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New York City has decided to end its refugee debit card program, which has been under constant criticism.

On the 7th, New York City announced that it would not extend the refugee debit card program that had been in operation since March and would end it at the end of December. The program was set to expire at the end of January next year.

The refugee debit card was introduced in response to criticism that a lot of the food in the lunch boxes provided to refugees arriving in New York City was being thrown away and was given to refugee families with children on the condition that they only purchase groceries and baby supplies.

New York City announced that if you use a refugee debit card to purchase unauthorized items such as alcohol or cigarettes, you will be disqualified from receiving benefits. A refugee family of four with two children under the age of five has been provided with a debit card that has about $350 in savings each week.

According to New York City, about $3.2 million in assistance has been provided to about 2,600 refugee families so far. Regarding this measure, New York City stated, “The fact that the number of refugees arriving in New York City has decreased for 14 consecutive weeks is also a reason for considering ending the program.”

The Manhattan congestion tax, which was postponed with less than a month left until its implementation at the end of June this year, is being increasingly pressured by the New York State government to implement it within this year. This is because the implementation of the congestion tax has become uncertain since former President Donald Trump, who opposed the Manhattan congestion tax, won the presidential election and will be re-elected in January next year.

According to a Politico report on the 8th, the New York Governor’s Office recently asked the Department of Transportation whether another environmental impact assessment would be necessary if the congestion tax fare were lowered from the originally planned $15 to $9.

A director of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said, “Governor Hochul wants to lower the congestion tax from $15 to $9.” With just three weeks left until the original June 30th implementation date, Gov. Hochul abruptly announced a measure to indefinitely postpone the implementation date. At the time, Gov. Hochul’s decision was partly due to concerns that the opposition to the congestion tax in the suburbs of New York City would be strong and disadvantageous to the Democratic Party in the November election.

In the general election held on the 5th, the Democratic Party won 19 of the 26 seats in the New York State House of Representatives, three more than before. However, in the presidential election, Republican candidate Donald Trump won a landslide victory, making it unclear whether the congestion tax would be implemented. This is because Trump has pledged to repeal the Manhattan congestion tax as soon as he takes office if he is re-elected.

As a result, those in favor of the congestion tax are pressuring Gov. Hochul to implement the congestion tax before President-elect Trump takes office in January next year. The supporters of the congestion tax claim that “Governor Hochul must take immediate action. There is not much time left to implement the congestion tax.”

In relation to this, it appears that Governor Hochul is considering lowering the congestion tax rate to $9 and implementing it within the year. In 2023, the MTA submitted an environmental impact assessment report to the federal government, which specified a fare range of $9 to $23, and received approval. It is believed that Governor Hochul hopes that the Biden administration will allow it without further procedures, since lowering the toll to $9 will meet the proposed fare range in the already approved environmental impact assessment report.

On the 6th, Governor Hochul did not give specific details but stated that “I discussed the congestion tax with the White House” and “I will reveal a specific plan by the end of the year.” The supporters of the congestion tax claim that if Governor Hochul decides and implements it, it will be difficult for President-elect Trump to repeal it after he takes office. However, there is also a view that legal obstacles remain, as a lawsuit opposing the implementation of the congestion charge is still pending in the Federal Court for the District of New Jersey.

Wildfires in Tri-State Area On the rise A record-breaking fall drought has prompted a wildfire watch across New York. According to the National Weather Service, October was the driest month since drought records began more than 100 years ago in New York City.

Only 0.01 inches of rain fell in Central Park in Manhattan during the month of October. The fall drought in New York City began in September, and the National Weather Service analyzed that only 1.5 inches of rain fell in the two months until October, which was far below the average rainfall of 7-8 inches during the same period. The bigger problem is that wildfires are rapidly increasing in the New York Tri-State area due to the unprecedented fall drought.

In New Jersey in particular, 377 wildfires have occurred since September 15, burning 628 acres, compared to 26 wildfires and 7 acres during the same period last year. Connecticut has also had 84 wildfires since October 21. This is an increase of 5 from the same period last year. A wildfire that occurred 15 miles south of Hartford injured six people and killed one firefighter.

The National Weather Service said, “With the unprecedented fall drought and strong winds forecast, there are concerns about the spread of wildfires,” and “Cigarette butts carelessly thrown on mountain roads or fields while driving can cause wildfires. He also urged, “If you start a fire outdoors, you must extinguish it 100% with plenty of water.”

The New York State Attorney General (Director Letitia James) warned against relying on information provided by artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on the 1st, four days before the general election. The

AI chatbots are providing inaccurate or incorrect information in response to questions about when, how, and where to vote in the general election, and this could seriously infringe on voters’ precious voting rights. Attorney General James emphasized that “the State Attorney’s Office conducted sample tests and found that many AI chatbots were providing false or misleading information about voting,” and warned that “voters should not rely on the information provided by AI chatbots.”

According to the State Attorney’s Office, some AI chatbots incorrectly provided the deadline for new voter registration for the general election. If they had relied on this information, potential voters who had completed new voter registration before the deadline and were able to exercise their right to vote for the first time in their lives could have given up on voting altogether.

Incorrect information about polling places was also found. In response to questions about early voting in Brooklyn, New York City, some AI chatbots provided the information that “early voting is available at all polling places,” which is incorrect information because voters living in New York City can only vote early at the polling place assigned to them based on their residence.

The State Attorney’s Office urges voters to refer to the State Attorney’s Office, the New York State Board of Elections, each county and city board of elections website, and official promotional materials sent by each election commission for accurate information about voting. Meanwhile, the State Attorney’s Office will operate a ‘phone hotline (1-866-390-2992)’ related to voting until the 6th, the day after the election.

The phone hotline, where you can report fake news such as AI-based deepfake fake videos and various complaints such as false information related to voting, will operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. until the end of early voting on the 3rd, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day (the 5th), and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 4th and 6th, around Election Day. You can also file a written report to the State Attorney’s Office at any time through the online https://electionhotline.ag.ny.gov/.

The Joe Biden administration has proposed a new debt forgiveness plan for about 8 million student loan borrowers who are in financial difficulty. On the 25th, the Department of Education announced a new plan to forgive debt for student loan borrowers who are experiencing extreme financial hardship due to natural disasters or sudden medical expenses.

The Department of Education estimates that about 8 million people will be able to have their student loan debt forgiven if the new debt forgiveness plan is implemented. According to the Department of Education, there are two main ways to provide debt forgiveness. The first is an automatic relief method that provides a one-time debt forgiveness to student loan borrowers who are judged to have an 80% or higher chance of defaulting within two years based on the Department of Education’s own assessment without a separate application process.

The second method is a method in which student loan borrowers are accepted for application and, if financial hardship is recognized through an examination, forgiveness is permitted. The Department of Education plans to publish the new forgiveness plan in the Federal Register within a few weeks and finalize the final regulations next year. However, it is uncertain whether the new forgiveness plan will become a reality. Like other student loan forgiveness policies promoted by the Biden administration, it is expected to face legal battles.

Last year, the Supreme Court blocked the implementation of the Biden administration’s comprehensive student loan forgiveness plan, and the new income-based student loan repayment plan ‘SAVE’ has also been suspended by a court order.

Automatic Admission to 1 of 9 State Universities New York State is introducing a new Direct Admission program that will automatically give high school students with academic grades in the top 10% a chance to enter the State University of New York (SUNY).

On the 24th, New York Governor Kathy Hokule announced that the Direct Admission program, which will allow top students in the top 10% of public-school districts in New York State, including New York City public schools, to automatically enter 1 of 9 SUNY universities, will be implemented starting with students scheduled to enroll in college in the fall semester next year. The program is ultimately planned to be expanded to all public-school districts throughout New York State.

The state universities participating in the program are ▲Stony Brook ▲Albany ▲Buffalo ▲University of Environmental Science and Forestry ▲Geneseo ▲New Paltz ▲OneOnta ▲Polytechnic Institute ▲Purchase College. Normally, the college admission process is one in which students apply for admission, and the college reviews it and notifies them of their acceptance. However, the Direct Admission system is a method in which schools first offer admission to excellent students. It is a new form of college admission that is spreading across the United States because students do not have to go through the cumbersome admission process of submitting applications, essays, and letters of recommendation, and it can help colleges attract excellent students.

The newly introduced SUNY Direct Admission Program is open to those who have an academic grade within the top 10% and have SAT and AP scores above a certain standard. Each state university participating in the program will notify qualified high school graduates next year of their admission opportunities in the fall. State and SUNY officials have described the program as an “effort to lower the barriers to college.”

The direct admissions program follows the announcement that more than 50 private colleges in the state, including the State University of New York and the City University of New York (CUNY), will waive application fees. SUNY will waive application fees for up to five colleges per student until March 3.

CUNY will waive admission fees for students attending New York City public schools until March 15, and for other New York state residents from November 4 to 15.

The average cost of purchasing or leasing a vehicle has increased by 56% over the past 10 years; New York City households are spending $13,000 annually on transportation alone.

According to the “New York City Transportation Costs” report released by the New York State Comptroller on the 16th, the average annual transportation cost per New York City household in 2022-23 is tallied at $12,836. This is a whopping 56% increase compared to $8,235 in 2012-13, 10 years ago.

Items included in this transportation cost calculation are the combined cost of ▲vehicle purchase and lease ▲automobile insurance and other vehicle costs ▲fuel costs ▲public transportation costs, etc. Of these, costs spent on vehicle purchase and lease were the highest at an average of $4,469. This is a whopping 116.2% increase from $2,067 in 2010. Other vehicle costs, such as auto insurance, followed with an annual average of $3,984. However, fuel costs decreased by 9.8% from $2,180 10 years ago to an average of $1,966 due to the drop in gasoline prices.

Car ownership households in the five boroughs of New York City accounted for 43.8% of all households, less than half of the 91.6% nationwide. In Manhattan, 21% of all households and in Queens, 61.4% owned a vehicle. More than half of households without a vehicle used public transportation to commute to work, 15% worked from home, and 12% walked. According to this report, 48% of New Yorkers are expected to use public transportation to commute to work in 2022-23.

In addition, the average cost of public transportation was found to be $2,412, a 105% increase from $1,177 10 years ago. According to the Comptroller, public transportation costs in New York City decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic but have recently increased again. This is because the public transportation fare, which was $2.25 in 2013, increased 29% to $2.90 in 10 years, and is expected to increase by 4% next year. Comptroller DiNapoli warned that “transportation costs are still a huge burden on New Yorkers,” and that “in particular, the increase in public transportation fares directly affects low-income households in New York City.”

Meanwhile, the national average annual transportation cost in the U.S. from 2022 to 2023 is expected to be $12,735, up 41.5% from $9,001 a decade ago. The largest city in the country with the largest transportation cost burden is Houston, Texas, with an average of $16,159. The largest city with the largest increase in transportation costs compared to 10 years ago is Miami, Florida, with an average of $14,424, up 119.4%.

The U.S. federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024) is the largest ever, excluding fiscal years 2020 and 2021, when COVID-19 was spreading. According to Bloomberg and Reuters on the 18th, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that the fiscal year 2024 budget deficit would be $1.833 trillion, about 8% more than the previous year’s $1.695 trillion. This is the same level as the estimate released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) earlier this month.

The U.S. fiscal year deficit was less than $1 trillion before the COVID-19 outbreak, but it soared to $3.132 trillion in 2020 and $2.77 trillion in 2021. It then decreased to $1.37 trillion in 2022 but has since continued to increase. The fiscal deficit for 2023 and 2024 will reach 6.2% and 6.4% of GDP, respectively. It is unusual for this number to exceed 6% in the absence of an economic recession or global war.

The increase in interest expenses due to high interest rates and government program spending led to the expansion of the deficit. Interest expenses on debt increased by about 29% year-on-year to about $254 billion, exceeding $1 trillion for the first time ever, recording about $1.133 trillion. This is 3.93% of GDP, the highest level since 1998 (4.01%). Social Security (old age pension) spending increased 7% year-on-year to $1.52 trillion, Medicare (medical insurance for the elderly) spending increased 4% to $1.5 trillion, and defense spending increased 6% to $826 billion.

With the presidential election on the 5th of next month approaching, with Republican candidate former President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris putting forward astronomical cost pledges, some are pointing out that it will not be easy to reduce the US fiscal deficit. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, has projected that if former President Trump and Vice President Harris fulfill their pledges, the U.S. deficit will increase by an additional $7.5 trillion and $3.5 trillion over the next 10 years, respectively.

The Treasury Department said that if the figures are adjusted for factors such as President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness policy, which was blocked by the Supreme Court, the fiscal year 2024 deficit will be reduced by about 4%. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the Biden administration’s budget plan could reduce the deficit by about $3 trillion in the future by increasing corporate and wealthy taxes. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department’s announcement came amid recent concerns from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that global public debt, including in the U.S. and China, would exceed $100 trillion for the first time ever by the end of this year.

The IMF, in a recent report ahead of the IMF-World Bank (WB) Annual Meetings to be held in Washington D.C. on the 21st, predicted that the global public debt to GDP ratio would reach 93% by the end of the year and 100% by 2030. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned that the future of the global economy could be dark due to low growth and high debt issues, saying, “(Economic) shocks will definitely come and may come sooner than expected.”

In the case of the UK, which is due to announce its budget for next year at the end of this month, public debt was estimated at 100.0% of GDP as of the end of August, and the IMF previously warned the UK that it risks facing market backlash if its debt problem is not stabilized. Moody’s, a credit rating agency, is scheduled to release a credit rating report on France around the 25th, and as France’s credit rating is currently higher than that of its competitors, the market is also watching the possibility of a downgrade in France’s credit rating outlook.

The number of Koreans giving up on re-immigrating to Korea is increasing due to the ridiculously low inheritance tax exemption limit in Korea compared to the United States.

A Korean national, Mr. K, said on the 8th, “While applying for a residence permit to move to Korea this year, the inheritance tax exemption limit in Korea and the inheritance tax exemption limit in the United States were so different that I gave up on moving to Korea.” He added, “I have several buildings in the United States, and I was worried that I would lose all my assets without being able to pass them on to my children, so I made that decision.”

In Korea, the inheritance tax exemption limit varies depending on the relationship between the heir and the deceased, but for direct descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.), the inheritance tax exemption limit is 50 million won. Spouses are exempted up to 600 million won. The tax rate starts at 10% and goes up to a maximum of 50%. On the other hand, the US has a federal estate tax exemption limit set at the federal level, which is $13.61 million for an individual as of 2024. In other words, federal estate tax is not levied on inheritances below this amount.

Although inheritance tax regulations may vary from state to state, the federal exemption limit is recognized in many states. In relation to this, Sarah Park, an attorney at the Washingtonian Law Firm specializing in real estate and inheritance law in the US and Korea, explained, “Recently, there has been an increase in Koreans giving up on moving to Korea because the Korean inheritance tax exemption limit is too low.”

Attorney Park said, “Inheritance is something given after death, while gifts are something given while you are alive, but in the US, the inheritance and gift tax exemption limits are the same, so there is a way to give gifts to your children before going to Korea, or to give your assets to your children in advance by setting up a trust.” Attorney Park also warned, “Regardless of whether you are a U.S. citizen, if you live in Korea, you must follow Korean inheritance tax laws, so it is important to compare the U.S. and Korean inheritance tax laws and take measures in advance before deciding to receive a certificate of residence and live in Korea.” He added, “If you do not do so, you may have to pay a huge amount of taxes to the Korean National Tax Service in relation to inheritance if you die.”

In Korea, generally, if you have an address in Korea for more than 183 days, you are considered a resident and are subject to Korean tax laws. If the deceased is a resident when an inheritance is opened, all inheritance items owned by the deceased in Korea and abroad are subject to taxation.

Attorney Eric Kim, who specializes in inheritance plans, said, “In the U.S., the inheritance tax exemption limit is $13.61 million per person, so a couple does not have to pay inheritance tax on about $26 million.” He added, “Given the large difference in inheritance tax rates between Korea and the U.S., one way would be to make gifts to your children in advance, but various problems can arise during the inheritance process, and everything can vary depending on the case, so I recommend consulting with an expert in detail.”

Reuters and other news agencies reported on the 10th that one person died and 12 others who had been trapped underground for about 6 hours were rescued due to an elevator malfunction at a gold mine in Colorado that is operated as a tourist attraction.

According to Colorado authorities, an elevator going down to an underground mine in the town of Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Cripple Creek malfunctioned due to mechanical problems about 500 feet below the surface at around noon that day, killing one person.

In addition, 11 tourists and a guide were trapped at the bottom of the mine 1,000 feet underground when the elevator stopped operating and were rescued after about 6 hours. Authorities said that the 11 people who were in the elevator were rescued first immediately after the accident, and four of them suffered minor injuries.

The gold mine near Colorado Springs opened in the 1800s and operated a tour program for tourists after it closed in 1961.