Will 2020 Be The Year Of Enterprise Bitcoin? – Forbes

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BITCOIN sign on a bank

Bitcoin is the most popular digital asset in the institutional trading world as it has the best trading options available, both spot and derivatives, proven track record with the longest history and availability of data. This made some of the largest financial services institutions highly interested and in 2019 we saw the birth of several bitcoin products like Bakkts physically delivered bitcoin futures, Fidelity Digital Assets bitcoin custody solution and TD Ameritrades trading offerings.

But is it also the case for the large enterprises looking at blockchain as technology and wanting to innovate using easier payments over fast and secure transaction networks and processes built around smart contracts? Can they use the bitcoin blockchain as a foundation and place their middleware stack and end-user decentralized Web 3 and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on top?

So far the majority of enterprise-focused blockchain development has been done on permissioned and private blockchain protocols like Hyperledger Fabric and R3s Corda. This is mostly due to the fact that they offer sufficient privacy, scalability and transaction finality guarantees. Compared to them, development on top of the bitcoin blockchain was not seriously considered until recently when in May, Microsoft announced their permissionless, Decentralized Identifier (DID) network called ION running exclusively on top of the bitcoin blockchain. That triggered a shift in the sentiment that developers and enterprises should also consider bitcoin as a potential layer for enterprise blockchain development. For example, companies like Bitfury are already making significant progress with enterprise-tailored blockchain offerings like blockchain as a service (BaaS) using bitcoin as a base layer.

Lets review how bitcoin stacks up as an enterprise-ready development platform. According to a recent Ernst & Young study among decision makers across the U.S., Europe and Asia, the major reasons to consider blockchain in general are:

Preservation of data integrity In this area bitcoin is the absolute winner as the most trusted and secure public blockchain. The bitcoin blockchain is currently secured by 97 quintillion hashes per second, or EH/s. Data integrity is priority number one for the maintainers of the bitcoin blockchain and they are very restrictive about any new feature that can introduce security bugs and potentially compromise the integrity of the protocol. The accuracy and consistency of the data can be easily observed and analyzed by simple blockchain explorers as well as by using surveillance tools like Elliptic, Elementus and Chainalysis.

Bitcoin hashrate

Ability to build new revenue/business models Bitcoin currently has a $128 billion liquid market cap so building new models on top of it can unlock new significant revenue channels. Furthermore, the increased adoption of Layer 2 technology like the Lightning Network, which operate via channels and enable cheap and fast payments, will enable new business processes and ways to revenue.

Increased operational efficiency Since 2010, when certain opcodes were taken out of the core protocol, smart contracts were considered taboo in bitcoin. Lately, with the development of Blockstreams Liquid and the new RSK framework, Schnorr signatures and Taproot will make smart contractslike executions possible via sidechains.

RSK stack

Reduced costs The existence of the Lightning Network as a Layer 2 protocol on top of the bitcoin blockchain already enables cheap, private and instant transactions and payments. Of course, there are certain limitations as of now but they can be manually changed or improved in future iterations of the network.

Increased transparency This is natively supported and enforced in the bitcoin blockchain, contrary to other public protocols that incorporated privacy features like MimbleWimble, Confidential transactions, STARKs and ZK-snarks. The bitcoin core developers stayed away from such features as they can make bitcoins monetary supply of 21 million difficult to audit and verify.

Development on top of the bitcoin blockchain might be one of the major catalysts in the upcoming year. In contrast to the rest of the public chains, bitcoin is having the first-mover advantage and doesnt suffer from the same growing-pain issues as Ethereum and EOS. Overall, the security concerns most enterprise CIOs and CTOs will have with public chains are mitigated in the Layer 2/Sidechains areas. Moreover, one of the main blockchain concerns, the interoperability between networks and especially between bitcoin and others, can be explored via several ways: Keeps tBTC or an Interledger Protocol (ILP) bridge.

Bitcoin has many strong characteristics as it is the most stable and sufficiently decentralized public blockchain now. There are many teams working on a wide range of products and services on top of it, from Layer 2 to privacy, sidechains and smart contracts.

Innovations in bitcoin

Of course, a lot more will be required from bitcoin for it to become the dominant enterprise development stack. We still need to see a greater availability of development tools and IDE environments; Lightning Network should mature as a viable scaling solution and increase its adoption and usability. Soon, we will see if bitcoin can be a base layer for DeFi and match the growth Ethereum and EOS have seen. The timing cannot be better as the uncertainty around the other public chains is growing and we might see the decline of Ethereum as the dominant Web 3 platform. Regardless if that move is welcomed by the die-hard libertarians on the bitcoin platform, the companies that are building and investing on the protocol are open for enterprise customers and eventually, bitcoin will prove to its critics that its not only used for illegal activities and speculative trading.

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Will 2020 Be The Year Of Enterprise Bitcoin? - Forbes

Bitcoin Price Reaches Fair Market Valuation, While Costs of Production Rise – newsBTC

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Bitcoin price may be dropping deeper into a downtrend over the course of the last few months, but the first-ever cryptocurrency is actually much closer now to fair market value than it has been throughout the year.

However, as Bitcoin price falls toward fair valuations, the cost of production rises exponentially, and may be part of the cause of the downtrend itself.

Chartered financial analyst and staunch Bitcoin supporter Timothy Peterson has shared various metrics from crypto data aggregator CoinMetrics related to the leading cryptocurrency by market cap.

Related Reading | Former IMF Economist: Current Bitcoin Trend is Textbook Echo Bubble

According to the analyst, Bitcoin is currently trading at prices that would be considered fair for the cryptocurrency. Prices have fallen back toward levels of fairness, after spending much of 2019 soaring higher than the fair market valuation of what Bitcoin should be priced at.

Following the crypto asset bottoming out at fair prices around $3,100 at the start of the year, Bitcoins parabolic rally took the cryptocurrency beyond its fair price, but nowhere near as overvalued as it was during the crypto hype bubble in late 2017, or even its value during the 2018 bear market.

It wasnt until Bitcoin bottomed at $3,100 that the cryptocurrency reached fair value, and prior to that, it was 2016 before the crypto bull market really began. At the height of the bubble, Bitcoin reached valuations 1,000% higher than what it should have been.

But even though crypto prices are falling toward fair valuations, the cost of producing each BTC continues to rise.

According to a chart shared by digital asset analyst Charles Edwards, who has developed a tool that plots production costs onto Bitcoin price charts on TradingView, the price per BTC has begun to fall below the cost of production, causing miners to capitulate en masses, which could be in part responsible for the recent downtrend in crypto markets.

With Bitcoins halving in May set to reduce the block reward crypto miners receive in BTC by half, the cost of production could double overnight. How this may impact the market is anyones guess, but it could cause extreme selling by capitulating crypto miners, rather than pushing up the price of the scarce digital asset as many others are expecting to happen.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Must Clear Multiple Resistance Levels Before Its Out of The Woods

Bitcoin price is currently trading at roughly $7,150, a couple of hundred dollars less than the cost to produce each BTC. Interestingly, the fair market valuation metric also appears to coincide with of producing each Bitcoin.

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Bitcoin Price Reaches Fair Market Valuation, While Costs of Production Rise - newsBTC

It’s Not Just the Money, It’s the People in Bitcoin: Anil Lulla – Coindesk

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This post is part of CoinDesk's 2019 Year in Review, a collection of 100 op-eds, interviews and takes on the state of blockchain and the world. Anil Lulla is a co-founder of Delphi Digital, a research and consulting boutique specializing in digital assets.

Anil Lulla co-founded Delphi Digital in mid-2018 with four friends he met while working at Bloomberg and Deutsche Bank. Their idea: to provide credible, actionable research for an industry populated by noisy clout-chasers and ensnaring scammers.

When I left my job, my managing director literally didnt understand why I was leaving for fake internet money, Lulla said. In a way, this goodbye proved his thesis that there wasnt anything anyone could point to to explain the value proposition of bitcoin, he said.

While I personally buy into the crypto ethos, were not selling anarchist thoughts, just offering perspective on why should you pay attention: because crypto is a great investment opportunity.

More than a year later, Lulla reflects on the intricacies of the market, how a background analyzing distressed debt can help one understand the token industry, and why crypto will always be infinitely more interesting than real money.

Has this past years cycle from bust to boom to bust revealed anything new about how BTC operates?

This cycle has been interesting to see from a crypto fund perspective, which use bitcoin as both an investment and beta. We saw the thesis of bitcoins market supremacy play out in real time in the first two quarters, as bitcoin continued to get all the attention and alt-bagholders saw their satoshis disappear. The headlines and investment interest flowing back in proves the reflexivity of the market. Its also interesting to consider over the past 12 months where every incremental dollar was added in the market. While some was new money, most was sitting on the sidelines from people who had sold their positions and were waiting to come back in.

Whats the deal with technical analysis? What does it actually tell you, if anything?

At Delphi, we dont use TA as much as fundamentals, though weve added a little more because it's a traders market. If it can help execute trades accurately 60 percent of the time, its worth it. But we think bitcoins real advantages over traditional assets for market analysis is on-chain indicators. My partner Yan led our UTXO analysis which was used to call the bottom of the market by looking at HODL waves, or when certain massive hodlers start selling. Its a way to help predict when people will take cash off the table based on their potential returns and selling pressure.

How has the addition of institutional holders affected bitcoin?

Its a slow change, but we think Bakkt and Fidelity will be huge for the market long term. My team laughed at the focus given to Bakkts launch, and the reaction once it didnt move the needle the first week. The benefit of these products isnt from short term inflows of capital, but that credible brands are making long-term investments because they view crypto as a long-term project. This allows traditional investors to take risks they wouldnt otherwise with the latest crypto unicorn.

The amount of capital coming in also includes human capital.

Does Delphi get any crossover from traditional finance?

Whenever you have volatility in the market, we have people crossing over from that side of the market. They may not actually be interested in making an allocation, but funds may have clients who see bitcoin spike and ask them why they are not allocated to that asset, or at least wonder whats going on. Most conversations revolve around bitcoin. At a macro view, a lot of the people who look at the market seriously are starting to understand the value proposition of bitcoin beyond being a store of value.

If 2019 was year of bitcoin, where does that leave tokens or ICO projects for 2020?

Next year will see a lot of layer ones launching. But, the reality is a lot of token projects need help figuring out their economic or governance structures. Meanwhile, a lot of the projects that raised during the 2017 craze have essentially become distressed assets. That doesnt necessarily mean theyre dead projects. One of cryptos biggest value propositions is how quickly developments can happen. Maybe the biggest is changes on ethereum. We werent even aware of the real efficiency gains of Optimistic Rollups until Vitalik published a blog post. These things come from long periods of hard work and then, to the general public, they seem to come out of nowhere.

Sometimes I cringe at comparisons between crypto and the early days of e-commerce, just because of the investment activity. In the 90s, every website was an iteration of the same basic website, but with crypto its a constant evolution.

The amount of capital coming in also includes human capital. Its amazing to see what people are creating. The easiest way to talk about crypto is that its dis-intermediating middlemen while organizing or incentivizing groups to work together. Instadapp. Uniswap. The composability between projects is incredible. Things like that are why I think this sector will ultimately produce things that are valuable and give mainstream audience no choice but to participate. It's something Im willing to bet my career on.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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CNN: Bitcoin was the best investment of the decade – The Next Web

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Major news outlet CNN has touted Bitcoin as the star investment of the decade, eclipsing stocks, bonds, commodities, and (of course) fiat currencies worldwide.

CNN backed its claim with numbers provided by Bank of America Securities, which showed a tiny $1 investment in Bitcoin at the start of 2010 would be worth more than $90,000 today (or, considering its latest price dives, until quite recently).

Still, regardless of its recent performance, Bitcoin dominated more traditional investments. Even though the US stock market is the strongest in the world, $1 in American stocks at the start of the decade would now reportedly be valued at just $3.46.

One dollar invested in a 30-year US treasury bond over the same time period would now be worth $2.08.

Gold, however, was reportedly the top commodity of the 2010s (aside from Bitcoin, of course). A$1 gold investment in 2010 is said to be worth just $1.34, while the same in oil would equate to 74 cents.

CNN listed some terrible investments, too. A dollar in Myanmar currency at the start of the decade would now reportedly be worth a measly 4 tenths of one US cent today.

Thanks to Greeces debt crisis, 100 cents in the Greek equity market would now equate to only seven cents.

While BTCs value indeed went from fractions of a penny to thousands of dollars today, itll surely be hard to defend its title of best investment of the decade.

Now, Bitcoin faces its next test: the 2020s.

This is not investment advice. This is for educational purposes only. Do your own research, damnit. No, really, dont buy Bitcoin because you read this article. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Im not even qualified to tell you that. See what I mean? Do your own research. Please.

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CNN: Bitcoin was the best investment of the decade - The Next Web

Bitcoin vs . Ethereum: Which Cryptocurrency Should You Invest In? – Robb Report

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Cryptocurrency is more than just Bitcoin. New cryptos have emerged and given the blockchain forefather a run for its (digital) money. Most notable among them is Ethereum, which is both an online currency and a platform for creating smart contracts and blockchain-supported apps. It typically runs second to Bitcoin in overall value but has been adopted by some corporate entities, acquiring a possible edge in legitimacy.

Courtesy of Shutterstock

Courtesy of Shutterstock

2009

BEGAN IN

2015

Satoshi Nakamoto, which is almost certainlya pseudonym. The creators true identityor identitiesremains unknown.

Eight people are attributed as cofounders,but programmer Vitalik Buterin isthe most active today.

Prague

San Francisco

Mike Tyson. The former pro boxer launched a line ofBitcoin ATMs that would convert real-world moneyinto crypto. Its design featured his signature face tattoo.

Courtesy of Shutterstock

Ashton Kutcher. The actor tweeted his supportfor Ethereum and decentralizing the world in 2014(prior to its launch) with a link to the site.

Courtesy of Shutterstock

18 million

HOW MANY IN CIRCULATION?

108 million

BUNDLE OF ENERGY

In a year, mining consumes moreenergy than all of Singapore.

BUNDLE OF ENERGY

Ethereum minings yearly energy usage isequivalent to all of Costa Ricas.

VALUE AS OF 12/2/2019

$7,277

VALUE AS OF 12/2/2019

$147

YOU CAN BUY WHAT WITH IT?

A trip to space via Virgin Galactic.

Courtesy of Virgin Galactic

YOU CAN BUY WHAT WITH IT?

A $30 million beaux arts mansion in New York.

Courtesy of Anton Brookes/H5 Properties

IF YOU INVESTED $1,000 WHEN IT WASFOUNDED IT WOULD NOW BE WORTH

Roughly $170 million

IF YOU INVESTED $1,000 WHEN IT WASFOUNDED IT WOULD NOW BE WORTH

$67,000

EVERYONES A CRITIC

Probably rat poison squared.Warren Buffet

EVERYONES A CRITIC

Ethereum could have done a better job in its life.It hasntWilliam Mougayar, author

BUY A 2019 FERRARI 812 SUPERFAST FOR

64.7

BUY A 2019 FERRARI 812 SUPERFAST FOR

3,201.4

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Bitcoin vs . Ethereum: Which Cryptocurrency Should You Invest In? - Robb Report

Bitcoin Worth $3 Billion Expected to be Mined in 2020 – Bitcoinist

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According to recent estimates, bitcoin mining in 2020 is expected to take off at an explosive pace. Miners are predicted to mine around $3 billion worth of BTC as per the coins current price.

Bitcoin mining has always been a crucial part of the BTC network. Mining involves validating transactions, adding blocks to the blockchain, which leads to the production of new BTC adding to bitcoins total supply

It has been growing at a pretty steady rate over the years, and as more people became interested, bitcoin mining difficulty continued to appreciate. Meanwhile, two subsequent BTC halvings led to an increase in the bitcoin price due to reduced supply and increased demand.

Bitcoins infamous price volatility has both been rewarding and besetting for all market participants. BTC miners especially have had a tough time navigating through this volatility, as it affected the coins value, and therefore their earnings. The extreme bitcoin price movement in 2018 led to many unplugging their mining gear and leaving the industry, as the cost of producing BTC exceeded the profits.

Recent reports, however, indicate that bitcoin miners are in for some respite. As per South China Morning Post, Nasdaq listed bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer Canaan has partnered with Hong-Kong based digital asset liquidity providers and market makers to offer risk management products and methods to their clients in order to protect them from volatility in bitcoin prices.

Canaans strategic Interhash will be offered customized financial instruments such as swaps and collars by GSR. These will help them skirt losses and expedite returns on available inventory. These risk hedging alternatives are pretty crucial in the bitcoin mining business. According to the manager of Canaans blockchain division, Kevin Shao, there arent any hedging instruments that match a miners production costs and production cycle.

Experts predict that 2020 will be a very successful year for the bitcoin mining industry. GSR predicts that around $3 billion worth of BTC will be mined globally next year (at current prices). The estimate is made with the assumption that Bitcoins blockchain will produce around 1,800 coins per day. But the numbers may appreciate after the halving in May 2020, since production will reduce to 50% (900 coins per day).

New BTC mining operations will come up across the world in different geographies such as Russia, Canada, and the US, which may reduce Chinas monopoly and truly decentralize the bitcoin mining ecosystem.

Financial products such as hash rate futures will help bitcoin miners hedge themselves against the fluctuating BTC hash rate, as was reported by Reuters, a few days back. This might lead to an overall strengthening of confidence in bitcoin mining and the attraction of participants in droves to contribute their available power.

What are your thoughts on the state of the bitcoin mining industry? Do you expect new miners to arrive in 2020? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image via Shutterstock

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Bitcoin Worth $3 Billion Expected to be Mined in 2020 - Bitcoinist

Heres What Burst Bitcoins $14,000 Yearly Top and May Lead it Even Lower – newsBTC

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Bitcoin has faced turbulence throughout 2019, with the first half of the year being firmly controlled by bulls that sent it as high as $13,800, while the second half of the year played to the favor of BTCs bears who were able to push it as low as $6,500.

The downtrend that was first sparked this past summer may have been the result of a Ponzi scheme that harvested and subsequently began selling a significant amount of Bitcoin from a plethora of victims.

Now, a prominent research group is now noting that the nefarious actors behind this scheme may still be selling off their illicitly obtained cryptocurrency and could lead Bitcoins price significantly lower in the mid-term.

PlusToken was a Chinese cryptocurrency wallet and storage solution that was structured like an archetypal Ponzi scheme, offering users referral rewards for every new user they bring the platform.

At its peak, the operation is said to have stolen north of $3 billion worth of Bitcoin from unsuspecting users, which resulted in a large number of the team members being arrested.

Unfortunately, it does appear that a small number of individuals who ran the operation are missing abroad, and data suggests that these users may be selling a significant amount of Bitcoin on a daily basis, providing a steady stream of downwards pressure on the markets.

As of late-November, Ergo, a data analyst, explained on Twitter that he estimates the scammers still have about 187,000 BTC left to sell.

So what is the current status of the PlusToken coins? Here is a work in progress table showing my rough totals. My current totals are around 187,000 BTC. This analysis is not complete yet, but roughly confirms the previous 200,000 BTC estimates, he noted.

Although it does appear that a significant amount of PlusTokens BTC has already been sold on the markets, data from Chainalysis signals that the scammers may force Bitcoin to incur further near-term downside.

Thats certainly something to consider when you are thinking about where the price is going, at least in the short term It could be, according to our research, continued downward pressure, Kim Grauer, senior economist at Chainalysis, said while speaking to Bloomberg about the significant amount of BTC the PlusToken ring leaders still hold.

Bitcoins current technical bearishness coupled with this ongoing fundamental development could point to the possibility that the price action seen at the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020 will favor sellers.

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Heres What Burst Bitcoins $14,000 Yearly Top and May Lead it Even Lower - newsBTC

Bitcoin may revisit $7,400-$7,600 zone in the next 24 hours – AMBCrypto

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The price of Bitcoin fell to $6,500 range on December 18, soon thereafter, the price saw a spontaneous rise to $7,400, a 15% pump in 10 hours. With longs hitting an all-time high on Bitfinex, this unexpected surge in BTCs price saw huge liquidations of Bitcoin longs on BitMEX.

For now, Bitcoins price moves comfortably sideways forming a pattern that is indicative of a bullish breakout in the near future. Bouncing within the pattern, BTC has dipped below the 50-hour MA [blue], which looks like a brief dip. In case of bearish pressure, a successful dip into the 50-hour MA [pink], the 100-hour MA will support the price just below the $7,000-range.

The MACD and the RSI for this chart are both receding, indicating an onslaught on bearish pressure, however, the OBV indicator is still moving sideways after hitting a peak of $185k, indicating that the bulls have equal pressure as the bears.

The breakout, at press time, could go either way, however, ascending triangles usually have a bullish bias. Assuming a bullish break, the next stop for Bitcoin would be the prior peak of $7,400, which is an area of high resistance, at least until, $7,700.

Things start to look a little different on the daily chart as the recent dip down to the $6,500 caused the 50 moving average to dip further below causing the already existing death cross chasm to widen a little more, further bolstering the bearishness in the market.

Moreover, BTC on the daily time frame is stuck between a mixture of a descending channel and a falling wedge, both of which are bullish patterns. Supporting this is the bullish OBV indicator. However, both MACD and the RSI indicate the bearishness to come.

Bitcoins final confirmation for a bearish outlook in the long term is the hash ribbons, which are indicative of the miner capitulation. Confirming this is the Bitcoin dominance, which has hit a ceiling yet again at 68.1%.

Short-term future for Bitcoin indicated a possible pump up to $7,400 in the next 24-hours, further bullish momentum could push the price to $7,700.

Long-term future for Bitcoin is still uncertain. There is a possibility that Bitcoin might undergo a short-term dump back to the $6,500 zone and push as high as $8,500 hitting the upper band of the descending channel.

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Bitcoin may revisit $7,400-$7,600 zone in the next 24 hours - AMBCrypto

Bitcoin History Part 22: The New Wealthy Elite – Bitcoin News

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I am pretty confident we are the new wealthy elite, gentlemen, even with a sum as small as 10 bitcoins The world just isnt going to be the same and we have been blessed as the pioneers. When these remarks were made in June of 2011, they seemed hopeful to the point of delirium. Commencing a thread on the Bitcointalk forum, the declaration triggered a wide-ranging discussion about Bitcoins potential in the years to come, with the thread eventually topping out at 232 pages. Opinion was divided, but looking back, that anonymous posters prediction was prescient.

Also read: Bitcoin History Part 21: Miners Pour One out for Satoshi

When the original poster wrote The world just isnt going to be the same, he wasnt talking about politics, war or ever more powerful AI systems: he was forecasting a time when cryptocurrency powers the global economy, with bitcoins price steadily rising in line with demand. In an attempt to inspire some smug bonhomie about this notion, the poster proclaimed We have been blessed as the pioneers before asking what the others were going to do with their Bitcoin wealth once your coins hit upwards of $10,000 a pop.

As we know, that prediction was accurate: bitcoin hit its all-time high of $20k on December 18, 2017, just six-and-a-half years after the post, at which time a single BTC cost a mere $22.59. That figure might seem insignificant now, but context is required: bitcoin failed to exceed a dollar the year before (2010), its highest price being just $0.39. Bitcoins rise above $20 was aided by a Gawker story published on June 1, which cited the cryptos popularity on Silk Road. Perhaps it was this rapid growth that convinced our would-be clairvoyant that the era of a new wealthy elite was on the horizon.

As is often the case with old Bitcointalk threads, reading the posts can be an amusing and instructive exercise. To think that not so long ago I was paid 50 BTC for two hours of work, mused one poster, JamezQ. Another, billyjoeallen, pledged his commitment to the cause, sounding for all the world like a broken hero on a last chance power drive: I dont care about the busts. Im riding this pig wherever it takes me. If it tanks, Ill have a helluva story to tell. Im sick of half measures. Im swinging for the fences and if I strike out, so be it. I wont be some mediocre drone living a life of quiet desperation. I believe in bitcoin and Im going for broke, knowing the risks.

Of course, there were a few people predicting crazy bitcoin growth in those heady days. One of them was self-professed philosopher and investor Trace Mayer, who had been recommending his followers buy bitcoin since it was $0.25. Mayers giddy predictions were just too much for some people to stomach, motivating an outraged riposte from one triggered Reddit user. Another vocal proselytizer was Bruce Wagner, host of The Bitcoin Show, who told wired.com, I knew bitcoin wasnt a stock and wouldnt go up and down. This was something that was going to go up, up, up.

The bitcoin phenomenon had gone overground in 2011: in August, the first Bitcoin World Conference and Expo got underway in east Midtown, and The New Yorker sought to scrutinize the landscape with a satirical eye, publishing a piece that fall called The Crypto-Currency. It concludes with an amusing story about an eager bitcoin miner named Kevin Groce, who referred to mining as the new moonshining and liked to walk around in a t-shirt emblazoned with the words Bitcoin Millionaire.

Presumably at the time, readers were compelled to chuckle at the dreamer with a wanderlust glint in his eye. But Groces conviction, like the clairvoyant on Bitcointalk, was unshakeable: My fiance keeps saying shed rather I was just a regular old millionaire. But maybe I will be someday, if these rigs keep working for me.

Outlandish predictions of wealth for bitcoin holders would become the norm in the years that followed that historic Bitcointalk post. At the time of writing, John McAfee reckons bitcoin will hit $2 million per coin by the end of 2020, an increase on his $1 million prediction in 2017. Bayern LB, one of the top German banks, is a little less audacious, predicting that bitcoin will reach $90,000 come May. Whatever the case, the idea of a new wealthy elite is no longer a pipe dream for those with the perspicacity to have gotten in on the investment of the decade.

Bitcoin History is a multipart series from news.Bitcoin.com charting pivotal moments in the evolution of the worlds first cryptocurrency. Read part 21 here.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see whats happening in the industry.

Kai's been manipulating words for a living since 2009 and bought his first bitcoin at $12. It's long gone. He's previously written whitepapers for blockchain startups and is especially interested in P2P exchanges and DNMs.

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Democrats aim to abolish right-to-work laws – Washington Examiner

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In 1947, over President Harry Trumans veto, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act. In doing so, it put an end to a long-since-forgotten era of labor unrest and paved the way to the prosperous 1950s.

Taft-Hartley curbed some of the worst excesses of Depression-era law that govern labor unions even to this day. Its greatest contribution to our modern governance was the state right-to-work law. States could forbid the pernicious practice of forcing workers to pay a union as a condition of their employment. Unfortunately, Democrats in Congress, out of obedience to the Big Labor bosses who underwrite their campaigns, are threatening to repeal and ban all such laws with new legislation. Their bill is inaptly referred to as the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.

Of course, the right to organize is not really under threat, but workers desire to band together in unions is vanishing as part of the natural course of events. Wherever workers have been legally freed from mandatory union dues or fees, they have consistently opted to stop paying. As a result, union bosses massive paychecks, expense accounts, and cash to spend on their favorite Democratic officeholders are under threat. This is what Democrats want to preserve in the face of workers' consistent choice to be free of such predatory constraints.

Unions have no relevance for most younger workers, and many states have adopted right-to-work laws in recent years to protect them from forced unionism. This has Democrats in a panic.

Unions face other problems. A big one is that the traditional employer-employee relationship is itself on the wane. The expenses and hassles that regulation, taxation, and mandates have loaded onto traditional, formal employment are prompting more and more employers to consider automation or contracting. More and more workers are going outside the formal, corporate employment structure, doing business for themselves in the gig economy. It is believed that 36% of the working population already do such jobs at least part time.

Bills that prop up moribund labor unions and create greater inefficiencies will do no good, and will actually accelerate this trend, forcing a too-fast transition that will harm many more workers than they help.

When this legislation is proposed in coming weeks, it will not pass. But it must also not go unnoticed. Democratic attacks on the right to work will only become stronger, especially if they continue their efforts to break down the rule of law. If Democrats manage to take control of the Senate and abolish the filibuster, pro-union, anti-worker policy will become a top priority.

The repeal of right-to-work laws would reimpose upon large and now prosperous areas of America the very sort of labor rules that used to hold them back, from a time no one remembers anymore. Many of todays baby boomers were not yet born when Taft-Hartley passed. In those times, the South was a backwater and the mountain West an undeveloped, provincial region. Those regions embrace of right-to-work laws was part of what helped them take the lead in our countrys economy in the modern era. It is no accident that 11 out of CNBCs top 15 states for business are right-to-work states, or that right-to-work states enjoy lower unemployment, or that personal incomes in those states grew 50% faster between 2001 and 2016.

Democratic efforts to abolish right-to-work laws should be viewed as the rejection of seven decades of sound labor policy, the economic equivalent of resurrecting the polio virus and setting it loose on unsuspecting populations. Washington has no business fouling up the healthy business climates of the nations best-run states, just as a kickback to union bosses for their partisan contributions and activism. The abolition of the right to work would be a quid pro quo for unions and a knife between the ribs of the workers whom organized labor is supposed to represent.

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Democrats aim to abolish right-to-work laws - Washington Examiner

Government to press ahead with abolishing section 21 – Property Wire

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The government intends to carry out the abolition of so-called no fault Section 21 evictions.

The Queens Speech announced a Renters Reform Bill, as well as a lifetime deposit which would allow tenants to swap their deposit from one property to another.

Section 21 enables landlords to evict tenants with two months notice.

David Cox, chief executive of ARLA Propertymark, said: In the absence of any meaningful plan to boost the level of social housing in this country, the announcement confirming the abolition of Section 21 in todays Queens speech is another attack against the landlords who actually house the nation.

If Section 21 is scrapped, Section 8 must be reformed and a new specialist housing tribunal created. Without this, supply will almost certainly fall which will have the consequential effect of raising rents and will further discourage new landlords from investing in the sector.

ARLA Propertymark will be engaging with the government to ensure they fully understand the consequences of any changes, and we will be scrutinising the legislation, to ensure landlords have the ability to regain their properties if needed.

But Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, said: The abolition of Section 21 and the removal of the no-fault eviction process has been long discussed and is understandable if we are going to respond to the longer-term requirements of tenants and particularly families with children.

Many landlords would be happy to embrace it but there must be an equal and opposite opportunity for landlords to remove tenants who are not otherwise complying with their tenancy agreement such as non payment of rent or upsetting other nearby residents.

It has to be seen to be fair and we need to see more detail of how it would work in practice. What we dont want to see is landlords leaving the sector, which will only increase upwards pressure on rents and make deposit saving for aspiring first-time buyers even more difficult.

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Government to press ahead with abolishing section 21 - Property Wire

Japan Set to Welcome More Foreign Lawyers With Revised Gaiben Law – Legal Business Online

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Japan Set to Welcome More Foreign Lawyers With Revised Gaiben Law | Asian Legal Business Japan Set to Welcome More Foreign Lawyers With Revised Gaiben Law A law change that relaxes restrictions on foreign lawyers is being welcomed in Japan, as the market gradually embraces international talent. The revised Gaiben law, which expands activities allowed and decreases the period of overseas work experience required for foreign lawyers, is expected to be conrmed during this Diet session.The bill was originally advised by Japans Ministry of Justice and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations back in 2016, and although formally adopted and expected during Japans 2018 autumn Diet session, it failed to eventuate.The arrival of the law coincides with a government-led push to boost Japans international arbitration capabilities. Last year in Osaka, the Japan International Dispute Resolution Center (JIDRC) was launched, while a second JIDRC centre is expected in Tokyo next year.Lawyer Rika Beppu, who was involved in the amendments and chairs the European Business Council Legal Services Committee, says that the changes are wholeheartedly welcome.Once the changes are implemented into law, international lawyers who have started their careers in Japan and are currently in Japan pursuing their legal careers will no longer need to disrupt their careers by going overseas for two years to satisfy the current requirement, Beppu says, noting that overseas work experience will be reduced to one year.This will be benecial to Japan-based clients as well as law rms, where an international lawyers career can be more smoothly pursued due to the reduction of the two-year overseas experience rule to one year, she says. However, she says that the committee is advocating for the complete abolition of the work experience rule for foreign lawyers in Japan.Aaron Patience, who heads the Simmons & Simmons Tokyo office, believes the law change strikes a good balance, noting that the general market reaction seems to be that its a step in the right direction.The loosening of foreign lawyer restrictions also indicates a demand for foreign talent. I think there will continue to be a need for the skill-sets of international lawyers in particular sectors; like infrastructure projects and project finance, says Patience. Japanese clients tend to appreciate service providers that can bridge cultural gaps, such as by delivering messages in a particular way, whether it be in Japanese or by using English in a way that resonates with them.While Japan may be opening up to foreign lawyers, the domestic legal market is also looking outward. Theres also more of an interest in Japanese lawyers doing international work, and theres a push from the Japanese business community to get involved in cross border transactions between Japan and the rest of the world, Patience says. I think some of the roles that were potentially in the past lled by Commonwealth or U.S. lawyers are now increasingly being done by Japanese lawyers who are interested in that space. So that could inuence the opportunities for international lawyers.To contact the editorial team, please emailALBEditor@thomsonreuters.com.

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Japan Set to Welcome More Foreign Lawyers With Revised Gaiben Law - Legal Business Online

‘We have work to do’: Laura Bergus and Janice Weiner officially join the Iowa City Council – Little Village

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The two newest members of Iowa City Council took their oaths of office in the council chamber on Thursday afternoon. Laura Bergus and Janice Weiner, both elected to at-large seats in November, were sworn in by City Clerk Kellie Fruehling.

For Bergus, its a new role in a familiar setting. Her first job as a teenager was televising council meetings for the citys cable channel. While doing that, Bergus developed what she calls her nerdy passion for local government.

Bergus didnt mention her high school job on Thursday in her brief remarks after signing the oath of office, during which she thanked the dozens of people who attended the swearing-in.

I am so humbled and grateful to have the support of the city of Iowa City, my hometown, the place where Ive lived my entire life, Bergus said.

She said she was looking forward to working with Weiner and the other members of the council on behalf of the people of Iowa City.

Weiner also began her remarks by expressing gratitude to Iowa Citians.

I am really both honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve the city, she began. As I said during the campaign, I am a public servant at heart.

Like Bergus, Weiner grew up in Iowa City. After graduating from high school, she attended Princeton University and Stanford Law School, before starting a career at the U.S. State Department. Weiner returned to Iowa City after a 27-year career in the Foreign Service.

Weiner said that although she is careful not mix religion with politics, on this occasion she wanted to acknowledge how her religious beliefs informed her political and social justice passion.

We, as Jews, welcome immigrants and refugees, because we were once immigrants in a strange land, she said. I am proud to represent a city that strives to embody those values. We believe strongly in social justice.

Weiner told the audience that she attended the Union for Reform Judaisms biennial conference in Chicago last week. The conference addressed issues of social and political importance such as the abolition of private prisons, addressing the opioid crisis, and studying and developing reparations for slavery and institutional racism in the United States.

We have work to do at every level of government, Weiner said. Good work has been done here, theres more to do.

I was reminded during that conference that voices multiplied can effect change. That determined individuals can make a real difference.

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Now that Bergus and Weiner have joined the city council, five of its seven members are women. Thats the largest number of women ever to serve together on the Iowa City Council.

Editors note: An earlier verion of this story incorrectly stated that this was the first time women have made up a majorithy on the Iowa City Council. This is the first time since the council expanded to its current size of seven seats that the majority of members have been women.

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'We have work to do': Laura Bergus and Janice Weiner officially join the Iowa City Council - Little Village

Motorists saving hundreds of thousands per day since Severn tolls’ abolition – GOV.UK

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Motorists are collectively saving hundreds of thousands of pounds per day on the Severn crossings as the first anniversary since the removal of tolls is marked today [17 December]. All drivers are saving around 365,000 per day, based on the charges which were in place when the tolls were abolished.

The UK Government removed tolls on the westbound M4 and M48 crossings in December 2018, making it easier to travel between Wales and south west England with the aim of boosting business, enhancing inward investment, increasing tourism and creating jobs.

Since the tolls abolition, journeys into Wales from England over the Prince of Wales Bridge have increased by 16% with an average of more than 39,000 journeys now being made each day.

Following the UK Governments abolition of the tolls, the Western Gateway partnership was launched last month to maximise the economic potential of south Wales and the south west of England.

By bringing together world-renowned universities, businesses and local authorities across a wide region either side of the Severn, the Western Gateway will mirror the successful, established work of the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine and will seek to ensure that the region is globally competitive.

Over the last year, drivers have reaped the benefits of free road travel into Wales which is paying dividends for businesses across both sides of the Severn.

We are better connected economically as a result and through the Western Gateway initiative we will harness the joint strengths of these two regions while respecting our distinct identities and traditions.

The UK Government is committed to boosting Wales transport infrastructure and connectivity which is central to ensuring we raise our game economically and boost our productivity as a result.

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‘Economy will come out of the slump far stronger’ – The New Indian Express

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Express News Service

Former Odisha-cadre IAS officer turned entrepreneur Ashwini Vaishnaws election to Rajya Sabha from BJP with a seat gifted by BJD took everyone by surprise. Handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and backed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Vaishnaw, though, has donned the new role with aplomb. He speaks toSN Agragami on his journey, the state of economy and Odishas growth and development.

Bureaucrat, technocrat, private secretary to former PM AB Vajpayee, corporate head to entrepreneur, and now a politician quite a career journey it has been. How would you describe it?I think the variety of experience has given me humility to recognise the complexities of modern world. This journey has helped me understand how countries like China, Japan and South Korea transformed themselves from third world to first world within a short span of time. Wharton MBA transformed the way of thinking. Working with Vajpayeeji gave me the privilege of understanding the world view of a great statesman. Working in industry has given me the satisfaction of creating meaningful employment.

We all remember in 1999, when internet was nascent in Odisha, how you used it to follow US Navy website for tracking the Super Cyclone. You saved many lives and your work was commended by National Human Rights Commission. Dont you miss public service?The satisfaction that ones hard work and enterprise is supporting fellow human beings is immense. I like the focus of working on one subject, but sometimes I do miss the opportunity to serve people on a much larger scale. Handling the Super Cyclone of 1999 in Balasore was a team effort. Every section of society, be it lawyers, politicians, journalists, businessmen or the common man, everybody supported the district administration. Almighty was kind that he made my team as the medium for saving thousands of lives.

Ashwini Vaishnaw was elected to Rajya Sabha as BJP candidate from Odisha with the ruling BJD giving up a seat despite having a brute majority. An unlikely candidate and an equally surprising gift by a political party to a bitter rival of the just concluded polls. Please, throw some light on it.I think this was amply clarified by the senior leaders of BJP and BJD. Rajya Sabha has many apolitical members, now as well as in the past. The not so common combination of public life and industry experience is considered useful for contributing to Indias growth story.

As a first time Parliamentarian, how has the experience in Rajya Sabha been?Rajya Sabha is a very welcoming place. Senior members are always eager to guide and mentor. While both sides debate vociferously within the House, the camaraderie outside, cutting across party lines, is a thing to experience. I think we have a mature democracy, and that is undoubtedly the biggest strength of our country.

You have been actively taking part in debates on the state of Indian economy. With the economy gripped by a great slowdown and stuttering on all fronts, how do you view the scenario and the road ahead?I think Indian economy will come out of this slowdown far stronger than ever. Bank balance sheets have purged the toxic NPAs. GST has simplified life for industries. Culture of ever-greening bank loans is over. Corporate tax rationalisation will help in de-leveraging and creating capital for next cycle of growth.

Yes, there is a significant contraction in demand. But, this can be reasonably improved by the proposed annual investment of 10 trillion rupees in infrastructure.Indias nominal GDP is 200-210 trillion rupees. Inflation is benign at 4-6%. For real growth of 8%, nominal growth required is 12-14%. That means about 26-30 trillion rupees additional output.

Investment in infrastructure has a multiplier of three to four times. Therefore, with 10 trillion rupee infrastructure investment programme, we can aim at 8-10% real growth rate. Yes, it will take a couple of years to reach that level, but it is definitely doable. I think we need to work more on our ability to execute projects by removing the archaic tender processes, giving much more freedom to operating teams, and by having a robust contract enforcement regime.

I think the infrastructure investment cycle has started picking up and it will start showing the results by Q4 of FY19-20. Some sections of politicians and academics are proposing greater transfer of money directly to people by way of increased spending in MGNREGA, etc. In my view, that kind of short-term solution will only lead to inflationary pressures without increasing long term productivity of economy.

There is a growing sense that the Modi Government is not doing enough to pull the economy out of the slump. The much-touted 5 trillion dollar economy target by 2024-25 now seems an unapproachable target.I do not agree. Government is continually listening to the needs of all sections of society. Look at the frequency and speed at which Union Finance Minister Nirmalaji has responded to every situation. We must realise that the structural changes of cleaner banking, GST, and greater transparency do take time to be digested by the system. I think that process has matured by now.

There is one more thing that we definitely need to do to attract manufacturing industries. We need more manufacturing to create employment for our teeming millions. I think if we abolish the Dividend Distribution Tax, then a large number of manufacturing businesses will come to India. This distortionary tax is a big deterrent. The effective tax rate on returns on equity is still 40 per cent despite the historic Corporate tax cut. In my opinion, the abolition of DDT and foregoing `41,000 crore revenue would have had greater impact on attracting manufacturing businesses than the `1,45,000 crore revenue foregone by Corporate tax rate cut.

You began your IAS career from Odisha with stints as Collector of Balasore and Cuttack. As an entrepreneur too, you are still connected to the State. As MP representing Odisha, what is your vision for development and progress of the State?Odisha is my karma-bhoomi. Lord Jagannath is kind to give me opportunity to serve this holy land and its people. Odisha has the highest potential to be 1 trillion-dollar economy. A combination of coastline, steel, power and aluminum industries can lead to humungous industrial growth in ship building, heavy engineering, automobile, fabrication, petrochemicals, and host of other heavy industries that can generate multiple downstream and upstream ancillaries and generate huge employment.

Tourism, handicrafts, traditional handlooms, food processing, marine, and spices industries can provide the bridge between the old and the new. In my view, Odisha has the complete spectrum of industrial activity combined with the cultural strength that can lead to economic growth with stable society.

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'Economy will come out of the slump far stronger' - The New Indian Express

Government’s education funding announcement in the Queen’s Speech – FE News

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A new session of Parliament has opened and been marked formally by the Queens Speech in Westminster earlier today (10 Dec).An Australian points-based immigration system, a new Employment Bill and a national skills fund were among the legislative priorities announced.

Responding to the Governments education funding announcement in the Queens Speech, Cllr Judith Blake, Chair of the Children and Young People Board said:

All children deserve access to the best possible education.

The Governments announcement of an increase in schools budgets by 7.1 billion will help give certainty up to 2023, and an additional 780 million for council high needs budgets to support children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) for next year is good news.

Councils and government now need to work together and take advantage of councils' position in the community enabling them to work closely with all local schools. Councils are uniquely placed with up to date local knowledge to ensure funding is distributed fairly and takes account of local needs and priorities.

By empowering local government to have a leading role in decisions for all types of schools, including free schools and academies, and retaining some flexibility to agree with schools a local funding formula, this will produce the best possible outcomes for schools and pupils.

Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

Boris Johnson's new Government has the opportunity in this Queens Speech to right the wrongs of successive Conservative-led Governments.

Promises made during the election campaigning on school funding must be acted upon. Thanks to the pressure applied by the NEU, the School Cuts coalition, parents and others, the Conservatives promised a partial reversal of real terms cuts made since 2015. Delivering on this promise would be a start but not enough to level up and secure the better education system outlined by the Prime Minister.

Under current Government funding plans it is a simple truth that 83% of schools will be worse off in April 2020 than in 2015 in real terms. Schools will have 2bn less spending power in 2020/21 than they did in 2015/16.

The Prime Minister must face up to the fact that not enough teachers want to stay in the job. As a result, we have 420,000 more pupils compared to 2015 but there are 3,500 fewer teachers to teach them.

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We urge the Government to work with the NEU on strengthening its strategy for teacher pay and workload and create a fair accountability system so that we can retain teachers in the job and give every child a great start.

As we enter a new decade, we challenge the Government to make a New Years resolution for schools one that breaks from the past, and aligns with the profession and parents in valuing education.

MarkDawe, Chief Executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), said:

The fact that the government has only given itself a year to introduce the new system underlines the urgency of investing in skills training here, especially giving SMEs the funding to recruit more apprentices. 40 per cent of apprenticeship training providers are having to turn away firms who want to train more apprentices, often in key sectors like social care and hotels and restaurants that are heavily dependent on migrants.

Deputy Chief Executive, of the Association of Colleges, Julian Gravatt said:

I am pleased that the Queen's speech confirmed the Government's commitment to the start of proper investment in technical and professional education.

"It is clear that Brexit will dominate this new Parliament, but the focus on further education is what the country will need when and however we leave the European Union. Now, is the time to create a post-16 education system fit for the future, one that is coherent, joined up and providing the opportunities and choices for those that have been neglected for far too long.

Tom Hadley, Director of Policy and Campaigns at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, said:

The election may have given the Government a clear mandate for immigration reform, but it is important that this works for the economy and the public. Record high employment has left firms struggling to find the workers they need, at all skill levels.Our datahas consistently shown a shortage of UK workers in sectors ranging from healthcare and engineering to hospitality and agriculture. For homes to be built, for the elderly to be cared for, and for shops to stock the goods we want, we need an immigration system that works for the whole economy.

We hope the Governments Employment Bill will incentivise business compliance and increase fairness and flexibility in work. Good work and flexibility go hand in handand REC datashows more people are choosing to do flexible work to better suit their lifestyle. Two way flexibility, that supports businesses and workers choices, is vital to a fair and productive labour market. The challenge ahead is to ensure that this works for all parties.

The Governments recognition of the importance of all people being able to retrain is welcome. Recruitment professionals are in a unique position to facilitatecareer transitions and progression, and to provide the latest insight into how skills needs are evolving. We look forward to ensuring that the National Skills Fund works for employers and workers alike.

Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said:

The Conservatives won record levels of support from people on modest incomes in the latest election. To keep them on side in the long-term, the Government needs to deliver more than just Brexit. There needs to be a laser-like focus on reducing their cost of living, improving their public services, and enhancing their local infrastructure and amenities.

This focus on so-called left behind areas is nothing new. All Governments have tried to improve the lives of those with modest means. Doing so, after all, is a primary objective of government itself.

Transforming lives and communities requires a lot of time and evaluation. The legislation outlined today provides a roadmap for further reform, but there will need to be much more investment and innovation if so-called left behind communities are truly to experience noticeable change.

"The political aim of the Conservative Government is clear, but there will be no ideological consistency to the methods employed to achieve it. The Prime Minister is more interested in political power than strict adherence to a particular set of principles. He will use whatever philosophy or policies he needs to support and maintain the new voters he has just won. He will not govern as a strongly libertarian, liberal, communitarian or traditional conservative, but do enough for all of these factions within the centre-right movement to keep them happy and united."

Below, Bright Blue has responded to the announcement of legislation that is particularly relevant to our current work. It therefore is not an exhaustive response to the December 2019 Queens Speech.

Commenting, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said:

The Tories pledge to raise the primary threshold of employees National Insurance is the best tax cut they could make, since it benefits those on the lowest incomes. But cutting taxes is insufficient alone to really boost the incomes of those with modest means, to make them feel that austerity is truly over. To do this, the Government will have to make the amount of financial support that those in and out of work receive through Universal Credit more generous.

New childcare funding should seek to improve the affordability, availability and quality of childcare at pre-school level rather than school-level. Pre-school childcare should be the priority for additional government funding.

The introduction and increase in the minimum wage over recent decades has been a success. But that is in part thanks to the careful evidence and guidance of the Low Pay Commission. To maintain the support for and effectiveness of a rising wage floor, the Low Pay Commission should advise first with the Government then setting the rates after.

Commenting, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said:

Improving support and rights for mothers in work is a welcome focus and will help to reduce the gender pay gap. It will be important, following the forthcoming consultation, that the right to request flexible working is made the default from day one of an employment contract.

Commenting, Sam Robinson, Researcher at Bright Blue, said:

The Governments commitment to increasing the R&D tax credit rate will incentivise both employment and innovation, and is a welcome step towards improving the UKs productivity.

A review into business rates is long overdue. Increasing the frequency of valuations will make the system fairer and more responsive. But with three quarters of small business owners saying that the current tax regime is too complicated, this review must act as a springboard for a strategic, comprehensive rethink on how we tax businesses.

Commenting, Sam Robinson, Researcher at Bright Blue, said:

Given an ageing population and an uncertain global economic outlook, the need for increased investment must be balanced by fiscal prudence.

These rules are a marked departure from the previous stance of eliminating the deficit. Current spending must still be balanced, but this new strategy allows public sector net investment to greatly exceed that of previous years.

There is no doubt that the fiscal straitjacket has been loosened. But there is a danger that the Government uses this looser framework to run from the difficult fiscal decisions lying in the years ahead.

Commenting, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said:

Immigration policy is changing under this Government, quickly and for the better. The indiscriminate and failed net migration target is gone. And the Government is liberalising the visa regime for highly-skilled people, especially scientists and researchers, rightly aiming to ensure that Britain remains a magnet for talent post-Brexit.

We do need a controlled immigration system. And there are progressive reasons for this. Free movement across the EU is not sustainable. It is welcome that the Conservatives have dropped the net migration target, but we should have targets on gross levels of some categories of migrants.

It is right to increase the value and applicability of the NHS surcharge. Migrants should pay catch-up contributions for essential public services, which people who have lived here much longer have paid for over many years for themselves and their families. The Government should use its new powers and apply this popular contributory principle further, by asking new migrants to pay a new class of National Insurance for a short period of time.

Commenting, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said:

The Government is right to commit to increases in per-pupil funding and to raise the starting salary for newly qualified teachers. There is a real recruitment and retention problem within the teaching profession, so raising starting salaries should help. But the government now needs to also offer more extensive and generous social mobility salary supplements, to incentivise more teachers to work in less desirable areas of the country.

The Government seems to be and should continue to prioritise investment in further and technical education. The financing of higher education should not be a significant focus of politicians and policymakers in the years ahead. The current student loans system is broadly successful and progresssive, and does not require significant reform.

Commenting, Anvar Sarygulov, Senior Researcher at Bright Blue, said:

The Government is setting out a comprehensive housing agenda to help people in every kind of housing tenure. It is particularly good to see continuation of action to help private renters after the recent ban on excessive tenant fees. The abolition of no fault evictions will make private renting more secure, while adopting a single lifetime deposit will make it much easier for tenants on low income to move.

The Government is correct in continuing to support a wide variety of affordable home ownership options to meet the varying needs of different people. It is vital that the Government operates these schemes by encouraging new affordable homes to be built in significant numbers, rather than simply helping buyers by making homes cheaper or making it easier to access credit.

While it is good to see a commitment to a Social Housing White Paper, it is disappointing to see the lack of a specific commitment on increasing the number of social homes. Housebuilding in Britain has tended to reach significant numbers only when governments committed to building a significant number of social homes, and the Government will have to deliver them if they are serious about building a million homes over the course of this Parliament.

Commenting, Sam Robinson, Researcher at Bright Blue, said:

This Queens Speech promises a welcome boost for the social care system, although this new funding will only stabilise the system in the short term. The Government rightly recognises the need for a durable cross-party consensus on social care, but the lack of detail on how this is to be achieved is disappointing.

Commenting, Sam Robinson, Researcher at Bright Blue, said:

It is great to see the Government adopting much-needed reforms, such as pensions dashboards, to tackle undersaving. However pensions policy needs a long-term, consensual strategy going forward. To ensure such a consensus emerges, the Government should consider setting up an independent Pensions Commission to assess the pensions landscape, mediate between stakeholders and advise on policy.

Commenting, Phoebe Arslanagic-Wakefield, Research Assistant at Bright Blue, said:

Domestic abuse is a significant problem in the UK that affects millions, mostly women. However, currently, breaching a Domestic Violence Protection Order is not treated as a criminal offence. Through its proposed new legislation, the Government should make the breach of its new iteration of the Domestic Abuse Protection Order a criminal offence, as Bright Blue recommended in 2017.

Commenting, Sam Robinson, Researcher at Bright Blue, said:

Disabled people continue to face needless barriers in the workforce, benefits system and the housing market.

The employment gap remains stubbornly high and reducing it must be a priority. But the Government needs to focus on the quality, as well as the quantity, of work for disabled people. This will involve improving retention but also ensuring disables people have better opportunities for in-work progression.

Commenting, Patrick Hall, Researcher at Bright Blue, said:

Changing how we distribute agricultural subsidies stands to be one of the most significant benefits of the UK leaving the European Union. Last year, Bright Blue called for a gradual shift away from the EUs inefficient system of distributing rural payments based on acreage in the Common Agricultural policy, to a post-Brexit system which rewards farmers, land managers, and land owners for delivering ecosystem services in line with the public money for public goods principal.

Todays announcement that the Agriculture Bill will continue to be pushed through parliament is welcome, but the final Bill needs to lay the foundations for the introduction of a market-based, commissioning scheme so private and philanthropic funding as well as public funding can be leveraged to subsidise the rural economy and vital ecosystem services.

Commenting, Patrick Hall, Researcher at Bright Blue, said:

The costs of air pollution to our health, environment and economy are considerable. The Government needs much more ambitious legal limits, legal responsibilities and policies to tackle this problem. The Government should introduce the World Health Organisations guideline limits for all major air pollutants.

Local government needs greater legal responsibilities and funding to tackle dirty air. As a first step, the Government should enable local or combined authorities to make reasonable profits from the administration of clean air zones, which could generate funding for local scrappage schemes or increased electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The Conservative Governments plan to ban the export of waste to non-OECD countries is very welcome, as non-OECD countries are largely responsible for plastic waste ending up in the ocean. However, the Conservative Party could have been more ambitious in tackling the scourge of plastic waste, by supporting a ban on non-recyclable plastics.

Commenting, Patrick Hall, researcher at Bright Blue, said:

The Conservatives plan to increase offshore wind energy generation to account for 40 gigawatts by 2030 is positive. However, the Conservatives should have pledged to remove current restrictions around the development of new onshore wind.

Beyond those on the lowest incomes, there are no incentives for those in the able-to-pay sector to improve the thermal efficiency of their houses, especially in rural areas where houses are typically older. There is a real opportunity missed in not putting forward policies that will encourage private investment in retrofitting, such as new Help to Improve loans, which could save the Government billions while reducing consumer energy bills and emissions.

Commenting, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said:

Since the Union is now very fragile, the Government should use the review of the constitution as an opportunity to work towards a quasi-federal settlement for the UK.

This could include a new charter of union, a new UK council of ministers, and - more radically - a new Senate to replace the House of Lords with all parts of the UK fairly represented.

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Government's education funding announcement in the Queen's Speech - FE News

The Left’s like herding cats: Reflections of a factional ‘peacekeeper’ – InDaily

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Adelaide Thursday December 19, 2019

Outgoing Labor powerbroker David Gray says he has no intention of meddling in future factional decisions, insisting he has fulfilled his role of 10 years, to make sure the peace was kept.

As convenor of the partys Left faction, Gray has been one of the ALPs most powerful, but lowest profile figures over the past decade a period that saw the so-called PLUS (Progressive Left Union and Sub-Branches) group pull off the unlikely coup of getting one of its own installed as Labor leader and Premier.

But Gray, a pragmatist by both nature and necessity, shrugs when asked whether Jay Weatherills elevation was the greatest legacy of his tenure.

Not really, he says.

Its just maintaining the discipline.

There are plenty within the party who will privately lament Grays approach, but he insists there has been basically 20 years of stability within PLUS, which with the majority Right faction, Labor Unity, controls the vast majority of votes at the ALPs annual state convention.

I maintained the stability of PLUS as a faction, and we had stability and clout as a minority faction, he reflects.

My job as the convenor is to, as best as possible, maintain the balance so that one group or another, or individuals, dont dominate.

Which, he notes, was no simple task.

The Lefts like herding cats, he states frankly.

Labor has as many internal ructions as the Libs, but the Libs always play out on the front pages and ours never did.

People want power and influence, its that simple they want to be more important than they fucking are

Gray finished up as convenor last month, at the same time as he took a redundancy from United Voice the union he had served for much of his career and helmed for the past year, replacing David Di Troia, who also took a package after recent ill health.

The secretarys role was effectively abolished, Gray says, after the recent national merger of United Voice (formerly known as the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union) and the National Union of Workers.

What was previously a federation of state unions run by elected secretaries is now a national body the United Workers Union with the former state secretaries handed new roles as national executive directors, with specific portfolios.

I would have been executive director of something, and that didnt appeal and Im 61-years-old, Gray says.

I bear them no ill-will I left on good terms, and it was my choice to leave

Despite our disagreements, I left on good terms with them all I wish them nothing but the best and hope things work out as they hope.

David Gray earlier this year. Photo: Tom Richardson / InDaily

The state branch is currently overseen by former Labor staffer and SACOSS CEO Karen Grogan, with Grays former assistant secretary Demi Pnevmatikos currently on maternity leave slated to take over going forward.

Grogan was also Grays hand-picked successor as PLUS convenor.

Despite talk of a contested ballot for the role, no internal opponent challenged Grogan in a ballot just as none challenged Gray in each of his 10 years.

And they wouldnt have if Id run again, he argues.

Quite a few people wanted me to stay on and do it, but my view was if Im out, Im out

It wasnt a role I ever coveted [and] Im not sorry to be finished its a taxing role.

Grogan had previously been in line for a Senate role, but was forced to relinquish her claim after a factional game of musical chairs, prompted by the abolition of the safe Left-held seat of Port Adelaide, which was held by Grays longtime mate Mark Butler.

Dont construe [the convenors role] as her reward its not, Gray notes.

She took it on the chin, he says of Grogans thwarted federal ambition.

Its fortuitous that she wasnt in the senate because she was there to step into this role shes a very competent person, shes well-regarded and well-respected, and Im hoping for a smooth transition.

That transition coincided with a broad review of PLUS operations, chaired by deputy Labor leader Susan Close the Lefts most senior state MP along with Grogan and Community and Public Sector Union political coordinator Karen Atherton.

Several insiders told InDaily at the time the review had helped avert a messy power struggle to replace Gray, with one lauding it as a really open conversation and an opportunity to rebuild and renew.

But Gray dismisses any suggestion the review will herald a factional sea-change, saying: Theres nothing in it we always have reviews.

Thats their fig-leaf, he says of his internal opponents who painted the inquiry as a critique of his leadership, noting pointedly: I appointed the people doing the review!

The ultimate goal is to win government, and we cocked that up pretty spectacularly

Rather, he insists, the review was something that came out of the national council after Mays shock federal election loss.

Wed lost the federal election, wed lost state elections [so] it was about having a look at how we operated, he says.

The ultimate goal is to win government, and we cocked that up pretty spectacularly.

But, he insists, theres not one [negative] word in the review about me.

Noting some insiders had flagged an ambition to use the process as a trigger to grow the Lefts factional influence, Gray adds: People want to do more but they never do more.

All these people, its all about [the fact] they want to be politicians, he says.

People want power and influence, its that simple thats what its all about.

These are just people that want to be more important than they fucking are.

Labor has as many internal ructions as the Libs, but the Libs always play out on the front pages and ours never did

Gray appears to save particular disdain for the list of MPs and prospective MPs who defected from PLUS over the past decade, most of whom he claims were won over by offers from Labor Unity.

I dont deny its disappointing when it occurs [but] when you think about it over the scheme of things, its pretty small, he argues, adding if his former factional subordinates cant manage to leave with the one who brought them I think it reflects more on them than the faction or anything else.

Gray says hes already had offers of work within the party, and will probably return to the fold eventually doing electorate office work, using my research skills and knowledge to assist punters basically.

But not yet.

First, he wants to use his long-awaited free time to travel.

Hes already been to Mozambique since his redundancy was finalised, and wants to visit Croatia, while Canada remains on the bucket-list.

Ill remain a member of the party and the faction, but Ill be far less active, he says.

I have no intentions of being a meddler.

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The Left's like herding cats: Reflections of a factional 'peacekeeper' - InDaily

‘Stop protecting the perpetrators’: Sask. survivors push Catholic Church to release names of abusers – CBC.ca

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JoeyBasarabafights the urge to grab the rifle from his truck's back seat as he passes a church in Prince Albert, Sask.

His hands shake as he circles the block.

Hewants his nightmares, pain and loneliness to stop. Should he kill one of the priests who began raping him at age six? Should he kill himself?

Tears stream down the 25-year-old's face. He thinks of his promising career as apitcher. He doesn't want to give that up.

He drives home and sits awake all night before finally crying himself to sleep.

That was 30 years ago. Basarabaworked with a friend to write down these and other stories of his life.

He no longer drives past that church and is taking counselling and other life skills classes.

They've helped a bit, but he says he wants one thing above all else: justice.

Roman Catholic Church officials in Saskatchewan need to "come clean" and release their internal records to publicly name all the priests who abused children over the decades, he said.

They also need to expose anyone who knew about it and did nothing.

"When I think of them getting away with it, it's just sick. I hate that."

Officials in the Roman Catholic dioceses of Prince Albert and Saskatoon say they're compiling internal records of abuse cases going back decades. The reviews are expected to be complete in the spring.

Neither diocese has committed to publicizing the names of abusers, or even the total number of them.

Many dioceses in the U.S. have offered or been forced to release lists of priests convicted in court, as well as those who have been discovered in secret church investigations.

So far,Vancouver is the first and only diocese in Canadatorelease such information. It found 36 cases involving credibly accusedpriests, but named only a few of them. An official said privacy laws prevented more disclosure, but they're working on alternatives.

In an interview earlier this month, Regina Archbishop DonBolenpromised to release a list of priests found to have abused children,based on the reviews underway but only if that's what victims want.

Hesaid the victims he works with don't want it released, so, for now, he won't.

CBCNews has interviewed more than a dozen survivors in Saskatchewan,as well as therapists, lawyers, police and other experts. Nearly all agreed withBasaraba: there can be no healing, no forgiveness, without truth.

"Giving the names of predators is important. The truth about prevalence is important," said Faye Davis, executive director of the Saskatoon Sexual Assault and Information Centre.

"It will help people to see they weren't alone. They'll stop saying, 'It was my fault' or 'No one's going to believe me.' When it's public, it helps others come forward."

Disclosure could also protect other kids from abuse, survivors and experts said.CBCNews has learned of an internal church investigation that recently concluded a Saskatchewan priest sexually abused a girl.

The abuse occurred decades ago. Police have not been called. The law does not require the church to report these cases if the victim is no longer a minor.

JoeyBasarabagrew up in a small house in Prince Albert,with eight siblings, his parents and several other relatives.

Hewas small and often bullied at school. He remembers the pride on his mother's face when a priest asked if he wanted a job cleaning the church.

Basaraba'solder brother had suddenly stopped going to church, and would fly into rages whenever it was mentioned in their home. His brother never talked about it, and drank himself to death a few years ago, he said.

Basaraba, just six years old,arrived at the church early one morning. He thought it was odd the priest told him to use the back door.

He did some cleaning before the priest took him to the basement and told him to wait in a dark room. He remembers touching the cold, cement wall.

A few minutes later, the priest returned and sat in silence for several minutes besideBasaraba. He tookBasaraba'shand and caressed it. The priest then placedBasaraba'shand on his groin.

"I was terrified. He was a priest, just like God,"Basarabasaid.

When he left, the priest gave him a $5 bill.

The sexual abuse escalated, and continued for years. And it wasn't just one priest. Two of them would take turns sometimes on the same day, he said.

Basarabafailed Grade 1 twice. He never learned to read or write before dropping out of elementary school.

He's had some moments of triumph, too.

He pitched five back-to-back games at the 1994 All-Native Canadian Fastball Championship, striking out a total of 87 batters. Even though his team lost in the final,Basarabawas named most valuable player.

"We never thought we were going to come this far. We've got nothing to be ashamed of,"hetold the assembled reporters.

Today, his tiny Saskatoon basement suite is cluttered with family photos, trophies and weathered newspaper clippings. He said he clings to these happy reminders. Overall, however,Basaraba'slife has been a constant struggle marked by unemployment and failed relationships.

"I've got that bad angry in me. I cry in the shower. I cry when I try to sleep. I think about suicide. I can't even read and write because of this. It's tough in my shoes," he said.

Basarabasued the Prince Albert Diocese a few years ago, and the case is still before the courts.

In its statement of defence, the diocese doesn't deny the abuse occurred. Instead, it says the lawsuit should be rejected becauseBasarabatook too long to come forward, calling it an "inordinate and excessive delay."

The statement also says only the priests, who are deceased,bear any responsibility, not the diocese.

Basarabasaid money is not his top priority; he just wants the truth to come out. He's hoping the diocese will agree to publicly reveal what it knows about his case and any others.

Fellow survivor EugeneArcand, a former student of Catholic-run residential schools in Duck Lake andLebret, says the concealment of abusers' names is part of a consistent pattern of disrespect.

"They took everything from us. Now they won't even do this?" saidArcand, former head of a national survivorsgroup.

"I don't take this lightly. I don't say this to destroy people. I say this to expose the truth. I don't want to hurt these old bastards. But, on the other hand, they destroyed lives. They destroyed communities."

Other survivors gave a similar assessment. Gary Mulligan, Tim Ryan and others were victimized in the 1960s by serial abuser Rev. William HodgsonMarshall in Saskatoon.

Mulligan and Ryan were too scared to tell anyone at the time not their parents, not even each other. That changed several years ago when they saw reports of Marshall's criminal charges in Ontario.

Both men, now in their60s, say public lists would help others come forward and heal, just as the publicity about Marshall did for them.

"The more it's exposed, the more people like me will try to get help," Mulligan said.

"If it prevents one moreassholefrom doing it to one more boy or girl, it's worth it," Ryan said.

Survivor and former chief of theKeeseekooseFirstNation Ted Quewezancesaid apologies are meaningless without disclosure.

"They just continue living in denial ... They did this to us. We were children. Their names have to be made public. Stop protecting the perpetrators. It's not healthy."

Dioceses across the U.S., from Boston to San Diego, have volunteered or been forced to publish lists of abusersin the past several months as survivors groups, state district attorneys and others apply growing pressure.

The lists include priests convicted in court or found liable in lawsuits. Some also include the names of those who were credibly accused, meaning they eitherconfessed privately to church officialsor were found guilty through a secret church investigation.

The Archdiocese of New Yorkpublishedbar graphs with its list, illustrating the time periods and locations where abuse rates were highest.

On Tuesday,Pope Francis announced the abolition of the "pontifical secrecy" rule around priest sex abuse cases. Senior Vatican official and Archbishop of Malta CharlesSciclunacalled the move an "epochal decision that removes obstacles and impediments."

The next day, the Canadian branch of the Jesuit order promised to release the names of all of its credibly accused priests.

Regina Archbishop DonBolen uses words like "deeply complicit" and "coverup" to describe the church's record on child sex abuse. He speaks about the issue in parishes across the region and penned a public apology this Easter speaking directly to victims.

Bolenhas launched several efforts at reconciliation with Indigenous leaders over the years. But he noted individual religious orders, not the diocese where the abuse occurred, would keep residential school records.

Bolensaid he has looked to victims to decide if the list of abusers should be published. He agreed lists can have value, by showing victims they aren't alone.

But he said he's discussed the issue in detail with the 12 victims who have agreed to work with him. He said the consensus is that the church should focus on other things.

"We're trying to do everything we can, really guided by victims, to speak to victims, to speak to other victims who've never come forward, to bring as much transparency and accountability and healing as we can, always putting the voice of victims first."

One of those victims is Pamela Walsh, head of the Regina Diocese's victimscommittee.

Walsh was abused by a Regina priest decades ago.Like JoeyBasaraba, it took her years to come forward.

She didn't go to police. Instead, she went to church officials in 2005. They rejected and harassed her, she said. She decided to try again whenBolenbecame archbishop a few years ago.

Walsh saidBolenis listening and making real changes. Although she no longer wants to be a church member, she travels with Bolen throughout the diocese, speaking to parishes and with any interested survivors.

"This doesn't have to be an adversarial process. Victims don't always want to sue or go to the police. They just want peace and healing, which is all I ever wanted," Walsh said.

She doesn't think naming perpetrators should be the priority. She fears it may even trigger victims and do more harm than good.

Her abuse claim was recently declared true following an investigation by an internal church body, she said.

Neither she nor church officials have gone to police. She said she's choosing not to name the priest.

Bolensaid the church complies with the law and reports any abuse allegations if the accuser is still a minor. For allegations involving victims who are now adults, the priest is immediately removed from service until the matter can be investigated internally.

He said it would be irresponsible to "proceed indiscriminately" without consulting further with victims.

Bolensaid he'd consider releasing the overall number of abusers,rather than names, at some point in the future.

That's not good enough forBasaraba,Arcand, Mulligan, Ryan,Quewezanceand others. They agree some painful memories will surface if the list is published, but the truth is the best way to heal.

Basarabais begging those in charge to reconsider. He said the anger will fester as long as the church chooses secrecy over truth.

"I tried to let it go," he said. "But I can't. Not yet."

If you're experiencing suicidal thoughts or having a mental health crisis, help is available.

For an emergency or crisis situation, call 911.

You can also contact the Saskatchewan suicide prevention line toll-free, 24/7 by calling 1-833-456-4566, texting 45645, orchatting online.

You can contact theRegina mobile crisis services suicide line at 306-525-5333 or Saskatoon mobile crisis line at 306-933-6200.

You can also text CONNECT to 686868 and get immediate support from a crisis responder through the Crisis Text Line, powered by Kids Help Phone.

Kids Help Phone can also be reached at1-800-668-6868, or you can access live chat counselling atwww.kidshelpphone.ca.

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'Stop protecting the perpetrators': Sask. survivors push Catholic Church to release names of abusers - CBC.ca

A year after the Severn bridge tolls were scrapped, what has the impact been for Gwent? – South Wales Argus

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JUST over a year since tolls were scrapped on the two Severn bridges, the Welsh Government has said drivers are saving an average of 365,000 a day.

The charges on the two crossing were abolished on December 17, 2018 - and since then journeys into Wales from England over the Prince of Wales bridge have increased by 16 per cent, with an average of 39,000 vehicles using it every day.

At the time the UK Government, which was responsible for the tolls, said it hoped scrapping them, would make it easier to travel between the two countries, boosting business, enhancing investment, increasing tourism and creating jobs. But not everyone in Monmouthshire is happy about it.

Traffic congestion, air pollution, and a lack of infrastructure to cope with the levels of cars are some of the concerns that have arisen in the last year.

More than 39,000 cars head westbound on the M4 every day

Chris Parry, 52, who is from Cwmbran but now lives in Gloucestershire, raised concerns over house prices and traffic in Monmouthshire, saying: Monmouthshire has been a dormitory area for Bristol and Gloucestershire for a long time, but now its going the other way too, which I think is bad news for house prices and traffic. Ive got an office in Cardiff and Tewksbury and the M4 is a nightmare, especially in the mornings.

But I do believe that overall it will be a good thing for people around Newport, because it will bring more jobs as more people are commuting and living here.

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Rose White, 70, who has been a resident in Ringland for 59 years, said he doesn't agree that Newport and the surrounding areas have directly benefited from the tolls dropping, and said the state of the city concerns her.

I thought it was a good thing initially because I used to often think to myself: why should we have to pay tolls to just go to Bristol?, she said. But since the tolls have been cancelled, Ive not seen any impact on Newport. The shops are still shut and the streets are still quiet.

I think its because people dont actually travel here from England they go to Cardiff instead. Were just a pathway through and get all the traffic. I fear we left it too late to prepare ourselves for the traffic that comes through. We are desperate for a relief road to cut out the traffic on the Severn crossings.

According to statistics provided by Highways England, an average of 39,255 vehicles per day used the M4 westbound service in 2019, which has increased from 33,806 in 2018. An average of 40,364 vehicles per day used the M4 eastbound service, which has increased from 37,056 in 2018.

Highways England also said that 25,000 vehicles a day used the older M48 crossing, with around 19,000 per day using that service in recent years.

Shane Meek, 37, who lives in Newport, says he would be in favour of having the tolls reinstated if it meant lower emissions and less congestion.

Mrs White said she hasn't seen any benefit in terms of people coming to Newport city centre

Mr Meek said: I use public transport every morning and evening, but since the tolls have come down it seems more people have decided to stop using public transport and have started to drive across (the M4 or M48). It cant go on like that forever.

Following the UK Governments abolition of the tolls, the Western Gateway partnership was launched last month to maximise the economic potential of South Wales and the south-west of England.

The aim of the partnership between universities and businesses either side of the Severn is that the Western Gateway will mirror the work of Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine.

Monmouth MP David Davies, who was this week appointed to the Wales Office following last week's General Election, said: Over the last year, drivers have reaped the benefits of free road travel into Wales which is paying dividends for businesses across both sides of the Severn.

"We are better connected economically as a result and through the Western Gateway initiative we will harness the joint strengths of these two regions while respecting our distinct identities and traditions.

Monmouthshire County Council council cabinet member for infrastructure and neighbourhood services Cllr Jane Pratt and Monmouth MP David Davies

The UK Government is committed to boosting Wales transport infrastructure and connectivity which is central to ensuring we raise our game economically and boost our productivity.

Monmouthshire council cabinet member for infrastructure and neighbourhood services Cllr Jane Pratt, said she believes the cancellation of the tolls has given Monmouthshire the potential to be more ambitious.

I am working hard with Monmouthshire officers to develop plans with neighbouring English counties to deliver new road and public transport schemes around Chepstow and a new railway station at Severn Tunnel Junction," she said.

The traffic on the M4 is going to increase by 35 percent over the next 30 years and we need investment now to enable Wales to be the vibrant economy with decent jobs for our residents for the future and a place where we attract global investment.

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A year after the Severn bridge tolls were scrapped, what has the impact been for Gwent? - South Wales Argus

Features | Tome On The Range | 2019 In Books: Quietus Writers Pick The Year’s Best Fiction & Non-Fiction – The Quietus

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Two of the biggest prizes in literature were shared this year in neither instance uncontroversially. Bernardine Evaristo shared the Booker with Margaret Atwood, only to be dismissed and erased by the BBC as "another author" beside her more famous co-recipient. Meanwhile, after 2018's cancellation when three jurors quit over allegations of sexual-misconduct, the Nobel Prize in Literature split the award between Polish author Olga Tokarczuk and Peter Handke, a writer notorious for his outspoken support of Slobodan Miloevi.

The Quietus has never been one to avoid controversy, however. In fact, we reckon we can go one better than that. Share the book of the year gong between just two writers? Stuff that. How about thirty?

The following list, voted for by Quietus editors and regular Tome on the Range contributors and bodged together with extreme prejudice and no small amount of caprice by Robert Barry, is split into two halves: fiction and non-fiction. As the Tory's recent election campaign ably demonstrated, the line between the two may be shakier, more permeable than ever, but you still need to know what floor to get out of the lift in Foyles at, so

Fiction

Kevin Barry, Night Boat To Tangier (Canongate Books)

Night Boat to Tangier is a hymn to Spain and Cork and SE Hinton and the loneliness of men who like Hank Williams and much more. Kevin Barrys writing here has the brisk allusive power of those early Michael Ondaatje books like Coming Through Slaughter. Theres a similar pacing, lines as loaded and hidden as a landmine that call a sudden halting and then impact in the head with their dizzying fragments. You feel fragged. You are made to feel the pain of the pair, to empathize sometimes against your better judgement, just as in real life, and yet laugh too at their lunacy, their sad predicament. As with encounters with the staggeringly inebriated strangers you escape, enervated, a tad fried, and with a sigh of relief that theirs is not your life. Read the full review by John Quin

Ray Celestin, The Mobster's Lament (Mantle)

The third part of The City Blues Quartet is a superb noir murder mystery set in New York in 1947. Almost like a British James Ellroy, Celestin blends real history with invented drama Louis Armstrong is not just part of the series' musical backdrop but a recurring character in the narratives and the intricate construction sees different characters converging on the truth, each having picked up different pieces of the puzzle. Throughout the series the writing has been an unalloyed joy - the depth of research worn lightly; the details rich and evocative without ever weighing down the prose - but Celestin reaches new heights here. Angus Batey

Ted Chiang, Exhalation: Stories (Knopf)

Peter Watts dreamed of disconcerting transhuman futures. Jeff VanDermeer envisioned an alien eco apocalypse. Even the ever-optimistic Star Trek was reborn in grit. In contrast to the past two decades of dark and cynical science fiction, Ted Chiangs cautious hope is an aberration. His second collection of short stories Exhalation, much like 2002s Stories of Your Life and Others, deals with intricate techno-ethical questions about determinism, artificial intelligence, and time travel, among others. But instead of fear, he finds the promise of humanity in them. In place of technological apathy, he discovers a lyrical soul. A wondrous hammer to break all the black mirrors out there. Antonio Poscic

Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & The Six (Ballantine)

You might be able to guess what happens when young Daisy Jones, a Sunset Strip devotee, gets paired with up-and-coming rock band The Six to make a record in the early 70s, but the story goes well beyond that. Taylor Jenkins Reid weaves a magic that makes this tale more enthralling than any real-life band biography, drawing from sources of the time a la Fleetwood Mac, all while sustaining a truthfulness to their tone. Reid has us wanting, no, longing to hear the records whose creation she describes, wishing we could hold the 12 cover art in our hands to pour over those magic photos, knowing these would all hit us in just the right way, such has she set the scene. A perfect rock n roll dream. Aug Stone

David Keenan,For the Good Times (Faber)

My gold standard for an incredible book is one that seeps into your subconscious, and reading For The Good Times over two nights gave me one horrific nightmare about being captured and tortured by IRA men, and a second about having an orgy with them. Although it's set against the background of the Troubles, David Keenan's second novel isn't a book about the conflict in Northern Ireland per se. Instead, it's an honest - often brutally so - examination of masculinity and the allure of violence, and how chaos can intertwine with the mundane. Luke Turner

Deborah Levy, The Man Who Saw Everything (Hamish Hamilton)

Deborah Levy continues to stake her claim to be one of our greatest living writers of fiction with this time-shifting, magical book. Interestingly, the cold war setting means that at times it reads like a fresh take on a spy novel - it's certainly a pacey and accessible read. What's more, within the themes of unreliable memory and how our lives decay, for once it's a novel which deals with complex and fluid sexuality in a nuanced and realistic way. Luke Turner

Adam Nevill, The Reddening (Ritual Limited)

The unearthing of an important prehistoric archaeological find in Brickburghs caves brings uneasy revelations regarding mankinds violent and cannibalistic past. In drawing a connecting line between the darkness we inhabited in our ancient past, and the tense times we currently occupy, The Reddening strikes a resonating note that reverberates from the dawn of our prehistory and continues to echo threateningly in our present era.

In a field where much of the best writing takes place in the short-story format, Nevill is one of the best long-form authors the genre has. Whilst there may be other 2019 horror books Ive not yet read (such as Catriona Wards Little Eve, which scooped the Best Horror Novel category at the 2019 British Fantasy Awards, or Chuck Wendigs intriguingly premised 800-page doorstop of a book, The Wanderers), The Reddening sets the bar for literary horror especially high, even by Nevills own standards. Read the full feature on Adam Nevill and The Reddening by Sean Kitching.

Max Porter, Lanny (Faber)

Beyond all other things, Max Porter is an author who writes about love. In Grief Is A Thing With Feathers he offered a portrait of a family coping with a situation and a loss that for most of us remains distant, only glimpsed in the bleakest, darkest point of our fearful imaginations. Lanny contemplates a similarly diabolical domestic occurrence: a child going missing. Lanny is a deeply moving, folkloric odyssey that blends ancient magic with modern life, the ordinary and the miraculous, and most importantly our innately human hopes with our deepest fears. Read the full review by Hannah Clark.

Miriam Toews, Women Talking (Faber)

Women Talking is a rich and strange creation, an imagined dispatch from the historical spaces which we cannot enter, cannot reach, which went unrecorded and ignored. It is a sort of forged historical document, deeply desired by those who refuse to believe that our foremothers were merely meek and mild. The Molotschnan women wrangling Menno Simons fevered vision and Peters angry interpretation become all women, to whom this novel is, in the words of Toewss acknowledgements, a missive of love and solidarity. All stories like it of female resistance, quiet insurrection, bravery whether history or fiction, are to us what facts are to the colony members: gifts, samizdat, currency, they are the Eucharist, blood, forbidden. With each offering of precedent, we are emboldened in our aims, and in our acts of imagination. Read the full review by Stephanie Sy-Quia.

Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys (Fleet)

As politicians all over the world stoke prejudice to win votes, Whiteheads brutal follow up to The Underground Railroad lays bare the systematic racism and corruption entrenched in American society. Based on a real reform school, this fictionalised version is a gripping, powerful read of injustice and cruelty. Pete Redrup

Don Winslow, The Border (William Morrow)

Winslow continues to hone his talent for demanding cerebral engagement of his readers while simultaneously forcing the adrenal glands to work overtime as his narratives gain terminal velocity. With unflinching realism, The Border brings his drug war saga to an inevitably frayed and unresolved conclusion. Here, the War on Drugs is presented as a kind of Greek tragedy. But whereas the ancient Greeks saw humans as the playthings of the Gods, in Winslows bloody deserts and urban warzones, humans are forever abandoned to their own greed, desperation and folly. A challenging yet essential read. Chris Brownsword

Olga Tokarczuk, Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

In a typically astounding passage, Polish author Olga Tokarczuk's protagonist Janina expands on her theory about why men develop "testosterone autism" with age. She claims it's a condition that makes them taciturn and appear lost in contemplation, while fostering an interest in tools, machinery, the Second World War and biographies of politicians and villains, adding: "His capacity to read novels almost entirely vanishes." I groaned with self-recognition at this paragraph. When I was 18 I read three novels a week. I'm now lucky if I read that many in a year, reasoning: how likely am I to read another White Hotel or White Noise. But I persevere in the vain hope I'll stumble across something as good as Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead. And sometimes I do.John Doran

Non-Fiction

Cinzia Arruzza, Tithi Bhattacharya, & Nancy Fraser, Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto (Verso)

Feminism must be anticapitalist, eco-socialist and antiracist. Collecting the ideas and principles of the eponymous grassroots movement, Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto is a crucial formulation of an inclusive, transformative, and global social shift. While the book draws and aggregates ideas from various variants of feminism, it is the way they are framed within intersectional contexts which makes it so successful. The manifesto conceives feminism not only for affluent neo-liberals, but for those at the bottom of capitalist hierarchies. Not just for whites, but for all races. Feminism inclusive of trans* people and for the collective, not the select few. Antonio Poscic

John Carreyrou, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (Picador)

The veneration of tech firms created by 20-something self-promoters with CVs that inevitably include a deliberately incomplete education is a mystery for the ages, and Carreyrou explains with aplomb how one of these individuals Elizabeth Holmes, founder of blood-testing company Theranos stepped over the mark from "chutzpah" to "crime". There will be more stories like this to come: let's hope they all find someone as skilled, diligent and accomplished to tell them.Angus Batey

Graham Duff, Foreground Music (Strange Attractor)

Foreground Music is a delight. Not just for music lovers, who will find themselves resonating with much within every page, every paragraph. But also for anyone whose passion for something ignites the desire to consume and experience everything about it, and in doing so, enrich ones own life and the lives of others through the sharing of the subjects vitality. Theres something wonderful about the way someone who is so knowledgeable and effusive about a subject dear to them so much so that it seems a component of their very being can inspire another to want to come into contact with this curiosity themselves, despite not previously possessing the slightest bit of interest.

What Im trying to say is that as an American only familiar with, and for decades now confused by the success of, Ebeneezer Goode, Foreground Music had me chomping at the bit to explore the early records of The Shamen. Read the full review by Aug Stone

Alison Knowles, Annea Lockwood (Ed.), Womens Work (Primary Information)

Originally published as a two-issue magazine in 1975 and 1978, Womens Work is the sort of publication that, for better or worse, today seems as relevant and alive as 40 years ago, and not a mere archival reissue. The various graphical and text scores, which Fluxus co-founder Alison Knowles and composer Annea Lockwood collected from 25 women composersfeaturing Pauline Oliveros, Christina Kubisch, and the editors themselves, among othersare all vibrant pieces of art, inviting participation and delineating of the creativity and struggles of women in music. The physical properties were an important aspect of the magazine and Primary Informations reissue transcribes them faithfully using off-white paper and brown inks. With such care, they gifted a new generation the chance to revisit these important artefacts and carry them into the future. Antonio Poscic

Natasha Lennard,Being Numerous: Essays on the Non-Fascist Life (Verso)

The most important takeaway from this series of essays, some of them drawn from her contributions to publications such as The Nation and The New Inquiry over the past couple of years, is that Lennard argues persuasively and cannily for the use of violence in protest. At times she does this by referring to figures within the mainstream liberals comfort zone: Dr. King is quoted early on, to ease us into things ([We are dealing with] the white moderate, who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action). Read the full review by Stephanie Sy-Quia.

Nathalie Olah, Steal As Much As You Can (Repeater)

Writing this on the day when, after a decade under the thumb of a bunch of old Etonians, the British public have elected a Tory government with a huge majority, Quietus contributor Nathalie Olah's first book feels like an essential read. So often it feels that in all the contemporary conversations about diversity we're rightly having at the moment class is the last thing to be mentioned, when it arguably should be the first. An exploration of the disappointment of the Blair years and subsequent toffication of culture, Steal As Much As You Can is a fierce argument for new networks, collective action, and most of all the abolition of the private school system. Luke Turner

Ian Penman, It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track (Fitzcarraldo)

A gathering of work previously published by City Journal and London Review of Books, Penmans subjects are a canny mixture of legend (James Brown, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Prince), fascinating outlier (John Fahey, Steely Dans Donald Fagen), and movement (an unflinching unpicking of the continuing Mod revival). It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track is a stirring reminder that heading home wherever and whatever that might be does not have to be an escape from the world but a retreat to a position from where one might view the world, and your place in it, anew. Penmans worldview is, as it ever was, an abundantly humanist one and this peerless collection of work hits you where you live. Read the full review by Gary Kaill

Joe Thompson, Sleevenotes (Pomona)

At some point while reading Sleevenotes it becomes clear that it was much more than just a wise-cracking, experimentally punctuated, string of anecdotes about squat gigs in Belgium with improbably named noise rock bands and blocked studio toilets in Camberwell. This book should in fact be regarded as core curriculum reading for those just embarking on the path of rock music today, and is essential nourishment for those who have existential concerns about the point or the viability of doing such a thing in 2019. And once you acclimatise to Joe Thompsons easy-going, autodidact style you will, I guarantee it, find yourself punching the air (when you arent nodding furiously in agreement). Read the full review by John Doran (plus an interview with the author and an extract from the book)

Jia Tolentino, Trick Mirror (Penguin Random House)

Subtitled Reflections on Self-Delusion, Jia Tolentinos terrific selection of essays gleans much-needed sense out of the daily distortions and conflicted opinion that emanate from our mass media outlets. This assault, as Tolentino neatly has it, is blitzing our frayed neurons in huge waves of information that pummel us. Often the sparring dialectic in evidence here pairs Tolentinos current self in a duel with her youthful (mis)understandings; experience leads to a rigorously bracing self-interrogation.

Tolentinos mental cleansing acts like a literary disinfectant; the verbal equivalent of a water cannon fired at the fetid walls of the foul stable that is Trumps America. Short of wiring the entire body politic to ECG machines it is hard to imagine, after reading Tolentinos diagnoses, a more accurate and prescient way of taking her nations pulse. Read the full review by John Quin

Luke Turner, Out Of The Woods (W&N)

A beautifully written, open and honest account of growing up in a religious family as someone whose sexuality and lifestyle are at odds with how he has been told to be by both society and the church. Finding peace and something close to redemption in the woods, its impossible not to be moved by Lukes realisation of how he needed to learn to overcome his personal demons. Pete Redrup

Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power (Profile)

I usually despise the label of books that everyone should read, but Shoshana Zuboffs The Age of Surveillance Capitalism fits neatly into this category. With a technological revolution that has, as always, caught societies at large unprepared, it becomes crucial to understand how our new normal of daily interactions with the digital shapes our real world. Here, unscrupulous techno-capitalist actors manipulate our naivet to destroy and reconstruct the fabric of society, one bit at a time. While sometimes dense due to the nature of the subject, the book as a whole reads like a thriller: exhilarating and frightening. Antonio Poscic

Paul Gill & Ste Pickford (Editors), Freaky Dancing: The Complete Collection (tQLC)

Im glad that ageing ravers now have this psychedelic time capsule of art from the near past but I also hope some young people read it and do whatever the 2019 equivalent is. I hate the way that large commercial interests have warped the ecosystem of even leftfield electronic dance music, insinuating that it's now the preserve of well-off people. The big, monopolistic platforms present an unhelpful image of who the modern clubber is by catering primarily to people to whom buying a fitted, designer black T-shirt for 278 or spending 48 hours at the Berghain on a whim is no big thing. For most of us who still go out, clubbing is something that's local and styled by TK Maxx. So if any young person is sat in a bedsit in Cheetham Hill, looking at Boiler Room on YouTube and thinking, Fuck it. I cant afford all this - rather than finding it aspirational - then something's gone wrong somewhere. I hope Freaky Dancing remains a clarion call: don't be a passive observer of other people's art when you can produce your own. It's your preserve, not just 'theirs'. Own it.John Doran

Paul Hanley, Have A Bleedin Guess: The Story Of Hex Enduction Hour (Route)

This is really top notch stuff. Its a book written squarely for Fall fans (something I applaud as I have very little interest in slogging through loads of always the same/ always different style received wisdom, although there is some necessary discussion of the grandmother/bongos jurisprudence), so is full of very detailed factual information (including kit lists) while never at the expense of being really well written. Its sanguine, droll and even-handed - respectful to Smith while calling out his poor behaviour where necessary. It corrects many of MESs fanciful tall stories (some ably propagated by me to be honest) without attacking the core mystique of the album at the centre of the text: Hex Enduction Hour. Makes a superb companion piece to his brother Steve Hanley's The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall for a rounded view of what it was like being in the greatest rhythm section of the world's greatest band while they recorded their greatest album.John Doran

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Features | Tome On The Range | 2019 In Books: Quietus Writers Pick The Year's Best Fiction & Non-Fiction - The Quietus