OPINION: Massachusetts could be next state to get rid of 'subminimum wage' for tipped workers

SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - The federal minimum wage for tipped workers has stood at US$2.13 an hour since 1991. Back then, it amounted to half the $4.25 regular minimum wage. But Congress has failed to increase the tipped minimum while periodically raising the regular wage floor. Today, the tipped rate is less than one-third of the $7.25 federal full minimum wage. As of Oct. 2024, 30 states and Washington, D.C., had instituted their own, higher, regular minimum wages. The number of

November 5, 2024

OPINION: US presidential election is too close to call. Don't blame polls

SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) - With just hours remaining until election day in the United States, pundits and the public alike are scouring public opinion polls for early signs of a result. We've had months of campaigning and hundreds of polls. Yet, there are still few conclusive takeaways other than the dissatisfying catchphrase of election analysts the world over this year: "it's too close to call." Polling isn't predictive Both campaigns have at different t

November 4, 2024

OPINION: Is Donald Trump preying on his supporters' death fears? What terror management theory offers us

SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) - Death and destruction from climate crises — flooding, fires, hurricanes and heat. Then there's the multimedia firehose of tragic accidents, gruesome images from devastating wars, seemingly random local street violence, warnings of a Third World War and grim distress signals about the dangers of rising authoritarianism on the eve of the United States presidential election and the possible return to power of climate-change skeptic Donald Trump. Comb

November 4, 2024

OPINION: Anniversary year shows importance of NATO

KENOSHA, November 01 (AJP) - "Most alliances die young." That is how "The Economist" magazine began a special essay on the durability of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). This military alliance turned seventy-five years old this year. The treaty was signed in Washington D.C. in April 1949. The fact-based “Economist” essay notes coalitions of the Napoleonic wars lasted an average of five years. The previous U.S. administration directed co

November 1, 2024

OPINION: What a Trump victory would mean for the world

SEOUL, November 1 (AJP) - According to the United Nations 2024 is "the biggest election year in human history" with half of the world's population – some 3.7 billion people in 72 countries – able to vote. Yet some elections are more consequential than others which is why the world is watching as the U.S. goes to the polls. The U.S. is the world's largest economy, and the biggest military power. But it also the lynchpin of many international strategic al

November 1, 2024

OPINION: US is now at risk of losing to China in race to send people back to moon's surface

SEOUL, October 31 (AJP) - Will the next human to walk on the moon speak English or Mandarin? In all, 12 Americans landed on the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972. Now, both the U.S. and China are preparing to send humans back there this decade. However, the U.S. lunar programme is delayed, in part because the spacesuits and lunar-landing vehicle are not ready. Meanwhile, China has pledged to put astronauts on the moon by 2030 – and it has a habit of sticking to timelines.

October 31, 2024

OPINION: Amid the West's wavering aid to Ukraine, North Korea backs Russia in mutually beneficial move

SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently accused North Korea of plans to send 10,000 soldiers to fight for Russia in Ukraine. South Korean intelligence later gave credence to Zelensky's assertion, as the country's legislators noted that North Korea has already dispatched 3,000 soldiers to Russia. North Korea lending a helping hand to Russia is nothing new. The country has already provided Russia with significant munitions to supplement its de

October 30, 2024

OPINION: LGBTQ+ voters could swing US presidential election

SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election may come down to LGBTQ+ voters. Polling data shows that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are running in a near-dead heat in four states – Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. And as a scholar of LGBTQ+ politics, I suspect that LGBTQ+ voters could play an outsize role in these states and the race. So, how might LGBTQ+ voters swing these states? LGBTQ+ voting behavior, explained In the most

October 29, 2024

OPINION: US presidential election remains very close

SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - The United States presidential election will be held on Nov. 5. In analyst Nate Silver's aggregate of national polls, Democrat Kamala Harris leads Republican Donald Trump by 48.6–47.4, a gain for Trump since last Wednesday, when Harris led by 48.8–47.2. Harris' national lead peaked on Oct. 2, when she led by 49.4–45.9. The U.S. president isn't elected by the national popular vote, but by the Electoral College, in which each sta

October 28, 2024

OPINION: How Elon Musk has become powerful figure in US politics

SEOUL, October 25 (AJP) - Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX recently made history by catching a Starship rocket booster as it careened back to Earth, wants you to vote for Donald Trump for many reasons. That includes not just what Trump will do here on this planet, but also for what he'll achieve that's outside this world. "Vote for @real DonaldTrump," Musk recently tweeted, "if you want humanity to be a spacefaring civilization." Back inside the Earth'

October 25, 2024