Daily Archives: December 29, 2020

The covid-19 pandemic has exposed existing faultlines and inequities in the economy, but is the way out spending more on social security programmes or cutting back on the fiscal deficit? Would an urban employment guarantee scheme help job creation and spur short-term demand as well as long-term economic growth? These are the questions our panel of experts debated in an hour-long session titled, Pandemic, unemployment, inequality: The way forward as part of Mints Road to Recovery series in the run-up to the Union Budget in February 2021.

Leading the hour-long conversation on Monday evening were Manish Sabharwal, Chairman and Co-Founder of Teamlease Services Ltd; Dr. Jyotsna Jha, Director of the Bengaluru-based Centre for Budget and Policy Studies; Rosa Abraham, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Employment, Azim Premji University; and Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn with journalist Mitali Mukherjee as moderator.

While the panellists werent entirely in accord on the way forward, one thing all four agreed upon was that covid-19 has not created but only reminded us of the socio-economic problems and inequality gaps that India faces. While Sabharwal focused on the need for structural reform to spur growth, Dr. Jha and Abraham emphasised that government spending on health, education and social security was essential for overall economic growth. Gupta, meanwhile, explained why reskilling needed priority in the Budget to take the country forward. The road to recovery lies in reskilling, especially for those in sectors such as education, healthcare and hospitality, which employ large numbers of women and have been hardest hit by the virus effect," said Gupta.

Though employment has recovered in the last few months, incomes have fallen. People have returned to work [after the lockdown], but our research has found that fewer women are back in the workforce and even among the men, 80% have come back to jobs that pay less or are now self-employed," said Abraham. People have come back to employment but in more precarious ways." In this context, an urban jobs guarantee scheme could provide the kind of social safety net that less privileged sections of society require.

This kind of spending would benefit the economy at large, said Jha, pointing out that secure employment and income would create demand for private goods, spark consumption and have a multiplier effect on helping small businesses and, in turn, economic growth. Public spending on social security does not have to be detrimental to the economy. Governance reforms can be socially responsible and yet push economic growth," she said.

Sabharwal made pitch for fiscal prudence, saying, Spending money wont create jobs. Schemes like MNREGA are not an employment but a poverty solution. Find the money is not a solution; there is a shortage of it in a year like this one where the pandemic has exhausted resources." Instead, he said, the Budgets focus should be on boosting investment and putting more money in the hands of employees by removing mandatory contributions to Provident Fund and ESI, labour reform, and regulatory changes. I can think of many non-fiscal ways to create freedom for entrepreneurs," he said.

Jha made the point that signalling is very important for a government. In addition to gender, caste, urban-rural and other inequalities, this pandemic has also worsened interstate inequalities," said Jha. States that were in a better position before will recover faster so the role of the Union government and the Budget is very important in terms of signalling what is important so that states will follow."

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Can India spend its way out of its unemployment crisis? - Mint

Im going to miss him I really am, declared James Pitts, former Buffalo Common Council president, friend of George Arthurs.

WKBW

The Queen City is mourning the loss of a legendary politician. Former Buffalo Common Council president George Arthur died Christmas morning at the age of 87.

Arthur is remembered for his political and community work and being a great friend and mentor.

George was my big brother he was a brother that was a true believer, remarked Pitts.

Pitts followed in Arthur's Ellicott District Council seat and later as council president.

Pitts called Arthur a true friend but a man who had a feisty political edge hidden by kindness.

Eileen Buckley

He was a fierce competitor you would never know that because he always had a kind demeanor, reflected Pitts.

Arthur spent more than two decades on the common council. But even after retiring in 1995, Arthur never stopped contributing to the community.

He served on the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority even into 2020.

One of a kind, brilliant and exceptional politician, Pitts stated.

Arthur also helped to recreate the Colored Musicians Club on Broadway in Buffalo.

WKBW

He shepherded restoration of the Nash House in the Michigan Street corridor.

Pitts said Arthur loved the Nash Museum.

But it was also like walking into Georges mind he knew everything, Pitts recalled.

In 2017, Arthur's portrait was painted among the 28 here on the Buffalos Freedom Wall at Michigan Avenue and East Ferry Street for his contributions to equity and unity in the Queen City.

Arthur played a role as a plaintiff in desegregating the Buffalo Public School District.

Buffalo Mayor Brown Brown said he was very sadden to learn of Arthurs death.

He was one of the most prominent government, political and civic leaders in this community for more than 50 years, Brown told reporters Sunday.

The Mayor says Arthur was a mentor to him.

My first job in government was working for George K. Arthur, and before that I was an intern in his office when he was council member-at-large, noted Brown.

Eileen Buckley

Mayor Brown called Arthur a gentleman who loved Buffalo with great passion.

Casimiro Rodriguez, president of the Hispanic Heritage Council of Western New York, sent a private Facebook message to 7 Eyewitness News stating Arthur was an admired leader in our Hispanic Community.

I had the opportunity to sit with him on the former Buffalo Columbus Hospital board of directors, Rodriguez wrote

I don't care if it was south Buffalo, north Buffalo, the west side, the east side, George would always know somebody there," Pitts remembered.

Photo provided by James Pitts

Pitts had trouble holding back his emotions as he reflected on Arthur's legacy hoping new generations of Buffalo will see the path Arthur carved.

He was extraordinary individual extremely bright he was my big brother, my mentor and I hated to see him go I really did, cried Pitts.

Read more here:

The legacy of George Arthur - WKBW-TV

On 14 October 2020, the Luxembourg government submitted to the Parliament the budget bill for fiscal year 2021. It was approved by the Parliament on 17 December 2020 and published in the Official Journal on 23 December 2020 (the Law).

This e-alert provides an overview of the key tax changes as from 2021.

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS TAXATION

Introduction of a new special 20% tax on all income derived by tax opaque Luxembourg funds from domestic real estate assets

As from 1 January 2021, a new 20% real estate tax ("prlvement immobilier") will be due by certain investment vehicles which receive income from real estate located in Luxembourg. Investment vehicles holding real estate located outside of Luxembourg will not be affected by this tax.

Entities within the scope of the prlvement immobilier

The Luxembourg entities covered by this measure are the following investment funds to the extent they have a legal personality (except for the SCS which is expressly excluded) (i) undertakings for collective investment (UCIs) subject to Part II of the Luxembourg law of 17 December 2010, (ii) specialised investment funds (SIFs) subject to the Luxembourg law of 13 February 2007 and (iii) reserved alternative investment funds (RAIFs) subject to the Luxembourg law of 23 July 2016.

Tax transparent investment vehicles, such as the limited partnership (socit en commandite simple), the special limited partnership (socit en commandite spciale) or fund under a contractual form (fond commun de placement), are excluded from the scope of the real estate tax.

Income subject to the real estate tax

Real estate tax is levied on income derived by the Luxembourg investment vehicle from Luxembourg real estate. Income includes rental income (excluding VAT) and capital gains realized directly or through tax transparent vehicles (including the disposal of interest in a transparent body which holds a real estate property located in Luxembourg).

The real estate tax applies at a rate of 20% as from 1 January 2021.

Non deductibility of the real estate tax

The real estate tax is not deductible when determining the amount of income from property and is neither creditable nor deductible by any investor.

Declaration and reporting

The relevant investment vehicles must declare said income to the Luxembourg Tax Authorities (LTA) by 31 May and pay the tax to the LTA by 10 June of the calendar year following the year in which the income is received or realised. First declaration will take place no later than 31 May 2022. An auditor report, to be attached to the return, must certify that the declared income has been computed in accordance with relevant legal provisions and provide details of the computation.

Investment vehicles within the scope of the real estate tax, must inform the LTA by 31 May 2022 at the latest whether or not they have held (directly or indirectly) Luxembourg real estate at any time during the calendar years 2020 and 2021. Such reporting must be filed even if no income was generated from the Luxembourg real estate. Investment vehicles filing a return for 2021 will be deemed compliant with this reporting obligation.

The same reporting applies to investment vehicles having changed, during calendar years 2020 and 2021, their legal form from an entity within the scope of the real estate tax to a tax transparent entity while holding directly or indirectly Luxembourg real estate.

A lump sum fine of EUR 10,000 may apply in the event of failure to declare the aforementioned information.

Lower subscription tax rate for UCIs investing in sustainable economic activities

As from 1 January 2021, under specific conditions, lower subscription tax rates will be available for investment funds covered by the Luxembourg law of 17 December 2010 relating to the undertakings for collective investments (Part I and Part II of the 2010 UCI regime) that invest in sustainable economic activities as defined by EU Regulation 2020/852.

In a nutshell, if the portion of net assets of the UCI, or of the compartment, invested in sustainable economic activities is at least respectively 5%, 20%, 35% and 50% of the total net assets of the UCI or the compartment, then the subscription tax rate will be respectively 0.04%, 0.03%, 0.02% and 0.01 % for that portion of assets. An auditor report must certify the relevant percentage and shall be attached to the subscription tax return.

Updated depreciation rate for rented real estate assets

As from fiscal year 2021, accelerated depreciation rate applicable to rented real estate is decreased from 6% to 4% and will apply to real estate assets whose construction has been completed since less than five years (currently 6 years) at the beginning of the fiscal year.

The same rate will apply for investment expenditures engaged for an older housing to the extent it exceeds 20% of the assets acquisition price and at the beginning of the fiscal year renovation work has been completed since less than five years.

A novelty has been introduced with a 6% depreciation rate granted for certain sustainable energy renovation investment expenditure for rented housing. Such depreciation rate is granted if as at 1st January of the fiscal year renovation work has been completed since less than nine years and a financial assistance has been granted for these expenditures under article 4 of the amended law of 23 December 2016 establishing an aid scheme for the promotion of sustainability, rational use of energy and renewable energies in the field of housing.

Existing 6% depreciation rate will continue to apply if existing requirements are met and the building has been built or acquired before 1st January 2021, or if the renovation of an old dwelling has been completed before 1st January 2021.

Special allowance for taxpayers benefiting from the accelerated depreciation rate

As from fiscal year 2021, taxpayers making use of the above-mentioned accelerated depreciation rate may, under certain conditions, claim an additional tax deduction up to EUR 10,000 (doubled in case of joint taxation).

Private wealth management companies (SPF) and real estate investments

Prohibition as from 1 July 2021 for SPF (socits de gestion de patrimoine familial) to hold via Luxembourg or foreign partnerships or FCPs (fonds communs de placement) real estate assets. Indirect detention though joint-stock companies will however remain allowed. This measure complements the existing prohibition contained in the SPF law of 11 May 2007 to directly hold real estate or grant interest bearing loans.

Increase of registration duty for capital contribution of real estate

If the proposal is accepted as it currently stands, capital contributions of immovable property to a civil or commercial (Luxembourg or non-Luxembourg) company will become subject to the common registration duty rules. In case of contribution in kind (apport pur et simple), registration duties would therefore be increased from 0.5% + 2/10 to 2% +2/10 and the transcription tax would be increased from 0.5% to 1 %. Furthermore, the delay according to which the property may be subsequently transferred to a shareholder (other than the one who contributed it) after liquidation, wind-up or capital reduction without duty to apply is extended from 5 to 10 years.

EMPLOYEES TAXATION

Impatriates regime

The impatriate regime will be codified in Luxembourg law as from 2021 onwards whereas it is now based on administrative guidance (i.e., Circular 95/2 dated 27 January 2014 which will be abolished as from 1 January 2021). Some conditions and effects of the regime will change, for instance the new regime will only apply to impatriate employees earning at least EUR 100,000 per year (currently EUR 50,000 per year) and it will apply for a period of up to 9 years (currently up to 5 years following the year of the employees arrival). One of the main differences is that the lump-sum compensation for specific recurring expenses will be changed by a 50% exemption of the impatriation premium not exceeding 30% of the beneficiarys annual basic salary.

Introduction of a new employee participation mechanism and abolition of the current stock option regime

The current tax regime for stock option and warrant plans governed by circular letter L.I.R. 104/2 issued by the Luxembourg tax authorities on 29 November 2017 will be abolished end of 2020. Instead, the Law introduces in the Luxembourg income tax law a new regime for employees participation under which employees can be granted a participative premium connected to the financial result of the employer.

At the level of the employee the participative premium will benefit from a 50% tax exemption and the payment would remain tax deductible at the level of the employer provided certain requirements are met.

The beneficiary of the participative premium must be an employee affiliated to the Luxembourg social security, or to a foreign social security scheme covered by a bi - or multilateral social security instrument and the payment cannot exceed 25% of the beneficiarys gross annual remuneration received the same year (excluding any benefits in cash and/or in-kind, bonuses, the premium itself).

Several conditions shall also be met at the level of the of the employer in order for the participative premium exemption to apply:

An employer deciding to pay such a premium to his employees will be required to inform the Luxembourg tax authorities (tax office in charge of withholding tax on wages).

Introduction of electronic withholding tax cards

Electronic withholding tax cards will be progressively introduced in 2021 by the Luxembourg tax authorities and access will be granted to employers directly. As from 1st January 2022, the withholding tax cards will be accessible only electronically and the employers will be obliged to use the new platform to access said cards.

OTHER MEASURES

Changes to the fiscal unity regime

The Luxembourg fiscal unity regime will be amended in line with EU Law following a recent case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) (C-749/18). The ECJ ruled in this case that the Luxembourg fiscal unity regime constitutes an infringement of the freedom of establishment considering that a parent company in a Member State other than Luxembourg is obliged to dissolve the vertical fiscal unity between its direct and indirect Luxembourg subsidiaries (potentially resulting in adverse Luxembourg tax consequences) in order to enable its direct subsidiary to establish a horizontal fiscal unity albeit this is not required if the parent company is tax resident in Luxembourg.

Article 7 of the Law temporarily remedies this infringement by allowing a group to change from a vertical fiscal unity to a horizontal fiscal unity tax neutrally provided the following conditions are met:

Groups have until the end of the tax year 2022 to tax neutrally change from a vertical fiscal unity to a horizontal fiscal unity. The commentary to the draft law explains that this period should be sufficient for groups to verify if they should expand their current vertical fiscal unity into a horizontal one.

The changes to the fiscal unity regime will enter into force as from tax year 2020.

Small Business Scheme threshold increased

Under the Law, the threshold for the VAT small business scheme to apply is brought from currently EUR 30,000 to EUR 35,000 per year. By way of reminder, taxpayers whose turnover does not exceed the small business scheme threshold are not obliged to pay VAT on their income.

Tax credit for the self-employed, employees and pensioners

As from 2021, existing tax credit for the self-employed, employees and pensioners will be increased. The minimum amount is increased from EUR 300 to EUR 396 and the maximum amount is increased from EUR 600 to EUR 696. Formulas for calculating the credit tax are adjusted accordingly.

Certificate for inheritances free of inheritance tax

In the case of tax-free inheritances, the indirect tax authorities (Administration de lEnregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA) issue a certificate of fiscal value. As from 2021, this certificate will have a civil value with the objective to ease the access to movable property dependent on such inheritance. Any third-party holder of property (e.g., credit institution) will be required to accept this certificate as proof that the holder of the certificate is an heir.

Introduction of a CO2 tax

An autonomous excise duty on most gas and hydrocarbon is introduced. By way of example, the new tax is expected to lead to a EUR 0.05/L increase for petrol and diesel.

Insurance tax Electronic filing

Compulsory electronic filing of insurance tax returns with the indirect tax authorities (Administration de lEnregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA) is introduced.

Abolition of the venture capital investment certificates

The tax regime for venture capital investment certificates will be repealed due to the limited use of this regime.

Continued here:

Luxembourg 2021 Budget Law: Overview of the key changes - Lexology

The tree is up. The hall is decorated. The presents are wrapped (sort of). There are eight boxes of crackers. I have just taken delivery of a 4.6kg turkey. We are ready. But for what exactly? Turns out no one is coming this year. And we arent going anywhere either. This is not the end of year we expected when we sent out 2020s first issue in January. Then we were worrying about stockmarket valuations and shifting cash into commodities, which we thought might be at the end of their vicious ten-year bear market.

The future turned out to be as unco-operative as usual. There was no way to know in January that a pandemic would close the world; that democracy would be effectively suspended across the West; that markets would hit new highs amid both a supply and demand crunch; that fiscal and monetary policy would merge into one great stimulus machine, rendering valuations irrelevant; that the main press topic in Christmas week would be the great festive lettuce shortage; and that I would hit 26 December with 3kg of excess turkey to fricassee.

So whats this years shock? Obviously, after the events of 2020, any forecasts must be read more for entertainment value than anything else. But in this week's magazine, Matthew Lynn offers a few of his expectations of the unexpected. Im hoping his last (the FTSE 100 to 10,000) comes true. It has underperformed horribly, but it is cheap and has to be a better bet than some of the capital-destroying businesses Bill Bonner rails against. Max King lists the investment trusts that have disappointed and thrilled him this year;David Stevenson reiterates our view on commodities (definitely a buy);and in our Roundtable weve lined up some of our favourite stockpickers and forced them to give us their best recommendations.

My own thoughts on 2021 will be familiar to regular readers. I think it will be pretty good. Vaccine roll out is faster than I expected (we are heading for one million a week), which should see the economy open faster than expected (when rising cases no longer equate to rising deaths, lockdown has to end). We are likely to see a wave of productivity as firms integrate all the technological lessons of 2020. All this will happen amid an ongoing wave of stimulus. Perhaps most importantly of all, the UK savings rate is still high households have cash to burn. Where will it go?

Here is where I think the miseries of the investment world might be surprised. Think about what you most want to do right now. Ill tell you what I want to do:drive and fly. And as soon as I can, that is what I will do. I will drive all over the UK seeing my family. I will take planes to all the places I want to go Greece, Florida, Iceland and perhaps even to Japan for the Olympics (Japan last hosted the Olympics in 1964, a year that marked its shift from enemy country to global economy see this week's magazine for why 2021 could be another good year in Japan). I wont be alone. We often talk about the pent-up demand for goods created by the pandemic. But dont underestimate the pent-up demand for physical freedom and the oil, airlines, restaurant seats and cars that will be needed to fuel it. Heres looking forward to the renewal of our commitment to that freedom in 2021 and to the investment opportunities that come with it. A very happy Christmas and New Year to all our readers.

Our first issue of 2021 will be with you on 8 January.

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Here's looking forward to freedom in 2021 - MoneyWeek

The year in review: 2020 was a rollercoaster 2020 for miners, as gold and commodities caught the virus dip and then the stimulus wave.

The beginning of 2020 was a world in which Donald Trump was inching his way through a trade war of his own making with China, sparking thoughts of economic autarky in the minds of policymakers of the kind not seen since the 1930s.

Then came the China virus as the 45th American President quickly daubed it, and the world changed for miners, as for everyone else.

Initially, it was a mixed picture. Lockdowns spread across the world sporadically, a bit like the virus, and so there was a period that began mid-way through the first quarter, when companies operating in jurisdictions as diverse as Chile and Canada, South Africa and Sweden, and Australia and China, were all obliged to come up with bespoke responses to the virus.

Mines in some parts of the world, like West Africa where companies like Perseus Mining Limited () () () have a major presence, continued to operate throughout the period while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines.

Elsewhere, in more established mining jurisdictions in South Africa, where welfare needs are backed up by a strong union culture, there were brief lockdowns, and companies like Pan African Gold () and Bushveld Minerals (), shut their respective gold and vanadium operations for a few weeks.

But, just as the welfare of the workforce needed to be put front and centre, in countries where bond markets and credit ratings couldnt support furlough schemes there was a need to put miners back to work fast, to allow them to generate income for their families.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, partly perhaps because several jurisdictions have had experience with ebola in the recent past, the impact of the virus hasnt been as deep as it has been in Europe and North America. So, although there are some restrictions in place, most companies are able to operate as close to normal as could have been hoped.

In North America, the ability to operate has been somewhat more constrained, as freedom of movement has been curtailed and some companies have struggled to access properties. Only in exceptional circumstances will any UK or Irish-based company have been allowed to send executives into the US or Canada to oversee work programs. Most programs still went ahead, but with lighter oversight, and in some cases, lighter budgets too.

On the whole, though, the industry was keen to press on and get on with things. Share prices crashed in Marchwhen the panic was at its height, but quickly recovered thereafter.

Not for the mining sector this time round that same hunker-down mentality which so characterised the last major crisis it faced the global financial crisis of 2008.

Back in 2008 money, and specifically, new capital was scarce.

Not so, in this new kind of crisis, where economies are stopped voluntarily rather than as a result of some kind of external shock or systemic malfunction.

In this crisis, money has been everywhere. Indeed, governments were keen to make sure there was more money in the world than there ever has been before, and printing presses to use the euphemistic term have been running hotter and hotter.

That in itself has raised some alarm bells amongst economists, and it was interesting to see Mervyn King, the former governor of the commenting that Modern Monetary Theory is neither modern, nor monetary (since it is broadly fiscal in implication), and on the basis of the last contradiction, not much of a theory either.

Nevertheless, he didnt come down wholly against the money printing bonanza. To paraphrase, he said that the jury is still out.

But for the miners, it isnt.

Stimulus money creates demand, particularly for infrastructure, which is particularly intensive in its use of metals. It also reiterates that fiat money has no intrinsic value, and hence stimulates demand for gold.

That double win, an environment where base and precious metals are both in demand, has broadly characterised the second half of 2020 for the mining sector as a whole.

Even Rio Tinto () which, experienced the worst public relations disaster of any company in the sector after it detonated huge amounts of explosives across a sacred aboriginal site, experienced its highest share price since 2008.

Thats right, Rios shares are at their highest since level since the early onset of the worlds last major financial crisis more than 12 years ago. Anglo Americans () arent doing quite as well they are only at an eight-year high. Glencore (), which doesnt have the exposure of Rio and Anglo to iron ore, one of the key ingredients in the now re-activated Chinese infrastructure boom, has done less well.

But the big gold companies, like Barrick Gold Corp ()and Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) have also been hitting multi-year highs, as gold has repeatedly tested, and on occasion gone through the US$1,900 mark while Australias Newcrest Mining Ltd () (OTCMKTS:NCMGY) has traded up to A$38.15.

At the junior end of the market, () was one of the standout success stories, as it consolidated an Australian discovery that saw share prices rise from A$0.05 in January to A$1.60 in September and today has been up to A$1.02 while market cap has risen to approximately $1.285 billion.

Some supply still remains constrained as a result of the coronavirus, of course, especially from South America, where VALEs iron ore output suffered badly and some of the major copper mines had to curtail production significantly. But for the rest of the sector, which is able to produce, these supply constraints only add to the upward pressure on price.

And so, it was no wonder the capital markets flung their doors open to junior miners: while everyone else was sitting at home, the miners were still able to go out and make money.

And, as things stand, 2021 should see more of the same.

Originally posted here:

Miners ride 2020 rollercoaster and come off in strong position - Proactive Investors USA & Canada

The decision the Joint Chiefs reach in the next year will be as seminal for the future development of military space as any except the actual creation of Space Force.

We are approaching a watershed moment in the future of the U.S. Space Force. Will all space systems be consolidated into the new service, or will the other services retain some capabilities and personnel? The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act requires the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the service chiefs to report on the space-related missions and expertise that should remain within each service. The decision that the Joint Chiefs reach in the next year will be as seminal for the future development of military space as any except the actual creation of Space Force.

Space Policy Directive-4, which directed the establishment of the USSF, also directed the consolidation of existing forces and authorities for military space activities, as appropriate, in order to minimize duplication of effort and eliminate bureaucratic inefficiencies. The as appropriate caveat was inserted because the National Space Council recognized that some space functions might have to remain in the other services. While an understanding has largely been reached that the other services should no longer develop or operate satellites, no similar consensus has been reached on other space capabilities or supporting space personnel, particularly the future of the space control mission.

Space control is an umbrella term for a broad set of warfighting capabilities that are not unique to a single service. It is broadly defined in Joint Publication 3-14 as operations to ensure freedom of action for the United States and its allies in space and deny an adversary freedom of action in space. Specifically, space control operations include both offensive and defensive capabilities that create effects in the space domain to support military activities in all domains.

While Space Force should be solely responsible for developing capabilities and systems that operate in space, it should not be the only service responsible for developing systems that create effects in space. As it develops into a mature warfighting domain, the other services will find it necessary to continue to build and integrate space control systems capable of protecting and enabling forces in their respective domains.

The space control missions that should be retained by the other services are most analogous to the air defense mission of the Army. While the Army does not operate aircraft for the purposes of protecting land forces from air attack, it has always retained various air defense systems designed to defend land forces from air threats. Absent its air arm, the Navy also conducts the air defense mission from surface vessels in a manner that another service could not replicate. In the same way that these services have integrated the air defense mission, the space control mission set will still need to be fully integrated into domain-specific platforms and will not be unique to any single service. In sum, while the other services will not operate systems in the space domain, they should not be excluded from creating effects in it.

Unlike the air defense analogy, the space control capabilities that the services need to retain will not be purely defensive. Defensive space control, as currently defined in JP-3-14, is limited to active and passive measures taken to protect friendly space capabilities from attack, interference, or unintentional hazards. It does not account for defensive space control actions that may be necessary to protect forces in other domains from adversary space capabilities. The space control capabilities the services need for protection will also have an inherently dual-use nature that will enable multi-domain operations which Space Command will integrate.

The joint integration of space warfighting within Space Command is another reason to retain some joint space control acquisition authorities. In addition to directing the creation of the Space Force, SPD-4 also directed the establishment of U.S. Space Command, noting that the command would perform its mission with forces provided by the United States Space Force and other United States Armed Forces. The space capabilities and personnel that the services retain will be the space forces that they will provide to Space Command. If the other services lack any organic space capabilities to present, they would only be nominally represented within Space Command. This lack of joint forces and expertise would create a disconnect between domains, generating the very inter-service issues that the Goldwater-Nichols Act was meant to resolve.

A counterargument to service retention of space control capabilities is that the consolidation of all things space within one service will lead to streamlined acquisition timelines and reduced cost. This is most likely true for the development of satellites and other in-space systems. But it is almost certainly not true when it comes to engineering space capabilities for the unique needs of each service at the user level. Today it is unrealistic to expect the Space Force to budget funds to develop satellite communications terminals designed specifically for the maritime environment. It is just as unrealistic to expect the Space Force to meet all of the Navys future sea-based space control needs. There will simply be too many demands on the Space Force budget to expect it to adequately fund all aspects of the space enterprise. Allowing the services to retain space control capabilities will ensure that they can allocate funds proportionate to the threat as they see it from their domain. This spreading of fiscal responsibility will create a healthier Department of Defense wide response to future space threats.

Retaining the space control mission within the other services will necessarily limit the number of space personnel available for transfer to the Space Force. A recent survey of Army Space officers demonstrated that enthusiasm for transfer is high, and if permitted, nearly all of them would transfer. The Army and the Navy will be reluctant to allow their space personnel to transfer en masse to Space Force if they still have a mission within their parent service. Limiting transfers will reduce the positive cultural impact that the mass transfer of non-Air Force space personnel would have on the culture of the new service. Without this infusion of new perspectives, Space Force will find the already difficult task of making a cultural break with the Air Force even more challenging. However, the presence of these skilled and experienced service retained space personnel at Space Command will be a mitigating factor. They will help ensure that a uniquely joint space warfighting culture develops at the combatant command level, where space forces are actually employed. On balance, the loss of the cultural impact that these personnel transfers would have on Space Force is less than the loss that their transfer would have on the integration of joint space warfighting within Space Command in the future.

Space control from within the space domain is a uniquely Space Force mission, but space control from other warfighting domains is not. As the space domain continues to evolve into an active warfighting domain with tactical, operational, and strategic implications across all domains, each service needs to retain the ability to create effects in space from their respective domains to protect their forces and enable multi-domain operations. These future space control capabilities will need to be fully integrated into land, sea, and air platforms and forces in a manner that the USSF will not be able to achieve. The task of fully integrating necessary space control capabilities into their forces is therefore best achieved by the services.

Lt. Col. Brad Townsend, Ph.D., PE, is an Army Space Operations Officer currently assigned to the Joint Staff J-5 Space Policy. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.

This article originally appeared in the Dec. 14, 2020 issue of SpaceNews magazine.

Go here to see the original:

Op-ed | Not all space capabilities should reside in Space Force - SpaceNews

2020 has been one for the record books for Apple Valley and its neighbors.

The year began with some of the typical annual activities like Mid-Winter Fest and the Frozen Apple Concert series along with the anticipation of others to come, like Freedom Days over the July 4 holiday.

But with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, Freedom Days, summer concerts and more never happened. Public buildings, schools, some businesses and public city pools closed. Some reopened with restrictions and closed again later. People have been encouraged to social distance, wear face coverings and take other precautions.

In the midst of the pandemic, stories of community members, businesses and others helping each other have emerged. Organizers got creative and changed the format of their events from in-person to virtual or scaled back on in-person activities. The city of Apple Valley grappled with how to use just over $4 million in federal coronavirus relief dollars for COVID-19-related expenses.

The community also experienced the sudden death of a parks and recreation leader, financial uncertainty for the Minnesota Zoo, social unrest related to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and two fatal shooting incidents.

Heres a recap of some of the news from the year.

COVID-19 response in Apple Valley

The pandemic affected all facets of government and peoples everyday lives. The city of Apple Valley, like many other governmental entities, moved from in-person meetings to holding public meetings virtually from March to June. Since the Municipal Center reopened during the summer, the city has held in-person meetings with the option for the public to comment virtually.

Apple Valley High School sophomore Sydney Hooppaw loads food into the back of a car during a May 4 food distribution hosted by The Open Door and Minnesota Valley Transit Authority at the Apple Valley Transit Station.

The City Council took other actions in an attempt to bring some relief to residents and businesses including waiving utility late fees, approving temporary beer and wine takeout sales and approving temporary outdoor service areas. The council also allocated $400,000 of the federal relief funding for a business relief grant program to help certain businesses with COVID-19 expenses.

The City Council and the Freedom Days committee decided to cancel the event because of COVID-19 concerns. The council also voted to close the Apple Valley Aquatic Center and Redwood Pool for the season.

The Apple Valley American Legion canceled its usual Memorial Day ceremony with members of the posts Color Guard/Honor Guard conducting honors for Memorial Day with a small, nonpublic ceremony. The Apple Valley Arts Foundation canceled its annual Music in Kelley Park concerts. One of the singers originally scheduled to perform later offered a virtual concert.

The city made several changes for the primary and general elections in 2020 due to COVID-19, including city officials responding to an influx of absentee ballots being cast. City Clerk Pam Gackstetter said over 50 percent of Apple Valleys registered voters requested an absentee ballot for the general election. Training for election judges was done virtually. The city implemented several safety measures including having judges wear masks and other protective equipment, erecting sneeze guard shields between voters and judges, using disposable secrecy sleeves and regularly sanitizing equipment.

Multiple local restaurants offered free meals to community members after schools were ordered to close in March because of the pandemic. The Free Book Buggie, a local nonprofit, worked with some of those restaurants to offer free books to residents during the free meal times.

Other examples of people helping each other include the property manager at the Legends of Apple Valley apartment complex starting a food pantry for its senior residents; an Apple Valley family putting up a Christmas lights display in their yard in April to offer residents free, distanced entertainment; and the Open Door Pantry partnering with the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority and local schools to offer food distribution events to the broader community. There was also a birthday parade for a 12-year-old boy who collected food and cleaning products to help the community and a surprise car cruise to lift a terminally ill veterans spirits.

Minnesota Zoo affected by pandemic

The finances of the Apple Valley attraction have been affected by the pandemic. The zoo, a state agency, temporarily closed to the public from March 14 to July 19 in response to COVID-19. Even after it reopened the zoo operated at reduced capacity, offering a socially distant experience for visitors. It has been closed for a second time since Nov. 21.

The closures have led to the zoos revenue taking a hit. The zoo took several cost-cutting measures including a hiring freeze, staff reductions and delaying or canceling major projects.

The zoo receives one-third of its operating budget from state appropriations and the rest is generated through earned revenue and contributions.

Zoo officials told the newspaper in November the zoo earned $2.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020-21 (July to September), which is about 57% less than it earned in the same period last year. The zoos budget projected earned revenue of $18.3 million for the fiscal 2020-21 biennium compared to the pre-COVID estimate of $33.4 million. Based on this, the zoos outlook was about the same as it was over the summer: a $15 million revenue loss as anticipated at the start of the pandemic. On average, the zoos yearly general operating budget is approximately $28 million.

The zoo has received financial support through a $6 million appropriation from the state and a new drive-thru fundraiser called Beastly Boulevard. Other annual events that support the zoo including Beastly Bash and the Tiger Tracks 5K Walk, Run, and Roll were held virtually this year. A second new drive-thru fundraiser, Nature Illuminated, started Dec. 3 and runs through Jan. 17.

The zoo is continuing to move forward with some of its planned capital improvements. The bonding bill passed by the Legislature this year includes $13 million for the zoo, of which $11 million is allocated for the new Treetop Trail project and $2 million for asset preservation.

Zoo spokesman Zach Nugent has said the zoo anticipates a long-term recovery period and will continue to evaluate its ability to build back and redevelop staffing and programming opportunities. As a state agency its part of a statewide hiring freeze.

Changes in city leadership

Apple Valley Parks and Recreation Director Barry Bernstein died suddenly March 21. Bernstein had worked for the city since 2012.

Superintendent Mike Endres has been working as acting interim parks and recreation director since late March. Endres indicated his desire in August to return to his previous position by the end of the year.

The council hired Huelife to help with the search for a new parks and recreation director. After interviewing five finalist candidates in November, the City Council formally approved the hiring of Eric Carlson on Dec. 10. Carlson has been Inver Grove Heights parks and recreation director for over 13 years and will start his position in Apple Valley on Jan. 19.

The City Council will see a change in early 2021 as Apple Valley Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland resigns her position to take her new seat on the Dakota County Board of Commissioners. Hamann-Roland defeated incumbent Chris Gerlach for the seat during the general election.

The council is scheduled to discuss the process of filling Hamann-Rolands position during the Jan. 14 meeting.

Seven people filed to run for two City Council seats during the general election. Incumbents Ruth Grendahl and Tom Goodwin were reelected for another term. Grendahl has been on the council since 1997 and Goodwin has served since 1987.

Two apparent murder-suicide incidents occurred in the city.

On Feb. 22, police say Alexander Petrovich fatally shot his younger brother and mother before taking his own life. Alexander reportedly suffered from untreated health symptoms for most of his adult life.

Officers responded to the home owned by Janice Petrovich at 13640 Upper Elkwood Court at 12:18 p.m. Feb. 22, after a 911 caller found three people who had been shot inside the home.

Police found the bodies of two men and one woman, who were later identified by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner as Janice Petrovich, 60, and her sons, Alexander Petrovich, 27, and Jonathan Petrovich, 23. The manner of death was listed as homicide for Janice and Jonathan, and suicide for Alexander. The Police Department said it believes Alexanders mental health challenges likely contributed to the violence in the home.

According to the department, Janice, Alexander and Jonathan all lived at the home. Officers responded to the house for different calls but nothing involving violence. According to court records, Jonathan had a history of mental illness but similar records cannot be found for Alexander. Alexander had previous criminal convictions for dogs at large and fourth-degree criminal damage to property in Dakota County, as well as minor traffic infractions, court records show.

On Nov. 4, Raymond Ronald Rosenbaum, 51, was suspected by police of shooting two people before taking his own life. Rosenbaum died of a gunshot wound to the head on Nov. 4. Police believe Rosenbaum used a .40-caliber handgun to shoot 52-year-old Faye Elizabeth Brown, who died of a gunshot wound to the torso on Nov. 4 and a 56-year-old man who survived and was hospitalized. The three of them all lived at the Morningview condominium complex at 7600 157th Street W.

Apple Valley Police Capt. Nick Francis said while Brown called police multiple times in 2020 reporting that Rosenbaum was harassing her, Rosenbaum never committed any crimes.

Court records indicate Rosenbaum has no criminal history in Minnesota other than convictions for petty misdemeanor seatbelt and texting while driving violations in 2017 in Dakota County. Francis said the departments coordinated response team, which includes an officer and a mental health professional, reached out to Rosenbaum prior to the Nov. 4 incident but he did not accept any services.

Unrest filters into Dakota County

The violence, break-ins and looting from the riots in Minneapolis and St. Paul filtered into some parts of Dakota County following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.

The first three nights of protest in the Twin Cities left burned-out buildings, smashed-out windows and stores robbed.

The evening of May 28, West St. Paul police reported that 18 businesses were damaged and items stolen during quick strikes, and two men allegedly smashed windows to break into the Dakota Countys Western Service Center in Apple Valley in the early morning hours of May 29. Fire and significant water damage was done to the judges chambers and court areas.

Arrests were made in connection to both incidents, including charges in U.S. District Court against the Apple Valley suspects.

Fornandous Cortez Henderson was sentenced on Dec. 9 to six and a half years in prison for aiding and abetting arson in connection to the arson at the Western Service Center. He entered a guilty plea on Aug. 26 in U.S. District Court in St. Paul. Hendersons sentence also includes a three-year supervised release and an order to pay $205,873 in restitution.

According to Hendersons guilty plea and documents filed with the court, Henderson and Garrett Patrick Ziegler, co-defendant, constructed multiple Molotov cocktails, and in the early morning hours of May 29 broke multiple windows at the Western Service Center with baseball bats and threw in multiple, lit Molotov cocktails.

Some of these devices successfully ignited and caused the fire damage.

Henderson and Ziegler also attempted to start other fires at the Western Service Center by pouring ignitable liquids and throwing unlit Molotov cocktails in and around the broken windows, then attempting to start the fluids on fire.

The attack caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, according to a U.S. Attorneys Office. The Western Service Center houses state and local agencies and organizations, including Dakota County court facilities, as well as a U.S. Passport center.

Other incidents linked to the rioting were reported in Burnsville, Eagan, Inver Grove Heights and Mendota Heights, including some burglary and firearms charges.

A peaceful protest also took place on Cahill Road in Inver Grove Heights. Dakota County Sheriff Tim Leslie said an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew that was implemented May 29 through June 1 in Dakota County was effective in quelling potential lawlessness.

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Year in Review: A year for the record books in Apple Valley - ECM Publishers

When the UK entered the coronavirus age in March, state resources and collective commitment were mobilised on a scale not seen since the second world war. Decades ago, Britain had revealed itself, thanks in part to being able to marshal the industrial might of the empire, to be a formidable world power. Its economy was energised with breakthroughs in radar, atomic power and medicine.

Although the story of the pandemic has not yet ended, there appears to be no such transformation in sight under Boris Johnson. Rather depressingly, familiar trends of greed, incompetence and cronyism are reasserting themselves. This is bad news for an economy where there has been a collapse of socially useful innovation. Britains lack of hi-tech manufacturing capabilities, notably in medical diagnostic testing, was cruelly exposed by the pandemic.

This country has become more of a procurer than a producer of technology. But it is a remarkably inefficient one despite an extraordinarily high percentage of lawyers and accountants in the working population. Connections seem to matter more than inventions. How else to explain why, in the desperate scramble to procure personal protective equipment, ventilators and coronavirus tests, billions of pounds of contracts have gone to companies either run by friends or supporters even neighbours of Conservative politicians, or with no prior expertise.

History is not short of examples where political insiders were successful in extracting virtually all the surplus that the economy created. Such influential interests moulded politics to enlarge their share of the pie. Greed was limited only by the need to let the producers survive. The shock of war, revolution, famine or plague provides an opportunity to fix a broken society. But if, post-pandemic, UK politicians care less about reform than the retention of power, they will fail to restrain the grasping enrichment that undermines democracy itself.

Perhaps the most penetrating X-ray of this phenomenon today is by Brett Christophers in his book Rentier Capitalism. The academic makes the case that Britain has become a treasure island for those seeking excess profits from state-sanctioned control of natural resources, property, financial assets and intellectual property. Rent, paid by renters to rentiers, is tied to the ownership or control of such assets, made scarce under conditions of limited or no competition.

Mr Christophers says that the first sign of this new order was when Britain struck black gold in the North Sea. He writes that MPs on the public accounts committee noted with incredulity in 1972 that the first huge areas of the sea were leased to the companies as generously as though Britain were a gullible Sheikhdom. After that, public assets were sold off cheaply. The private sector ended up controlling lightly regulated monopolies in gas, water and electric supply, and public transport and telecoms. Customers lost out, overpaying for poor service. In a rentiers paradise, windfall profits abound. Brazenly occupying the lowest moral ground was essential, as the housebuilder Persimmon proved by earning supersized state-backed help-to-buy profits long enough to hand out a 75m bonus to its boss.

The banks, which took this country to the brink of collapse a decade ago, are at the heart of a rentier state. France, Germany, Japan, the US all have banking sectors smaller than the UK. While banks earning rents have flourished, the households paying them either directly as financial consumers, or indirectly as taxpayers of a debtor state or customers of debtor firms have floundered.

The anger that such spivvery engenders is diffused politically by making voters complicit in the theft. The sell-off of council homes, says Mr Christophers, was a privatisation that gave many of those perhaps most inclined to kick against Thatcherism a personal stake in the project. Culturally, Brexit plays the same sort of role as the right to buy, insulating poorer leave voters from the idea that they will suffer from the resulting policies.

The prime minister understands that Covid can change Britain, but lacks modernising policies. He extols the virtues of free competition both for itself and because such freedom, he reasons, will somehow liberate the spirit fluttering within a pre-Brexit Britain caged by coronavirus. He is no doubt betting that the disruption of leaving the EU will be lost in the roar of an economy taking off as an inoculated population returns to offices and shops.

The gap between rich and poor in the UK is at least as high today, academics calculate, as it was just before the start of the second world war. This is largely because the British state that once mediated the struggle between labour and capital has been taken over by rentiers. Weakening regulations, reducing the importance of fiscal policy and shredding social protections has corroded liberal democracy in which an increasingly influential wealthy few have been enjoying a free run. Ultimately, rentiers want to increase what the economist Micha Kalecki called the degree of monopoly in an economy. This allows them to limit the ability of workers, consumers and regulators to influence the markup of selling prices over costs and to defend the share of wages in output.

The EU says its labour, environment and customer protections are a floor, not a ceiling, and that they cant be traded away for frictionless market access. If we had stayed in the club, our ability to concentrate profits for monopolists would have been stymied in future trade deals negotiated by Brussels and open to MEPs scrutiny. Outside the EU, Mr Johnson can barter away such regulations without parliamentary oversight and scrap safeguards in new technology for higher monopoly profits. Karl Marx wrote in The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte in 1852 that the Tories in England long fancied that they were in raptures about royalty, the church and the beauties of the ancient constitution, until a time of trial tore from them the confession that they were only in raptures about rent. His assessment of early 19th-century Tories applies with unerring accuracy to todays Conservatives.

Mr Christophers insight is that the Tories under Mr Johnson are a party of and for rentiers, much more than the interests of productive capital. This explains why, after 2016, the Tory party embraced Brexit and shrugged off productive capitals concerns about leaving the EU. It will be to the great detriment of this country if the pandemic permitted Mr Johnson to combine present-day fears with a yearning for hopeful change to persuade the average person to vote against their interests in the future. But history often repeats itself first as tragedy, then as farce.

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The Guardian view on Britain out of the EU: a treasure island for rentiers - The Guardian