The Democratic Party has before it a choice between two economic policies: a big increase in the federal minimum wage, to $15 an hour from $7.25; and a per-child cash benefit of several thousand dollars a year. The decision will have major implications, for the future of both the party and the US economy. The cash benefit is clearly the better option. One problem with the minimum wage hike is that it is not clear how many people are harmed and how many low-skilled workers will lose their jobs,

For the past 30 years, every new president entering the White House since the Cold War did so determined to improve relations with Russia. Bill Clinton believed more economic assistance would help Russian President Boris Yeltsin transform the economy and strengthen democracy. George W. Bush famously looked into President Vladimir Putin’s eyes and “got a sense of his soul.” Barack Obama promised to press the “reset” button in his relations with President Dmitry Medv

Seen from Europe, Asia, or even North America, Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, is as remote as can be. Yet the 501Y.V3 variant of the coronavirus recently detected there has already been identified as a global threat, because its emergence in a city where two-thirds of the population was already infected in the spring of 2020 suggests that acquired immunity does not protect against it. Scientists speculate whether 501Y.V3 may also thwart some of the existing vaccines. Ev

Nearly lost in the tumult of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and the excitement of Joe Biden‘s inauguration is the continuing fallout from the massive data breach of SolarWinds Corp. by suspected Russian hackers. As the new team settles into office, what can it do to keep the nation safe in cyberspace? Let’s begin with the scale of the hack. SolarWinds was a prime vendor to tens of thousands of clients, including hundreds of Fortune 500 enterprises and nearly the entire US go

Alas, before I have had a chance to decide on a New Year’s resolution, or decide whether to ditch the whole idea of making resolutions as suggested by some self-improvement gurus, we are nearing the end of January. A whole month has gone by in the blink of an eye and now there are only 11 months left to the year. It is said that when you reach a certain stage in life, the passage of time feels different, that time appears to pass more quickly. Some experts attribute this to brain chemical

On April 7, 2021, Seoul will hold a special election for mayor. Seoul has been without a mayor since former Mayor Park Won-soon’s shocking suicide in July 2020. The election of a new mayor will stir discussion of how the city should move forward as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes. As the leader of the capital city and the overwhelmingly dominant city, the mayor of Seoul is influential. Several mayors have dreamed of becoming president and one, Lee Myung-bak, succeeded in the 2007. The new m

Last week, the Korean National Police Agency announced a major personnel reshuffle, involving almost all of its 550 superintendents, the core of the police force. Printed in fine letters, the names and their short and long new titles occupied nearly half of a newspaper page. The 2021 reassignments of senior police personnel had to be more extensive than in previous years because the KNPA was making a new start with a new organizational structure in three tiers, namely the National Police Agenc

On Jan. 20, 2021, the Biden era has officially begun in the United States. Watching the inauguration ceremony, many Americans and foreigners look forward to the restoration of the America they used to know. That is to say, the America that the Founding Fathers originally dreamed of, the America that led the world as a peacekeeper, and the America that the world looked up to as a land of liberty, equality, and justice. As President Biden announced, “America is back,” and “Make

The storming of the US Capitol on Jan. 6 was a real lowlight for Congress. At least during the sacking of Washington in the war of 1812, the White House burned alongside the Capitol. But on Jan. 6, 2021 the head of the executive branch urged his followers to interfere with the operation of the legislative branch. The entire sequence of events is a reminder that congressional power has been receding relative to the executive branch for almost a century. Now is the time for Congress to stand up f

President Joe Biden was absolutely correct when he said “the world is watching all of us today,” as he delivered his inaugural address Wednesday from the very spot where a mob stormed the Capitol two weeks before. Biden’s message “to those beyond our borders” was that “America has been tested and we’ve come out stronger. … We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again. And we’ll lead, not merely by the example of our pow

In celebrating the liberation from Donald Trump’s misrule, we must not forget that Trump’s presidency embodied the raw politics of US white supremacy. He often spoke like a segregationist Southern governor of the 1960s, and, after losing the 2020 election, like a secessionist senator on the eve of the Civil War. To sustain the victory over Trump’s destructive politics, we must overcome the racism that brought him to power. That urgent challenge faces not only the United States,

Hand it to human beings. We have repeatedly defied predictions that we will buckle under the extreme pressure of adverse events. Time and again, whether it was during the eight-month blitz in World War II, or after 9/11, people have proved remarkably resilient in the face of adversity. Will it be the same with this pandemic? On aggregate, probably yes. Most people have experienced, or know someone who has experienced, mental stress as a result of pandemic-related circumstances. But once they a

Nobody wants to be manipulated. But there is a sector where manipulation is openly granted as both parties -- companies and consumers -- agree to play together. The gaming market is the very sector in which players knowingly allow publishers to pull some strings by modifying the lucky box item ratio and implementing special promotions for newbies. In general, most gamers remain largely silent or passive about publishers’ extreme and unfair behavior. Instead of actively protesting unjust

To anyone who followed Joe Biden’s successful campaign and his comments since clinching the presidency, the underlying theme of his inaugural address was hardly a surprise: a plea for national unity and a pledge to govern for all Americans, regardless for whom they voted. But the most crucial aspect of Biden’s speech may prove to be whether his tone helps persuade enough congressional Republicans that the nation’s current problems are sufficiently serious they need respond to