Philanthropy – Eduindex News

The police, obviously, they’re not in the business of of profiting from private acquisitions. We’ve seen extensive lobbying from defense industries who produce educational videos for police who were spending hundreds of millions of dollars to directly lobby Congress for defense spending, but also for these police programs. The police also have their own lobbying organizations that work toward security budgets and equipment for local law enforcement. The National Fraternal Order of Police is one of them and has lobbied in favor of federal grants that are responsible for the militarization of police. It’s really a variety of Homeland Security grants administered by the cops office, the home, the Department of Homeland Security, etc., that have allowed departments to directly purchase military grade equipment. And this has been essential to stimulating a domestic law enforcement market for military contractors. In some cases, the folks who provide the equipment actually directly assist police departments in making these grants. There’s even a Web site that is sponsored by these defense contractors and other providers of police equipment to aid departments in the production of these grant proposals. This whole industry grew significantly during the War on Drugs campaign in the 1970s.

Congress passed a law that focused on incorporating cooperation between the military and the local law enforcement, particularly related to countering drug crimes and the war on drugs. Right. That was sort of the first connection between the military and domestic law enforcement. In 1989, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act, temporarily allowing the Department of Defense to transfer excess military equipment to federal and state agencies. The program continued until the 1997 National Defense Authorization Act expanded it to include local law enforcement and made it permanent under a new name. The 1033 program that began a massive transfer of military equipment to local police departments free of charge as long as they paid for shipping and maintenance. That 1033 program was the congressional authorization that allowed police departments to basically go online. There were catalogs of of weapons and vehicles and aircraft and watercraft and any kind of military surplus military equipment was available for the asking. And it was at no cost to law enforcement agencies.

Departments may purchase shotguns that are placed in police vehicles as a routine matter, and some departments are purchasing a variety of less lethal weaponry with their own resources. But when we see sniper equipment, armored vehicles, large amounts of body armor, this is often the result of federal spending. Since its inception, over 11,500 domestic law enforcement agencies have taken part in the ten thirty three program, receiving more than 7.4 billion dollars in military equipment. What you end up seeing is as a result of the 1033 program, local law enforcements continue to ramp up what we call special task force, like SWAT teams, gang task force, drug task force. Right. That all utilize this excess military material. In July 2014, Congressman Alan Grayson proposed that legislation to limit the transfer of certain weapons through the 1033 program. The amendment was met with immense opposition failing on a bipartisan vote of 62 to 355.
The people who voted not to change the 1033 program received 70 percent more money in campaign contributions from the defense sector than those who wanted restrictions. One of the really troubling developments about the involvement of the federal within the direct subsidy of purchases of militarized equipment is that this is often really about creating a new marketplace for defense contractors instead of really putting questions of public safety first. Besides providing free military equipment, the federal government also allows the police to purchase new equipment using their own funds. Under the 1122 program, it also gives local police departments the same discounts enjoyed by the federal government. We’ve seen instances across the country where local governing bodies, like boards of selectmen and mayors and city councilors are often unaware that tax dollars have been expended to acquire these kinds of military weapons and military vehicles. What makes both 1033 and 1122 programs so powerful is the lack of clear oversight and accountability.

The 1122 program, as an example , isn’t a grant or transfer program and thus isn’t required to be monitored by the federal . Meanwhile, the 1033 program has put lethal weapons within the hands of officers who haven’t any justifiable need for such equipment. We’ve seen instances reported of some small towns, even some college and university police departments that were acquiring military grade weapons with none demonstrable need for the utilization of these or the acquisition of these weapons. After the events in Ferguson, the Obama administration sought to tighten the 1033 program with additional requirements and restrictions after months of confrontations on America’s streets. President Obama today banned the federal government from giving some types of military equipment to local police. We’ve seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a sense like there’s an occupying force as against a force that’s a part of the community that’s protecting them and serving them. And this led to calls in Congress to eliminate 1033 and eventually measure an executive order by the Obama administration to place some limits on the type of equipment that could be used, things like bayonets and turreted armored vehicles.
The Obama administration also required police agencies to justify purchases of equipment considered potentially lethal. President Trump, however, rescinded all of those measures within two years in office. Obama administration made some efforts to increase accountability in auditing of this. But even then, the restrictions and oversight were quite limited. Under the Trump administration, there’s even less evidence of any oversight. Any sense that we know how this equipment is being used or whether or not officers are being properly trained and how to use it. In some cases, equipment transfer through these programs has simply vanished due to a lack of oversight and poor bookkeeping.

There’ve been a number of situations where there have been audits of local police departments to try to figure out what they’ve done with this equipment. And these departments have been unable to provide adequate records. We don’t know if this is a local sheriff taking home camping supplies or if this is about, you know, stuff that’s really gone missing, has been resold or has just simply been lost. Oftentimes, the militarization of the police force might be what’s distracting them from their original purpose, protecting our communities.

India is one among the world’s fasting growing economies. It had been touted as an economic and geopolitical counterweight to China. But recently its growth fell to its slowest pace in six years. Investment has weakened, and unemployment has risen. So what’s causing the slowdown, and how can it be reversed? Since the turn of the century, India’s economy has grown at a rapid rate, helping transform the country. Between 2006 and 2016, rising incomes lifted 271 million people out of poverty, meaning the proportion of Indians still living in poverty has fallen dramatically, from around 55% to twenty-eight . Access to electricity has also improved. In 2007 just 70% of the population had access to power. By 2017, that grew to nearly 93%.

More recently, the Indian government constructed around 110 million toilets — a huge step towards better sanitation designed to prevent the practice of open defecation. It’s a signature program of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, known as Swachh Bharat, or Clean India. All this development has been supported by a booming economy, but as lately , that expansion has begun to run out of steam. In the third quarter of 2019, India’s economic output grew by 4.5% – making it the primary time the country’s growth dipped below 5% since 2013. For context, 4.5% growth remains much above that of developed economies just like the U.S., But with 12 million Indians entering the workforce per annum , economists say the country needs annual growth rates to remain above nine percent to make sure there are enough jobs. So, what’s causing this recent slowdown? Well, officialdom argue turbulence in international financial markets is guilty.

Political uncertainty and U.S.-China trade tensions mean confidence levels among investors and consumers everywhere have sunk. The United Nations has even warned that a global recession in 2020 is now a “clear and present danger”. But back to India – many economists say the country’s growth problems are literally self-inflicted. One obvious culprit is the shadow banking sector. During the 2000s, India saw an investment boom. It was fuelled by state banks dispensing a load of loans for giant infrastructure projects. But some of the companies taking advantage of these loans couldn’t keep up with the repayments. That meant the state banks weren’t getting paid back and therefore struggled to give out new loans. To keep business moving, shadow banks stepped in. These financial institutions, which operate like ordinary commercial banks but don’t follow traditional banking rules, eventually made up an estimated third of all new loans nationwide. The loans played a pivotal role for the millions of small businesses and consumers who would otherwise have no access to credit. But in 2018, shadow banking giant Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, defaulted on its debt repayments. Its collapse sent shockwaves through the economy and shook up more traditional banks that had supported the world.
It became harder for people to shop for expensive items like cars. That hurt India’s automotive industry, which is one among the country’s biggest. It employs about 35 million people and makes up about 7% of India’s GDP. Last summer, the industry suffered its worst sales performance in nearly 19 years, and reports suggest tens of thousands of workers are laid off. The agriculture and construction sectors have also been hurting, with small and medium businesses being hit the hardest. The country’s percentage has been on an overall upward trend since July 2017, rising several percentage points to 7.7%. Higher unemployment means consumers are buying less, resulting in the unfortunate cycle of slower manufacturing, production, investment and job creation.

A survey from the Reserve Bank of India found consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level in five years. But Indians still have a positive outlook for the longer term , with most consumers expecting to feel more optimistic during a year. However, if things don’t improve, debt could become another issue. Expecting better days ahead, many households have continued to spend, by taking out loans and dipping into savings. Household savings as a proportion of GDP has fallen from 23.6% to 17.2%. Meanwhile, household debt has surged to 10.9% during the same period. Critics say the govt in New Delhi has did not spot these risks and hasn’t done enough to urge the economy moving again. The Reserve Bank of India’s former governor Raghuram Rajan recently blamed the lack of significant reforms and a slowdown in investments since the global financial crisis. Even the country’s chief economic advisor recently admitted reforms are needed to form India more friendly to investors.
India has cut its corporate rate , but labor and land laws are still extremely strict. He also says the country must become pro-market, instead of just pro-business, to avoid costly government bailouts of failing sectors. But not all reforms have been good to the economy. In 2016, Prime Minister Modi tried to crack down on corruption, counterfeits and evasion by banning high value bank notes. In one night, the cash ban made 86% of all cash invalid. Three years later, many analysts say the policy disrupted the economy and did not achieve many of its original goals. In 2017, a replacement nuisance tax placed small businesses struggling and a few of them were forced to shut . In mid-2019, India’s government introduced a controversial new tax on foreign investors. Consequently, India’s stock exchange suffered its worst July performance in 17 years. Just one month later, the measure was scrapped.
The government has now refocused its efforts on international trade and investment, and thus the recent changes to the corporate rate could indeed help attract businesses and investors to India. But if the country wants to be a part of the world’s largest supply chains, it’ll need low and consistent tariff levels to encourage outsiders to take a position for the long term.

The country’s shifting export policy has harmed several of its largest industries, particularly clothing. India’s share of the worldwide apparel market has increased only slightly within the past 20 years. And though the Indian workforce is vast, both Bangladesh and Vietnam now export more. On top of that, the country’s import tariffs on the average are much above the world’s biggest economies. They’re also among the highest of the world’s emerging economies. Even U.S. President Donald Trump has called for the country to bring down its duties.

Has India’s growth actually slowed the maximum amount as we think? The government’s former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian caused a good little bit of controversy in June 2019, when he claimed the country’s official stats probably overstated GDP growth by 2.5% from 2011-2012 to 2016-2017. He says the bottom line is that India never recovered from the global financial crisis. The government denies this. But none of this has hurt Prime Minister Modi at the polls – he won by a landslide in the most recent election. So how will he keep his promise and double the dimensions of the economy by 2025? Many economists insist a well-explained economic vision would help. As would more long-term investment, better skilled workers and enhancements to infrastructure. It may not matter who or what’s responsible for India’s recent economic challenges, but bottom line – India’s economic process must recover , and fast.

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