What Actually Mattered This Week: Immigration Suspension, Negative Oil, State Reopenings

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WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERED THIS WEEK

My thoughts on some of this week’s biggest news stories:

Trump signs executive order suspending immigration into the US for 60 days

What’s the opposite of US global leadership in the world’s worst crisis since World War II?

This.

It’s Every Nation for Itself.

US oil prices turn negative as demand dries up

Turns out that shutting down the global economy, fighting among the world’s three leading oil producers, and not having storage for excess oil is historically bad for prices.

But I am impressed that negative oil prices didn’t break any computer systems. Y2K must’ve prepared us.

Governors' push to reopen states risks second wave of infection, experts warn

We won’t know the impact of any lockdown/quarantine relaxation until two weeks after the decision is implemented, which is why it’s so important to go slowly and carefully.

There are human costs to ending lockdowns. There are human costs of maintaining them. If you’re not considering both sets of trade-offs, you shouldn’t be in office.

US officials say Kim Jong Un of North Korea may be ill after surgery, but South Korea casts doubt

Kim isn’t that old. If he dies, there’s probably not a good succession plan in place.

The danger in a country like North Korea is, whenever the leader is not there (whether it’s out of the country or under surgery), the potential for a hostile response internally is real. It’s hard to imagine that will lead to military activities that would threaten the stability of Japan or South Korea, but if Kim dies, there are questions of the disposition of their nuclear weapons and whether the military would all act in a coordinated fashion. At the end of the day, the people that will suffer the most on the back of this will be the North Koreans themselves.

Amid pandemic, Hong Kong arrests major pro-democracy figures

While we’re focusing on the pandemic, China is making sure Hong Kong doesn’t have a democratic future.

TRUTHS, DAMNED TRUTHS, AND STATISTICS

Most press freedom 2020

1 Norway

2 Finland

3 Denmark

4 Sweden

5 Netherlands

6 Jamaica

7 Costa Rica

8 Switzerland

9 New Zealand

10 Portugal

US #45

-Reporters Without Borders

THE GZERO WORLD WE’RE JUST LIVING IN

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GRAPHIC TRUTH

YOUR GZERO WORLD

Former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang discusses the proposal that served as the cornerstone for his campaign—universal basic income—and why he believes the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the need for the policy.

Yang offers his thoughts on the Trump administration's relief check and stimulus plans, and why he feels the time has come for a more permanent income solution for Americans badly impacted by the sudden downturn in the economy.

We also discuss the 2020 presidential race as it stands now, and what Biden can and should be doing to provide a counternarrative of hope and rebuilding to the nation.

For a longer, more in-depth version of my interview with Yang, check out the GZERO World podcast.

WORLD IN 60 SECONDS

What's the coronavirus update? Is there global coordination yet fighting this pandemic?

What to make of reports that Kim Jong-un is extremely unwell?

How will the US suspending immigration change the status quo?

Find out in this week’s World in 60 Seconds!

Do you like what you’ve seen? Subscribe and stay informed.

BECAUSE THE INTERNET

#PoliticsFirst

DEEP THOUGHTS

"The best way to predict your future is to create it." – Abraham Lincoln

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Ian Bremmer is president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media and foreign affairs columnist at TIME. He currently teaches at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.