Universal Basic Income, Hunter Biden, & Future Food Trends
December 8, 2023
UBI: A Universal Good?
Since 2017, the U.S. has been conducting experiments in Kenya. No, nothing sinister – U.S. charity GiveDirectly has been giving Kenyan villagers monthly payments of $50 per person. In total, GiveDirectly has given thousands of dollars per month to a group of about 5,000 Kenyans.
This week, the charity published their findings about the outcomes of the program’s first two years, which compared the group receiving the universal basic income (UBI) with a control group of over 12,000 people who didn’t receive the payments. Those two groups will also be compared to two other groups – one consisting of 9,000 people who received UBI payments without the promise of another decade of payments afterward, as well as another group of 9,000 who received the same total amount of money in a single lump sum.
The experiment found that, unsurprisingly, the people who received payments were all generally more well-off than their counterparts who received zero payments from the charity. Those receiving payments typically didn’t spend them on things like alcohol or cigarettes, choosing to use the money more productively. The group who received a lump sum were 19% more likely to start a business than their drip-fed counterparts. Their businesses also earned a whopping 80% more than those who received monthly payments.
Other findings show that, when payments were given to a whole village, their benefits were amplified thanks to the money largely circulating within the community. The groups that weren’t given lump sum payments actually developed community systems called “rotating savings clubs,” where one member received all the monthly payments given to every member of the club on a rotating basis in order to allow them to make bigger purchases. The jury is still out on the long-term effectiveness of UBI, as these findings only cover the first two years of payments, but it’s encouraging information nonetheless.
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The Cartel Cuts Its Crude Contributions
- The world’s two biggest exporters of oil have agreed to cut their output for “the growth of the global economy,” according to a statement by the Kremlin. The announcement came just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived at his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh yesterday.
- The move comes just a week after member nations of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) came to a decision to cut their oil exports by 2.2 million barrels per day last week. The statement appears to be an attempt to call on OPEC+ countries, an expanded group of oil-producing nations, to follow suit. Further cooperation on production cuts might be necessary to fully stabilize oil markets.
Diminishing The Trade Deficit
- While Putin made his way to the Middle East this week, leaders from the European Union were headed the other direction. Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, paid a visit to Beijing yesterday, where they pressed Chinese Premier Xi Jinping about the trade imbalance between his country and Europe.
- Von der Leyen also pushed Xi to leverage his country’s partnership with Russia to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine, though we’re sure everyone involved knows he won’t do diddly squat on that front. “We have been clear since the beginning of the war that how China will position itself vis-à-vis the Russian aggression toward Ukraine, this will define also our relationship,” she said after the meeting.
- Another key point on the docket was the spike in competitively-priced Chinese electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines making their way into Europe, comprising a key part of Europe’s $426 billion trade deficit with China. The European leaders also highlighted the challenges posed by strict laws for foreign businesses operating within China, saying that loosening those tight regulations might improve the relationship between the two parties.
Additional World News
- Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro orders creation of new state and map including land from Guyana (CNN)
- Russian lawmakers set presidential vote for March 17, 2024 (ABC)
- Russia warns US that Ukraine will be its ‘second Vietnam’ (Politico)
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan plans ‘win-win’ approach in Athens after past feud (Guardian)
- State of emergency in Seychelles as massive explosion causes chaos (CNN)
- Denmark passes law to ban Quran burnings (BBC)
Middle East Reads
- Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah ‘killed by Israeli tank shell’ (Guardian)
- Israel and US are at odds over conflicting visions for postwar Gaza (AP)
- Bruised by War-Related Boycott, Artforum Seeks a Reset (NYT, $)
- Gazan journalist says over 20 members of his family were killed in airstrike (NPR)
- US public schools took a stance on Israel-Hamas. The backlash was swift (Guardian)
“If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free; if our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.” – Edmund Burke
Hunter Gets Hunted In Court
- President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has been indicted on nine counts, including failure to file and pay taxes; evasion of assessment; and false or fraudulent tax return. According to the special counsel’s team, Hunter “engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million” in taxes. In a news release announcing the charges Thursday, the Justice Department said Hunter Biden could face a maximum of 17 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
- The case was close to being resolved in July when a plea deal fell apart. The indictment claims the president’s son “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills.” However, Hunter’s attorney said in a statement that “based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought.”
Ask Your Local Judge If This Procedure Is Right For You
- A Texas judge on Thursday gave a pregnant woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis permission to get an abortion. Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two from the Dallas area, is thought to be the first person to ask a court to approve an abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
- The court granted Cox a temporary restraining order that will let her have an abortion despite Texas’ ban. Marc Hearron, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said he doesn’t think this is “the new normal,” adding, “I don’t think you can expect to see now hundreds of cases being filed on behalf of patients. It’s just not realistic.”
- In a letter to three Houston hospitals, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned that legal consequences were still possible if Cox’s physician provided the abortion. Paxton said Cox didn’t meet the criteria for a medical exception.
Additional USA Reads
- UNLV shooting: Vegas shooter was professor who applied for job, source says (AP)
- House censures Rep. Jamaal Bowman for falsely pulling fire alarm (ABC)
- CNN to host two GOP presidential primary debates in 2024 (CNN)
- Georgia prosecutors predict jail sentences in Trump 2020 election case (Guardian)
- University of Pennsylvania board of trustees holds emergency meeting after president Liz Magill’s disastrous testimony (CNN)
- Vivek Ramaswamy promotes Jan. 6 conspiracy theory by suggesting it was ‘an inside job’ (NBC)
A Spicy 2024 Prediction
- While food didn’t really make crazy headlines this year (besides Starbucks’ olive oil coffee and the sky-high price of eggs), one company says it has a bet for a breakout flavor hit in 2024. McCormick & Company, the U.S.’s leading seller of seasonings and spices, says that next year will be the year of tamarind.
- Every year, the spice purveyor publishes a report, backed by the research of 50 spice experts, predicting the next year’s “Flavor of the Year.” This time, those experts say that the acidic but sweet flavor of tamarind, a sour tropical fruit, will become the next pumpkin spice. Tamarind “brings out all of what we saw for this year,” said McCormick. Apparently the flavor hits on three trends for 2023 – “thoughtfully borrowed” flavors from regional cuisines, “new-stalgic” foods, and the rise of tangy and sour flavors.
- “All of those trends that we saw this year, we see them projected through this one flavor,” said Executive Chef Hadar Cohen Aviram. “We’re not inventing anything new, we’re looking at what’s trending, that is the key, but knowing when it’s the right time and when the chef starts featuring that [flavor]… that’s when we know that it’s coming up.”
Additional Reads
- Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world for environmental defenders (NPR)
- Pilots say they’re afraid to seek mental health care. The FAA says it’s listening (NPR)
- 3 fast-food workers arrested over extensive theft ring allegedly run out of their chicken restaurant (ABC)
- The dirty truth about taking your shoes off at the door (CNN)
- George Santos Movie in Development at HBO Films (Hollywood Reporter)
- 100 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood 2023 (Hollywood Reporter)
- Italian opera singing joins pizza-making on UN cultural heritage list (Guardian)