The USD 250 Billion bills itself aims to target different areas of technological development, but a majority of around USD 190 Billion will be pumped into technology and research.

What exactly is the bill intended for?

As China quickly makes significant advancements in their technological development, the US Government fears that they may soon fall behind. President Biden stated, “As other countries continue to invest in their research and development, we cannot risk falling behind. America must maintain its position as the most innovative and productive nation on Earth.” The bill will specifically target areas in tech development where the US is falling behind compared to other countries.

The bill will spread around USD 250 Billion across five years, but with hopes for a long-lasting impact on the US’s place as an innovative nation. US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement, “Today, the Senate took a critical bipartisan step forward to make the investments we need to continue America’s legacy as a global leader in innovation … This funding isn’t just about addressing the current semiconductor chip storage, it is about long-term investments.”

How will the funds be spread out…?

The total money included in the bill will be spread out across a multitude of departments and areas, most will have the funds spread out over five years. Over USD 50 billion will go towards the CHIPS for America Act (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors), as the US government plans to rely less on importing them from Asia – Asia currently manufactures 75% of semiconductors which are used in vital items like cars and cell phones.

Around USD 120 billion will be used over five years, the money being used on the NSF, Commerce, the Energy Department, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Within these areas, there will be a focus on the development of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, data storage and more. The remainder of the $250 billion will go into a variety of departments and areas – all with a focus on combating the Chinese.

Foreign relations will mean a focus on creating and strengthening ties with other nations in Asia aside from China, to have mutual goals of countering the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). There will also be plans to pressure the PRC over human rights issues, such as the mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province. Cybersecurity will also be a large focus, in particular looking at combating cyber-attacks from the Chinese.

The bill is yet to reach the White House

It is being said that the bill could take weeks to make it through congress, as the U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers are planning and writing their legislation. House Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement, “I think the House committee – or committees – have views that they want to express … I don’t think there’s anything nefarious about it. I hope that we will move forward with a bill.”

There will be negotiations taking place before the bill can move forward and eventually make its way to the White House to be signed by President Biden. When the bill does make it to the White House and is passed, it will be a “once-in-a-generation investment in American science and American technology,” according to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer.

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What led up to the drop for Bitcoin?

Bitcoin’s total market value has dropped down below USD 630 Billion when it was at over USD 1 Trillion in the springtime. Many believe that two key happenings contributed to the sudden drop last week. The main one being Tesla Inc’s CEO Elon Musk announcing that the company would no longer accept Bitcoin as a form of payment for Tesla’s vehicles. The other was comments from the Chinese Vice Premier Liu He pledging to, “Crackdown on Bitcoin mining and trading behaviour.”

Just three months ago Tesla Inc announced that they would be purchasing USD 1.5 Billion worth of Bitcoin, however the dip last week meant that Bitcoin had lost all gains made since Tesla’s announcement months ago. Musk had said he decided to stop allowing Bitcoin to be used as payment for vehicles due to environmental concerns when it came to the computational “mining process” that allows for transactions to be made with Bitcoin.

So, has Bitcoin fallen?

Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) has fallen to, “The lowest level since March 2020, indicating Bitcoin is extremely oversold,” according to Nick Mancini, a research analyst at crypto sentiment data provider Trade The Chain. However, Bitcoin prices are known to be extremely sensitive to change, and it is not just Bitcoin that saw a decline in prices recently. Ether (ETH) saw a decline of 22 per cent to USD 2,620.97 according to CoinMetrics.

Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that gained momentum initially as a joke due to Elon Musk pushing it forward on social media, fell to around 36 cents, which was a decline of over 22 per cent. The day Elon Musk made his commentary on his concerns for the environment over the computational “mining process” for Bitcoin, over USD 300 billion was wiped from the cryptocurrency market on the same day.

How will we see Bitcoin doing in the future?

Ulrik Lykke, the Executive Director at crypto hedge fund ARK36 expressed their confidence in Bitcoin, “In terms of Bitcoin’s outlook, things may be looking grim right now, but historically this is just yet another hurdle for Bitcoin to overcome and a small one compared to what it has braved in the past.” Others are also sharing the positivity, like Julian Emmanuel, the Managing Director and Chief Equity and Derivatives Strategist at BTIG who said his year-end price target for Bitcoin was USD 50,000.

However, some are sceptical about the future of Bitcoin, like Michael Kramer for example, the founder of Mott Capital Management, LLC who had recently written a column for his company’s blog expressing how he believes that “Bitcoin is melting” and should expect to fall further than they did last week. Mancini disagreed slightly with Kramer, stating they believe, “Bitcoin is not full-on melting, but we are seeing the first large scale correction since the bull run in early 2020.”

As Bitcoin is sensitive to change, as are other cryptocurrencies, there will always be changing opinions and fluctuating prices. However, the bad press Bitcoin has received over the past few weeks with Musk’s comments and the Chinese cracking down on crypto, the sudden decline was bound to happen.

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However, people quickly saw through it and noticed how the proposed reforms would put those on low incomes at a huge disadvantage, but hardly even touch those who are well off.

The cause of the protests – what was the proposed tax reform?

Protests began on April 28, which was just after Colombia’s right-wing government proposed the new tax reforms, which would add VAT to services and products as well as just increasing taxes in general. The tax increase was to target large corporations and those who were more well off, however, the reform would allow taxes to be collected from even lower salaries than before, down to anyone with a $656 monthly salary. Smaller businesses would also be affected as they would be taxed more than before.

The proposed tax reform was Colombian President Ivan Duque’s solution to Colombia’s current economic crisis, however, those who are suffering the most from financial issues would be hit the hardest by reforms.

Smaller details of the reform also caught many people off guard, such as adding VAT to funerals and cremations, which horrified many as Colombia are in the middle of their third wave of COVID-19 and have seen over 85,000 deaths. However, items like guns were to remain at a zero rate.

The start of the protests

After reading into the fine print of the proposed tax reforms, people became outraged at what the government were trying to put in place. Ever since late April, tens of thousands of people have been marching throughout different major cities in Colombia to protest against the reforms as well as other socioeconomic injustices.

Due to the outrage, the government withdrew the proposal, but the protests did not stop as people began to protest against many injustices that have been ignored by the government for years, resulting in tension between the people and government.

When the protests first broke out, the Colombian government decided to paint the protesters as far leftist extremists and conspiracy theorists whose voices should not be listened to. The government tried to push the narrative that the protesters were aiming to divide the country and that they were dangerous.

However, the number of protesters grew, and the government were unable to push that narrative any longer as what was happening spread worldwide across social media.

What they are fighting for in Colombia?

As the protests grew across the country, more issues were raised that people were asking the government to address. People have been protesting for a basic income scheme, free tuition at public universities, more help for drug/alcohol addicts, for the protection of the environment, as well as indigenous people fighting for their voices to be heard.

The protesters have been met with violence, with 100s of community leaders being killed over the years, and in the recent protests alone around 40 people have been killed since late April.

There have also been reports of the Colombian police taking advantage of the protests to sexually assault and harass women who are protesting. Monica Godoy, a gender violence expert, said that this is not something new, ‘Its purpose is to intimidate women for participating in politics.’ Due to actions like this among others, the protesters are also asking for the police force in Colombia to be reformed.

As the protests still go on after over a month now, a potential solution can be seen. There have been talks of a ‘pre-agreement between the strike committee and the Colombian government to put an end to the violent protests. It is not known yet whether all of the demands will be met by the government, but it is unlikely for the protesters to give up on what they are fighting for if they see no results.

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Why is the current debate taking place?

As richer nations manage to vaccinate the majority of their populations, poorer nations are still struggling to do so as they do not have a large enough supply to roll out the vaccine on a large scale. The UK has managed to administer a first dose of vaccination to around 67% of its population, and the US 56% of its population. However, the 29 poorest nations collectively have only seen 1% of the 1.75bn doses that have been administered across the globe.

Leading countries around the world are trying to think of a solution that allows for everyone to be administered the vaccine, as soon as possible. Leaders in the EU, including Macron, are pushing forward that exports from richer countries should be increased.

The EU has already exported around 200 million doses so far, almost on par with how many doses have been administered to EU citizens. Nations like the US and the UK have not taken actions similar to this, which is what is being called out by Macron.

Macron called for the US to, “Put an end to export bans not only on vaccines but on vaccine ingredients, which prevent production.” He also believes that “The key to producing vaccines more rapidly for all poor countries or intermediate countries is to produce more.”

This comes just after South Africa and India push for patents to be surrendered to allow other countries to begin producing vaccines in their own countries. This was backed by the US, as well as the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Will it be possible to agree?

At a recent summit held in Portugal, attended by EU leaders, waiving patents was discussed among them. German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that “I don’t think waiving patents is the solution to supply the vaccine to more people… I think that we need the creativity and innovation of companies – and for that, we need patent protection.” This statement was backed up by the majority of the EU leaders who also attended the summit.

Macron also recently criticised the UK for “blocking” transactions that sent vaccines over to poorer countries. Macron has also pointed out that the UK has placed restrictions on vaccine exports, which has been denied by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. However, information accessible to the public suggests that exports of the vaccine are indeed not being made at all. The EU has also called for the US to export vaccine doses before they waiver patents.

What will be done to solve the issue at hand?

As such powerful leading countries have different opinions on how to combat the lack of administered vaccination doses in poorer countries, they must meet in the middle to help those in need who have not yet received vaccinations. However, it seems as though there is still much more persuading to be done on both sides until we see them conclude on what will be the best action to take.

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All of the funding that had not yet been used for the construction of the wall at the border will be returned to the military for military construction as well as supporting those working in the military and their families.

What exactly has been declared by the Department of Defence?

Deputy Pentagon spokesman Jamal Brown said in a statement last week that, “Consistent with the president’s proclamation, the Department of Defence is proceeding with cancelling all border barrier construction projects paid for with funds originally intended for other military missions and functions such as schools for military children, overseas military construction projects in partner nations, and the National Guard and Reserve equipment account.”

The money that was not used in the construction of the wall at the border will all go back to the military. It has not yet been confirmed just how much exactly will be returned, but it is likely to be in the billions, which will then be put to use for supporting those in the military as well as resuming deferred military construction projects. There has not been much said in terms of what will happen to the construction of the wall or what has been built of the wall so far. However, Biden has made it clear that no more will ever be built.

What was the wall and how did it come about?

The wall was one of the main points used by the previous US president Donald J. Trump during his 2016 campaign, based upon his opinions on immigration. Many of his rallies before, during, and after 2016 centred around the building of the wall at the Southern US/Mexico border. Back in 2019, Trump declared a national emergency so that it would be easier to gather funds for the project without the funds having to be approved by Congress first.

Overall, the Trump administration was able to oversee over 450 miles of fencing built along the Southern Border before all construction was completely halted indefinitely. Trump has come under fire by lawmakers over the funding of the wall, as it is widely known how the Trump administration diverted more than half of the funds for the construction of the wall from the US defence and Treasury Departments. Those criticising the diversion of funds from the Pentagon believe that doing so created a potential national security threat.

What will happen to what is left of the wall now?

There have been no announcements regarding future proceedings of what has been built of the wall, however, there is a need to deal with the significant environmental impact the construction of the wall so far has had. Notably, during construction large holes were blown into a flood barrier system in Texas and have still not been repaired to this day despite promises to quickly repair any damages done to ensure flooding would not become a problem.

During construction areas near the site have disrupted the local wildlife, destroying habitats for different species and forcing them out of the area. Soil erosion around areas of construction is also another problem to be tackled first alongside flooding. Locals in the areas close to construction sites along the border hope to see a restoration of the environment that has been disturbed by the wall, but most of all they want to know what will happen to the wall in the coming future.

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