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All the horrible things Trump can do before he bids adieu to the office

December 01, 2020

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after participating in a Thanksgiving teleconference with members of the United States Military, at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 26, 2020

Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

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Breanna Robinson

As Donald Trump's presidency comes to a close, the lame-duck POTUS hasn't refrained from exercising his power while he still can – and also before he has to say goodbye to the White House. From putting caps on the length of stay for those on student visas to allowing transgender people to be barred from homeless shelters, Trump is really not wasting any time enacting last-minute regulations, clinging to power as much as he can.

These efforts he's exuding when making these drastic moves are not unnoticed, and it leaves many of us wondering if this will weigh down the Biden Administration adversely. Trump has no issue causing controversy within his presidency, even in his term's final stretch, which is not surprising in the slightest given his track record.

Below are some of the ways Trump could impact the nation in the final stretch of his presidency.

Modifying food stamp eligibility

This ruling would change household eligibility for the National Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) based on the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. If someone is involved in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families cash program or requires other methods of aid, they will not qualify for SNAP, which I personally feel not only poses challenges, it's just downright unfair to those that are genuinely struggling to put food on the table.

Does Trump not mind how this would alter the lives of the millions of Americans that depend on this kind of program to feed themselves and their children?

Can Donald Trump actually pardon himself?conversations.indy100.com

Trump will most likely never have to worry about where the next meal will come from or how much it will cost, ever.

Restricted Asylum eligibility

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs states that this allows the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to make changes as they see fit in the backdrop of asylum.

Essentially, the Departments would have the ability to make these changes based on what they believe is a determinant of fear or reasonable fear determinants.This can open the door to profiling on race and religion.

Reduced income for immigrant farm workers

Already finalized, this rule freezes the scale that farm employers will use to decide how much they want to give to their immigrant workers, encouraging a who are here in the country on an H-2A visa for the next two years. After that, the wages will be tied to a national index of worker pay that has been rising slower than the actual farm worker wages.

Farm workers, especially those who are immigrants, already don't make much to begin with, which adds more insult to injury.

Workers can be labeled as "independent contractors" instead of "employees"

As expressed by the Department of Labor website, the rule would decide whether or not a worker would be considered an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The factors include an "economic reality" test, which determines how dependent a worker is on their employer and how much control the worker would have over their work. It's basically another way for businesses not to have any obligation to pay for benefits such as health insurance, especially in today's day and age with the pandemic and health ailments that workers may already have.

Putting limits on student visa lengths

This rule strikes a chord because it reminds me of my cousins who have come to the U.S. for their education.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs states that this rule proposed by ICE would make modifications for the duration of stay for certain categories of non-immigrants traveling to the US. Instead, it gives them a maximum period of approved stay and the options for those extensions. Again, it sounds like another way to make the US a place that isn't readily accepting of many kinds of people. How awesome.

Barring the Environmental Protection Agency from using certain scientific studies in policy-making

Even though the rule is in consideration, it would limit the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) use of certain scientific studies when cultivating new policies. The Washington Post, states that it would allow the EPA only consider studies where the underlying data is public, not the other way around. Many public health studies With raw data containing private medical information and epidemiology, air pollution, and much more could be restricted, making it difficult to conduct the research that can be beneficial to the nation collectively.

Allowing the prevention of transgender people from homeless shelters

This, unfortunately, would require transgender people to be assigned to shelters funded by the Housing and Urban Development based on their biological gender, not their gender identity, which is a cause for worry. Adding to the inherent discrimination and increasing the dangers of people who face oppression for owning their truth.

Expansion on the ways death row inmates can be killed

There has already been approval for the alternative ways that death row inmates can be killed other than the customary lethal injection within the Trump Administration. States can be allowed to use firing squads to carry out death sentences, poisonous gas. Within the Federal Register, it allows the change "by any other manner prescribed by the law of the State in which the sentence was imposed or which has been designated by a court..."

I personally don't understand why all these methods are necessary.

With public objection regarding the inhumanity of lethal injection and overall the death penalty, these ulterior methods seem like easier ways states can kill people faster, which bends ethics and morality in my opinion.

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Can tech help female entrepreneurs break the bias?

Women founders continue to come up against common challenges and biases

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Written by Kelly Devine, Division President UK & Ireland, Mastercard

Starting a business may have historically been perceived as a man’s game, but this couldn’t be further from reality. Research shows women are actually more likely than men to actively choose to start their own business – often motivated by the desire to be their own boss or to have a better work-life balance and spend more time with their family.

The recently published Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurship 2021 found that in the category of 'Aspiration Driven Entrepreneurship’ – capturing those who actively choose to start their own business – women in the UK surpass men: 60% vs 56%. And Mastercard research from February 2022 found 10% of female business owners started their business in the past two years compared to 6% of men – meaning women were 67% more likely to have started a business during the pandemic.

Yet, there are common challenges that women founders continue to come up against - not least the gender imbalance in the household and long-held biases which are still prevalent.

In the UK, women are almost three times more likely to be balancing care and home commitments than men, and this was exacerbated during the pandemic as the additional barriers of school closures and lockdowns meant that the care time of dependents rose significantly on a day-to-day level for women. In addition, women were less likely to have access to a home office, greatly impacting the work they were able to accomplish when working from home was the only option.

It's also widely known that female business owners are still more likely to struggle to access funding for their business ideas. According to Dealroom, all-women founding teams received just 1.4% of the €23.7bn invested into UK start-ups in 2021, while all-male leadership teams have taken almost 90% of the available capital.

Without financial support, and when juggling significant time pressures both at home and at work, how can women grow their companies and #BreaktheBias (as this year’s International Women’s Day termed it)? What tools or support can save them time and money, and give them the headspace they need to focus on building their business?

With female owned businesses collectively estimating revenue growth of £120 billion over the next five years, solving this problem is bigger than supporting women – it’s about supporting the national economy.

Using tech to level the playing field

There are clearly societal issues at play that need to be resolved. But when we look at the rise in technology businesses during the pandemic, we can plainly see an alternative source of support critical for business growth: digital tools.

A third of female business owners say new technologies will be crucial to the success of their business in the future and one in five say it is the most important thing for business growth.

With new technology comes new ways to pay, create, and work. And yet there are barriers that prevent business owners accessing this technology. Women are significantly more likely to say they want to use more digital tools but don’t know what is best for their business and also more concerned about the security of digital tools.

When technology is adopted by businesses – whether using online accounting solutions or messenger services for communicating with staff – it saves them time, allows them to maintain and grow their customer base, and ultimately increases cost savings and profit.

By drastically improving the training and support that is available to women-owned business to access and utilise technology we will allow these businesses to grow and succeed. And we know there is demand for it.

Research done by the IFC and Dalberg shows that female entrepreneurs are more likely to invest time and money in business development. This includes product development, customer base expansion, and digital tools and training and there are plenty of services available offering this type of support – many of them for free.

One such programme is Strive UK – an initiative of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth – which aims to reach 650,000 micro and small business owners across the UK and empower them with the tools they need to thrive in the digital economy through free guidance, helpful tools and one-to-one mentoring.

Working together with small business experts – Enterprise Nation, Be the Business and Digital Boost – we hope to ensure hundreds of thousands of UK female business owners have the tools they need to succeed and reach their ambitious goals. Because this ambition remains strong in the UK, with female business owners largely optimistic about the future despite the multitude of challenges they are facing. Four in ten say they will grow their business in the next five years – compared to only a third of male business owners – and they’re also 35% less likely than men to say they plan to downsize or close the business.

But if we do not empower female entrepreneurs to access the tools and technology they need to grow, there is a risk this optimism could be misplaced. Support programmes that provide business owners with guidance and mentorship can help ensure this isn’t the case, allowing female entrepreneurs to not only survive but thrive in the months and years ahead.