The latest snapshot of the Salt Lake County apartment market might look attractive to real estate developers and investors, but for average renters, it could be more dire than ever.

Even with a record 12,367 new rental units under construction in the county and another 9,665 in the pipeline, vacant and available apartments remain at an all-time high — 2% or less — and rents are climbing 10% or more a year.

All of this speaks volumes about the demand for rental housing in Utah’s most populous county, even with a historic increase in supply, conditions for renters are not expected to ease until perhaps 2024 or at least. -of the.

Last year saw “the tightest rental market in our history,” said James Wood, a senior economist at the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, which released new research Wednesday on the apartment boom. Yet even as builders jostle, the dramatic increase in the number of additional units this year is unlikely to slow the rise in rents.

Of the nearly 150,000 rentals currently in Salt Lake County, approximately 3,000 are currently vacant. That’s the lowest in 20 years, according to Gardner’s study, and includes everything from bachelors to three-bedroom units, which now fetch average rents of $1,301 a month.

One in three Utahans rents, and soaring prices for homes for sale leave them with little choice, Wood noted. With skyrocketing construction costs, rising interest rates and other economic trends, “we are worried about affordability.”

And with the county’s median home sale price now reaching $585,000 in Salt Lake County, Wood said, renters could be even more stuck. “I worry about the long-term future.”

Affordability “gets trampled”

Developer Dan Lofgren, with Cowboy Partners, said the long-standing axiom of spending no more than 30% of income on housing costs “is well in the rearview mirror”. Even lifestyle renters who choose to rent when they could buy, he said, are spending a greater share of what they earn on housing.

While a traditional supply and demand analysis suggests that building new apartments would eventually slow rising rents, Lofgren said, “the exact opposite is happening.”

“It’s a tough market to understand,” said the veteran apartment developer. “There’s all this new production; yet affordability continues to erode.

Several key trends appear to be driving the mismatch.

Soaring costs of building materials such as wood, steel and concrete currently make it difficult to build apartments at lower unit prices. This adds to a trend of building luxury apartments, especially in downtown Salt Lake City, where rents are 30-40% higher than in the suburbs.

“We build at the high end,” Lofgren said, “so affordability is what gets trampled on.”

Cowboy Partners recently opened the 21-story Liberty Sky, Salt Lake City’s first luxury residential skyscraper, with 272 units ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments.

Its well-appointed homes and amenities — and those of several other luxury towers rising downtown — attract many foreigners drawn here for new jobs, said Mark Jensen, executive vice president of real estate firm Colliers International. .

“It’s what they expect,” Jensen said, “and the rents they’re encountering in Salt Lake seem affordable.”

More luxury

With occupancy virtually guaranteed for years to come, the majority of these new multi-story apartment complexes sprouting up on the Wasatch waterfront are also staples for investors, Jensen said. Immense volumes of capital continue to flow into multifamily real estate from out of state and overseas, as the state’s quality of life and job growth keep its economy going. booming.

A decade ago, the investment broker said, $500 million in investment sales in apartment complexes in Salt Lake County was considered a stunning one-year record.

“In 2021,” he said, “we made just under $2.3 billion.”

This, in turn, has a pronounced effect on existing, cheaper rental housing, which policy experts sometimes refer to as “natural” affordable housing. Between 2014 and early 2017, Jensen said, investors bought more than 40,200 rental units, renovated them and then rented them out with an average monthly rent of $264 per month.

It also pushes the current apartment building mix to the upscale, with rents generally out of reach for those earning the average Utah salary.

“We’re going to see a lot more high-end housing,” Jensen said.

Rising rents have forced thousands of residents to seek cheaper housing in the suburbs, often with longer commutes. For thousands more, it brought them one step closer to a financial precipice.

The burdens increase

In Salt Lake County, according to federal data, about 20% of renters spent more than 30% of their income on housing in 2009. In 2018, that number rose to 41%, or nearly 60,000 renters,

Against these gigantic economic forces, government policies aimed at encouraging the construction of more affordable housing do not seem to make a huge difference. Of about 300,000 rental units statewide, according to Wood, about 50,000 offer some kind of rent subsidies, through tax credits.

Of those units currently under construction or on the drawing board, about 3,500 will be subsidized, a relatively high number in recent years.

Wood noted that while affecting most renters, Utah’s housing issues are greatest for those with lower incomes. He said he was encouraged that the Legislative Assembly recently approved its first major round of housing funding aimed at helping those earning 30% or less of the average median income.

“These people,” Wood said, “face a housing crisis every day.”

The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) says South Africa should reconsider lowering its tax-to-GDP ratio and introducing a tax cap.

In a presentation to parliament this week, the group said the tax-to-GDP ratio is used as a measure of the extent to which the government controls a country’s economic resources and is a good indicator of a country’s tax revenue. country relative to the size of its economy. .

According to the World Bank, tax revenue above 15% of a country’s GDP is a key ingredient for economic growth and ultimately poverty reduction.

“Higher tax revenues mean a country is able to spend more on improving infrastructure, health and education – keys to long-term prospects for a country’s economy and people.

“So the higher the ratio, the higher the proportion of money that goes into government coffers; that is, a low ratio puts pressure on a government to meet its budget deficit targets.

South Africa’s ratio is estimated at 24.7% in 2021/22 and 25% in 2024/25.

However, it has become clear that South Africa’s tax revenue has (on average) increased despite weak economic growth, SAICA said.

“A high tax-to-GDP ratio is not a problem when taxpayers get what they pay for, but it is not currently a reality in South Africa.

“The Katz Commission in its third gear recommended a ceiling set at 25% as the maximum tax/GDP ratio. The goal is to manage when too high taxes become detrimental to an economy, as the Laffer curve theorizes.

The National Treasury has in recent years rejected this cap and questioned it, which is reasonable. However, it did not provide any research showing that taxes that are too high can never be harmful to the economy, the institute said.

The civil society group Outa has already published a paper on a tax ceiling and concluded that 18.6% is an appropriate tax-to-GDP ratio for the country. He added that parliament itself considered the issue in 1996 but has not since reviewed its recommendations.

“If the current fiscal policy was in fact wrong and harmful to the economy, it would be up to parliament to ensure that it is properly informed of this risk,” SAICA said.

“Statements made by the Minister, for example, that the return on raising taxes has been difficult to assess in recent years, as in some cases higher tax rates have not generated higher yields, have been made but the reasons for this have not been specified – is it hurting the economy or something else?”

Concrete evidence that South Africa is at the top of the Laffer Curve

The 2022 national budget provides concrete evidence that South Africa is at the top of the Laffer curve, says Tertius Troost, head of tax advice at Mazars.

The Laffer Curve is an economic theory that shows that if citizens are taxed at increasingly higher marginal rates, at some point tax revenue will begin to decline as people stop paying. The curve is used to illustrate the argument that sometimes reducing tax rates can lead to an increase in total tax revenue.

“The increase in the top tax rate from 41% to 45% for taxable income over R1.5m in 2017/18 appears to have generated significantly less than the projected R4.4bn per year “, said Troost.

“It shows that rate increases lead to emigration of wealthy people which has a negative effect on state coffers. It is encouraging to see that the National Treasury is keeping a close eye on this. »

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Read: Updated projections of South Africa’s fiscal cliff

(WIVB) – Nursing homes are often under a microscope, but an advocacy group says the state Department of Health has done a poor job of holding facilities accountable.

The Long Term Care Community Coalition report found that New York ranks last in citations per resident with one violation for every 50 residents from 2018 to 2020. It turns out the national citation rate is nearly four times that of New York, according to the report. find.

Additionally, New York regulators file fewer citations deemed to cause immediate harm or danger to nursing home residents compared to most other states.

For example, the report found that only 2% of state citations were considered to fall under the harm category, which ranked 48^and in the nation. And only 0.4% of state citations were deemed to have caused immediate danger, which ranks 49^and in the nation.

Some argue that fewer violations should be seen as a good thing because it could mean nursing homes are doing a better job than the advocacy group described in the report.

But Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, said that’s not the case because nursing homes across the state rank poorly on other metrics and enforcement by the State was not as present as it should be.

Specifically, the group looked at federal data on infection control, staffing, rates of antipsychotic drugs administered to residents and those who allegedly had pressure ulcers, which together paint a disturbing picture of the New York nursing home industry. Mollot said each of these measures are indicators of the safety and well-being of nursing home residents, but are rarely reflected in state enforcement practices due to the small number of quotes considered an immediate danger or causing damage.

For example, the report found that pressure sores are a medical issue for some 9,000 nursing home residents in New York City, but nursing homes were only cited 0.4% of the time a resident had a pressure sore, ranking 44^and in the nation.

Pressure ulcers are dangerous injuries that have killed some residents, but New York City health officials only identified substandard pressure ulcer care as harmful to a resident only 14% of the time.

The report also found that of the 22,554 infection control citations, only 3.2% were classified as causing harm or putting residents at immediate risk.

Additionally, the report found that despite a rampant understaffing, the state only filed 55 citations for personnel issues, which is less than one tenth of a percent of citations per year. per 1000 inhabitants. This ranked New York 46^and in the nation.

“It’s totally unacceptable,” Mollot said. “The majority of people who reach my age or older… will need nursing home care, so it affects every family. But as a consumer advocate, from our perspective, it’s people getting hurt, people’s lives sometimes being really destroyed or just living in horrible conditions for no reason when often someone is taking advantage of these care.

Sen. Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, said New York’s nursing home problems are well known. He said state-level enforcement was so poor that he joined Erie County Mark Poloncarz a few years ago in supporting a change in county law that allowed the local health department to impose fines on operators of retirement homes. This law, known as “Ruthie’s Law”, was struck down by the court last year.

Additionally, state lawmakers passed legislation last year that requires nursing homes to spend 70% of their revenue on direct patient care and at least 40% on resident staffing. These new rules are suspended by the Governor in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

“Sometimes it feels like the Department of Health is the three monkeys, see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,” Ryan said. “Like you don’t know what’s going on with them and they want to be willfully ignorant. That’s a real problem.

But Gov. Kathy Hochul will set the tone, Ryan said, and he’s confident the state Department of Health’s new direction could lead to improvements in New York City’s nursing homes.

“The governor is going to put his stamp on the Department of Health, and we hope part of that stamp will be more aggressive enforcement and more transparency,” Ryan said.

A spokesperson for the state Department of Health said holding nursing homes accountable for the quality of care they provide is “of the utmost importance”.

“From 2020 through 2021 alone, the Department issued approximately 4,500 citations — 51 at the level of harm and 36 immediate threats — resulting in more than $1 million in federally-imposed civil penalties,” the Department of Justice said. state health.

While the state stopped short of criticizing the LTCCC report, Stephen Hanse, president and CEO of the New York State Health Facilities Association, did not.

Hanse said the report was “flawed” and said the state’s regulatory framework for nursing homes was “arguably the strictest in the nation.”

“I would say nursing homes after nuclear power are the most regulated industry in New York State,” Hanse said.

Hanse said the analogy he finds when reviewing the report blames the police for a low crime rate.

But, again, Mollot said the state’s law enforcement record doesn’t match the poor work he said some nursing homes are doing on other metrics, such as pressure sores. and infection control measures.

Mollot said the study’s findings indicate that even before the Covid-19 pandemic, federal and state regulators’ response to serious problems in nursing homes was weak.

Much of the money flowing into nursing homes is Medicaid taxpayer money, Mollot said, so state citizens deserve more from their state and federal regulators.

Mollot’s report contains numerous recommendations, including that state and federal regulators identify, assess and address patterns in nursing homes with low citations that rarely identify harm to residents or immediate danger. The report also calls on state regulators to increase the frequency of surveys to one for each facility every six to 12 months.

“We already looked at this data in 2016, unfortunately we published a similar report,” Mollot said. “We saw that things had not changed. But we hoped that things might change in the future. We have a new governor, and we can take this in a new direction if we want. »

America’s infrastructure plays a crucial role in our lives. We rely on our infrastructure to get to work, to connect to the internet, to buy something online that depends on our ports, our freight trains, our airports or our highways. We just flip a light switch and wait for the lights to come on. The electricity grid and the other enduring assets that connect our country – roads, bridges, ports, waterways, railways, broadband networks and more – are essential to our businesses, our farmers, our workers, our families and our communities.

Unfortunately, many of our infrastructure assets are not up to the task. In February, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave our nation a “C-” for our infrastructure. And areas like Appalachia, the mountainous region that runs through my home state, Ohio, West Virginia, and a number of other states have their own unique infrastructure challenges. Based on my conversations with Ohioans about the need to fix crumbling infrastructure, it’s no surprise that CNBC and CBS News polls both found that 87% of the public support the efforts. bipartisan to invest in our infrastructure.

The good news is that after decades of talking about it, Congress recently passed and the President signed into law the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to improve the lives of all Americans by investing in infrastructure. of our country. I was proud to play a leading role in the development and passage of this legislation in the Senate, which provides an unprecedented $542 billion for infrastructure – that is, 100% infrastructure, not social spending – without raising taxes on hard-working American families or the businesses that keep our economy going. . And because these are long-term investments in durable assets and will make our country more efficient and productive, it is counter-inflationary at a time when devastating inflation is on the rise.

Support for this legislation in the House of Representatives by 13 Republicans, including Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), was crucial for the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act to become law. His leadership in this effort was essential to making it happen. We both recognize that targeted infrastructure investment will go a long way to addressing the unique challenges facing the Appalachian region. I also want to thank West Virginia Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin for their work in bringing this bill to fruition.

Here’s how this new law will make a difference.

First, it will help more households upgrade to high-speed Internet. All too often, accessing reliable Wi-Fi means going to the nearest library or government building and hoping to get a signal. Unfortunately, Appalachia continues to lag behind the rest of the country in terms of internet connectivity and speed. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, this lack of the internet is hurting students trying to do their homework, entrepreneurs trying to start businesses, patients trying to receive virtual healthcare, and many more.

The new law will help more households in the region switch to high-speed internet by providing hundreds of millions for broadband expansion in the region, dramatically improving opportunities for students, workers and families. Additionally, millions more families will be eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which helps low-income households invest in essential high-speed internet subscriptions.

Second, our infrastructure law will help facilitate travel in the region. In parts of Appalachia, a closed road means a substantial 30-60 minute detour to get to school, work, the grocery store, or even the hospital. To help, state governments will receive billions in aid to repair these crumbling roads, as well as hundreds of millions more to repair bridges. The law also contains $1.25 billion in new funding for the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS), the 3,090-mile highway system that has significantly expanded highway service in the region over the years — including $95 million $195 million for Appalachian Highways in Ohio and $195 million for West Virginia. Year one funding has already been allocated for this purpose and will help further expand existing transportation routes and connect more communities to the commercial highways that connect our country.

Third, through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Appalachia will see real help to address other important challenges, from resources to better fight wildfires to critical funding to improve water infrastructure. and ensure the availability of clean and safe drinking water in every community. These are substantial and lasting investments that are not only good for the region, but also for our country.

Studies show that building this physical infrastructure will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in a variety of industries, grow our economy, and raise wages for workers over the next 10 years and beyond. It’s no surprise that more than 100 stakeholders from all levels of government and countless industries have supported this bill, including the United States Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO Building Trades Council, the ‘American Farm Bureau and the National League of Cities.

I was proud to join Rep. McKinley and Senators Capito and Manchin in making this necessary investment in infrastructure. Thanks to the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, the Appalachian region and the entire United States will benefit for years to come.

Senator Rob Portman is a Republican representing the state of Ohio.

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Excelsior Correspondent
LEH, February 2: Lt. Governor, RK Mathur today gave a patient a listen to the issues raised by the Leh Ladakh Entrepreneurs Association headed by President Tonyot Tashi Chulichan, the Senior Executive Member of Dorjay Namgail Shangstot, Tsewang Dorjay Gasha, Treasure and Sonam Gyaltson Barzi, senior member this morning at Raj Niwas. Tonyot, on behalf of over 650 members of the Association, raised five main points related to the issues they are facing at the meeting.
He highlighted the glaring problem of the existence of an outdated 2012 SOR (Schedule of Rates) still used by the Rural Development Department (RDD) to carry out its work. This is in big difference to the way PWD operates according to their updated SoR, 2020 from J&K, and it is being revised and adapted to the UT structure, he said.
Moreover, Tonyot referred to the current phase of uncertainty among Ladakh-based entrepreneurs due to bigger companies taking over the conventional projects, usually undertaken by them, in the UT scenario. This, he said, is very damaging to the morale of individual entrepreneurs in particular and an unhealthy trend is emerging with potential long-term socio-economic ramifications.
In this regard, he sought the intervention of LG to seriously engage entrepreneurs in Ladakh and evolve ways such as encouraging a Joint Venture (JV) approach for entrepreneurs to work with larger companies and so to gain experience to improve their experience level in the future.
Tonyot requested that experience of ‘all kinds of civil works‘ be considered for now when applying to participate in tenders launched by existing operational organizations in Ladakh like CPWD, NPCC, NHPC, PWD, PMGSY, WABCOS, NHIDCL, etc. He pointed out that Ladakh-based contractors have a unique experience of working in the high altitude conditions of Ladakh, which must be taken into account when defining guidelines for participation in tenders.
The meeting was fruitful as LG listened to them with great interest and attention, and assured that solutions to the problems would be found soon.
The Lieutenant Governor very generously extended the scheduled meeting time from 15 minutes to 45 minutes to discuss other things like PMGSY.CRF, new projects, BADP and Kumbh Mela funds. All long-pending dues were also lifted and authorizations were urgently requested. The contractors have called for the EMD to be “once fixed” for which experience of “any type of civil works” is sufficient to participate in tenders issued under this project.

OWENSBORO, Kentucky — Families in Western Kentucky continue to deal with the impact of December’s tornadoes that tore through several communities as a Catholic charity agency walks with them along the way.

Susan Montalvo-Gesser, director of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Owensboro, said tornado recovery is both “short term and long term.”

Recovery efforts are expected to take two to four years, she told Western Kentucky Catholic, the diocesan newspaper.

Short-term needs include shelter, clothing and medical assistance. Long-term needs include repairing and rebuilding homes damaged or destroyed by storms.

Catholic Charities provided financial assistance through gift cards distributed by parishes.

Help is also available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and through a Small Business Administration loan program. The deadline to apply for both is February 11.

Montalvo-Gesser said FEMA registrations reached 14,800.

She said her agency was working with long-term recovery organizations in 12 tornado-affected counties as well as with storm survivors in a 13th county not included in the designated federal disaster area but which sustained damage. by the storm.

“We will have the CAP (Diocese Offered Counseling Assistance Program) and other crisis counseling available to all tornado survivors,” she said. “We will have this emotional and spiritual care.”

Montalvo-Gesser said the average FEMA award people receive is about $9,000, but the maximum FEMA award for those who lost “absolutely everything” is $36,000.

“Now can you build a house on it?” No, you can’t,” she said.

This is where Catholic Charities will step in, helping people across Western Kentucky heal and slowly rebuild their lives.

Montalvo-Gesser encouraged Catholic business owners, especially those who sell lumber and building materials, to consider offering supplies at a lower cost. Catholic Charities also plans to coordinate with area parishes to house volunteers and prepare meals for those helping with the reconstruction.

The agency director also thanked Bishop of Owensboro William F. Medley and “all the good people who generously gave of their time and talent to help.”

“It’s just amazing,” she said.

Montalvo-Gesser also said the influx of monetary donations from across the country has been incredible, but noted that because the work will continue for years to come, she hopes the cash donations will continue.

In addition to tornado recovery, Catholic Charities must continue day-to-day operations such as providing immigration legal services, homeless resources, and crisis pregnancy care, which includes the St. Gerard Life Home in Owensboro.

Montalvo-Gesser relies on donations to operate these other ministries as well.

“My goal is to rebuild 350 homes, but Catholic Charities cannot do it alone,” she said. “We are like the boy with the loaves and fishes, but if the boy with the loaves and fishes is not there, people are not fed.”

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To learn more about ways to help, call the McRaith Catholic Center at (270) 683-1545.

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Barnstead is editor of Western Kentucky Catholic, the newspaper of the Diocese of Owensboro.

Senior Duke Yasa Baig and James Marek were selected from a class of 41 students from across the country to receive the prestigious Marshall Scholarship.

The Marshall Scholarship is a comprehensive program covering the tuition and living costs of American students pursuing graduate studies in the United Kingdom. The admissions process is very selective, as around 40 Marshall scholarships are awarded each year out of 1,000 applicants approved by the university.

Meet James Marek

Marek, from Yardley, Pa., Will attend the University of Edinburgh to study operations research. At Duke, he majored in civil engineering with a minor in economics.

Outside of class, he worked with Duke Engineers for International Development, where he had intellectually meaningful and philanthropic experiences on campus. The summer after his freshman year at Duke, Marek traveled to Uganda with DukeEngage to oversee the construction of vehicular bridges and engage with the local community. As a Bass Connections Fellow, he also helped build early warning systems for earthquakes in Kathmandu, Nepal.

In his work as an engineer, Marek finds himself motivated by “the big interesting questions, difficult to answer… and trying to find an answer,” he said. He attributes his success in his research to his willingness to find answers.

Marek was drawn to the Marshall program because it offered the opportunity to travel abroad, he said. The reduction in study abroad caused by the pandemic inspired him to experience something he had missed. He was also drawn to the community, which he found exciting because of the “diverse skill set that all Marshalls come from,” Marek said.

Marek enjoys spending time with his friends and expressing his creativity in his spare time, especially through videography. His classroom work on iMovie projects helped him develop skills that led him to make a film of his road trip through the Great Smoky Mountains. He hopes to continue exploring videography in the spring semester.

He hopes to understand how this complexity works using theoretical and mathematical tools, which could have long-term impacts on the fields of biomedicine and bio-industry.

Baig spends time working with Duke Applied Machine Learning outside of class, a club he co-founded in his second year.

“I learned to program and a ton of computer science just by working on cool projects and first learned machine learning by just building stuff in my spare time,” Baig said. “When I arrived at Duke, I realized that self-directed, project-based learning by doing was something I thought other people might enjoy. “

DAML now has over 200 members and works with industry partners to help students solve problems.

Baig’s desire to study in the UK drew him to the Marshall Scholars program. He wanted to study in the country which, along with the United States, is “the engine of the vast majority of innovation. [in the Western world]”In the space of biophysics and bioengineering.

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Daily life in Venezuela has long been bleak: Due to mismanagement and corruption, the administration of Nicolás Maduro fails to provide basic government services and continues to undermine the essence of democracy. Every day, citizens face uncertain access to wages, running water, medical supplies and a stable internet. Young students, in particular, lack educational and economic opportunities to improve their livelihoods.

An entire generation of Venezuelans has grown up in a failed state, and these citizens will be crucial to the country’s future democracy. But to revitalize it, they must unify a deeply divided country and political system.

In 2021, Venezuela placed dead last in the World Justice Project ranking Rule of Law Index. Unbridled propaganda spreads disinformation and conspiracy theories, harassment of journalists downplays government accountability, and arbitrary arrests by the political opposition stifle political pluralism.

Faced with more and more obstacles, the political opposition is struggling to consolidate its message and, frankly, the country. The interim government was weakened by internal fragmentation and repression, and while opposition parties managed to form a coalition to secure a majority in the Venezuelan National Assembly in 2015, they have since lost direction and momentum. In 2017, Maduro undermined it by imposing a parallel National Constituent Assembly that illegally seized legislative powers. Since then, opposition leaders have failed to agree on strategies to achieve a government transition and continue boycotting the elections.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan population is losing hope in the opposition, as leader Juan Guaidó’s approval rating hovers around 16 percent–Almost the same as Maduro’s approval rating.

Debates over the opposition’s strategy will come to a head this week, as the National Assembly’s constitutional mandate is due to expire on January 5, meaning the interim government would be dissolved. The representatives are discuss a statute that would grant continuity to the interim government and to the legal mandate of Guaidó established in 2015. But opposition leaders are divided on the way forward by the interim government. At such a precarious time, they need a new approach to connect with citizens and respond to the crushing blows the country has suffered over the past eight years.

It also presents the perfect opportunity for US President Joe Biden to follow through on his plans to make democracies more “responsive and resilientAnnounced at the Democracy Summit last month, and provide meaningful support to a new generation of determined and democratic Venezuelans.

Potential power

Unable to wait for increased international support, young Venezuelans meanwhile struggle against the insidious effects of Maduro’s administration by promoting key facets of democracy in their communities. From fighting digital autocracy by creating alternative information channels to facilitating political formations aimed at galvanizing greater youth participation in politics, the next generation of leaders in Venezuela are striving to build a society democratic more resilient.

I reached out to some of them to get a feel for the work they are doing on the ground, as well as how the United States can support them and the democratic revitalization of the country. They are fighting an uphill battle, but one in which the scales are likely to tip in their favor.

Venezuela’s current political crisis is precipitating future instability by destroying opportunities for the next generation. Between 2013 and 2021, the percentage of young Venezuelans aged fifteen to twenty-nine who were neither in school nor at work increases from 23 to 37 percent, and more than three-quarters of the Venezuelan population lives in extreme poverty. According to the head of the local community Ibsen Medina, of the Venezuelan nonprofit community organization Creemos Sugar, “There is not a sufficient and deeply rooted civic and institutional culture with regard to elections”.

In the face of such obstacles, political apathy would seem to be a reasonable response. The 2021 national survey on young people from the Andrés Bello Catholic University find that 27.5% of its beneficiaries said they had no preference between democracy and dictatorship, while 22.1% say they might even prefer an authoritarian regime. It is therefore not surprising that alone 42 percent of the total eligible voters voted in the regional elections in November. Although there is still no definitive data on voter turnout among young people, the non-governmental organization Voto Joven estimate that only 15 percent participated in this exercise.

Yet civil society groups across the country are working to tackle the roots of disinformation and mistrust of democracy within their communities. For example, the Confederación de Estudiantes de Venezuela (whose leaders I followed) mobilizes young people across the country to fight oppression and increase the visibility of human rights violations. An organization called Crea País increases political participation and combats polarization by educating young people about the political process, creating a coalition more resistant to fragmentation. Joven red Venezuela is working to improve access to voting across the country, and a new project called Voceros Insulares counteract disinformation by sharing verified information in community forums.

Each organization or project focuses on the education and empowerment of Venezuelan society, because as Medina notes: “[A] properly informed citizenship is a driving force that brings about transcendent changes in society.

But Medina also says civil society needs tangible resources to continue training future leaders, providing communities with accurate information and organizing events to build solidarity across the country. Simón Calderón, president of the student network Asociación Civil Juventud Insular, explained that grassroots organizations have strong community relationships and bold ideas, but need operational and methodological support to expand their work. By funding civil society efforts, the United States could move from short-term thinking to a more sustainable, long-term approach to Venezuela, with major benefits for democratic longevity and electoral stability in the country.

A way forward

The Biden administration should support those leaders of Venezuelan civil society who know best how to fortify their institutions against Maduro’s attack on democracy. The fragmentation of the Venezuelan political opposition underscores the need for sustained international support and presents the perfect opportunity for Biden to turn his plans into action.

The administration is committed to supporting global democratic renewal over the two-day Democracy Summit, and the next twelve months will provide the ultimate test. In conjunction with the summit, Biden announced the “Presidential initiative for democratic renewalWhich plans to provide $ 424.4 million to strengthen democracy and defend human rights around the world. The US State Department has promised to announce commitments towards upholding free and fair elections and civic capacity building, among other areas, and plans to report on progress at the upcoming Democracy Summit in 2022.

Supporting the work of these community organizations should be a central part of the United States’ commitments as it engages in the Year of action it’s supposed to follow the first peak. The Biden administration can do this by mobilizing funds through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States Department of State, and multilateral financial institutions, and by strengthening existing funding mechanisms.

the Venezuela Business Unit State Department already offers hard-hitting public diplomacy grants, but is expected to expand its scope and eligibility criteria to include grassroots organizations with limited resources, especially those outside Caracas. USAID Powered by the people The initiative is expected to devote resources to Venezuela, and all new US government grants should be accompanied by a massive awareness campaign through social media and local universities so that opportunities reach isolated communities through young leaders. . Along with this process, the US Congress should work with the Biden administration to raise funds in the Presidential initiative for democratic renewal.

The next generation of Venezuelan leaders will not be able to run on steam, and failure to support these leaders would have catastrophic effects on Venezuela’s future. Venezuelan students who were in primary school when Maduro took power are now of voting age. But if the international community, led by the Biden administration, can rally to it, it could very well pull the country out of its crisis. Starting with local issues, they can build a national movement that reinforces the value of free speech, political pluralism and the rule of law. Following its Democracy Summit, the Biden administration has its year of action to implement its proclamations – and young Venezuelan leaders can guide the next steps.

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Willow Fortunoff is Project Assistant at the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council.

Image: Venezuelan students demonstrate in Caracas on February 27, 2020. Photo by Leonardo Fernandez Viloria / Latin American News Agency / REUTERS

Granite Incorporated Construction (NYSE: GVA) is set to trade off-dividend within the next four days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company’s registration date, which is the date the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any share transaction must have been settled before the registration date to be eligible for a dividend. In other words, investors can buy Granite Construction shares before December 30 in order to be eligible for the dividend that will be paid on January 14.

The company’s upcoming dividend is US $ 0.13 per share, continuing the past 12 months when the company has distributed a total of US $ 0.52 per share to shareholders. Based on the value of last year’s payouts, Granite Construction has a 1.4% return on the current share price of $ 38.36. If you are buying this business for its dividend, you should know if Granite Construction’s dividend is reliable and sustainable. It is therefore necessary to check whether dividend payments are covered and whether profits are growing.

Dividends are usually paid out of the company’s profits, so if a company pays more than it earns, its dividend is usually at risk of being reduced. It paid out 76% of its profits as dividends last year, which is not unreasonable, but limits reinvestment in the business and leaves the dividend vulnerable to a downturn in activity. We would be concerned if profits started to decline. Yet cash flow is usually more important than earnings in assessing dividend sustainability, so we always need to check whether the company has generated enough cash to pay its dividend. The good news is that she has only paid out 24% of her free cash flow in the past year.

It is encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both earnings and cash flow. This usually suggests that the dividend is sustainable, as long as profits don’t drop sharply.

Click on here to see the company’s payout ratio, as well as analysts’ estimates of its future dividends.

NYSE: GVA Historical Dividend December 25, 2021

Have profits and dividends increased?

When profits fall, dividend companies become much more difficult to analyze and safely own. If profits fall enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we are hampered by the 15% per year drop in profits of Granite Construction over the past five years. When earnings per share decline, the maximum amount of dividends that can be paid also decreases.

Another key way to measure a company’s dividend outlook is to measure its historical rate of dividend growth. Granite Construction’s dividend payouts are actually stable compared to 10 years ago. If a company’s dividend remains stable while profits are falling, it is usually a sign that it is paying a higher percentage of its profits. It can become unsustainable if income drops enough.

To sum up

Is Granite Construction worth buying for its dividend? The payout ratios are within a reasonable range, implying that the dividend can be sustainable. However, declining profits are a serious concern and could pose a threat to the dividend in the future. Overall, we are not extremely bearish on the stock, but there are probably better dividend investments.

So if you want to dig deeper into Granite Construction, you will find it worth knowing the risks this stock faces. To help you, we have discovered 1 warning sign for granite construction which you should know before investing in their stocks.

However, we don’t recommend simply buying the first dividend stock you see. here is a list of interesting dividend-paying stocks with a yield above 2% and a future dividend.

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This Simply Wall St article is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts using only unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock and does not take into account your goals or your financial situation. Our aim is to bring you long-term, targeted analysis based on fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not take into account the latest announcements from price sensitive companies or qualitative documents. Simply Wall St has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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The Coweta Community Foundation and its partners have a large number of volunteers, as well as funds, to help the Cowetans rebuild after the tornado. Right now what they need is to hear from more people who need their help.

Skilled crews from Weaverland Disaster Service, a Mennonite group, are in town until April and can accomplish a lot – as long as the work is ready for them. Local volunteers and Inspiritus Disaster Relief are also working on local projects.

Help is available to repair tornado damage to homeowners, even if homeowners are insured. They just have to take the damage from the tornado.

“We need more families to sign up. We need more people to say, ‘I need help,'” said Kristin Webb, executive director of the foundation.

The foundation currently has three “tracks” for relief. Those in need of significant help rebuilding would go through the entire case management process. The “light track” is for homeowners who need help with labor but can afford to provide their own materials. Homeowners can use their insurance money to buy materials and get help with labor. There is also the rental track.

The foundation will be launching a fourth trail, to help with tree removal, in the New Year.

While most services are not available to those who own investment property, owners can take advantage of the light route, Webb said.

Local officials recently visited several construction sites to see the teams in action and to see an example of the work that can be done with the light track.

The work is funded by donations in aid of tornado victims and by proceeds from Alan Jackson’s benefit concert Where I Come From. Long-term recovery manager Rich DeWees’ salary is jointly funded by Coweta County and the Town of Newnan, but only for the next two and a half years.

So it’s important to get to work as quickly as possible, Webb said. Bringing in groups like Weaverland to help is “vital to the success of what we are able to do,” she said.

The foundation is currently involved in 31 active construction projects, said Daniel Taylor, director of construction at Inspiritus.

As for the construction work, at least for some of the houses, Taylor said they are trying to over-build for “future proof” or bullet proof, such as using treated lumber in some. areas where treated lumber would not normally be used and adding additional support where it is not needed. And the build quality is high.

Finding material can sometimes be a bit difficult, or at least slow. Cornerstone Building Brands donated $ 500,000 in building materials, but there was a long delay for windows in particular.

“Daniel did a great job of finding what was needed to move these projects forward,” DeWees said.

Some of the projects would have already been completed except for the wait on the windows.

Webb said she now carries apps for the light track in her car so she can distribute them to people.

She often hears people say they are not asking for help because they know there are other less healthy people who need more help.

But right now there is more help than work to be done.

About 80 percent of those who go through case management for help have insurance, Webb said.

“I told them – it doesn’t matter your income level, it doesn’t matter your education level, whatever your job, all that matters is that you got hit by the tornado,” Webb said. .

However, assistance can only help repairs due to tornado damage, not pre-existing needs.

“We have the resources to be able to help people, and we keep transforming and changing based on people’s needs. But we really need more people to say ‘Yes, please help’,” Webb said.

For more information, visit cowetafoundation.org or call 770-253-1833.