Episode 44: Der Kommissar
This week marks the second consecutive week with a mass shooting in the US. The first was on March 16th, when a lone gunman killed eight people at a series of Asian-owned massage parlors near Atlanta, GA. The suspect told the police that he had a “sexual addiction” and had carried out the shootings to eliminate his “temptation.” Less than a week later, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa opened fire on people shopping at the King Soopers store in Boulder, CO, killing ten people, including a police officer. The 21-year-old shooter acted alone and was armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle. The motive is still unclear. (The 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting and the 1999 Columbine High School massacre also occurred in Colorado.) Authorities thwarted another potential mass shooting this week and arrested Rico Marley after hearing him loading multiple guns in a supermarket restroom in Atlanta, GA. Marley had six guns and body armor in his possession. And then last night, ten people were shot near the Virginia Beach oceanfront. Two people are dead, and eight injured with wounds ranging from “serious to life-threatening.” Officers are still investigating the identity of the suspect and motive. There have been eight mass shootings so far this year and 29 mass shootings (4+ fatalities) in the US in the past five years. The US accounts for 40% of the world’s civilian-owned guns, despite Americans only making up 5% of the world’s population. According to Everytown, a gun safety nonprofit, more than 100 Americans die at the hands of guns every day. One analysis found that 2020 had the highest number of gun-related deaths in decades.
IMMIGRATION
There is a crisis at our southern border. Poverty, high levels of violence, and corruption in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries have propelled migration to our southwest border for years. The adverse conditions have continued to deteriorate. Two damaging hurricanes that hit Honduras and swept through the region made the living conditions even worse, causing more children and families to flee.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation more complicated, both in terms of the risks and protocols, and policies needed to deal with illegal migration. More than 15,000 unaccompanied migration children have been detained along the US border with Mexico over the past few weeks. That number compares with 5,600 unaccompanied minors in January. Thousands of migrant children are being held for days in cramped facilities run by the Border Patrol, despite the fact the law requires these children to be turned over to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) within 72 hours. The DHS lacks a coherent plan and the capacity to provide suitable accommodation. However, more than 80% of the migrant children have a relative living in the US. These children will likely be allowed to remain connected with their families, reversing a policy under the Trump administration. Border Patrol intercepted more than 60,000 single adults and more than 32,000 families in the first three weeks of March.
Alejandro Mayorkas is Der Kommissar of Homeland Security. Mayorkas offered the following statement last week about the situation.
POLITICS
President Joe Biden held his first formal news conference this week. Republicans and some Democrats criticized Biden for not holding a press conference sooner – his two predecessors had done so well before their 65th day in office. Biden took to the East Room of the White House and addressed a socially distanced group of reporters. Biden relied heavily on notes and called on what appeared to be a pre-determined list of reporters, which didn’t include Fox News or any other right-leaning media outlets. Biden focused on the following topics:
COVID: The president announced his administration’s goal to get to 200 million doses of vaccine in Americans arms by his 100th day in office, just 33 days away. That’s double the number of doses he promised in December. The goal seems reasonable given 133 million doses have already been administered. And he wants to get the majority of K-8 schools fully open in 34 days.
Economic: Biden boasted about the $1.9 trillion financial aid package that he shepherded through Congress, calling it a fiscal shot-in-the-arm that should help the economy recover from the pandemic.
Immigration: Despite mounting criticism from both sides of the aisle, the president gave “no apologies” for reversing the Trump-era immigration policies and didn’t offer much new information. When he did speak on the topic, he blamed Trump for cutting aid to Central American countries.
Infrastructure: President Biden tipped his hand on his next priority—a massive infrastructure spending bill. He is expected to announce a $3 trillion economic program with an emphasis on infrastructure and social services. The program will have two main components: 1) construction of clean energy plants, roads, and hospitals, including the infrastructure for rail lines, electric vehicle charging stations, and telecommunications, and 2) the creation of a “care economy” that focuses on child care and education, including funds for community colleges, universal pre-kindergarten, and paid family leave.
Guns: In the wake of the recent mass shootings, Biden said it was up to Congress to make big gun legislation moves. And that he’s considering taking executive action on things like background checks and programs to combat community violence.
Filibuster: Biden argued that the filibuster is currently being abused in the Senate and that he favored reform and changing the rules.
COVID
About 2.5 million vaccine doses are being administered every day in the United States. This week the country broke its record for most doses administered in a single day: 3.4 million. At the current rate, the US would hit President Biden’s new goal of 200 million shots administered in his first 100 days. According to CNN, six states are now offering Covid-19 vaccinations to all residents 16 or older, and at least 30 others plan to open up eligibility to adults before the end of April.
A new study said the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines are effective and safe for pregnant and lactating women. And that they can pass antibodies to their babies.
Germany has extended a nationwide lockdown for three weeks in a bid to contain a surge in coronavirus cases. Germany’s vaccination campaign is lagging. Only about 9% of the German population has received at least one vaccine shot. Notable countries and their vaccination percentage of the total population: Israel (58%), UK (42%), Chile (31%), USA (25%), Canada (9%), Spain (9%), Brazil (5%), Mexico (4%), Russia (3.9%), Japan (0.5%).
The Indian government has confirmed the detection of a “double mutant” variant of the coronavirus. It is too early to determine whether this new strain is more contagious, but experts say that may be the case. India reported 47,262 new confirmed cases and 275 deaths on Wednesday, the highest one-day tallies this year.
ECONOMY & MARKETS
The S&P 500 rallied on Friday and rose 1.7% to 3,974.54, hitting a record closing high and bringing its 2021 gains to 5.8%. The Nasdaq Composite erased a 0.8% loss and ended the session 1.2% higher to 13,138.72. All three major benchmarks rallied to their session highs into the close, with the Dow jumping tacking on more than 150 points in the final 8 minutes of trading.
OTHER NEWS
Last week, the IRS announced that the 2020 federal income tax filing and payment due date for individuals would be postponed from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021. As a result, individual income tax returns may be filed any time on or before May 17, and the associated balance due payment may be postponed until May 17, even if the return is filed sooner. This relief does not apply to individual Q1, 2021, estimated tax payments or business, trust, estate, gift, non-profit, or other returns or payments with an April 15 due date, nor is it applicable to payroll excise tax deposits, payments, or returns. For those considering making contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts and/or Health Savings Accounts with 2020 deadlines of April 15, 2021, it is unclear as of this week whether the IRS intends to grant an extension for such. You should always consult with your CPA on tax-related matters as the rules can change week to week.
The Senate voted overwhelmingly to extend the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program’s deadline to May 31. The legislation now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature, and he is expected to sign the bill into law. The legislation would also give the SBA an additional month to process any PPP loans that came in before the new deadline, essentially giving the agency until June 30.
The Ever Given, a 224,000-ton and 430-yard length container ship almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall, ran aground in the Suez Canal on Tuesday after being caught in 40-knot winds and a sandstorm. Dredgers and tugboats have been working day and night to remove vast quantities of sand and mud in an attempt to dislodge the ship and open the pathway. Approximately 156 ships are waiting at both ends of the canal for the Ever Given to be released. The stranded mega-container vessel is holding up an estimated $400 million an hour in trade, based on the approximate value of goods moved through the Suez every day. The blockage is further stressing an already strained supply chain from the pandemic and creating an accordion effect. The Suez Canal, which separates Africa from Asia, is one of the busiest trade routes globally, with approximately 12% of total global trade moving through it. Energy exports like liquified natural gas, Crude oil, and refined oil make up 5% to 10% of the international shipments. The rest of the traffic is primarily consumer products ranging from fire pits to clothing, furniture, manufacturing, auto parts, and exercise equipment.
The University of Southern California (USC) has agreed to pay $852 million to more than 700 women who allege that a campus gynecologist sexually abused them. USC first started receiving complaints about Dr. George Tyndall’s behavior in the 1990s, but he was not suspended until 2016. In conjunction with two earlier settlements, USC has agreed to pay approximately $1.1B to the victims of Dr. George Tyndall. He pleaded not guilty to 35 criminal counts of alleged sexual misconduct between 2009 and 2016. The settlement announced on Thursday is one of the largest sex abuse settlements ever. Plaintiffs will receive payments ranging between $250,000 and several million dollars. Tyndall, who reportedly received a large payout after resigning in 2017, is free on bond.
New York legislators agreed to legalize recreational cannabis for residents over 21 after reaching a deal with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. According to The New York Times, the agreement allows bar-like locations to serve marijuana (but not alcohol) to be consumed on the premises and permits weed home delivery services to operate. The deal reportedly would allow individuals to maintain up to six marijuana plants at home for personal use. Taxes on the legal sale of cannabis would bring in an estimated $350 million annually in New York. And millions in tax revenue from the sale of cannabis would be allocated to minority communities that have been disproportionately affected by laws banning the drug.
I. Below are the articles I found interesting the past week:
What makes a relationship last
Making the hybrid workplace fair
A chance to reboot globalisation
People who have had COVID should get a single vaccine does, studies suggest
II. Stats that made me go WOW!
- The NCAA tournament is big money. The D1 men’s tournament accounted for 79% of the $1.1 billion registered by the organization during the 2019 fiscal year. The further a team advances in the tournament, the more money the NCAA pays the team’s conference on a rolling 6-year basis. For example, a run to the Final Four could generate around $1.1 million for a conference every season for the next six years. The NCAA still doesn’t factor the performance of a school’s women’s basketball program into its total March Madness revenue distribution. But TV ratings for female basketball are on the rise. More than 3.6 million viewers watched the 2019 women’s championship game, up 24% from 2016.
- This year’s NCAA tournament could generate as much as $1.5 billion in legal bets. For context, Legal Sports Report estimated that $462 million was legally wagered on this year’s Super Bowl. According to the NCAA, the odds of filling out a perfect bracket are 1-in-120 billion.
- The Simpsons will air its 700th episode Sunday evening. It would take another 12 years for the show to hit 1,000.
- A Brooklyn-based film director is mocking and attempting to profit off the cryptocurrency craze for NFTs by selling a year’s worth of fart audio clip recorded in quarantine. The top bid for the file is currently $183. Individual fart recordings are also available for 0.05 Ethereum, or about $85 a toot.
III. Name that Tune!
As I write this email, I am listening to “Der Kommissar” by After The Fire.
After The Fire was a British rock band that transitioned from playing progressive rock to "new wave" over their initial ten-year career. The group's most notable member was former Yes keyboard player Peter Banks. They released three moderately successful albums in England before their label, CBS Records, issued Der Kommissar in America. The title track became the group's only hit in the US. Austrian singer Falco, who had a #1 hit in the US in 1986 with "Rock Me, Amadeus," recorded the original version of Der Kommissar in German. Falco’s version didn't crack the American charts, so he encouraged English-speaking bands to record this song so he could make inroads in the States.
Kommisssar is German for "Government Official." The song is about a couple on the run from the law. Every time they happen to be in public, "Der Kommissar" shows up. Hence the phrase, "Alles klar? Der Kommissar," which means "Everything OK, officer?" The After The Fire version of the song was used in several movies—Grandview, USA (1984), The Wedding Singer (1998), Skateland (2010), and Atomic Blonde (2017).
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