Apple Files Appeal to Continue Selling Apple Watches Amid Patent Disputes

Well known technology cooperation Apple has their products taken off of shelves due to claims of stealing technology from the smaller company Masimo. 

     Masimo, holding patents for pulse oximetry technology, or technology used to measure the blood oxygen concentration, claimed Apple stole their technology through hiring their employees.  These tech features can be seen on Apple Watch series 6 and newer.

 

  
 Thus, through the decision of the International Trade Commission (ITC), an agency that is put together by Senators, Apple was barred from importing the newest Apple Watches.  Watches that do not have the patented features were not affected.  Though they tried to get president Joe Biden to veto this decision, Biden refused to do so, waiting until the very end of the finalization date, on December 26th, 2023.  Masimo reported that they were satisfied with this decision. “A win for the integrity of the U.S. patent system,” said one of their Spokesperson.  

    Though Apple claims that this will cause “irreparable” damage, they are only estimated to lose 300-400 million dollars from this ban, which is tiny compared to their 39 billion dollar revenue selling apple accessories from this year, with 23 billion of these dollaring being solely attributed to Apple Watches. Apple is seeking to work around this patent with software updates, though Masimo said that this would not work because their patent covers hardware, not software.

    Apple filed an emergency request to the US Court of Appeals to the Federal Circuit, a judicial branch of the US government, to have this case overturned, citing that the ITC has multiple factual errors in their case, and that a smaller tech company such as Masimo doesn’t sell enough competing products to be harmed by the appeal.  While doing so, they request to have their ban paused during the decision making process.  This decision is due on January 12th. 

Sources Used:

News.com

Reuters

Associated Press

Texas Governor signs law, allowing state to arrest migrants

Texas Governor Greg Abbott

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed Senate Bill 4 (SB4), one of the harshest state immigration laws that enables Texas law enforcement officials the authority to arrest migrants suspected of illegally crossing the border from Mexico. Under SB4, crossing into Texas from Mexico illegally a first time is punishable by six months in jail and up to $2000 in fines. A second-time conviction is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

SB4 has created fear in immigrant communities, especially as local or state officials could make an arrest for up to two years after the alleged offense. Critics question how officials far from the border could determine if a person has crossed illegally without asking for immigration documents, raising the issue of potential racial profiling.

The bill also allows state judges to issue de facto deportation orders, but it is ambiguous how it will be enforced, as states do not have the necessary facilities, agents and international agreements to deport migrants to foreign countries. In November, The Government of Mexico announced that they “categorically reject any measure that allows state or local authorities to detain and return Mexican or foreign nationals to Mexican territory… [and] will continue its efforts with the U.S. government to address the issue of migration, and reiterates its commitment to protect the rights of all Mexicans abroad.”

The law is scheduled to take effect in March 2024, but it is expected to be challenged. Federal law already makes it illegal to enter the U.S. without permission. In addition, Federal courts have ruled that immigration laws can only be enforced by the federal government, a precedent set by the 2012 Supreme Court ruling in Arizona v. United States.

Previously, Abbott has attempted to deter migrant crossings multiple times through the installation of a 1000 foot floating barrier, as well as placing a razor wire near Rio Grande, both of which were rejected in court.

- Momoka Dhanuwidjaja

Sources:

NPR

NBC News

NY Times

CBS News

Washington Post

Tech Hubs Program

 The Biden-Harris administration has recently introduced the Tech Hubs program in a move to support the growing tech enterprises. Through the Economic Development Administration (EDA), 31 Tech Hubs were designated across the U.S., in accordance to the President's signing it as a law in August 2022, and  investing in America's agenda and the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act.

    Though these collaborative efforts involving federal, state and local governments, industry, academia, and economic development organizations reflect principles of cooperative federalism and inclusive decision-making. The program's strategic focus in investment in regional consortia showcases the government's role in promoting economic welfare. Additionally, the Tech Hubs program exemplifies the impact of legislation on policy implementation, illustrating the formal and informal powers of the presidency.

    These tech hubs are now located across 32 states including the outlying addition of Puerto Rico and these hubs focus on industries like autonomous systems, quantum computing, biotechnology, precision medicine, clean energy, semiconductor manufacturing, and etc. With such a step forward, it is obvious the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in "out [innovating] and out-[competing] the rest of the world" as Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo states. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves adds how, "The Tech Hubs program is seizing that potential and investing in regional consortia that will boost U.S. manufacturing, create more good-paying jobs and bolster U.S. global competitiveness". 

    Though these collaborative efforts involving federal, state and local governments, industry, academia,  and economic development organizations reflect principles of cooperative federalism and inclusive decision making. The program's strategic focus in investment in regional consortia showcases the government's role in promoting economic welfare. Additionally, the Tech Hubs program exemplifies the impact of legislation on policy implementation, illustrating the formal and informal powers of the presidency.

    The EDA's leadership role in driving competitiveness and growth demonstrates the federal government's active role in shaping the nation's economic trajectory as it awarded 29 Strategy Development Grants to help the communities increase local coordination and planning activities. 

    With steps like these, the Department of Commerce has launched a second Tech Hubs Notice of Funding Opportunity, and hopefully in the future a third will follow. 

Sources: 

https://www.eda.gov/funding/programs/regional-technology-and-innovation-hubs

https://www.eda.gov/news/press-release/2023/10/23/biden-harris-administration-designates-31-tech-hubs-across-america

A Menage a Trois of Hypocrisy

Moms For Liberty (MFL), a national conservative advocacy group, was established after the peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Moms For Liberty advocates against school curricula and books that mention LGBTQ+ rights, race, ethnicity, critical realities of history, discrimination, and even young female health. But soon enough, this organization began to be predominantly characterized as anti-LGBTQ+. 

The Co-Founder of MFL as well as a board member of the Sarasota County School since 2014, Bridget Ziegler faces extreme backlash after her true colors of hypocrisy are revealed. Ziegler was known to be "instrumental" in the creation of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, which forbids classroom discussion and instruction on topics relative to sexual orientation and gender identity. 

On December 1, Bridget Ziegler admitted to having a consensual threesome with an unknown woman and her husband, Christian Ziegler (Chairman of the FL Republican Party) to the police. Soon enough, this scandal was exposed to the public and protesters gathered in front of the Sarasota School Board Building, protesting for Ziegler to resign from her position--not for her decisions, but her sense of hypocrisy and irony. One protestor claims, "[It's] crazy because you have this woman and her husband who are so concerned with preventing children from hearing anything that doesn't totally align with their values."

All four of the board members of the Sarasota County School Board voted for Ziegler to step down from her position and resign. But Ziegler held her stance and refused to step down. The only way for Ziegler to be removed as a board member is through the enforcement of Florida's governor, Ron De Santis. To do so, a separate vote asking De Santis to remove her from her position is required, but this formal method failed anyway and Ziegler has until 2026 until her official term expires. 

As a mobilizer for the MFL organization and as a prominent influencer and supporter of the "Don't Say Gay Bill," Bridget is known for her outspoken attitudes against the LGBTQ+ community. Yet her beliefs about same-sex relationships don't actually align with her personal life choices--would you say she is a hypocrite? In essence, this scandal is stirring up questions about the credibility of leaders and how their personal lives may diverge from their professed values. 

Do you think she should step down? Is Ziegler being a hypocrite? Why are people now protesting against Ziegler when she has already done unjust to the LGBTQ+ community and how does this reflect upon our society?

Sources:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/12/the-sarasota-school-board-wants-bridget-ziegler-to-resign-shes-not-budging/

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2023/12/14/bridget-ziegler-sarasota-school-board-suarez-ac360-vpx.cnn

https://www.momsforliberty.org/

Lead found in applesauce pouches, claims to be an "intentional act"

    Lead has been found in hundreds of cinnamon applesauce pouches, sickening dozens of children under the age of 6 years old with lead toxicity. The immediate symptoms of lead poisoning are vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, and even anemia. Jim Jones, FDA’s (Food and Drug Administration) deputy commissioner for human foods suggests that this lead-tainted applesauce was an “intentional act.”

    Within the first few weeks of December, the FDA has confirmed that there have been more than 65 reports of illnesses linked to applesauce manufactured by WanaBana, Weis, and Schnucks Brands. These brands were linked back to a facility located in Ecuador.   

    Dr. Diane Calello, the executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center, claims that contaminated spices are “incredibly common" because potential contamination occurs in natural processes. For example, rice and apples are grown in soil that contains metals. 

    But as the FDA continues to investigate how traces of lead were found in these cinnamon applesauce pouches, they suspect that the contamination was “economically motivated.” This means that because products are typically sold by weight, manufacturers will try their best to maximize the value of their products--no matter the cost. In this case, officials suspect that lead was intentionally added to the applesauce to increase the weight of the product, while simultaneously allowing companies to produce a cheaper item at a raised price. 

    Even the tiniest amount of lead is toxic to humans--why put our children at risk for the benefit of big businesses and corporations? Is this an act of greed and selfishness? How can these businesses make up for the damage they have done? 

Sources:

CNN

FDA

Police Officer who shot an innocent 11 year old boy is suspended 8 months after the incident

Another name is added to the endless list of innocent lives affected by police brutality. 

Aderrien Murray

Aderrien Murray was shot in the chest in his own home by Greg Capers, a Mississippi police officer. Aderrien had to get a chest tube and be placed on a ventilator as he suffered from a fractured rib, collapsed lungs, and a lacerated liver. The officer was responding to a 911 call made by Aderrien. Aderrien’s mother asked him to call the police to address a domestic issue, the father of another one of her children had come home and was causing issues. But, when tending to this call, Capers shot Aderrien, an unarmed innocent 11-year-old boy. There is body cam footage of this incident, however, it has not been released to the public. 

Aderrien told CNN during an interview, “I just tried to follow the police commands but I guess that didn’t work”. Aderrien and his family called the police for protection but it became the source of his trauma. To contextualize what Aderrien said, upon arrival at his house Capers yelled and asked everybody in the house to come out with their hands up, and when Aderrien did the officer shot him in the chest. 

Aderrien’s mother voiced that she had no idea what prompted the officer to shoot him. Aderrien’s attorney also stated that there was no chance for Aderrien to be mistaken for the man who was in question. Aderrien’s mom’s other child’s father is almost 6ft tall while Aderrien is only 4ft 10 inches. This is a reckless act of pure negligence. When an officer has access to and possession of weapons that have the potential to kill or cause detrimental harm they need to be conscious and think before they act.

Greg Capers

This incident took place back in May, but Capers was suspended without pay only this past week. Until now, Capers was on paid administrative leave while the investigation was taking place. It took 8 months to have an officer who shot an innocent child on the job suspended and he has not been charged.

Furthermore, it is problematic that this is not the first case of a police officer using one of their weapons to harm an innocent being. According to the Police Violence report over 1200 people were killed by police in 2022. Out of these, “58% of killings by police in 2022 — 682 deaths — were traffic stops, police responses to mental health crises, or situations where the person was not reportedly threatening anyone with a gun”. Additionally, the officer was charged only in 12 of these cases.

Sources:

CNN

CNN

Police Violence Report

- Ashley Roselynn Vincent

Homelessness reach record high, Biden announces All In plan

On Dec. 15, federal officials released reports that documented a sharp 12% increase in homelessness in this past year alone. 653,000– that number represents America’s current unhoused population. This is the highest this number has been since the US began documenting the unhoused population in 2007. 

Image credit: CNN

California is among the top five states most demonstrative of this rise, with its homelessness rate ascending by 5.8% in 2023. New York tops the list with a 38.9% increase. Nationwide, this rise can be attributed to multiple potential causes: 1) Rent prices are rising, 2) Pandemic aid is now dwindling or extinct, 3) The mental health effects of the pandemic may affect people’s ability to acquire and retain a livable income, among many more. 

Image credit: CBS

With the Republican primary gaining speed and the 2024 election approaching, these rates may influence voters. Noting that homelessness rates are highest in Washington DC, California, Vermont, Oregon, Hawaii, and New York– all of which are Democratic-leaning states– it’s not unreasonable to expect that there may be political shifts within these states, potentially influencing the general election. Additionally, noting the demographics of America’s unhoused population, certain races or genders may be inclined to vote similarly: according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are proportionally most impacted, followed by African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanic Americans. Additionally, men on average experience homelessness more than women. 

Image credit: NBC

And with the upcoming general election in mind, perhaps candidates may consider addressing the issue of homelessness in America. Having published a fact sheet in April detailing an initiative to reduce homelessness by 25% by 2025, the Biden-Harris Administration released its plan called All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. Cooperating with 500 people who have themselves experienced homelessness, the Biden-Harris All In plan emphasizes supplying unhoused people’s basic needs, increasing housing accessibility, encouraging nationwide collaboration in All In, and more. Trump, who is leading in the Republican primary, hadn’t commented on homelessness since late April of this year when he proposed “ban[ning] urban camping,” and creating “inexpensive” “tent cities” to combat the issue. FL Governor Ron Desantis, who is a far second in the polls, has criticized CA Governor Gavin Newsom over his handling of homelessness in California, particularly in San Francisco. Desantis himself pledged $495,000 of funding to the Sharing Center, a social services organization that provides essential resources to Seminole County in Florida.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/homeless-record-america-12-percent-jump-high-rents/

https://apnews.com/article/homelessness-increase-rent-hud-covid-60bd88687e1aef1b02d25425798bd3b1

https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/articles/what-you-should-know-about-rising-average-apartment-rents 

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/12/1186856463/homelessness-rent-affordable-housing-encampments#:~:text=Around%20the%20country%2C%20Kushel%20says,have%20risen%20faster%20than%20wages. 

https://covid19.nih.gov/covid-19-topics/mental-health  

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/homeless-population-by-state 

https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness/ 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/18/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-initiative-to-tackle-unsheltered-homelessness/ 

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/12/19/biden-harris-administration-announces-plan-to-reduce-homelessness-25-percent-by-2025.html 

https://www.usich.gov/federal-strategic-plan/overview 

https://calmatters.org/commentary/2023/08/homelessness-haunt-newsom-desantis-debate/ 

https://thesharingcenter.org/florida-governor-ron-desantis-pledgesfundstosharingcenter/ 

Trump's concerning remarks in New Hampshire and Iowa rally

Chants and cries of “We love you! We love you!” could be widely heard at a Trump campaign rally on Saturday, December 16, 2023 in the University of New Hampshire’s ice hockey arena. 

With the Republican primary drawing closer, a number of Republican challengers have doubled their efforts for the GOP by heavily campaigning in states such as New Hampshire and Iowa. Despite this Mr. Trump’s involvement in legal matters, this has not stopped him from going to and speaking at rallies to gain support for the primary. 

Based on polls conducted by CBS News, Mr. Trump leads with 44% favorability in New Hampshire and 58% in Iowa, a notable gap that his potential competitors Ms. Haley and Mr. Desantis is trying to close.

At the rally, Mr. Trump heavily scrutinized President Biden’s leadership and expressed his current views towards immigration. Remarks such as “Joe Biden is a threat to democracy” to darker comments such as “They’re poisoning the blood of our country… they’re coming into our country, from Africa, from Asia, all over the world” were one of the many that were expressed during his rallies, even expressing support to authoritarian leaders Viktor Orban and Kim Jong Un, describing them as “highly respected” and “very nice.” 

This situation is a good example of front loading, as it is evident that incumbents and new challengers concentrate and dedicate efforts on influencing voters in states with early primaries  such as New Hampshire and Iowa. In addition, the widespread  support for Mr. Trump within the Republican party even after making these controversial remarks emphasizes the significant influence Mr. Trump has the cult of personality that he built around him to convince these people. 

As these comments are associated with a former president seeking re-election with substantial support, it raises questions into the role individuals play in representing their own country and the extent to which dehumanizing language is acceptable.

- Jake Sakamoto

Sources:

NBC

NPR

CBS

Ukraine struggles to receive aid from the United States and the E.U.

On Tuesday of December 12, 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was at Washington DC, seeking additional military aid from Congress. 

Mr. Zelensky appealed to Congress and lawmakers, urging the United States to provide financial aid in its struggle against Russia. Though many in Congress sympathized with the concerns over the conflict in Ukraine, a partisan divide was starkly present within Congress. The Republicans prioritize the issue of immigration in the U.S., and expressed reluctance to support the aid package unless Democrats made concessions on immigration policies.

In addition to this, Ukraine also requested aid from the EU to help support their effort. EU leaders discussed and came up with a $50 billion financial aid package that would be distributed to Ukraine over the course of the next 4 years. However, in an almost unanimous agreement to agree on the decision to send aid to Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary vetoed the notion, blocking the aid package from being sent to bolster the Ukrainian war efforts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

The events unfolding have a deep relation to the topic of polarization, which was discussed in class earlier in the year. With the government split predominantly into two parties, each believing more strongly about their own ideologies and beliefs, it leads to more difficult situations of passing legislation or bills, often leading to a stalemate in decision making.

The lack of funding jeopardizes the position of Ukraine, as most of Ukraine’s budget and resources for the war comes directly from the aid it receives from other countries. Moving forwards, with Ukraine in a precarious situation, it puts into question the country's stability and the potential impacts on the global stage.

- Jake Sakamoto

Sources:
CNN
BBC

NY TIMES

Supreme Court to hear cases challenging key abortion drug mifepristone

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an abortion case for the first time since Roe v. Wade was overturned. This 2023-2024 term, the Supreme Court will decide whether to limit access to mifepristone, one of the two key drugs in the medication abortion regimen. Mifepristone is used in more than half of all abortions in the United States, and will create complications to medication abortion processes if people are denied access to the drug.

The Supreme Court has also declined to consider a challenge to the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone in 2000, which is well past the statute of limitations of six years. This means that regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision, mifepristone will continue to be on the market, but can become a lot more difficult to obtain. A ruling against mifepristone will reverse changes FDA made in 2016 and 2021 that eased access to the drug, including the lengthened window for use from 7th week to 10th week of pregnancy and access to mifepristone through U.S. mail.

Oral arguments are likely to be scheduled for spring, with decisions to be made by the end of June, putting the debate of abortion under spotlight in the 2024 campaign season. Abortion is expected to be a major issue for voters in the 2024 presidential election, and some Democrats have urged President Joe Biden to focus attention on abortion in his reelection effort. Recently, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against Kate Cox’s abortion case, saying that she does not qualify for an abortion under medical exception. 

“As the chaos and cruelty created by Trump’s work overturning Roe v. Wade continues to worsen all across the country, stories like Kate Cox’s in Texas have become all too common”, Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez responded. Although a valid statement, Rodriguez's strong blame against Trump mirrors “The President Is Not Superman” by Tom Nichols that we recently read in class, where he discusses how campaigns and people attribute what they like to who they already like as credit, and what they don’t like to whom they already dislike as blame.

As both the 2024 election and Supreme Court’s mifepristone hearing draws near, candidates and voters will have to take a stand on the polarizing issue of reproductive rights.

- Momoka Dhanuwidjaja

Sources:

USA Today

USA Today

Washington Post

CNN

Glitches with Voyager 1 could mean the end is near for a 46-year-long probe

Voyager 1, a NASA spacecraft that is 15 billion miles away from earth, is experiencing computer glitches threatening an end to its 46-years long expedition throughout the solar system.

The Voyager program started in 1977 contains two spacecrafts, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, each only meant to last 5 years, and yet 50 years later both spacecrafts are still surviving. They are the only spacecrafts to ever operate past the heliosphere, the region of space dominated by the sun, and overtook Pioneer 10 as the farthest man-made object from the earth in 1998. The spacecrafts continue exploring unknown areas in our universe despite being deemed “senior citizens” by project manager Suzanne Dodd for their long lifetime and dated technology. 

The Voyager 1 has experienced many technological errors throughout its history. It takes a total of 22.5 hours for commands from earth to reach the spacecraft, and over 45 hours to receive data back from the spacecraft, so glitches are difficult to identify and can last for months on end, the worst of which came in 2020, when NASA lost communication with Voyager 2 for a total of seven-months 

The Voyager 1 system consists of only three computers, and communicates with earth in strings of ones and zeros The most recent glitch was first noticed on November 14th, after NASA attempted sending a software patch to both Voyagers. The detection of the issue, only found in Voyager 1, is it can receive and carry out commands sent, but the flight data is now stuck repeating and sending the same pattern back to earth. The data is complete gibberish, and the Voyager 1 is completely useless until the problem is solved. 

A similar problem occurred to the Voyager 1 in four years after its launch date, in 1981, but NASA still has to find a new solution. They have started the process of finding the cause for the issue, and begun to develop a solution for it as well. This process can take weeks and weeks of work, and as issues with the spacecraft continuously become more common, NASA is aware that the end could be near for the Voyager spacecraft. 

As Calla Cofield, one of the space engineers working on fixing the Voyager 1, “The Voyagers are performing far, far past their prime missions and longer than any other spacecraft in history… So, while the engineering team is working hard to keep them alive, we also fully expect issues to arise.” 

Sources: 

CNN 

Popular Science 

- Olin Gawel 

Survivors of Sexual Harassment and Assault at the US Coast Guard Academy Testify

The purpose of the Coast Guard is national security, to ensure the safety of all people in the United States, but the ironic fact is that women in their own facilities are not safe. 

Four women have bravely come front and testified about the atrocities they faced during their time at the US Coast Guard Academy. These women were sexually assaulted and harassed at the academy. Additionally, the victims were silenced by the higher officials in the academy and the offenders have faced little to no consequences for their actions.

One of the women graduated in 1981 and she was assaulted in her own dorm room. She never reported the incident as she knew that reporting it would do her no good. She stayed quiet and continued to face the harassment until she became a commander of the Coast Guard. But, sadly even after getting this position her harassment continued.

Another woman who was in the class of 2008, shared that she would be constantly groped in public, and other men would see her being assaulted and laugh. She highlights that during swim class she would be groped underwater and when she went to her professor in tears for help, she was not taken seriously. This caused her to discontinue her education at the Coast Guard Academy and restart at a different college. Her offender is now in the position of lieutenant commander, a position that she had aspired for. While he is thriving, all she is left with is the trauma that he caused. 

Currently a Cadet in the Academy

Another woman who graduated in 2011 voiced that she was raped and assaulted by two different classmates at the university but never reported it because she had seen many women being dismissed by higher officials when they reported their experiences. She shared that the trauma she faced from being tortured physically but also mentally from not being able to report made her attempt suicide.

Finally, the fourth woman is still currently a cadet at the academy and was sexually assaulted in the first few weeks of her freshman year. She reported the incident but this caused her to be further harassed by her perpetrator's friends. While he was removed from the academy eventually, he was removed through an honorable discharge. This meant that he left with a clean slate and no one would know that he was an offender. 

The Four Survivors

A disturbing aspect of all these stories is the range in the timeline. The earliest is from 1981 but the most recent one is from a student who is still at the academy. This strongly highlights the fact that no matter how much we argue that men and women now have equal opportunity, in reality, that is a superficial view. The Coast Guard Academy is just one example. Millions of women face unsafe conditions in their place of work and education even today making them places of unequal opportunity. 

The women at the Coast Guard Academy were training to meet the requirements to achieve their career aspirations. But, they were faced with harassment and assault in the process of doing so. 

Recently in class, we learned about the requirements needed to become a senator or a representative. Additionally, we discussed how women are a minority in the makeup of the Congress. It can be argued that women not only need to meet the requirements to be eligible for the position but will most likely also be faced with other societal atrocities in the process, potentially providing a reason for why they are a minority. 

Source:

CNN

- Ashley Roselynn Vincent

Fed Plans to Cut Rates in 2024 (what does that even mean?)

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States. Though they have various duties (see this link for a slightly more complete picture), today we’ll focus on the “Fed’s” two primary monetary policy directives:

1. Keep inflation in check (ideally around 2%) 2. Keep unemployment low (a.k.a avoid a recession)

To keep the economy healthy the Federal Reserve loves to employ one tool in particular, interest rate hikes/cuts. I won’t get into how this works (if you are curious see this video) but in simple terms, high interest rates theoretically curb inflation and low interest rates theoretically stimulate the economy, decreasing unemployment.

For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic the Fed brought interest rates to near zero, incentivizing investments in the economy that would help the country navigate the incoming recession. As touched upon earlier, a side effect of lowering interest rates is increased inflation. And boy did inflation increase. We’re actually still grappling with inflation today, and for the past few months/years the Fed has been aggressively raising interest rates in an attempt to rein in the economy. As of December 2023, interest rates are in the 5.25% to 5.50% range, a 22-year high.

But all is not lost! The Fed has recognized that inflation seems to be slowing, and is pivoting to prevent a recession. They have announced a tentative plan to implement multiple rate cuts in 2024. Right now the Fed expects to end 2024 with a 4.6% rate. Many Wall Street analysts were surprised, expecting much steeper cuts (Link).

The economy is incredibly complex, and it can take years for the effects of the Fed’s monetary policy to become fully clear. In the meantime, we can only cross our fingers and hope that the Fed’s plan works out. On that somber note, we can now enjoy an incredibly subtle segue into how this relates to what we are currently learning in class.

Previously in AP Gov we explored the presidency. The nomination process for Governors of the Federal Reserve’s board is similar to that of the Supreme court, with the President having the power to nominate candidates to the board and Congress charged with approving the President’s picks. The Fed’s Board of Governors, while very powerful, is pretty much where the federal government’s involvement ends. The Federal reserve is a unique institution in that it is made up and directly influenced by (big) private banks that own shares in the Federal Reserve. The management structure is a bit convoluted (check it out here) but the President, despite being Chief Executive, has almost no say in how the Fed chooses to approach its duties.

Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Fed

The relationship between the president and the Fed as a whole is fairly opaque. In fact, back when Trump was still president some thought that Trump would attempt to fire Board Chairman Jerome Powell. This would have been uncharted legal territory and even experienced legal scholars weren’t sure if Trump was allowed to fire Powell and if so, under what circumstances he could do so at all (PBS Link).

- Vishal D.

NYT WSJ Reuters Article about the Fed’s controversial status. Does it really help us in economic crises? Or does it just make things worse?