NATO is unveiling a suite of major initiatives to bolster Ukraine’s defenses and increase its own collective deterrence efforts.
The alliance will establish a new military command in Germany, which will be led by a three-star general who will oversee the “training, equipping, and force development” of Ukrainian troops, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan revealed on July 9.
![NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington on July 9, 2024. (DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F07%2F09%2Fid5683011-GettyImages-2160724650-LSedit-1200x800.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
It will also send a dedicated senior representative to Kyiv, pledge $40 billion euros in security assistance next year, and deliver additional F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
The massive international effort was necessary to stop Russia’s “imperialist quest to subjugate and conquer Ukraine,” Mr. Sullivan said.
A senior Biden administration official described the suite of Ukraine deliverables as a “bridge to membership” in NATO, a position that will likely earn the ire of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has made peace with Ukraine contingent on the embattled nation never joining NATO.
Ukraine cannot currently join NATO for a number of reasons, including the fact that it does not maintain territorial integrity and that it does not have unanimous support of all 32 NATO nations.
Still, the efforts will likely ensure Ukraine has access to critical security assistance in the long term, regardless of administration changes in the various member states.
President Joe Biden will also meet with more than 20 world leaders later in the week who have signed their own bilateral agreements with Ukraine, to demonstrate a shared commitment to the nation’s right to sovereignty.
NATO is also working to shore up its own defenses, and cracking the whip at member states perceived to not be adequately contributing to the alliance’s common fund.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance is working to ensure that all 32 of its member states meet a minimum defense expenditure of two percent of GDP annually.
“This is a result of a collective decision and collective responsibility,” Mr. Stoltenberg said.
NATO first adopted the goal of having its members contribute two percent of their GDP to defense in 2014, At that time, only three members met the threshold. Now, 23 members do and the rest have pledged to do so.
As such, the alliance can “change that language to say that two percent is a minimum” rather than an aspiration, Mr. Stoltenberg said.
—Andrew Thornebrooke
GEN Z’s HOUSING STRUGGLES
Millennials, born 1981 to 1996, and those in Generation Z, born 1997 to 2012, face an uphill battle on the way to becoming first-time homeowners in the United States.
The reasons include historically high home prices, three years of stubborn inflation and interest rates, personal debt and spending habits, unemployment, limited home availability, and wages.
“I am not picky when it comes to homes since I don’t have a family,” Harrison, a 27-year-old from Fargo, North Dakota, told The Epoch Times, adding that he prioritizes a safe neighborhood.
Even with a budget ceiling of $350,000 and $30,000 in cash for a down payment, Harrison is worried he will never afford a home even with no credit card, auto, or student loan debt.
Others have turned to clever solutions to afford homes, including a practice known as “house hacking,” where an owner generates passive income off their property, which Daniel McDonald, 30, teaches to other young Americans.
Some millennials found success by pooling resources with their friends to co-own their first properties, including Stephanie Douglass, 35, and Kristina Modares, 34, who launched a company that teaches first-time buyers the tools they need to do the same.
Home prices hit a record high in June, with median sale prices climbing to $394,000, a 4.4 percent year-over-year increase, according to Redfin.
The average homebuyer’s monthly housing payment also reached $2,829, up from $1,242 in 2021 and $972 in 2011, according to Bankrate.
The price-to-income ratio for homeowners is also higher, reaching 5.8 in 2022 as median household income rose to $74,580 and median house sale prices skyrocketed to $442,600.
The ratio was just 3.49 in 1984, as media home prices were $78,200 and median household incomes were roughly $22,420, but it dropped slightly to 4.9 in 2023.
Interest rates are also a struggle for homeowners, rising above 7 percent in 2023 after hitting historic lows of 2.65 percent in January 2021. The current rate sits at 6.86 percent, according to Federal Reserve data.
A Zillow study illustrated that a homeowner with a median income would have to put down nearly $127,750 on a $360,000 home to keep monthly mortgage payments at 30 percent or less of their monthly income.
Inflation climbed to 9.1 in June 2022—the highest increase in 40 years—before dropping to 3.3 percent this year.
Even as young Americans see wage increases, real estate and finance professor, Susan Wachter says that 40 percent of an average renter’s income goes to rent, compared to 25 percent in 2000.
Unemployment also ballooned during the pandemic, rising to 14.8 percent in April 2020 before dropping down to 4 percent in May.
Nearly 97.1 percent of Gen Zer’s have non-mortgage debt of some kind, and roughly 80.8 percent owe credit card debt, according to Lending Tree.
Millennials, at 38.4 percent, have the highest share of student debt out of any generation.
Despite the hurdles young Americans face toward homeownership, Sofia Vyshnevska, COO, and co-founder of NewHomesMate, tells them not to give up.
“Believe in your dreams, be patient, and don’t be discouraged by obstacles,” she said.
BOOKMARKS
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is saying that leaving high interest rates in place could harm the U.S. economy. The announcement echoes a June 10 letter by lawmakers warning that “The Fed’s monetary policy is not helping to reduce inflation. Indeed, it is driving up housing and auto insurance costs.”
The Department of Justice says it will intervene in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of an absentee voting deadline. A Georgia law passed in 2021 puts that application deadline at 11 days before an election-the lawsuit says this violates the Voting Rights Act deadline of seven days.
Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley announced that she is releasing her 97 delegates ahead of the Republican Convention and urging them to vote for former President Donald Trump. “We need a president who will hold our enemies to account, secure our border, cut our debt, and get our economy back on track,” she said.
Hunter Biden’s attorneys have announced that he is no longer seeking a new trial after he was convicted in June of lying on a gun application. The judge who presided over the gun trial has still not set a date for sentencing.
U.S. officials say they expect Russia to make little progress in its acquisition of territory in Ukraine over the upcoming months. However, they also say it is unlikely that Ukraine will be able to retake the ground already lost.