Edition 80: trickling down nothing

(This newsletter was sent to email subscribers on December 23, 2020.)

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CYBERSECURITY

A cyber war is heating up in the Middle East

Sun Dec 20

While the U.S. deals with the aftermath of a cyberattack linked to Russia, Israel and Iran have been trading cyber blows for months.

It started in May…

A cyber attack that has been reportedly linked to Iran tried to hack two rural water distribution networks in Israel. The hackers were allegedly trying to control the water flow, wastewater treatment, and chlorine in the water system, but the hack was detected before major damage could be done.

A week later, Israel responded.

They stopped traffic at Iran’s busy Shahid Rajaee port by hacking computers that regulated the traffic of vessels, trucks, and other goods, causing backups in waterways and on roads. These tit-for-tat cyberattacks have continued throughout the year, with the latest alleged attack happening over the weekend when an Iran-linked group reportedly hacked the Israeli Aerospace Industries’ computer systems.

And the U.S. may be involved in sparking this decades-long feud. As early as 2010 (although never confirmed), it’s suspected that the U.S. and Israel teamed up to release a malicious computer worm to damage Iran’s nuclear program. This virus, called Stuxnet, is considered one the world’s first sophisticated cyberweapons used between countries.

SOURCES / READ MORE: The Washington Post, The New York Times, AP News, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Times of Israel , Haaretz, PRI

TAXES

New study finds tax cuts for the rich only help the rich

Thu Dec 17

There’s now more evidence that trickle-down economics aren’t actually trickling anywhere. Historically, tax cuts for the wealthy have been marketed as creating more jobs or boosting incomes, but new research shows that they really just helped the rich get richer.

And it doesn’t just apply to the U.S. The study, conducted by the London School of Economics, examined 18 developed countries over the course of 50 years. The findings were the same in every country: The per capita gross domestic product and unemployment rates were basically identical after five years for countries that cut taxes on the rich versus those that didn’t.

The one thing that did change? The rich got richer faster in the countries where tax rates were lowered. While this study ended in 2015 and therefore doesn’t include Trump’s tax cuts, research from 2019 found that the 400 richest families in America actually paid lower tax rates than people in the middle class in 2018.

Meanwhile, other new research suggests taxing the rich could help with the economic hardships of the Covid-19 pandemic. And earlier this month, we shared how Argentina is already planning to use this approach to help pay for a better Covid response.

P.S. the government might owe you a bunch of money.

🗣Calling all founders: MainStreet is helping startups get significant amounts of cash from the government in the form of R&D tax breaks. The government already sets aside billions for these credits, but most startups don’t ever get access. Talk to an expert at MainStreet today and start saving.

SOURCES / READ MORE: CBS News, Mother Jones, The Conversation

WATER

Cleaner water is coming to the European Union

Tue Dec 15

Over a million European citizens want cleaner water, and worked together to actually get it. In 2007, the European Citizens’ Initiative was introduced, allowing EU citizens to participate in policy change — as long as they got one million petition signatures from at least a quarter of EU Member States.

And for the first time ever, one of their initiatives is being passed into law! The petition, called the “Right2Water,” supports improving access to safe drinking water across Europe. This means:

• More free access to drinking water in public spaces and restaurants, which will include public water dispensers
• Improved access for vulnerable groups such as refugees, homeless people, and nomadic communities
• Imposing stricter limits on certain pollutants like lead, endocrine disruptors, PFAS, and microplastics in tap water (the complete list of substances that need to be monitored will be completed by early 2022)

Currently, over a million people have no access to water while eight million people have no sanitation. The hope is that, with cleaner water, more people will drink tap water and less bottled water, which could save EU households more than 600 million euros a year.

SOURCES / READ MORE: EU Parliament, Right2Water, Sven Giegold

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That’s all for today. Have a magical week.✨