Here we go again. Every several years it seems Congress and the president play a game of chicken over the U.S. Treasury debt limit. Each time, just in time, lawmakers manage to avoid breaching the limit.

But there is reason to worry that this time that they may not. And that would be an economic catastrophe.

The debt limit, also known as the debt ceiling, is the maximum amount of debt that the Treasury Department can issue. Given that the federal government runs large budget deficits — it spends more than it raises in taxes and other revenues — if the Treasury can’t borrow more, the government will not be able to pay all its bills on time. The limit is set by law and has been increased or suspended many times in its existence for over a century to allow the Treasury to finance the government’s operations.

The intent of the debt limit was to force lawmakers to be fiscally disciplined — to spend less, tax more, and rein in budget deficits and the debt. It has failed miserably and instead threatens to crater the nation’s finances and economy.

Given the uncertainty in the timing of the government’s payments and receipts, it is not possible to know precisely when the Treasury will run out of cash to pay everyone on time. If it comes to that, the nation will be in default. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says it could be as soon as June. The best estimate from Moody’s Analytics is August but no later than early October.

Proposed solutions

There is much debate over whether the Treasury could prioritize payments to Treasury securities investors first to avoid defaulting on debt obligations. While the Treasury may have the technical ability to pay bond investors before others, it is unclear whether Treasury is legally able to do so. The move would be challenged in court. Bond investors, unsure how the legal uncertainty would be resolved, would demand much higher interest rates.

And politically, it seems unimaginable that bond holders, who include many foreign investors, would get their money ahead of American senior citizens, the military, or even the federal government’s electric bill. At least not for long.

Other proposed workarounds to the debt limit, such as minting a $1 trillion platinum coin, are also unworkable. Federal law gives Treasury the authority to mint platinum coins, and the thinking is Treasury would mint a $1 trillion coin, deposit it at the Fed, and draw it down to pay the government’s bills. But the law authorizing platinum coins envisaged commemorative coins, not circumventing Congress’ power of the purse. This would also put the Fed in the middle of the fight, badly politicizing the central bank and significantly jeopardizing its independence, which is critical to a well-functioning economy.

Some argue that President Joe Biden should invoke Section 4 of the 14th Amendment and order the Treasury to keep issuing bonds and paying bills. The 14th Amendment states that the “validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned.” But this amendment was passed just after the Civil War to ensure the federal government wasn’t on the hook for the war debt of Confederate states. Investors would rightly wonder if using the amendment to repeal the debt limit law would stand up in the courts, and even if it did, what it means for our political system’s checks and balances. Given the constitutional crisis this would set off, financial markets would still be roiled, and a recession would likely ensue.

Looking ahead

It remains unclear how lawmakers will resolve the impasse. Given the severe economic and political costs of a debt limit breach, the most likely path is for lawmakers once again to get it together just in time. This might include an agreement on the debt limit in tandem with an agreement on the federal budget for the next fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

However, odds that lawmakers fail to reach an agreement before breaching the debt limit are meaningfully greater than zero. The difficulty House Republicans had electing Kevin McCarthy as speaker and the terms McCarthy had to agree to win election — including having a battle over the debt limit with Democrats — don’t bode well. Getting any legislation through the process is tough, but getting highly contentious debt limit legislation through this Congress before a breach is likely to be an uphill battle.

A bedrock of the U.S. economy and global financial system is that the U.S. government pays what it owes in a timely way. The political brinkmanship over the debt limit is thus painful to watch. If lawmakers are unable to increase, suspend or eliminate the debt limit before the Treasury fails to make a payment to bondholders or anyone else, the chaos in global financial markets will be unbearable. The U.S. and global economies will quickly descend into recession. In the more than a century since the debt limit became law, lawmakers have taken strident warnings like these to heart and acted. Let us hope they do so again. Soon.

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Yes, we hear positive news: Moderna is adding hundreds of positions here, for example, and Lego is moving its North American headquarters to Boston from Connecticut — all to capitalize on the region’s talent. Employers, in general, are still adding jobs, per the latest payroll count, and the state’s coffers remain flush with cash, a record $7 billion sitting in the rainy day fund.

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Boston Globe tech reporters tell the story of the region’s technology and innovation industry, highlighting key players, trends, and why they matter.

But how much longer can the good times last? The Boston area is feeling Big Tech’s retrenchment, with jobs evaporating by the thousands. A new income tax surcharge, known as the Fair Share Amendment (aka the millionaires tax), has resurrected the dreaded specter of “Taxachusetts.” And the state Legislature faces leaner times ahead, with the latest projections calling for a slim 1-percent increase in state revenues in the fiscal year that starts in July.

Then there’s that census data, in black and white, showing an exodus amid the widespread adoption of telecommuting and hybrid work. Yes, Massachusetts had lost migrants to other states before the pandemic. But those losses have accelerated significantly.

Hao understands what’s at stake.

“There’s a high sense of urgency,” Hao said in an interview just hours after being sworn in last week. “We can’t be complacent. We can’t rest on our laurels.”

She rattled off some of the challenges: “The weather’s not for everybody. It’s expensive here to do business. It’s expensive to live here. It’s expensive to buy a house. I think this Fair Share act [hurts the] perception, that’s added one more thing to that list. [And] so many more companies have gone to ‘remote only.’”

Hao comes to the job with a background in business, not government. Her recent career has primarily been in private equity, much of it with Boston-based PE giant Bain, and she later worked as a top executive at PillPack before the pharmacy startup was acquired by Amazon. She was at local PE firm Cove Hill Partners when Healey called.

She has traded her hoodies and jeans for business suits, and “Yvonne” for “Secretary Hao.” That’s the easy part. The real work begins now: meeting with executives and trade associations in and around Boston and across the state. Her first stops include mingling at MassBio on Wednesday, where Healey spoke, and Associated Industries of Massachusetts, where the governor speaks on Thursday. Hao will also team up with Lauren Jones, Healey’s new labor secretary, to help ensure the state’s talent pipeline fits with employers’ needs.

17leung – Yvonne Hao (center) served as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of PillPack before it was acquired by Amazon for $750 million in 2019, and this photo shows many of her former teammates who were there at the time. She is pictured at the online pharmacy’s office in Cambridge with (left to right), Geoff Swindle (chief business officer), TJ Parker (co-founder and CEO), Colin Raney (chief marketing officer) and Elliot Cohen (co-founder). Colin Raney

On that last point: Hao takes over at a time when the demands of this high-profile government job are shifting a bit. Like her predecessors, Hao will need to encourage companies that are here already to stay, and to grow — and she’ll work to recruit new employers into the fold.

But remember the 1,100? Hao knows she also has to focus on retaining and attracting talented workers, not just employers. The state’s shrinking workforce poses a fundamental threat to the economy here. Hao wants to reverse that trend.

Hao looks to the nearly half-million young people who attend college and graduate school in Massachusetts every year as one potential solution. She wants to see fewer leave after their studies are done. “We have the world’s best young talent coming through our state,” she said. “How do we harness that?”

Another plus that she cited in our favor, particularly in the Boston area: the close-knit nature of the business community. Everyone knows everyone, or so it seems. That’s not the case in Silicon Valley, or in New York — places where she lived before moving to Massachusetts in 2010.

State law requires Hao’s office to produce an economic plan every four years. The next one, Hao said, is due in at the end of the year. She plans to use the exercise as a springboard for a broad discussion about how to stoke the state’s various sectors and regions, and ensure good jobs are available at all skill levels. For now, Hao also oversees housing policy, though Healey eventually plans to shift housing into a newly created separate secretariat. Even after the org chart’s reshuffling, it will remain a priority: There’s perhaps no greater threat to the state’s competitiveness than the high costs of renting or buying a home here.

The ideas are already coming, fast and furious. JD Chesloff, head of the Mass. Business Roundtable, just penned a column with the online CommonWealth magazine calling on state leaders to invest in affordable housing, public transit, childcare, and to align their workforce development efforts with high-growth sectors. Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce CEO Jim Rooney covered similar topics when he spoke to members on Tuesday — as well the need for some tax reform, maybe mitigating some of the millionaires tax’s impact.

The situation isn’t dire in Massachusetts by any means. But economist Donald Klepper-Smith is a fervent follower of the census data, and the numbers aren’t looking good: 1,100 people a week, he said, represents a profound statement. People, jobs, state revenue: As he sees it, they all go hand in hand. Klepper-Smith likes to talk about “the three T’s” — temperature, taxes, traffic. Depending on your perspective, Massachusetts suffers in all three categories. (He knows of which he speaks, having sold his Vineyard home recently and settled into semi-retired life in Hilton Head, S.C.)

Hao realizes what she’s up against. Ask her about her top priority. It’s not convincing the next Lego to move here.

“Job number one,” she said, “is not to lose anybody.”

Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jonchesto.

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U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Robert F. Godec’s Remarks at Krungthep Turakij newspaper’s seminar on “Geopolitics: The Big Challenge for Business”

Monday, January 23, 2023

Vice Minister, Chairman and CEO of the Nation Group, Managing Editor of the Nation Group, ladies and gentlemen, Sawasdee Khrap!

It is a great honor to be here today.  So I want to say thank you for the very kind invitation.  I especially want to thank Krungthep Turakit for convening this seminar and for facilitating this exchange of views.  So again, and on behalf of the U.S. Embassy and myself, thank you.

U.S. Priorities – Building Partnerships for Peace and Prosperity

One truth is clear:  The United States is committed to the Indo-Pacific region, and to our strong alliance with Thailand.  For nearly two centuries, the Thai-U.S. partnership has been a force for good and a pillar of Indo-Pacific peace and prosperity.  On March 23, 1833, Chao Phraya Phra Khlang and U.S. Minister Edmund Roberts signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Siam and the United States, beginning what is now 190 years of growing partnership between our countries.  Today I will outline the U.S. vision for the region and our hopes for the future of the Thailand-U.S. partnership.

Responding to Global Opportunities and Challenges

Right now, we have extraordinary opportunities to make the lives of people better across the globe.  Opportunities to create and share wealth, improve access to education and health care, enhance security, and ensure people can make their own decisions about how they are governed.  Of course, along with these opportunities, we face challenges, including the fight against COVID-19 and preparing for future global health emergencies, recovering from economic shocks, taking on the threat of climate change, and creating an energy future that’s cleaner, more secure, and more affordable.  No country can realize these opportunities or meet these challenges alone.  We can only do so together, and our shared set of rules and institutions provides the framework for progress.

The United States will work with our partners, friends, and allies to tackle shared challenges and seize common opportunities.

When countries reject the international rules, however, we must stand together.  Hence, the international community has stood squarely with Ukraine against President Putin’s unprovoked and unjustified war. And we work with our partners to promote justice and accountability in Burma and to end the military regime’s brutal campaign of violence against the people of that country.  Our future depends on our willingness to work together and to respect international norms and agreements.  Respect for international rules provides people and businesses with the stability and predictability to invest and grow.

As I know, it is also on the minds of many here, I would also like to mention our complex and consequential relationship with the PRC, which includes aspects of cooperation as well as competition.  Secretary Blinken will soon travel to China to follow up on President Biden and President Xi’s open, candid conversation in November.  We seek to keep the lines of communication open and to cooperate where we can, and to make every effort to prevent competition from veering into conflict.  Let me reassure you, we are committed to managing this important relationship responsibly.

Our Vision for the Region: U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy

For over 75 years, the United States and Thailand have supported an Indo-Pacific vision where rules are developed transparently and applied fairly; where countries are free to make their own sovereign decisions; where goods, ideas, and people flow freely across land, sky, cyberspace, the open seas, and good governance is responsive to the people.  This system has improved the quality of life for millions of people in this region and across the globe.  Every country in the world and every person in this room has benefitted from it.

One new U.S. regional initiative is the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework or IPEF.  We are pleased that Thailand was a founding member of IPEF when it was launched in May 2022.  We need new solutions to address 21st Century challenges – from trade, to supply chains, to energy, and the environment – and IPEF will help us find them.  IPEF will unlock enormous economic value for this region, especially for small businesses.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) is another vital initiative to address regional challenges and that helps provide an institutional framework for progress.  I commend Thailand for successfully hosting APEC in 2022 and its effort to promote sustainable economic growth via the Bangkok Goals on the Bio-Circular Green Economy model.  In 2023, the United States will host APEC and we will strive to build on Thailand’s great work and the overarching goal of promoting free, fair, and open trade and investment, and advancing inclusive and sustainable growth.

U.S.-Thailand Relations – A Model for Regional Partnership

Thailand is central to the future of this region and, as I said earlier, our relations today are strong.  Our ties form a tapestry that each of us is weaving, and its threads are government to government, business to business, university to university, and people to people.

Our economic partnership is an essential strand of our tapestry.  The United States is Thailand’s largest export market.  That means our economies are inextricably linked and our trade relationship is robust.  And growing.  In fact, our bilateral trade has jumped 50 percent over the past two years.  The United States is a major investor in the Thai economy, with U.S. firms operating across diverse sectors including automobiles, healthcare and high tech/digital.  U.S. firms’ operations in Thailand are estimated to directly employ nearly 200,000 Thai citizens and support countless other jobs.

The importance of our economic ties can be seen in the engagement we have had over the last year and that we have on the horizon.  In March, Bangkok will host Trade Winds, the largest U.S. government-led trade mission and business development forum.  The forum will feature Thailand as its regional hub and include optional spin-off visits to five other ASEAN countries.  Trade Winds will host well over 100 top executives from U.S. companies and feature meetings with officials, demonstrating the American private sector’s enthusiasm for investing in Thailand.  Trade Winds is yet another example of the U.S. commitment to Thailand and our desire to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth across the region.

The United States and Thailand are also collaborating on digital economic development to promote innovation, including in developing secure and stable digital infrastructure, enhancing the digital skills of our workforces, and developing smart cities and policies promoting digital trade.  Key U.S high tech firms including Seagate, Amazon, Tesla, Ford, Netflix, Google and others are all expanding their operations in Thailand to the tune of billions of dollars in near term investment.  These major private industry tech giants are investing in the future of the Thai-U.S. partnership and looking to Thailand as a regional hub.

The United States and Thailand also work closely on the central challenge of our time: climate change.  We applaud Thailand’s ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030, and the United States is supporting Thailand’s efforts to achieve this goal through a combination of technical assistance, capacity building, and commercial engagement and collaboration.

In health care, for over 60 years Thailand and the United States have been partners.  As a result of our shared efforts, the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the globe are better.  The close nature of this partnership – for example, our Centers for Disease Control has more than 100 staff co-located in Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health – has saved the lives of countless children and ensured parents can work and take care of their families.  During the height of the global pandemic, our vaccine and other donations – and technical cooperation –ensured that safe and effective mRNA covid vaccines got into the arms in Bangkok and across Thailand, that residents of Khlong Toei had access to critical medical supplies, and public hospitals in Kanchanaburi had lab equipment.

Future of U.S.-Thai Relations and Opportunities for Partnership

As you can see, Thailand and the United States have been hard at work building a strong and diverse relationship over the past 190 years.  This year, as we celebrate those 190 years, we should look for ways to do even more together, to weave an ever more beautiful tapestry.  Together, in fact, I believe we should launch a decade of work to take our relations to a new level.  We should seek new ways to increase trade and investment, in both directions, and build prosperity for everyone.  We can strengthen engagement in the digital world and in the creative industries.  There are opportunities for us to cooperate to expand use of clean energy and put satellites in space.  We should increase the number of scholarships for Thais to study in the United States, and for Americans to study here.  We can work to accelerate joint scientific and technical research, whether by universities or companies.  What we can do is only limited by our imagination.

In conclusion, the United States is committed to enhancing peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, and to our partnership with Thailand.  We are actively working with our partners, friends, and allies to tackle shared challenges, seize common opportunities, and to support the international system that has improved life for people across the world.  Together, we can build a better future for Thais, Americans, and for people everywhere.

Rao ja daun naa pai duay gun!

Khop khun khrap.

By U.S. Embassy Bangkok | 25 January, 2023 | Topics: Ambassador, News

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The U.S. government has hit the debt ceiling, which means within a few months it won’t be able to pay its bills unless Congress votes to raise the debt limit. The U.S. Treasury can keep everything afloat for only a short time before the government defaults, which could spell disaster on a national and global scale. The clock just restarted for Congress to take action.

So, what is the debt ceiling anyway? And why should you care?

The debt ceiling, also known as the debt limit, is the total amount of money the United States government can borrow so it can meet its legal obligations. Those obligations include funding for things like Social Security, Medicare, military salaries, interest on the national debt and tax refunds.

The United States hit its debt ceiling on Jan. 19. 

When the government hits the debt ceiling, it risks eventual default, which would kick off a financial crisis. To avoid a debt ceiling crisis, Congress can raise or suspend the debt limit; the limit has been modified 20 times since 2002.

How high is the debt ceiling?

The U.S. debt ceiling was last increased to $31.4 trillion on Dec. 16, 2021. 

The last time the U.S. hit the debt ceiling was in 2011, and it resulted in a standoff between Democrats and Republicans, which led to chaos in the markets. Default was narrowly avoided by a midnight deal to raise the limit, but the ripple effects on the economy lasted for months.  

What’s happening with the debt ceiling now

In order to prevent the United States from defaulting, the Department of the Treasury is implementing “extraordinary measures” that, for now, primarily impact retirement funds. These measures include:  

1. Redeeming existing and suspending any new investments of retirement funds for government employees, including the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, or CSRDF, and the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, or Postal Fund. 

2. Suspending reinvestment in the Government Securities Investment Fund of the Federal Employees Retirement System Thrift Savings Plan, or G Fund. 

In a Jan. 13 letter, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on Congress to increase or suspend the debt limit. She wrote that the Treasury estimates the government will run out of money and default by June.

Congress usually agrees that raising the debt limit, and thereby repaying the government’s debts, is necessary, and routinely votes for it, as they last did in 2021. However, this time it won’t be so easy. 

Republicans are reportedly demanding cuts to future spending in exchange for increasing the debt ceiling. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has asked for discussions to begin. Again, negotiating in order to raise the debt ceiling is unusual. And Democrats aren’t budging on their call to raise the debt ceiling sans strings. On Jan. 18, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press conference, “We have been very, very clear about that. We are not going to be negotiating over the debt ceiling.”

What would happen if the U.S. defaulted on debt?

If the default lasts for weeks or more, rather than days, it could trigger a fire-and-brimstone, Armageddon-level financial crisis for the U.S. and global economies.  

A report from the White House Council of Economic Advisors in October 2021 warned of the possible effects of the U.S. defaulting, which include a worldwide recession, worldwide frozen credit markets, plunging stock markets and mass worldwide layoffs. The real gross domestic product, or GDP, could also fall to levels not seen since the Great Recession. 

The U.S. has only defaulted once, in 1979, and it was an unintentional snafu — the result of a technical check-processing glitch that delayed payments to certain U.S. Treasury bond holders. The whole affair affected only a few investors and was remedied within weeks.

But the 1979 default was not intentional. And from the point of view of the global markets, there’s a world of difference between a short-lived administrative snag and a full-blown default as a result of Congress failing to raise the debt limit.

A default could happen in two stages. First, the government might delay payments to Social Security recipients and federal employees. Next, the government would be unable to service its debt or pay interest to its bondholders. U.S. debt is sold to investors as bonds and securities to private investors, corporations or other governments. Just the threat of default would cause market upheaval: A big drop in demand for U.S. debt as its credit rating is downgraded and sold, followed by a spike in interest rates. The U.S. government would need to promise higher interest payments to justify the increased risk of buying and holding its debt.

Here’s what else you can expect to see if the U.S. defaults on its debt. 

A sell-off of U.S. debt 

A default could provoke a sell-off in debt issued by the U.S. government, considered among the safest and most stable securities in the world. Such a sell-off of U.S. Treasurys would have far-reaching repercussions.

Money market funds could sell out 

Money market funds are low-risk, liquid mutual funds that invest in short-term, high-credit quality debt, such as U.S. Treasury bills. Conservative investors use these funds as they typically shield against volatility and are less susceptible to changes in interest rates. 

In the past, investors have sold out of money market funds when the U.S. ran up against debt ceiling limits and signaled potential government default. Yields on shorter-term T-bills go up because they are impacted more compared with longer-term bonds, which give investors more time for markets to calm down. 

Federal benefits would be suspended

In the event of a default, federal benefits would be delayed or suspended entirely. Those include:

Social Security; Medicare and Medicaid; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits; housing assistance; and assistance for veterans. 

Stock markets would roil

A default would likely trigger a downgrade of the United States’ credit rating — the S&P downgraded the nation’s credit rating only once before, in 2011 when it was approaching default. The default combined with the downgraded credit rating would in turn cause the markets to tank, the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors said in 2021.

If current debt ceiling talks continue for too long, the markets are likely to become more volatile than they already are.

Interest rates would increase

As debt ceiling negotiations linger, Americans could see rates increase on consumer lending products, including credit cards and variable rate student loans. 

Credit lenders may have less capital to lend or may tighten their standards, which would make it more difficult to get credit. 

Depending on the timing of a default and how long the effects are felt, rates could increase on new fixed auto loans, federal or private student loans and personal loans.

Tax refunds could be delayed

If the debt ceiling isn’t raised, it could take more time for tax filers to receive their refunds — usually within 21 days of filing. If the government defaults, those who file late run a risk of not receiving their refund.  

Housing rates would increase 

A debt ceiling crisis won’t impact those with fixed-rate mortgages or fixed-rate home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs. But adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, holders may see rates rise even further than they already have — more than four percentage points on rate indexes since spring 2022. Those in the fixed period of their ARM can expect to see rates rise when reaching their first adjustment.

If the government defaults, rates on new mortgages would probably rise, but it’s unclear in which direction variable-rate HELOCs would move.

What’s the difference between the debt ceiling and the national debt? 

The debt ceiling and the national debt aren’t the same, but they relate to one another. The debt ceiling is the total the government is allowed to borrow before it defaults. The national debt — $31.41 trillion as of Jan. 19 — is the total amount of outstanding money that is currently borrowed by the federal government, plus interest. Refusing to vote to lift the debt ceiling would not bring down the national debt — it would mean the government cannot repay the debt it already has.  

Here’s how the national debt works: When spending surpasses revenue in a fiscal year, the government runs a budget deficit. In order to pay the deficit, the federal government borrows money by selling what are known as marketable securities, such as Treasury bonds, bills, notes, floating rate notes and Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS. The total debt includes both the amount borrowed plus the interest that it promises to those who lent money by purchasing those marketable securities. 

Holden Lewis and Kate Wood contributed to this story.

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Cars, trucks, planes, trains, and ships make up the U.S.’s biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions — about one-third of the nation’s total. Now, the Biden administration is laying out a strategy to clean up the transportation sector while also making it more convenient and just.

Four federal agencies unveiled a “national blueprint for transportation decarbonization” earlier this month, a collaboration they described as the first of its kind for the federal government.. Co-published by the Departments of Energy, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, the 88-page roadmap envisions a low-emissions mobility system that is “clean, safe, secure, accessible, affordable, and equitable, and provides sustainable transportation options for people and goods.”

“The domestic transportation sector presents an enormous opportunity to drastically reduce emissions that accelerate climate change and reduce harmful pollution,” Jennifer Granholm, secretary of the Department of Energy, said in a statement.

The document lays out three overarching strategies for decarbonizing transportation. The most straightforward — and the one that’s expected to cut greenhouse gases the most — involves replacing fossil fuels with cleaner alternatives. For the most part, this means cars, trains, and planes powered by batteries or green hydrogen, a fuel made using renewable electricity and water. The agencies also propose some level of decarbonization via “sustainable liquid fuels,” a category that includes biofuels made from corn, agricultural waste, or algae.

The two other strategies, “increasing convenience” and “improving efficiency,” are more cross-cutting, a nod to the interconnected nature of the transportation sector. Putting schools, workplaces, and businesses closer to people’s homes could cut down on traffic, simultaneously cutting greenhouse gas emissions and boosting quality of life. Better walking and biking infrastructure can also encourage physical activity and make travel safer. 

Improving efficiency involves fewer single-occupant vehicles and more people on trains and buses, which can shuttle more people around while using less space and energy. Cars, buses, and trains can also become more efficient themselves, using newer technology to go farther with less fuel or electricity. Such improvements can reduce energy use and save people money.

The report identifies opportunities within both strategies — increasing convenience and improving efficiency — to rectify environmental injustices related to the transportation sector. As a result of decades of restrictive housing policies and zoning laws, poor people and people of color tend to face a disproportionate burden of air pollution from major transit corridors like highways — all while living farther from reliable public transit than their whiter and more affluent counterparts. The roadmap says new transportation investments should benefit these people, including through new job opportunities and by building more affordable housing near transit centers. 

Environmental advocates have applauded the roadmap for highlighting decarbonization solutions that go beyond electric cars, although some have raised eyebrows at its “ambivalence” on biofuels. According to the roadmap, 50 billion gallons of these fuels will be needed by 2050 for every mode of transportation except passenger vehicles — but especially for aviation and shipping. Environmental advocates argue that crop-based biofuels can drive deforestation and biodiversity loss and that other kinds of biofuels are not technologically viable. Even when they decrease greenhouse gas emissions, research suggests they may have unintended knock-on effects, like when fertilizer runoff causes rivers, lakes, and ocean areas to lose their oxygen, suffocating the animals that live there.

The federal agencies emphasize more research is needed to produce sustainable fuels in a way that “considers climate change, land use, water, and ecosystem implications.”

The roadmap doesn’t represent a commitment from the federal government to clean up the transportation sector, but Deron Lovaas, a senior policy adviser for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a blog post that it’s a promising “starting gun” — a vision that can become reality with concrete action plans from each of the four federal agencies, as well as coordinated action from states and companies. 

Federal agencies “have a lot of leverage and influence,” Lovaas told Grist, but they’ll be hard-pressed to reach their decarbonization targets on their own. “State agencies are key,” he added, urging them to support the federal roadmap by launching their own transportation projects, taking advantage of unprecedented federal funding from President Joe Biden’s climate spending and bipartisan infrastructure laws.

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Financial News will publish its first Twenty Most Influential in Crypto list on Monday 30 January.

Our pick of the leaders helping shape the fast-growing sector will feature senior executives at exchanges, fund managers, data providers, custodians, banks and more that are serving the institutional market.

The list comes after a torrid year for crypto, culminating in the collapse of exchange FTX and allegations of fraud at the company, alongside other casualties of the crypto winter and widespread staff lay-offs.

But the crypto leaders FN spoke to were confident the sector can survive, and even grow rapidly despite a difficult backdrop.

To view the list in full visit www.fnlondon.com/lists on 30 January or follow FN’s social media channels.

If you’re not already a subscriber, email licensing@fnlondon.com to request a free trial.

To contact the author of this story with feedback or news, email Clare Dickinson

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NEW YORK (AP) — Shielded by anonymity and extra security, jurors got their first look Monday at a rare U.S. trial of a former cabinet-level Mexican official charged with taking bribes to aid drug traffickers he was supposed to be neutralizing.

After blowing a kiss to his wife and daughters in the courtroom gallery, Genaro García Luna, who once was Mexico’s top security official, watched with little outward reaction as opening statements began. His case folds in Mexico’s politics, its vast and violent drug trade, uncomfortable connections between the two, and delicate U.S.-Mexico relations about fighting drugs and corruption.

García Luna is accused of accepting briefcases full of cash — millions of dollars, in all — to let the notorious Sinaloa cartel operate with impunity as it sent tons of cocaine to the U.S.

“The person who’s supposed to be in charge of fighting the Sinaloa cartel was actually its most valued asset … and with his help, the cartel made millions,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Pilmar told jurors. He called García Luna “a man who betrayed both countries — his and ours.”

He said that while García Luna portrayed himself to both countries as a drug enforcement hero, he saw to it that the cartel got information on investigations, smooth passage for its cocaine through police checkpoints and police escorts, and sometimes even badges for cartel members. Officers hand-delivered drug shipments from airports and acted as mercenaries to kill people the cartels wanted gone, Pilmar said.

García Luna has said it is “false, defamatory and perjury to say that I have ever received any material goods from any person, police officer or criminal group.”

His lead lawyer, César de Castro, told jurors that the government’s case rested on “rumors, speculation and the words of some of the biggest criminals in the world” — cartel members set to testify against him.

“No money, no photos, no video, no texts, no emails, no recordings, no documents — no credible, believable evidence that Genaro García Luna helped the cartel,” the lawyer said in his opening statement. He described the case as “a very public and angry display” by a U.S. government that is forsaking a onetime drug-fighting partner.

De Castro argued that the cartel members who are set to take the stand, after pleading guilty and agreeing to cooperate with the government, are just trying to lessen their sentences and exact revenge on a government official they see as responsible for their apprehension.

“Don’t let the cartels play you,” he told jurors.

García Luna led Mexico’s Federal Investigation Agency from 2001 to 2005, then served as secretary of public security to then-President Felipe Calderon from 2006 to 2012.

As public safety chief, García Luna was seen as the point man in Calderon’s bloody war on cartels and as a key ally in a U.S. initiative that started in former President George W. Bush’s administration and provided Mexico’s police with equipment, technology and training to try to stanch the flow of drugs across the border. Photos shown in court depict García Luna with former U.S. President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Sen. John McCain and other high-ranking officials.

But García Luna also was dogged for years by allegations that he had ties to drug traffickers.

Then, during former Sinaloa kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s trial in New York, a former cartel member testified in 2018 that he personally delivered at least $6 million in payoffs to García Luna, and that cartel members had agreed to pool up to $50 million to bribe him.

García Luna, who moved to Miami after leaving his government post, was arrested in 2019 in Texas and has since been held without bail in a federal lockup. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. The 54-year-old could face decades in prison if convicted.

Current Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a leftist, has welcomed the trial, which could spotlight corruption on a conservative predecessor’s watch. He also has pointedly suggested that Washington investigate its own law enforcement officials who worked with García Luna.

Mexico has said in the past that its officials should be tried at home if accused of corruption. The U.S. was asked in 2020 to extradite García Luna to face charges of illegal enrichment, but the Mexican government hasn’t exerted the same pressure as it did to truncate a U.S. prosecution of a former Mexican defense secretary accused of taking bribes to protect the H-2 cartel. He was returned to Mexico in 2020 and quickly cleared. At the time, the foreign secretary cast García Luna’s case in a different light, noting that he had been living in the U.S.

García Luna is being tried in the same Brooklyn federal courthouse where Guzman was convicted of running a sprawling international drug-smuggling operation for decades.

Like Guzman, García Luna is facing jurors whose names are kept secret. They also are escorted to and from the courthouse by deputy U.S. marshals and sequestered from the public while inside.

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Digital Access Ohio will partner with Smart Way Communications to provide last-mile high-speed internet to customers with assistance from JobsOhio

TUSCARAWAS COUNTY, Ohio, Jan. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Digital Access Ohio, LLC, an innovative middle-mile infrastructure company, announced today the launch of a new wireless broadband tower creating new high-speed internet service in Tuscarawas County.

Digital Access Ohio was formed in 2021 as a partnership between Canton-based Agile Networks and JobsOhio. The mission of Digital Access Ohio is to build, own, market, and operate up to 75 new telecommunication colocation tower sites, principally in rural Ohio. Digital Access Ohio will upgrade 135 existing towers in the state. Wireless Internet Service Providers can leverage this infrastructure to provide last-mile broadband capabilities across the state.

Smart Way Communications, LLC will be the first entity to utilize the open-access network constructed by Digital Access Ohio to provide last-mile high-speed internet to customers. Digital Access Ohio and Smart Way anticipate that the activation of this new tower will help facilitate internet access for as many as 2,400 households and 125 businesses in the area surrounding the tower.

“We are excited for the impact this will have on rural living in Ohio,” said Ryan Grewell, Smart Way Communications General Manager.

The partnership supports Ohio’s Broadband Strategy, which specifies using economic development and entrepreneurial initiatives to expand broadband. The strategy was established by the DeWine-Husted Administration in 2019 to improve access for the unserved and underserved groups in Ohio.

“You cannot be part of the modern economy, education, or healthcare system without access to high-speed internet,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “That is why, since the beginning of this administration, we have worked through BroadbandOhio to enhance and expand broadband throughout the state. Today’s announcement will be encouraging news to those lacking access in the region and another step towards closing the digital divide in Ohio.”

The initiative is also a component of JobsOhio’s Inclusive Economic Development strategy, which ensures all Ohioans have equitable access to essential resources and economic opportunities. Additional information regarding locations to be served by the Digital Access Ohio network, including tower locations, will be made available by Digital Access Ohio in the future.

“Investing in dependable access to broadband strengthens Ohio’s economic competitiveness and is a core pillar of our inclusive economic development strategy,” said JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef. “Broadband is essential to expanding a modern economy and talented workforce and will enable Ohio’s economy to access thousands of hard-working, creative people.”

“JobsOhio and the State of Ohio have developed an innovative strategy to expand high-speed broadband access, including through fixed wireless,” said Lawrence Chu, Vice Chairman and Global Head of Telecommunications at Jefferies and former Special Advisor to the Federal Communications Commission. “Building out high quality middle mile infrastructure networks – such as Digital Access Ohio – will be critical to enable fixed-wireless solutions not only in the Midwest but nationally.”

“We are pleased to be part of the announcement by JobsOhio, in cooperation with Digital Access Ohio and Smart Way Communications, of the investment in this new infrastructure and tower,” said State Senator Al Landis. “This project is a great step forward in providing high-speed internet access to all Ohioans, especially those in the 31st Senate District. My constituents will now be better equipped with broadband internet access desperately needed in their homes, workplaces, and schools.”

“We are well into the digital era, and unfortunately, many places, like Tuscarawas County, could not stay connected and involved in a modern economy,” said State Rep. Brett Hillyer. “I am grateful to the commitment of JobsOhio, Agile Networks, and Smart Way Communications in helping our community stay involved in this modern world.”

Expanding broadband infrastructure is a vital issue impacting Ohio’s economic competitiveness and is a critical resource for individuals seeking to participate in the modern economy. Nearly one-million Ohioans need access to high-speed internet, according to BroadbandOhio.

About Digital Access Ohio

Fast and reliable Internet is necessary for the 21st century as more Ohioans are utilizing remote school, work, and healthcare services than ever before. However, many Ohioans in rural counties need access to broadband Internet, cutting them off from essential online services and opportunities. Digital Access Ohio’s vision is to create a network and communications infrastructure that will help eliminate a significant portion of this digital divide in Ohio, helping get broadband Internet services to the underserved communities of Ohio’s rural counties. We build the necessary infrastructure and partner with local Internet service providers to help get vital services to homes and businesses.

About Smart Way Communications, LLC.

Smart Way Communications, LLC is Eastern Ohio’s High-Speed Wireless Internet Provider and data services company serving rural & underserved communities in Eastern Ohio. Smart Way Communications, LLC is a high-speed wireless internet and data services company headquartered in Tuscarawas County. Smart Way provides wireless internet connection to residents and businesses in the county, including rural and underserved areas, and is expanding into new areas. Smart Way prioritizes improving infrastructure and upgrading its network to provide the fastest, most reliable service. For more information, visit thinksmartway.com.

About JobsOhio

JobsOhio is a private nonprofit economic development corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention, and expansion. The organization also works to seed talent production in its targeted industries and to attract talent to Ohio through Find Your Ohio. JobsOhio works with six regional partners across Ohio: Dayton Development Coalition, Ohio Southeast Economic Development, One Columbus, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership, and Team NEO. Learn more at www.jobsohio.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

SOURCE JobsOhio

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A new court filing reveals that US authorities have so far recovered nearly $700,000,000 worth of cash and assets from accounts linked to former crypto golden boy Sam Bankman-Fried.

According to a document submitted by U.S. federal prosecutor Damian Williams on January 20th, the US government is now in possession of 55,273,469 shares of Robinhood Markets stocks held by Emergent Fidelity Technologies, Bankman-Fried’s holding company.

The Robinhood shares are valued at $526,203,424 at time of writing.

Authorities also confiscated $20,746,713.67 from two ED&F Man Capital Markets accounts held in the name of Emergent, $49,999,500 from a Farmington State Bank account held in the name of FTX Digital Markets and a total of $9,5290,922 from three separate Silvergate Bank accounts also held in the name of FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary.

The court filing says that the $692,240,559 worth of assets that were seized between January 4th and January 19th, along with all monies, assets and funds held in three Binance.US accounts, are subject to forfeiture as a result of the offenses charged against Bankman-Fried.

The former FTX CEO was indicted in December over allegations that he misappropriated customer funds. He was released on a $250 million bond and is now under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any loses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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