News & Commentary

January 9, 2017

Adi Kamdar

Adi Kamdar is a student at Harvard Law School.

The Wall Street Journal reports that car manufacturers are feeling political pressure from the incoming administration to invest in plants within the United States, keeping jobs from going abroad. Fiat Chrysler announced yesterday that it will invest $1 billion to create jobs in existing plants, instead of seeking plants in Mexico. This follows the pattern of announcements set by Ford and Toyota this past week, right before the biggest auto show in Detroit. General Motors, however, just announced it would not move its highly profitable Mexico production facilities despite President-elect Trump’s criticism.

Teachers unions have come out strongly against proposed Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, according to the Washington Post. The National Education Association has launched a campaign for its members to contact Congress and urge against DeVos. The American Federation of Teachers is expected to criticize the DeVos pick today too. Both unions worry about DeVos’ stated efforts to privatize public schools, which may adversely affect students and teacher preparation programs.

A column in the Washington Post questions whether Trump will continue the Obama administration’s efforts to diversify national security workers. The likely answer? Probably not. Creating a national security apparatus that better reflects the American population is “a national security imperative,” according to current National Security Adviser Susan Rice.

The Venezuelan government raised minimum wage levels 50%—the fifth raise in the last year, according to CNN Money. These drastic measures are in response to the country’s massive inflation, which is “expected to surge to 1,660% this year and 2,880% next year.”

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