EDITORIAL
BY DHIREN SHAH
Hello Readers,
Three bomb threats at an Irvington school in a month. What should we learn about it? Don’t give anyone your phone, because if they call in a bomb threat from your phone, you will be in big trouble, like getting arrested and having to go through many horrible days and nights for yourself. So, please beware, and if you want to help someone, dial the number yourself and convey the message, but do not give your cell phone to anyone.
A Chinese Company based in Texas called Microvast received a $200 million grant from President Joseph Biden under the infrastructure plan. The infrastructure plan was approved by bipartisan votes with power given to the President as usual for fast progress in America.
U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) on Dec. 13 wrote a letter to the Department of Energy. He stated in his letter, “I write to you with grave concerns as the Department of Energy (DOE) continues to operate in a manner that undermines and endangers our national security. In addition to the misuse of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and security issues that have brought widespread condemnation upon the Department, DOE has awarded $200 million to Microvast, a lithium battery company that operates primarily out of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)…additionally, before Microvast received its grant from DOE, it was listed by the SEC in May of 2022 as a company not in compliance with the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA).
“This law is intended to prevent companies that employ China-based auditors, as does Microvast, from obscuring their financial records from U.S. regulators. I remind you that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was ostensibly intended to develop robust domestic manufacturing bases and supply chains free from the predations of the PRC. DOE distributing $200 million in taxpayer funds to a company joined at the hip with China is demonstrably antithetical to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s intent. It is clear DOE’s actions directly undermine the United States’ position in its race against China for technological supremacy.”
Senator Barrasso asked for a reply by Dec. 21, 2022. Hopefully, the DOE will reply, but I doubt it. China is the number one in producing country in the world of auto batteries. CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd.) is a Chinese based company that provides lithium-ion batteries to Tesla, Peugeot, Hyundai, Honda, BMW, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo. So, in one way it is good that Biden is getting a contract to speed up the process of manufacturing in the USA. However, not providing an audit in the United States is problematic and they can steal technology from us and we wouldn’t know.
As expected, the Federal Reserve increase interest rates by .50 points to curb inflation. Even though inflation has shown a reduction to 7.1 percent in November, this will help to reduce further inflation. Some experts are looking at a mild to mid-range recession in 2023.
According to the World Economic Forum: “U.S. consumers have $1.5 trillion in excess savings from pandemic stimulus programs, but it may run out some time in mid-2023, Dimon said. He also said the Federal Reserve may pause interest rate rises for 3-6 months after lifting them to 5%, but that this may ‘not be sufficient’ to curb high inflation.”
LawnStarter ranked nearly 90 of the largest cities nationwide to compile its list. It examined four key categories: pollution, living conditions, infrastructure and consumer satisfaction. They called Newark the dirtiest city in America amongst 90 largest cities. I don’t agree with them.
Have a wonderful week. I’ll talk to you next week.
