By Peter Ward August 12, 2016
Campaign Donations Cross Party Lines
Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. ©Gregory Hauenstein
This year’s U.S. Presidential election season has, by many measures, been an unusual one. Now, data from the Federal Elections Commission shows that donations are even traveling in unconventional directions.
In a typical election year, donors who have given money to a failed candidate’s primary campaign usually funnel their money to the successful candidate from the same party.
But an interactive article published on Monday by The New York Times shows that of the donors who gave at least $200 to Republican primary candidates Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Chris Christie or Lindsey Graham, more of them have contributed to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign than that of Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.
Of the donors who gave money to Jeb Bush and at least one other candidate, less than 1% donated to Donald Trump, while more than 2% of the total gave money to Hillary Clinton, the Federal Elections Commission data, which covers up until June, showed.
Donald Trump has received money from a smaller proportion of his party’s donors than any candidate since 1980, according to the filings. However, Trump was up against an abnormally large field of opponents in the Republican primary and began raising money later than most candidates after he initially said he would self-fund his campaign.
Japan Rejects Immigration Despite Labor Shortage
Osaka, Japan ©pixabay
Asylum seekers are paving Japanese roads, digging the country’s sewers and laying its water pipes despite not having permits to work, as the country refuses to expand immigration quotas.
But Japan’s strict immigration policies are clashing with a shrinking population and a labor shortage, according to a report from Reuters published on Monday. As a result, a black market in labor has emerged.
Despite the rising proportion of retirees in Japan and a decline in the working-age population, Japanese politicians are reluctant to lower the barriers to immigration in a country which guards its cultural uniformity closely.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in September last year that the country should consider putting women and the elderly to work before considering opening the immigration floodgates.
The Reuters story focuses on one particular Kurdish migrant who is barred from working while his asylum application is considered. Despite this, he is able to pick up work on government construction projects.
Masahiko Shibayama, a lawmaker and special adviser to Abe, told Reuters that there’s “an allergy towards the word ‘immigration’” in Japan. “People are worried about public security. They worry that foreign workers would eat up Japanese jobs,” he said.
Residents Evicted Over $25 in D.C.
Washington D.C. ©By Diego Delso
As the city of Washington D.C. enjoys prosperous times and landlords reap the benefits of gentrification, some residents are being evicted over as little as $25 in unpaid rent.
An article published by the Washington Post on Monday tells the story of Brittany Gray, an unemployed single mother who has been sued for eviction five times since 2014, with each lawsuit claiming she owed less than $50 in rent.
Gray claims that she is being evicted because her apartment complex is being renovated, and her landlord would rather take legal action to force her out rather than pay to relocate her.
Research by the Washington Post has revealed that between January 2014 and March 2016, lawsuits seeking eviction over small debts increased by more than 50% in Gray’s apartment complex Brookland Manor. Executives of the property deny the lawsuits have anything to do with the construction project, which will create smaller apartments aimed at wealthier families.
“This is definitely contributing to homelessness. The consequence of missing $25 is that you’re now homeless,” Will Merrifield, a lawyer with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless who represents Brookland Manor tenants, told the Post.
The story highlights the levels of inequality in Washington D.C. as low-income tenants are evicted over small amounts of money, and landlords renovate buildings to accommodate wealthier families.
Walmart Looks Online with $3.3bn Purchase
Inside the Walmart Supercenter in Albany, the largest Walmart in the United States. ©Matt H. Wade. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
U.S. retail giant Walmart is buying e-commerce company Jet.com for $3.3 billion, as it attempts to rebuild its internet strategy.
Walmart has fallen behind the likes of Amazon in its online efforts, and analysts believe the purchase of Jet.com is an attempt to bolster its internet efforts. Walmart’s market capitalization currently stands at $230 billion, well behind Amazon’s $365 billion. Walmart’s online sales last year totaled $14 billion, compared to Amazon’s $99 billion.
“I think it’s an admission that they [Walmart] never really got off to a flying start with online; they never had the growth they should have had,” Neil Saunders, managing director of the retail analyst service Conlumino, told The Guardian. “Walmart’s aim should have been: we are the biggest retailer in the world – we want to be the biggest online retailer in the world.”
Jet.com’s CEO Marc Lore will collect as much as $825 million from the deal, as he still owns 25% of Jet, Recode reports. Lore sold his previous company Diapers.com to Amazon for $550 million.
Some reports suggest the acquisition was primarily a means for Walmart to secure the services of Lore. The deal means Lore will be tied to Walmart for at least five years. Usually in deals of this nature, the CEO will only be tied to the new company for two or three years.
This Week’s Top Headlines
Mounting oil stockpiles set to keep prices lower – Simon Falush, BBC
Valeant Under Criminal Investigation – Jacquie McNish, Christopher M. Matthews, The Wall Street Journal
Australia moves to block A$10bn power grid sale to Chinese – Jamie Smyth, Financial Times
Delta Malfunction on Land Keeps a Fleet of Planes From the Sky – Annalyn Kurtz, The New York Times
US registers $113 billion budget deficit in July – Paul Wiseman, Boston Globe
Gawker Media reportedly in settlement talks with Hulk Hogan – Sam Thielman, The Guardian
Macy’s to close 100 stores – Sarah Halzack, The Washington Post
Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington to step down – Bill Wilson, BBC
Alibaba Reaps Growth From Jack Ma’s Push Into Media, Cloud – Lulu Yilun Chen, David Ramli, Bloomberg News
Republicans have themselves to blame for the slow economy, study says – Jana Kasperkevic, The Guardian
