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| Presented By Google |
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| Axios AM |
| By Mike Allen ·Feb 09, 2022 |
| 🐪 Good Wednesday morning. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,295 words ... 5 minutes. Edited by Zachary Basu. 🏂 Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis, 36, won Team USA's first gold medal at the Winter Games. The snowboard cross win was 16 years in the making. —NBC |
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| 1 big thing — Next culture war: Toddler vaccines |
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| Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios |
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| Pfizer and federal officials are scrambling to speed up COVID vaccines for kids under 5. But polls indicate plenty of parents may be on the fence about getting their child vaccinated right away, Axios' Tina Reed writes. - Why it matters: Officials are trying to get first shots into the littlest arms to protect against severe disease and hospitalization — which, while rare for young kids, is still a real threat. But many parents of younger children are leery.
In a Harris poll of 306 parents of kids under 5 provided exclusively to Axios, 73% of vaccinated parents said they're likely to vaccinate their kids under 5, while only 35% of unvaccinated parents would. - "When I looked at these numbers, I thought: 'Buckle up, PTAs. Toddler vaccines are the next culture war,'" John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll, told Axios.
- Context: The push to vaccinate young children comes as even Democratic governors have announced plans to stop masking kids in schools.
The bottom line: If and when Pfizer's vaccines become available for the youngest kids, officials will have a job ahead of them convincing many parents to take advantage, even after two years of waiting. |
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| 2. How inflation ends |
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| Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios |
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| Want to bring down inflation? The great dilemma is this: The only real options are to be patient, or cause a recession, Axios chief economic correspondent Neil Irwin writes. - Why it matters: It's a pick-your-poison environment for the Biden administration and the Fed, which face public discontent over economic conditions — and the risk that discontent would only get worse if the alternative was a new recession.
What's happening: The inflationary pressures from strained supply chains and labor shortages look likely to persist through 2022 and maybe beyond. - But the measures that would be needed to bring inflation down more rapidly would risk sending the economy into a tailspin.
The big picture: In the decades after World War II, episodes of inflation ended when the Fed took steps to tighten the money supply, causing recessions. - In other words, companies can't hike prices and workers can't demand higher pay if the economy is contracting and more people are out of work.
- In the most extreme example, Fed Chair Paul Volcker engineered a steep downturn in the early 1980s that ended the double-digit inflation of that era — but at the cost of double-digit unemployment that pummeled President Reagan's popularity.
This time around, the goal is a soft landing. The Fed is looking to move toward higher interest rates gradually, not with the kind of shock Volcker engineered. - And the Biden administration is decidedly not talking about spending cuts or tax increases that might act as fiscal anti-stimulus.
Reality check: Patience is a virtue, but not necessarily in politics. High inflation is hammering President Biden's approval ratings, and could cost Democrats big in November's midterms. |
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| 3. Biden's climate window is closing |
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| Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios |
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| President Biden isn't just about to lose the window for Democrats to pass legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He could also lose a president's best backup leverage — the ability to cut them through executive and regulatory actions, Axios' Andrew Freedman reports. - Why it matters: Biden may soon find himself hamstrung by unfavorable court rulings, including West Virginia v. EPA — a Supreme Court case scheduled for oral arguments on Feb. 28.
Environmentalists are watching the case closely: They fear the court's new conservative majority may be willing to go far toward dismantling the EPA's regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act. - That's on top of the collapse of Build Back Better, the best vehicle Democrats had for cutting emissions.
Between the lines: The White House might not have the option of turning to the executive and regulatory approach that President Obama used on climate after running into his own congressional roadblocks. |
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| A message from Google |
| Google helps candidates and campaigns stay safe online |
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| Targeted online attacks on political campaigns have increased in recent years. In the run up to the 2022 elections, the Google Campaign Security Project aims to train 10,000 candidates and campaigns across the political spectrum on security best practices to help keep them safe. Learn more. |
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| 4. 🇨🇦 Pic du jour |
| Photo: Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images Canadian anti-vaccine mandate protesters blockade the road leaving the Ambassador Bridge border crossing from Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. - The busiest land crossing from the U.S. to Canada was shut as part of a protest that began with hundreds of trucks paralyzing downtown streets in Canada's capital, Ottawa.
Go deeper. |
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| 5. McConnell calls Jan. 6 a "violent insurrection" |
| Leader Mitch McConnell speaks yesterday after Senate Republicans' weekly policy luncheon in Russell Senate Office Building. Photo: Rod Lamkey/CNP/Sipa USA via Reuters Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell broke with the RNC over last week's censure of Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), saying it's not the party's job to single out members for their views. - "Traditionally, the view of the national party committee is that we support all members of our party, regardless of their positions on some issues," he said during a news conference.
McConnell called the Jan. 6 Capitol riot a "violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next." |
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| 6. "Tap to pay" turns iPhone into credit-card reader |
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| Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios |
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| Apple is set to transform iPhones into contactless credit-card readers and payment processors later this year, report Ryan Lawler of Axios Pro Fintech Deals and Axios Closer co-author Hope King. - Why it matters: The "Tap to Pay" feature — announced yesterday — will make it easier for merchants to conduct their business and accept contactless payments without any extra equipment.
How it works: Tap to Pay is powered by near-field communications, or NFC, which is used today by contactless credit cards and in payments made from phones to point-of-sale terminals. - The technology has been present in the iPhone since 2014, though use has been limited until recently to using the phone to make payments via Apple Pay.
The actual payment processing will be handled by Apple partners, the first of which will be fintech startup Stripe. The intrigue: It's a shot across the bow at Square, which pioneered an iPhone accessory for accepting payments. 💵 For efficient tracking of fintech and mobile payments, sign up for the Axios Pro Fintech Deals newsletter. |
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| 7. New books tout right-wing heroes |
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| Photo: Courtesy of Heroes of Liberty |
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| A new way America is separating ... A conservative children's book startup has begun publishing a series focused on conservative icons, including Ronald Reagan, John Wayne and economist Thomas Sowell. Heroes of Liberty recently released a book on Wayne targeted to children aged 7 to 12. That followed one about Justice Amy Coney Barrett. - The subscription service plans monthly releases. Coming up: Douglas MacArthur, and former British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill.
- The Delaware-based startup is funded by private investors.
Keep reading. |
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| 8. 🥊 Parting shots: Big Air Shougang |
| Composite photo of USA's Nicholas Goepper in men's freestyle skiing Big Air qualifying. Photo: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports The Winter Games' most unique venue ... The Freestyle Skiing Big Air competition is being held on the site of a former Beijing steel mill, set against the backdrop of four industrial cooling towers. - Freeskiing is taking on Big Air for the first time as a Winter Games discipline. The Big Air snowboarders will be there next week.
Team USA's Nicholas Goepper performs a trick. Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images The 200-foot Big Air Shougang structure was built at the former Shougang Group steel mill — China's first state-owned plant, which helped the country become a world leader in steel production, AP reports. - Its billowing smokestacks provided work for thousands — but also darkened the sky over Beijing's Shijingshan District, contributing to the city's air pollution problem.
Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images Above: USA silver medalist Colby Stevenson (left), Norway gold medalist Birk Ruud (center) and Sweden bronze medalist Henrik Harlaut. |
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| A message from Google |
| Google keeps more people safe online than anyone else in the world |
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| Google keeps billions of users safe online with tools like Security Checkup. Security Checkup gives personalized security recommendations for your Google Account, like alerting you if any saved passwords have been found to be involved in a data breach and should be changed. Learn more. |
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| Editor's note: The top story in yesterday's newsletter was corrected to reflect that BLS data from January cannot be compared to the prior month. See corrected story. 📬 Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here for your own personal copy of Axios AM and Axios PM. |
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