this way. I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 49
JEFF MINICK lives and writes in Front Royal, Va. He is the author of two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust on Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning as I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.”
Jeff Minick
In the Ring
Some advice from boxing champion Joe Louis
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e’re all in the ring. Each and every day, there we are, gloves up, bobbing and weaving, taking the punches, throwing punches, and, meanwhile, just praying we end the day’s bout points ahead of whatever opponent we’re facing. Whether we’re the guy looking for a blowout triumph in software sales or the high school basketball coach wanting her players to push themselves as hard as they can, we’re looking for a victory. All too often, though, the bell sounds, and we step from the ring and collapse into bed punched out and beaten down, leery about going through this whole dance yet again the next day. We wake in the morning, shake off our sleep, and gloomily ponder the coming day. Time for some coaching tips from one of the greatest pugilists of all time. Joe Louis was heavyweight champion from 1937 to 1949. When he retired, he’d won 68 fights and lost only three. He also left behind some nuggets of wisdom that might help the rest of us step back into the ring with a new attitude. “He can run, but he can’t hide,” Louis said about one of his opponents. If we change his warning to “You can run, but you can’t hide” and apply it to ourselves, we are reminded to face up squarely to our troubles rather than trying to distance ourselves from them. To take responsibility for our actions, to refuse to give up, and to meet each new day with a renewed determination are signposts of adulthood. No running, no hiding—just keeping our hands up and moving forward.
50 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
“You have to be tough and stick it out, or you wind up being nothing.” Joe Louis, champion boxer
As Louis also said, “You have to be tough and stick it out, or you wind up being nothing.” “A champion doesn’t become a champion in the ring, he’s merely recognized in the ring. His ‘becoming’ happens during his daily routine.” The key takeaway here is “daily routine.” Some people I’ve known regard routine as anathema, equating it with boredom, although routine is how most of us get things done and so become champions ourselves. Routine also allows us to develop good habits. Nearly every day, I see a little old man walking up and down our street, head always down, arms swinging back and forth. He’s a funny sight, but the more I’ve watched him, the more I’ve admired his determination to exercise daily. He’s a constant reminder to me that I need to add more exercise to my own regimen of work and living. “I can show you how to box. I can teach you every technique and trick
I know, but I can never make you a fighter. That comes from inside, and it’s something no one else can ever give you.” Louis was talking about boxing here, but his point about being a fighter applies to everyone. When we do battle in life—striving to raise virtuous children, offering emotional support to a spouse, seeking to better the world through our work or volunteer activities—we are fighters for the good. And as Louis observed, “That comes from inside.” It’s that sacrosanct place within our hearts and minds, where there’s no such word as defeat and where self-pity is in permanent lockdown. “I hope they’re still making women like my momma. She always told me to do the right thing. She always told me to have pride in myself; she said a good name is better than money.” Doing the right thing, taking pride in what we do, maintaining a stellar reputation: these qualities rouse admiration while we’re living and are praised after we’re gone. These are the virtues that allow us to look in the mirror every day and not cringe. Those of us who have done wrong and fallen on our faces know full well the importance of doing “the right thing.” No pain, no gain. Keep on punching.
Profile Revitalizing Languages
WikiTongues Defies Government Overreach
FROM TOP: RYAN LASH/TED, MICHELLE FAVIOLA RALPH-FORTÓN
By Nathan Worcester few years ago, daniel Bogre Udell called all the churches in tiny Brackettville, Texas. He was searching for speakers of a language on the verge of extinction—Afro-Seminole Creole, a Gullah dialect spoken by a mixed African and Native American community known as the Black Seminoles. “One person called me back, and then I drove down there,” Udell said. “That one person put me in touch with somebody else who put me in touch with somebody else who was one of the last speakers, who’s now leading this revitalization project.” Udell is used to seeking out forgotten dialects among places and peoples that are often overlooked. He’s the founder of Wikitongues, a nonprofit focused on documenting and revitalizing endangered languages. Udell grew up speaking only one language: English. Yet his father frequently peppered his speech with Yiddish, the traditional vernacular of Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe. “I didn’t really realize they were from a full language, but I knew that they were Jewish words, and I knew that they were ours,” he said. While visiting Spain a few years later, he picked up another language: Spanish. He also learned Catalan, the traditional language of people from Spain’s autonomous community of Catalonia. Catalan had been suppressed under the regime of Francisco Franco, but it was making a comeback during Udell’s time in Catalonia. “The younger generation was more fluent and more literate than their parents’ generation. I was in the middle of a successful language revitalization project,” he said. That example helped inspire him to launch his own project. Udell’s earliest efforts were made possible by the internet. “I started recording people, just friends of mine, speaking different languages and posting those videos KAUSHIK RAJASHEKARA
“Language extinction is not really an inevitable thing.” Daniel Bogre Udell, co-founder and executive director, Wikitongues
on YouTube, and that was kind of the genesis of Wikitongues,” he said. Over the years, the project grew. Wikitongues started the process of becoming a nonprofit in 2014. By 2019, it had attracted its first major donor. Today, Udell and his team have videos of hundreds of languages, along with lexicons for at least 200 languages. While Wikitongues has benefited from the internet and digital technology, some have argued that those same forces have ultimately helped flatten the world, driving out smaller languages in favor of a global lingua franca. Udell pointed out that some of the most successful language recovery efforts in recent years were driven by the internet. He cited Cornish, the traditional language in England’s Cornwall region, which first died out in the 19th century. “The Cornish movement really took off when the internet showed up in Cornwall because what that allowed Cornish speakers to do was find each other and practice every day without meeting up in person,” he said.
Udell said the real drivers of homogenization have been governments, rather than technologies, citing the suppression of indigenous languages in the United States through Indian boarding schools. “Different kinds of forced assimilation took place pretty much all over the world,” he said. Today, hundreds of languages across the world are endangered. UNESCO’s searchable atlas of such languages offers some insight into the massive scope of that threat in China, Australia, Russia, the United States, and many other countries across the planet. Udell compared Wikitongues to the startup accelerators that are common in the tech world. “By 2025, we anticipate being able to support about 75 language revitalization projects starting with 15 next year,” he said. After speaking with Udell, it’s easier to be optimistic about our chances of saving ancestral traditions that are under threat. With the help of a few committed people, endangered human languages, like endangered species, stand a better chance of defying government overreach, monied interests, and other powerful forces by living on. “If you can really make the process of language revitalization accessible at scale—if you can make it possible for anyone to start reawakening their language, then you’ve effectively slowed or hopefully even eventually reversed the trend of language extinction,” he said. “Because language extinction is not really an inevitable thing.”
Daniel Bogre Udell records textile artist Luz Linda Ahuanari speaking Shipibo, an Amazonian language, at Tinkuy 2017 in Cusco, Peru. I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 51
Nation Profile
THOUGHT LEADERS
Battling for Truth in a World of Lies
‘This is a wild new experiment in social management,’ says Jeffrey Tucker
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he things that work,” says Jeffrey Tucker, “the things that are right, the things that are true, we have to rediscover them.” On a recent episode of EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders,” host Jan Jekielek discussed the failed and sinister policies of the pandemic with Tucker, an author and founder of the Brownstone Institute, an organization founded to resist lockdowns and vaccine mandates while “providing a vision for a different way to think about freedom, security, and public life.”
JAN JEKIELEK: Well, Jeffrey,
we’ve just taken in a day of the Brownstone Institute, the inaugural conference. It’s an important day. JEFFREY TUCKER: We’re
coming out of a crisis unprecedented in our lifetime, yet here we are, 21 months into this and it’s still going on. We’re asking all these big questions. What is our rela-
tionship to each other? Are we just pathogenic disease vectors? Are we going to give up the idea of human dignity entirely? Are we going to surrender to the idea that some people are destined to rule the world with the hand of science while the rest of us are going to be subjugated and obey? I hope Brownstone can provide a forum for discussing these things truthfully and honestly. MR. JEKIELEK: Some
imagine the crisis to be COVID. Isn’t that the crisis, that’s why we have to lock down? MR. TUCKER: We had
disease outbreaks in the United States in ‘68 and ‘69, and ‘57 and ‘58. We had a polio problem in the early ‘40s, a parrot flu in 1929, and so on. But gradually over the 20th century, we learned more about infectious diseases. We discovered the idea of herd immunity, and we
52 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
Jeffrey Tucker, founder of the Brownstone Institute, at its inaugural conference in Hartford, Conn., on Nov. 14.
Nation Profile
JACK WANG/THE EPOCH TIMES
“Right now we just need to remember what built modernity, what made us great, what made us prosperous.” learned that the way to deal with disease was not dividing society according to the exposed and the unexposed, the clean and the unclean. Something went wrong in 2020, where we took a completely different path. It was a very strange scientific experiment that’s been conducted on almost the whole of humanity. They treated us like lab rats. This is a wild new experiment in social management, under the guise of virus control. And it didn’t work. There’s no evidence that it has achieved anything in terms of mitigating the bad outcomes from the disease. So the experiment failed, and there’s been little public recognition of this. The demoralization comes from the realization that your rights and freedom can be taken away in an instant, and there’s nothing you can do about it. This is why there’s so much depression, drug overdoses, and alcohol abuse, and the rise of obesity and ill-health everywhere. Just the sudden realization that your rights are not guaranteed, that all the things you used to believe may not be true anymore. That’s a shock, this masking and distancing, or how many people you can have in
your home, or whether you can even go to church. This is a new world for us, and we have to ask ourselves whether we’re willing to put up with this. We have to rethink what kind of people we want to be, what kind of society we want to live in. This is our moment. We have to act on our beliefs, which means we have to decide what we believe. MR. JEKIELEK: But I think a
significant portion of society might not even understand what you’re saying here. MR. TUCKER: It reminds me
of a statement by Ludwig von Mises. He says, “When civilization is sweeping towards destruction, there is no safe space for everyone. Therefore, it is the obligation of everyone to throw himself into the intellectual struggle for freedom.” This was 1923. When I read that, I thought, that’s a little bit over the top. Civilization sweeping to destruction? Come on, that’s not going to happen. Well, he was right. His world, Vienna, fell apart, and he had to leave in 1934. Of course, we read about these things, and we always think they’re in the past. It’s not going to happen to us. The terrible thing we’ve
discovered in the last 20 months is that we are capable of that and worse—different, but potentially worse. We believed we had a Constitution that protected us. We can read the Bill of Rights and see that we have freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Then, we woke up practically overnight to a different world in which we’re managed from the top by a tiny elite that’s determining whether I can go to church, how many people I can have in my home, whether I can grab a beer, whether I can open my business, whether I can get my teeth cleaned. You say that some people might not understand what I’m saying, and yes, I get that. Partially, I think people have been so traumatized that they’re in denial. This struggle has been psychological for a lot of people. I mean, certainly, it was for me. MR. JEKIELEK: I can’t help
but think about the idea of a Platonic noble lie, or the idea that the people setting policy will use noble lies to shape behavior. MR. TUCKER: They did a
terrible thing—the shutting of the schools, the closing of the churches, sending in SWAT teams into rural Texas bars to arrest people for drinking beers. But once they’d invested so heavily in this population-wide experiment, they had a problem. Because you’ve got a ruling class that’s not going to admit error, the lies began, and the lies have not stopped. We live in a world of lies. Our mainstream newspapers
have become cartoon-like. You have headlines that say the pandemic has caused a rash of suicides. But the pandemic didn’t cause suicides. The lockdowns caused suicide. You’re going to find more truth in Substack accounts than you’re going to find in The Washington Post. And we have ruling class elites in this country that are not thinking about the general welfare of the whole population—the working classes, minorities, the poor. MR. JEKIELEK: It doesn’t
include the people who have to get their hands dirty through it all, like the people doing the deliveries, the police, fire department, the working class. MR. TUCKER: Look what
we’re doing to them now. We put them on the front lines to face the pathogen. Most everybody in those class structures who’ve been out and about for 20 months while the rest of us have been sitting around in pajamas and house shoes and Zooming. Then, at the end of the day, it’s like, we’ve got a vaccine. We’re telling them to take it, even though they have natural immunities. We’re punishing them, and if they don’t want to take the jab, we’re firing them from their jobs. It’s an outrage. The nurses who treated coronavirus patients for months know how natural immunity works. They got exposure, they faced it out of a sense of professional obligation, because they thought they were doing the right thing.
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Nation Profile
Twenty months later, you’re fired. Get the jab, or you’re going to lose your job. Everyone has a theory as to why this is happening. Big pharma is involved, government’s always looking for more power, all this is true. But there’s something else going on, and I think it comes down to a lack of appreciation for human liberty and the rights of individuals. MR. JEKIELEK: Well, this is
the task of the people you’re assembling around Brownstone, isn’t it? MR. TUCKER: Yes. But I know
what’s going to happen at Brownstone. They’re going to come after us. Brownstone will be characterized as a right-wing libertarian organization. Well, I’m going to say in this interview that this is not true. Right now we just need to remember what built modernity, what made us great,
what made us prosperous. What made us feel like dignified individuals, what brought us peace. What are the conditions under which I find value in you and you find value in me, and we have an incentive to protect each other’s rights? The things that work, the things that are right, the things that are true, we have to rediscover them. And we need to remember and reunderstand the last 20 months as a catastrophe. We need to admit it didn’t work. It was immoral, and it spread tremendous carnage all over the world—poverty, suffering everywhere. Those things are human rights, an aspiration of equality, and a social system in which we find dignity in each other, not just disease, but dignity. I think that’s where we need to go, and it’s going to be a long struggle, but we have to get there.
“We have to rethink what kind of people we want to be, what kind of society we want to live in.”
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
The Chicago Theatre stands closed on March 21, 2020. Downtown Brooklyn in New York City on May 4, 2020.
FROM TOP: KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
54 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
T R AV E L • F O O D • L U X U R Y L I V I N G
Unwind
Issue. 10
Being adept at the art of small talk can pay big dividends. PHOTO BY CATHERINE DELAHAYE/GETTY IMAGES
Mastering the Art of Small Talk Learn how to start fun conversations; it will quickly expand your circle of friends. 61
EARNING A PRIVATE PILOT’S license is the first step in discovering an entirely new way to travel, with the world quite literally at your feet. 64 FARMER LEE JONES’S passion for excellence has caught the attention of the world’s top chefs. He grows not only for flavor, but also for health—including the planet’s. 60 THE PEN CAN CERTAINLY BE mightier than the sword, and as shown by these outstanding examples, it can be much more impressive as well. 67 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 55
The stable complex of the estate features 18 large stalls, three foaling units, a vet room, a padded examination stand, a hay loft, a feed room, an office, and more.
Val du Lac:
AN EQUESTRIAN’S DREAM This beautiful estate near Cape Town features a gorgeous main house and state-of-the-art stables
By Phil Butler
T
56 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
Surrounding the central house are meticulously landscaped garden spaces designed for year-round functionality. The central feature of the property is, of course, the stunning equestrian facilities, which include a stable complex, a mare and foaling barn, a yearling barn, as well as a groom’s accommodations and a manager’s house. The property also features fully irrigated paddocks with pole fencing, an automated walker, an implements barn, a landscaped grotto, and a private lake. The stables also feature an office, a workshop, and a garage for four more vehicles. The property is only a stone’s throw (just over a mile) from the popular town of Franschhoek, which is known as the “food and wine capital” of South Africa, and for good reason. The Franschhoek Valley is famous for its wine traditions that go back to the 1700s. The quaint town hosts world-renowned eateries such as chef Margot Janse’s The Tasting Room, which ranks as one of the world’s 50 best restaurants—not to mention abundant shopping experiences nearby, including chic boutiques and art galleries. Phil Butler is a publisher, editor, author, and analyst who is a widely cited expert on subjects ranging from digital and social media to travel technology.
VAL DU LAC ESTATE FRANSCHHOEK VALLEY, SOUTH AFRICA $87,000,000 ZAR ($5,775,000) • 12 BEDROOMS • 2 EXQUISITE HOMES • 60 ACRES KEY FEATURES: • STATE-OF-THE-ART EQUESTRIAN CENTER • BREATHTAKING NATURE • PRIVATE LAKE, GARDENS, AND EXCLUSIVE LUXURY • PASTURELANDS AGENT GREEFF CHRISTIE’S INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE AIMEE CAMPBELL, FRANCHISE OWNER +27 72 693 4052
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF VAL DU LAC ESTATE
he va l du l ac estat e si ts in a fertile valley protected by stunning mountains, and the pristine nature preserves of South Africa’s Western Cape region. This equestrian’s dream occupies over 24 hectares (60 acres) of the vineyard-lined Franschhoek Valley, just 40 minutes from the center of Cape Town. The estate features two expansive homes with a total of 12 bedrooms and 8 full baths, in addition to state-of-the-art equestrian stables. Listed for sale at $5,774,822, the property is one of the region’s finest equestrian farms. For the new owners, enjoying idyllic summer and winter activities in one of South Africa’s most coveted regions will be a huge added value. The estate is set up for breeding and rearing thoroughbreds, but it can easily be transformed into a riding center. Built in 2009, the 10,512-square-foot main house of the estate is an architectural marvel featuring five bedroom suites, a formal dining room, receiving and living rooms, a fine wood-paneled library, a wine cellar, and a three-car attached garage. There’s a separate small kitchen, laundry room, and a walk-in pantry as well. A second house serves as a guest residence, and several other staff residences are located on the property.
The paneled library reveals the attention to detail and fine craftsmanship that went into this extraordinary home. No expense was spared in either the construction or furnishing of the home.
The bedroom suites of the main house each have their own bath and views out onto the majestic landscapes surrounding the estate.
The main house retains hints of the traditional Dutch influences characteristic of this area, with modern accents and amenities.
In the entry foyer we see beautiful parquet flooring crafted from the barns that stood on the property before its transformation.
There are verandas and outdoor areas that take great advantage of the estate’s distinctive location and purpose. I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 57
Travel New Mexico
An aerial view of the first wave of the balloons that were launched at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
High Desert Fun in Albuquerque Choose your own adventure, from hot air ballooning to exploring Route 66
I
By Kevin Revolinski ’m soaring over the treetops, and dogs are coming out on backyard patios to growl up at the fiery roar of a dragon passing overhead. In between blasts of flame, it’s eerily silent, other than those occasional barks. Drifting like a dandelion seed on the wind, we alight briefly on a sandbar in the middle of the Rio Grande before the balloon pilot takes to the wind once again over the rooftops of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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Up We Go
S U N HI E
58 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
SY A D
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OF
Follow Your Palate Red or green? Know the answer to this question, because you’ll get asked at just about any eating establishment in the area. In New Mexico, it’s all about the chile (and yes, this is how it’s spelled here). You can expect to find both varieties of these delicious chile sauces—everyone has their own recipe—not just in any place serving New Mexican food, but also in a lot of other styles of eateries. Breakfast joints will ask your color before pouring it over breakfast burritos. If you can’t decide, just say “Christmas” and you’ll get both.
Eating Out One of the most famous restaurants in New Mexico is El Pinto. They’ve served presidents and superstars, and the place fills up with locals and visitors alike. Their salsa is so good that they bottle it
FROM TOP LEFT: JOHN BASHIAN/GETTY IMAGES, SHUTTERSTOCK, THE EPOCH TIMES, DANNY LEHMAN/GETTY IMAGES, TURTIX/SHUTTERSTOCK
Ballooning is a popular pastime in Albuquerque, and every October, the city actually hosts the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta right next to its international balloon museum. I can see desert all the way out to the horizon. The Sandia Mountains lie to the east. To the west, three worn volcano cones break the horizon line. Everything in between is dry and dusty, except for the verdant stripe of the Rio Grande to which Albuquerque clings. A bird’s eye view is one angle on this town—ei-
ther from a balloon or from the 2.7-mile tramway to the top of the 10,378-foot Sandia Peak in the Cibola National Forest—but there are many other angles on Albuquerque.
Travel New Mexico up on-site and ship it around the country. This is a tequila-rich environment: The bar’s vast assortment pairs nicely with the enchiladas and chile rellenos. But there are many alternatives to the expected Southwestern and New Mexico eats, from diner fare on Route 66 to Native American meals at the Indian Pueblo Kitchen. And in recent years, food courts have become popular. Places such as Sawmill Market and 505 Central Food Hall offer variety without a group consensus. You can have your ramen or tacos, while your friend eats ceviche or Detroit-style pizza.
The Rio Grande A paddle down this lazy stretch of the Rio Grande or a hike through the Bosque—the forest park that borders it—gives the illusion of being somewhere quite different from the desert surroundings. The city’s high altitude, already at 4,900 feet at the river level, means cooler nights, but also thinner air and stronger sun. Pack sunscreen, drink water, and give yourself a day to adjust to avoid a bit of altitude sickness.
Red or green? Know the answer to this question, because you will get asked at just about any eating establishment in the area.
ALBUQUERQUE
NEW MEXICO
The Nature Trail North of the city, take a drive along the Jemez Mountain Trail, a National Scenic Byway that cuts through carved red rock and sandstone forcing you to pull over often for photo ops and hot springs. You can visit the volcanic Valles
Albuquerque’s elevation ranges from 4,500 to 6,500 feet above sea level.
and the lower number of visitors means you feel like you’re the only one there.
Visit With the Locals And I mean the original locals. New Mexico has 19 pueblos, communities of Native Americans, and visits there offer unique cultural experiences. The Sky City of Acoma to the west of Albuquerque is the oldest continuously inhabited city in North America. Perched on a 350-foothigh mesa, the adobe homes have some modern touches, such as paned windows and doors, but ladders still lead to second floors, there’s no electricity or plumbing, and the 17th-century church and cemetery still stand at the edge of town.
Petroglyphs
America’s Most Famous Highway THERE IS ONLY one place where you can find Route 66 intersecting with ... Route 66. In downtown Albuquerque is the site where a former governor once rerouted America’s most famous highway north to Santa Fe. IF YOU WANT A nice overview of the Mother Road, your first stop in town should be the Albuquerque Trolley. Ride down the Central Avenue portion of Route 66 with the restored KiMo Theater, and see the neighborhoods and abandoned train station that consistently end up as Hollywood movie sets.
Don’t miss a stop at Petroglyph National Monument, where you can see thousands of mysterious figures carved into volcanic rock. It’s a story of geology as well as a glimpse of the people of the past.
Dark Skies Stargazers should visit the observatory at the University of New Mexico, which offers free admission on Friday nights. You can find plenty of dark skies within an hour’s drive of Albuquerque and occasional astronomer club events. The Sandia Peak Tramway takes visitors high above dramatic terrain. Sunset is especially beautiful from the observation deck atop Sandia Peak. Caldera, a national preserve with a crater rim 11 miles across. Activities range from fly fishing to hiking or cross-country skiing in winter. You can see herds of elk, a rich variety of birdlife, and, if you’re lucky, big predators such as a black bear or even a mountain lion. To look out from up on a ridge over the grassy plain in the east end of the park is reminiscent of a safari,
El Pinto’s salsa is so good that they bottle it up on-site and ship it around the country.
Kevin Revolinski is an avid traveler, craft beer enthusiast, and home-cooking fan. He’s based in Madison, Wis.
Prehistoric carvings at the Petroglyph National Monument in Boca Negra Canyon. I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 59
Food People
FARMING FOR THE FUTURE: FARMER LEE JONES WANTS VEGETABLES TO BE THE STAR The team at The Chef’s Garden does more than supply celebrity chefs with top-tier produce. They’re hard at work developing the tastiest, healthiest vegetables for the future. Bill Lindsey
D
Sunrise harvest at The Chef's Garden in Huron, Ohio.
Lee Jones's parents, Bob and Barbara Jones.
FARMER LEE JONES
Age: 60 Born and Lives: Huron, Ohio Favorite Vegetable: Right now, Brussels sprouts, “but during the three months of asparagus season, I’d eat it three times a day.” Culinary Heroes: “All the chefs from around the world I’ve met and worked with, and who have become friends.”
60 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
Farmer Lee Jones. better vegetables. The Chef’s Garden has grown to include the Culinary Vegetable Institute, an agricultural research lab, and a bed-and-breakfast for the 600 chefs who visit each year. By using regenerative farming techniques, such as avoiding synthetic fertilizers and GMOs and growing soil-replenishing cover crops, “our soil is 300 to 500 percent superior to USDA standards, and our vegetables have 50 percent more nutrients,” Jones said. “You can see and taste the difference, which is why so many chefs work with us to keep making improvements.” When the pandemic hit, restaurants closed, and sales dropped, Jones kept the farm afloat by starting a mail-order service with fresh
“Dad taught us to work hard, be willing to fail in order to learn, and be loyal to our employees and customers” produce boxes, seed packs, a cookbook, and more for both chefs and home cooks. Jones’s father died in August 2020, but his legacy lives on. “Dad taught us to work hard, be willing to fail in order to learn, and be loyal to our employees and customers,” he said. Asked what he would be if not a farmer, he had an easy answer: “Disappointed. I’m a dirt farmer. It’s in my DNA.”
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE CHEF'S GARDEN
id you grow up hearing your mom say, “Eat your vegetables!” at the dinner table every night? She was right, according to Farmer Lee Jones of The Chef’s Garden. The 350-acre family-run farm in Huron, Ohio, is hallowed ground for chefs around the world seeking the most delicious and nutritious vegetables. It has counted Emeril Lagasse, Curtis Duffy, and the late Charlie Trotter and Paul Bocuse among its customers, and you’ll find its premium produce on menus from New York’s Eleven Madison Park to international Ritz Carlton restaurants. As Jones puts it, “What you see now is the result of my dad, Bob Jones, following his vision to do the work he loved.” Before they supplied celebrity chefs, the Jones family cultivated commodity crops. In 1982, a hailstorm wiped out everything. They auctioned off the farm and started over, growing produce to sell at farmers markets. One day, a chef asked for threeinch zucchinis with the blooms still attached. “Dad thought it was a pretty unusual request, but she said she’d pay 50 cents each. That got his attention,” Jones said. The chef, Iris Bailin Broudy, explained the importance of vegetables in her menu and her need for flavorful ones grown with regenerative farming practices, which work to improve the environment. She introduced the Jones family to her circle of chefs, who in turn told others. “Dad saw our future was growing vegetables for chefs,” Jones said. Now he wakes up every day intent on improving the world with
Small Talk,
Big Impression
Chit-chat, better known as small talk, is a great way to connect with people Not everyone can make small talk in the workplace or social settings, but it's a great icebreaker and may even lead to new friendships. Here are tips on how to master chit-chat and become an expert at brief, meaningful conversations. By Bill Lindsey
4 Pass the Test
1 Say Something Nice
If you are chatting with someone you casually know from work, school, or the neighborhood, make a point of asking how their pet or child is doing, using the child or pet’s name you learned during an earlier conversation. The two goals of a conversation are to make sure everyone is enjoying themselves and learning something new. By centering the small talk on something important to the other person, it’s easier to make a connection.
Skip the weather and start with a compliment. The goal is to put the other person at ease; by finding something to compliment them on, such as a great outfit or asking about the functions of their interesting watch, they can let their guard down a bit. Pay attention to make sure this doesn’t make them uncomfortable. If it does, make a complimentary comment about someone else in the room. Avoid snarky comments, as you may be talking about their spouse!
CSA IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES
2
Smiles Are Contagious
When you see someone new enter the room, whether it is a conference room, a living room, or even a Zoom virtual meeting, greet them with a genuine smile. Making others feel welcome goes a long way toward making them, and you, comfortable. If you’re part of a group discussion, but not sure what to say, smile. If you notice a shy person not talking, a smile may be the way to put him or her at ease.
3
Make It About Them
The Greek philosopher Epictetus said, “’We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” Not interrupting the conversation to tell your own story shows respect and good manners. Maintaining eye contact with whoever is speaking shows you are paying attention and are interested in what they’re saying. People like others who listen to what they have to say; making eye contact shows that you’re interested.
5
Keep Small Talk Small
Not everyone enjoys chit-chatting, so if they stop, or never start talking, fill the awkward silence with a smile, saying something innocuous such as, “Isn’t this a great place to hold a party?” or “How did you meet Sid and Nancy?” It can take some effort to draw out a shy person, but the reward when they open up is well worth it. If all fails, quote Joey Tribbiani, “Hey, how you doin’?”
I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 61
Epoch Booklist
RECOMMENDED READING NONFICTION
‘Man’s Search for Meaning’
By Viktor E. Frankl
Finding Hope in Hopeless Times Frankl spent three years in Nazi concentration camps. His memoir shows that even when everything is stripped away from you, you have the freedom to choose how you feel. Another lesson he includes in the book: Even when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, find a reason to keep going. POCKET BOOKS, 2006, 192 PAGES
HISTORY
‘How the West Won’
By Rodney Stark
Ideas Have Consequences Subtitled “The Neglected Story of the Triumph of Modernity,” Stark’s book on Western history examines Western ideas, such as free will, rationality, liberty, and the scientific method, while pointing out some
This week, we cover a varied selection, including a little-known leadership classic, an epic poem from ancient Rome, and Christmas stories for children.
mistaken beliefs about these developments. He showed us that early European scientists believed in God as the designer of a rational universe. He also concluded that the adaptation of technology by nations such as China doesn’t make them equivalent to Western modernism and its “commitment to freedom, reason, and human dignity.” INTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE, 2015, 464 PAGES
CLASSICS
‘Pharsalia’
By Lucan, transl. by Jane Wilson Joyce
A Forgotten Epic Poem This epic poem, written by Roman poet Lucan between A.D. 61 and A.D. 65 and left unfinished, is about the Roman civil war between Julius Caesar and the Roman Senate, led by Pompey, “how Rome’s high race plunged in her vitals her victorious sword.” Full of drama and action—the battle scenes are incredibly described, though at times indulging in the Roman obsession for gore. Those who enjoy military history or the epic poetry of “The Iliad” or “The Odyssey” should try this forgotten classic. Look for a poetic version. CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1993, 368 PAGES
62 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
Are there books you’d recommend? We’d love to hear from you. Let us know at features@epochtimes.com
‘Taigong's Six Secret Teachings’
Ancient Wisdom About Leadership The Chinese classic Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” has found great popularity for its application to the business world. Less known is this 11th-century military treatise attributed to Jiang Ziya, a top general to King Wen. Its advice, offered through various strategies, can be applied to how to be a good parent, a good boss, and, more generally, a good leader who’s strong, yet caring and considerate at the same time. FEATURED IN ‘THE SEVEN MILITARY CLASSICS OF ANCIENT CHINA,’ BASIC BOOKS, 2007, 592 PAGES
PARENTING
‘Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids’
By Kim John Payne and Lisa M. Ross
When Less Is More More relevant than ever, “Simplicity Parenting”
takes aim at all that’s overloading our senses and, more specifically, those of our children. The authors persuasively argue that it’s simplicity that “will provide your child with greater ease and well-being.” This is a book that every parent needs to read.
FOR KIDS
BALLANTINE BOOKS, 2010, 400 PAGES
By Susan Wojciechowski, illustr. by P.J. Lynch
FICTION
‘Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories’
By Nathaniel Hawthorne
Tales for Our Time Though Hawthorne died in 1864, the seven short stories in this collection still speak to us today. In “The Birthmark,” the quest for perfection of female beauty ends in tragedy. “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” explores our fascination with youth and the desire to be forever young. Though we can draw several meanings from “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” one crucial lesson is that when men use science to become gods, the result can be death and destruction. “Young Goodman Brown” raises questions regarding sin and the very nature of reality itself. DOVER PUBLICATIONS, 1992, 128 PAGES
‘The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey’
A Heartwarming Tale This beautifully written tale depicts a journey of hope brought forth by the simple request of a young widow and her son to a “gloomy” woodcutter at Christmastime. This story is an absolute treasure (Note: it may be too heavy for little ones). CANDLEWICK, 1995, 40 PAGES
‘The Night Before Christmas’
By Clement C. Moore, illustr. by Ted Rand
Christmas Eve Reading This is a sturdy board book that will stand the test of time, and the illustrations are just right. Other noteworthy editions to look out for are Jan Brett’s version and the nostalgic Little Golden Book publication, which is illustrated by Corinne Malvern. NORTH-SOUTH BOOKS, 2004, 32 PAGES
Ian Kane is a U.S. Army veteran, filmmaker, and author. He enjoys the great outdoors and volunteering.
MOVIE REVIEWS
Epoch Watchlist
This week, we look at a feel-good new release, some light-hearted adult comedy, and a must-watch American classic for Christmas.
NEW RELEASE
INDIE PICK
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
Mixtape (2021 )
COMEDY
Tween girl Beverly (Gemma Brooke Allen) finds a mixtape that belonged to her parents, who died in a car accident years prior. Longing to know more about them, she decides to track down each of the tape’s songs to feel more connected to who they were. This film takes place in the late ’90s, so viewers from that era will probably feel nostalgic. It manages to have a feel-good quality, without being loaded with schmaltz. Overall, it highlights the importance of family, friendship, dealing with loss, and being true to one’s self.
Release Date: Dec. 3, 2021 Director: Valerie Weiss Starring: Gemma Brooke Allen, Julie Bowen, Audrey Hsieh Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes Rating: TV-PG Where to Watch: Netflix
entertainment and a positive message about not taking life for granted permeate this solid American Christmas classic. DR AMA
(1946)
When George Bailey’s (James Stewart) father suddenly passes away in the town of Bedford Falls,
the family business is threatened by a greedy developer who’s taking over the town one business at a time. A financial error complicates things as well. Wholesome family
much a father-son tale is an exposé of class discrimination in the modern third world. BIOGR APHY
Release Date: March 1, 2019 Director: Chiwetel Ejiofor Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maxwell Simba, Felix Lemburo Runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes Rating: TV-PG Where to Watch: Netflix
RAUCOUS COMEDY
Office Space (1999)
QUINTESSENTIAL CHRISTMAS CLASSIC
It’s a Wonderful Life
Based on the harrowing, real-life struggles of 13-year-old William Kamkwamba (played by Maxwell Simba), this sobering film documents an African village’s troubles with a greedy logging company and political discrimination, as well as the relationship between William and his father, Trywell (Chiwetel Ejiofor). This film features some fantastic direction by Chiwetel Ejiofor and solid performances by its talented cast. At its heart as
Release Date: Dec. 20, 1946 Director: Frank Capra Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore Running Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes Rating: PG Where to Watch: Tubi, Redbox, DirectTV
Cubicle life hijinks and the sometimes monotonous environs of modern corporate work culture are on full display as we follow a colorful cast of characters, led by Peter (Ron Livingston) and his cubicle neighbors. This light-hearted adult comedy pokes fun at the kind of interoffice politics that many people have had to endure. Things are taken to the next level when a couple of twists transpire, involving Peter’s workplace motivation
(or lack thereof) and a dopey get-rich-quick scheme gone awry. COMEDY
Release Date: Feb. 19, 1999 Director: Mike Judge Starring: Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman Running Time: 1 hour, 29 minutes Rating: R Where to Watch: Redbox, DirectTV, Vudu
I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 63
EARN YOUR
By Bill Lindsey PHOTO BY WILLIAM TOPA/UNSPLASH
Lifestyle Learn to Fly
With many municipal airports dotting the country, flying is a great alternative to driving to vacation destinations.
Ever since Icarus strapped on a set of wings, man has been seeking a way to soar like a bird. Like everything else, the internet has greatly simplified the process.
H
ere is a scenario we’ve all experienced: While sitting in a traffic jam, a small plane passes overhead. Watching it make its way, presumably in a straight line to its destination, not tethered to roadways, it’s easy to wonder what it would be like to be at the wheel, watching the world pass by from above. How hard could it be to fly along on a clear, cloudless day? Most pilots will say flying is pretty easy, but they’ll be quick to tell you the tricky part is landing.
HARBUCKS/SHUTTERSTOCK
Licenses If you can drive a car, chances are good that you can fly a plane if you’re given proper instruction. Discovery flights, which allow you to experience a takeoff, level flight, and a landing in a two-seat Cessna 152 or similar small plane, are available at flight schools across the country for about $100. If that short flight leaves you wanting more, you can begin the journey of earning a license
(also referred to as a certificate) to operate fixed-wing aircraft. The first step in obtaining a license is to decide what type of plane you want to fly, which determines the license to pursue. There are three certificates for private pilots: sport pilot, recreational pilot, and private pilot. A sport pilot can operate certain light aircraft, carrying one passenger only during daylight hours with visibility in excess of three miles, at altitudes of less than 10,000 feet, while avoiding busy airspace around air traffic-controlled airports (Class B, C, and D airspace). This certificate requires 20 hours of flight training, and it’s the only certificate that doesn’t presently require the student to undergo a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical exam. The next step up is the recreational pilot certificate, which permits the operation of many common light aircraft during daylight hours within 50 nautical miles of the “home airport”
while avoiding Class B, C, and D airspace. This certificate requires 30 hours of flight time, 15 of which must have an instructor aboard, and an FAA medical certificate. The private pilot’s license requires 40 hours of flight training, 20 of which are under an instructor’s supervision. This is the most common private license, allowing operation of a wide variety of single-engine aircraft to, from, and around controlled airports with multiple passengers aboard. Upon earning the private pilot certificate, ratings and endorsements, such as an instrument rating to fly after dark or to operate aircraft other than the one used for initial flight training, can be pursued. But before you climb into the cockpit, scarf and goggles in hand, ready to soar like a bird, there are two steps to be completed. Step one is to apply for and receive an FAA Student Pilot Certificate. The other step is to begin the ground school phase, aptly named as you’ll have both feet planted firmly on the ground, spending time at a desk instead of in a plane.
Ground School Ground school is definitely not as I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 65
Lifestyle Learn to Fly
LIFESTYLE
ROAM THE CLOUDS
It’s not hard to own the road and the sky
Flying a plane is serious business, but it is also a very enjoyable experience to share with friends and family.
If you can drive a car, chances are good that with proper instruction you can fly a plane.
66 I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021
Flight Training With ground school complete, the student can focus on flight training. Because the student is learning skills and techniques that quite literally mean the difference between a fun flight or a fiery crash, it’s critical to form a relationship with the instructor based on trust and mutual respect. If there’s any hint of conflict, the student needs to immediately take steps to be assigned to a different instructor. That also goes the other way, as the student needs to respect the instructor. Gravity is unforgiving, but by paying full attention and staying focused, you can safely enjoy the view.
1 Hit the Books Ground school provides the basic knowledge required for safe flight. It can be taken during or before flight training at an in-person flight school or via an internet-based program.
2 Fly the Simulated Skies A flight simulator is a great way to learn new skills and polish existing ones. While simulator crashes may be embarrassing, they are rarely fatal and require no expensive repairs.
3 Click With the Instructor
A pilot's license opens up a new way to see the world and can lead to new careers.
The skills being taught will ensure the safe operation of the aircraft and safety of all onboard, making it critical to have a mutually respectful relationship with the instructor.
FROM TOP: CHRIS LEIPELT/UNSPLASH, JON LY/UNSPLASH
exciting as time spent in a cockpit, but it requires complete attention and focus, as it covers a wide range of topics and information that will be applied during every flight. Examples include the basic principles of physics that allow an aircraft to fly, how to plan a flight, how to interpret weather conditions that may affect a flight, how the different parts of an aircraft work while in flight or during takeoff and landing, and various FAA rules and regulations. Ground school can be done at a flight school or via online courses. Hiring an independent flight instructor is a third option, although it could be the most expensive. Most students complete ground school in four to eight weeks. Student pilots can take part in ground school while also doing flight training. However, many instructors suggest that ground school be completed prior to flight training in order to allow the student to focus on the coursework and thus be better prepared to pass the test at the end. As is true in all forms of education, interaction with the instructor can play a large role in successfully completing ground or flight school. If choosing an internet-based training program, look for one that allows easy communication
with the instructor, so he or she can answer questions or provide clarification.
Luxury Living Pens
ARTISTIC PENMANSHIP: WRITING INSTRUMENTS THAT INSPIRE GREAT WORKS The mark of a master artisan is the ability to transform a mundane object into a breathtaking work of art. This selection of pens is ready to inspire soaring essays and great novels or simply make preparing the weekly grocery list a lot more enjoyable. By Bill Lindsey JOU R N EY TO R EDEMPTION
PA R I S U N D E R G L A S S
ST Dupont From Paris With Love Collector’s Kit
Montegrappa Dante Alighieri: Purgatorio
$8,499.99
$6,196
Celebrating Paris’s iconic Haussmann architecture, a Line D pen features details of a building from rooftop to street-level entry. The pen and a Line 2 lighter reside under a protective glass dome.
The artisans at Montegrappa chose sterling silver and 18k gold to illustrate the seven deadly sins and Dante’s ascent. From the cap to the nib, this is a pen that tells a story every time it’s viewed.
A M Y T H I C A L LY M ARV ELOUS PEN
Cartier Dragon Décor Pen $174,000
COURTESY OF CARTIER, VISCONTI, MONTEGRAPPA, S.T. DUPONT, MONTBLANC
Inspired by traditional Chinese design, a glittering, bejeweled gold dragon wraps around the burgundy cap, which is accented by clouds and dazzling emeralds, one more of which is set at the tip of the clip. The body features tastefully alternating bands of black and gold, enhanced with tiny diamonds at the base.
MAR BLED MASTERSTROK E
Visconti Il Magnifico Black Marble Fountain Pen $2,381
Inspired by the marble artworks of Renaissance ruler Lorenzo de’ Medici, black Portoro marble with gold veins from Italy’s La Spezia Province is used for the barrel to complement the aged bronze cap and trim.
SPEED WRITING
Montblanc Enzo Ferrari Rollerball Pen $930
The latest entry to the Great Characters line, this stunning pen honors Enzo Ferrari. Engraved with Ferrari’s logo and his signature, the red resin body and cap house a rollerball mechanism. I N S I G H T December. 17 – 23, 2021 67
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