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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Politicians from Texas to Berlin Balancing Safety with Economics; The U.K. Unveils More COVID Stimulus, but Warns of Higher Taxes Ahead; Microsoft Accuses China of a Cyberattack. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired March 03, 2021 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:34]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: Live from New York, I'm Julia Chatterley. This is FIRST MOVE, and here is your need to know.
Vaccines versus virus. Politicians from Texas to Berlin balancing safety with economics.
Taxing times. The U.K. unveils more COVID stimulus, but warns of higher taxes ahead.
And inbox interference. Microsoft accuses China of a cyberattack.
It's Wednesday. Let's make a move.
Welcome once again to FIRST MOVE. Fantastic to have you with us as always. The calendar may say March, but America, I have to say is ready to fast
forward to the end of May when President Biden says there will be enough vaccines for all adults That's great news for the United States, but what
about the rest of the world?
Well, coming up on the show, the President of UPS International will be discussing vaccine equity and their efforts to get 20 million vaccine doses
to healthcare workers and others in some of the hardest to reach places in the world.
For now, let's take a look at what global stocks are doing. There apparently are gains as bond yields firm up, perhaps reacting to some
encouraging services sector data around the world.
India and China, both in expansion mode last month. Japan and Europe also saw some improvement, too. We've also got the latest on the U.K. budget,
too, as the government announces additional support for struggling small businesses and workers.
And speaking of workers, a weaker than expected 117,000 private sector jobs added to the U.S. economy last month. This, of course, as the U.S. Senate
prepares to debate the near $2 trillion COVID aid bill. These numbers suggest help is still required.
All around the world, as we are discussing, leaders continue to juggle vaccine delivery with handling the current outbreak.
Brazil recording its highest one-day death toll yesterday with more than 1,700 people lost to the disease. And in Germany, they may keep the
lockdown restrictions in place for another three weeks amid a slower vaccine rollout there. We'll get the latest from Germany later in the show.
The bottom line is, we have come a long way in handling this virus and the science of responding, but there's a long way to go. Let's get to the
drivers.
On the same day that President Biden made his vaccine promise, the C.D.C. warned of a potential new surge in cases, Texas and Mississippi rolled back
COVID-19 restrictions as Lucy Kafanov reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Shipments of the third coronavirus vaccine arriving in Texas as the Governor says he is loosening
restrictions in just one week.
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Effective next Wednesday, all businesses of any type are allowed to open 100 percent.
Also, I'm ending the statewide mask mandate.
KAFANOV (voice over): The announcement frustrating some local leaders.
MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER, HOUSTON, TEXAS: To put it in very stark terms, it makes no sense.
MAYOR STEVE ADLER, AUSTIN, TEXAS: It's mind-boggling given where we are.
KAFANOV (voice over): And in Mississippi, the Governor also lifting mask mandates.
GOV. TATE REEVES (R-MS): This new order removes all of our county mask mandates and allows businesses to operate at full capacity without state-
imposed rules or restrictions.
KAFANOV (voice over): As more states roll back restrictions, health experts warn --
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It is just irresponsible and goes against science to try to open up.
KAFANOV (voice over): The White House is asking Texas and others to keep safety measures in place.
ANDY SLAVITT, SENIOR ADVISER TO WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE TEAM: We think it's a mistake to lift these mandates too early. Masks are saving a
lot of lives.
KAFANOV (voice over): Meanwhile, in Ohio, a single shot of history with the first Johnson & Johnson vaccines administered.
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: It's definitely a game changer. The problem we have right now,
as you know, there are only about four million doses available. So, they really need to ramp up production.
KAFANOV (voice over): President Joe Biden using the Defense Production Act to speed the manufacturing process making a deal with Merck to help
pharmaceutical competitor Johnson & Johnson produce its single-dose vaccine.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May.
KAFANOV (voice over): The President also asking states to prioritize teachers and school staff on their vaccine lists, an effort to allow more
classrooms to reopen safely.
[09:05:10]
BIDEN: We want every educator, school staff member, childcare worker to receive at least one shot by the end of the month of March.
KAFANOV (voice over): Biden urging the public to keep wearing masks and following safety protocols.
BIDEN: There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we cannot let our guard down now. We must remain vigilant.
KAFANOV (voice over): Health experts agree, as new highly infectious variants spread across the nation --
DR. ALA STANFORD, FOUNDER, BLACK DOCTORS COVID-19 CONSORTIUM: There's a race between these variants and getting vaccinated, and we've just got to
push and push with that and not remove these public health measures that have been helping us to reduce the transmissibility.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: CNN Health's Elizabeth Cohen joins me now. Elizabeth, the statements there from the healthcare officials were pretty clear, it makes
no sense. It's irresponsible.
We're all excited about the proliferation of vaccines and the accelerated timetable, but removing mask mandates? Does any of this make sense? Is
Texas ready?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No. From a science point of view, from a public health point of view, Julia, it makes
absolutely to sense to tell people they can take off their masks. Why in the world would you want to do that?
Again, let's take a look to reiterate what Lucy just said about what Texas is doing. They are lifting the mask mandate and they are also saying that
businesses can all be opened at full capacity.
Now, in a press release, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas said, well, we can do this because now we have the tools to protect Texans from the virus, and
among those tools, he mentioned vaccination.
Well, let's take a look at how Texas is doing with vaccinations. Only seven percent of the Texas population has been vaccinated. It seems like a very
odd time to be telling people, take off your mask when only seven percent of the population is vaccinated.
And they still in Texas, are having more than 200 deaths per day on average when you look at the past week. Why in the world would you not want to
protect the people in your state?
It is the riddle of the ages. Can't figure it out.
He's got more than 200 people dying every day in his state, yet he is saying, take off your masks. It doesn't make any sense -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: We've often talked on the show about balancing the virus with the economy, protecting jobs, protecting people that aren't earning money,
but the idea that you would strip back on a protection like a mask mandate, to your point, we reiterate, it makes no sense. That's Texas.
What about the rest of the country?
COHEN: Well, Julia, before I talk about the rest of the country, I want to add that you're absolutely right, there's this balancing act that's been
going on for months and months now.
But having people wear masks doesn't hurt the economy.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
COHEN: So, opening up businesses, there is at least some economic -- by why does it hurt the economy if you ask someone to put a mask on? I mean, I
don't know what school he went to that taught him that. But apparently, that's what Governor Abbott thinks. It doesn't make any sense.
But let's talk now about the rest of the country because we keep hearing the news that cases have gone down in the U.S. recently, and while that's
true, no one should think, oh, phew, we're home free.
We are not home free. It is still not a great situation in the U.S. Let's take a look at those numbers.
While the vaccination program has been going faster, still we only have about eight percent of the population vaccinated and there are still
thousands of people dying every day.
And so when you have those numbers, you can say, yes, maybe it's better than when it was really horrible in November and December, but still it is
not great -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: No, still have to stay safe and protect yourselves and we will get there, but we're not there yet.
Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for that update there.
COHEN: Right. Thanks.
CHATTERLEY: To the U.K. now, the Chancellor vowed to do whatever it takes to get the economy through the pandemic. He announced the extension of many
of the economic rescue measures into the autumn including the furlough scheme and grants for businesses. But the Chancellor warned that the bill
for all of the borrowing will have to be paid.
Scott McLean joins us now on all of this. Scott, just walk us through the details here. Let's talk about the spending first to support the economy.
The worst recession in, what -- 300 years. It's going to take monumental size spending and then we'll talk about paying the bill.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, yes, it is to imagine a more consequential budget here in the U.K. than the one that was just delivered
by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons this afternoon, Julia.
We are talking about borrowing that has not taken place on this kind of scale since the World Wars. The pandemic has killed off 700,000 jobs,
almost five million people are reliant in some way on the government to subsidize their wages, and so, the Chancellor says that, look, things are
not looking great financially, but they could have been a lot worse were it not for the vaccination program. Listen.
[09:10:02]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH FINANCE MINISTER: The N.H.S. deserving of immense praise has had extraordinary success in vaccinating more than 20 million
people across the United Kingdom.
And combined with our economic response, one of the most comprehensive and generous in the world, this means the office for budget responsibility are
now forecasting in their words a swifter and more sustained recovery than they expected in November.
The OBR now expect the economy to return to its pre-COVID level by the middle of next year, six months earlier than previously thought.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: So, all of that being said, this country is still under lockdown restrictions and so the Chancellor made clear that there would have to be
more spending to cushion the economic impacts of the ongoing pandemic, some 65 billion pounds on top of the almost 300 billion that the government has
spent thus far.
So the furlough scheme which is where the government subsidizes up to 80 percent of someone's wages who has been laid off due to the pandemic is
being extended into the fall, until the end of September.
Businesses are eligible for grants of some 18 -- up to 18,000 pounds. They're extending business holiday rates or the business rates holiday,
excuse me, and they are also extending a tax break on home purchases into the fall as well.
So why the fall, when the government is saying that, look, things should be fully reopened or the last of the restrictions should be gone by late June?
Well, that's because the Chancellor says, Julia, to accommodate even the most pessimistic forecast for reopening, so the dates that the government
has given thus far, well, those are the best-case scenario, not the worst.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Fantastic. Set the bar relatively low and hope to exceed expectations.
Speaking of that, the corporation tax hikes that were expected were also met with perhaps some funky mathematics here in what the government is
calling the biggest business tax cut in modern British history, you just have to invest in growth and in jobs.
Talk me through this, because this is a fascinating sort of interchange between what's going on for corporations in the U.K. going forward, too.
MCLEAN: Yes. We're going to have to do a little bit of math to figure out what the implications of this one will be, Julia. But the bottom line is
that personal income taxes are not going to go up, but the tax bracket, so the tax thresholds will be frozen in place a year from now, which will end
up raising more money for the Treasury as inflation continues to rise.
Corporate tax rates, as you mentioned, will go up for large corporations, above a certain profit threshold from 19 percent up to 25 percent. Most
small businesses won't be affected by this.
And here is the funky math part that you mentioned. While businesses that have cash sitting around, and there are a lot of them the Chancellor
acknowledged that have done quite well during the pandemic, he is trying to unlock the cash reserves by making sure that it is invested in the country.
And so, companies can get back -- they can have a -- what he is calling a "super deduction," meaning, they can deduct 130 percent of what they invest
in the U.K. for the next two years and only then will those higher rates take effect -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, encourage some spending for those that can in order to ultimately boost growth and the cost, of course, high corporation taxes.
Great work analyzing that for us, Scott, rather you than me. Scott McLean there in London, thank you.
All right, it's a new day, a new international cyberattack, and this time the target was Microsoft. The company says hackers linked to the Chinese
government gained access to e-mail accounts.
Paul La Monica joins us now. Paul, I love that you and I are discussing this, and this is one of the points that came out of the blog post that
Microsoft wrote.
They said, look, these kinds of things have happened before, we've just not talked about them this time. So the communication is good, but what more do
we know about this hack attack?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: it is obviously great that Microsoft is alerting people to this threat and it is concerning because
the worry here is that Microsoft's exchange, so e-mail running on servers and networks, they were quick to point out this is not affecting the Cloud-
based version of Microsoft Outlook and other e-mail applications, there have been some potential data breaches and vulnerabilities.
Companies ranging from law firms and defense contractors all use Microsoft Exchange, so it is a concern that this company is citing a group that is
named Hafnium, which is reported to be a Chinese-based organization that is using servers in the U.S. to do this hacking is behind this and Microsoft
is going so far to say that it could be even state sponsored even though China has refuted that.
CHATTERLEY: And China, of course, not shy about responding to this accusation.
[09:15:06]
LA MONICA: Exactly. We have a statement from a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson today and he said: "China wishes relevant media and companies
take a professional and responsible attitude and base characterizations of cyberattacks on ample evidence rather than groundless guesses and
accusations."
Clearly here, Julia, China fighting back and saying that, no, we are not involved in this. I think that the State Department and the Biden
administration may beg to differ. We'll see whether or not there are, you know, any tough words that come out of Washington as a result of this.
But this obviously all on the heel of concerns about the hack of SolarWinds and you know, what's happened there with many government agencies being
affected, that appears to be based from Russia and not China.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, there is so much in this and we could talk about this for the entire show, just in light of the conversations over the last two
weeks, the fact that the Cloud based version of the service wasn't impacted is fascinating because we've spoken to IBM and Microsoft in the last couple
of weeks.
But also, I think in light of speaking to the FireEye CEO who said we have to be talking about this. Every time something like this happens, we have
to be talking about it just so that there is a greater awareness of how often it is happening and the companies need to respond, we need to protect
ourselves better.
LA MONICA: With more and more people working from home, obviously, and with critical data on Outlook, you know, Cloud-based versions of software,
it's good that the Cloud was not impacted, but obviously, you'd have to think that hackers are looking very closely at trying to infiltrate the
various Cloud networks of the likes of Microsoft and IBM, Google, et cetera.
CHATTERLEY: Absolutely. Download the software patch, all the fix, ASAP. That's the message, too, from Microsoft.
All right, Paul La Monica, great to have with you us. Thank you so much for that.
All right, still to come here on FIRST MOVE, shipping giant, UPS on its plans to deliver 20 million doses of vaccines to the world's neediest.
And a universal basic income experiment suggests combatting poverty with cash payments works. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:16]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE live from New York where U.S. stocks have turned lower as bond yields rise once again. We've got choppy
trading going on as you can see as investors weigh encouraging news on vaccine availability on the one hand versus uncertainty over how a
strengthening economy and massive new fiscal aid in the United States will play out in the bond markets. It is the push and pull of those two things.
Now, aggressive vaccine roll outs could further improve corporate bottom lines, too. Shares of car service firm, Lyft, rallying premarket after
saying ridership is on the rebound. It just had its best week since lockdowns began.
U.S. GDP expectations are getting a lift, too. The Atlanta Fed now predicting a 10 percent jump in Q1 growth. That's an annualized number.
Perhaps, an even bigger bounce later in the year if the U.S. reaches its vaccine distribution goals. Well, that's the United States.
But let me tell you, the current rate of global vaccine distribution is around six million doses a day, which means it would take over five years
to achieve global herd immunity.
Getting doses to top priority groups in all countries quickly would make the world safer fast sooner, which is where shipping giant, UPS comes in.
It has announced a new partnership with COVAX and GAVI to deliver 20 million doses to countries in need.
And joining us now is Scott Price, the President of UPS International. Scott, great to have you with us. Fantastic news on this announcement, too.
Talk to me about the role UPS is going to play in doing this and whether you can give us a sense of timing, too, getting these vaccines out to
people.
SCOTT PRICE, PRESIDENT, UPS INTERNATIONAL: Thanks, Julia, and as you mentioned, five years is too long and we believe that we can play a
critical role, so the through the UPS Foundation, we have donated our transportation, ultralow freezer space which is critical in this particular
instance of these vaccines plus we've launched UPS Executives to cover four continents: Africa, Asia, South America and the distribution in Europe.
We play the middle role which is between the manufacturing site to the dosing site, which is a very critical aspect in teams of these time
sensitive and temperature controlled.
We have technology, we call it UPS Premier which allows a hundred percent visibility the throughout our network through technology so that if
something goes wrong like weather instances, which was a bit of an issue here in the U.S. a few weeks ago, we're able to ensure that we keep dry ice
to make sure those vaccines stay in good shape until it finally gets to the dosing site and we will now do that globally.
We're already doing this in 33 countries, but through COVAX and GAVI, we have an opportunity to balance maybe the equity and ensure that there is
equitable distribution of vaccines around the world.
CHATTERLEY: It's amazing. There are so many pieces to this, too, and the cold storage is to your point, a critical element if we are dealing with
the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines, obviously, a different situation if it's Johnson & Johnson when they become more available more broadly, but
also AstraZeneca.
Do you have any sense at this stage what vaccines you're going to be distributing as part of this 20 million vaccine doses that you're providing
because of course, depending on which vaccine it is, it makes a huge difference to the kind of logistics that are required.
PRICE: You know, we are agnostic in the sense that we are happy to transport whichever of the four vaccines become available as part of this
overall program.
As you mentioned COVAX which, obviously is a partnership of a number of partners including the W.H.O. has collected $6 billion, thus far, they need
two billion more this year to accelerate and move those five years forward.
We will continue to move from whichever manufacturing site at those four particular vaccines are distributed to wherever those in need populations
exist.
We, in fact, just last week, in Ghana, working with GAVI delivered medical drones, the first vaccines that were delivered in Ghana in partnership with
GAVI who we've worked for before on movement of blood samples in terms of medical care in Ghana in the past.
CHATTERLEY: I was going to ask you this precise point actually, because you've been working with Zipline as well, the drone delivery firm, and they
have actually been on the show to talk about what they do.
Just talk a little bit more in depth about what's going on in Ghana and again, the role that you're playing.
PRICE: Well, you know, for many years working with Zipline who have quite a long history in term of using medical drones, and in fact the initial
work that we did with them starting a couple of years ago, you know, in child birth, loss of blood is a major issue and they are so remote, some of
these villages that we were able to work with them to move blood to some of these remote villages in very speedy time to save lives.
[09:25:10]
PRICE: But we are leveraging that same experience now to move these vaccines in Ghana. Some of these villages are quite remote, so the
opportunity to leverage that technology which will again maintain the critical nature of this temperature as they move and get delivered so that
we get more vaccines in to arms as soon as possible.
CHATTERLEY: When I was reading about this, I was fascinated because obviously you have the situation where you get the vaccines from the
airport, you then take them to a place of cold storage, but then that last mile done by the drones.
You actually don't need the same degree of cold storage simply because you hope that they leave the warehouse or wherever they are leaving.
They get to the point where they are going to be administered quickly enough that they can simply be refrigerated normally, and that also clearly
would make a huge difference in some of these places in the world, where you can't get that deep cold storage physically there.
PRICE: So, we actually have a very large scale dry ice manufacturing capability at UPS. We are creating tons of dry ice every day.
So at the point of departure, we are able to ensure the longest shelf life within the packaging to ensure that there is time to, exactly as you said,
once it arrives, they don't need to rush, that there is a reasonable period of time to ensure that they are actually giving the vaccine to those in
need.
So, for example, working with CARE in their fair -- they have an initiative, I beg your pardon, called the Fair Initiative. Again, part of
this equitable -- in 11 markets where you have healthcare workers who have not been able to get the COVID, so same approach.
It is that we are able to get this vaccine delivered to markets in need and then ensure that they are stable enough to be able not to be rushed through
and, therefore, they can be actually applied to the individuals who are the intended recipients.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, healthcare workers around the world, we need to get them vaccinated as soon as possible, however, we do it.
I read recently that vaccine deliveries now six percent of the operations that you have going on all around the world here for UPS. What do you
anticipate that rising to as we see greater proliferation of vaccines and more supplies coming on the market? How much more can you handle?
And it goes back to your point about the sheer amount of dry ice, I think that you are producing as well, which I know is, monumental.
PRICE: So, actually just a little bit of context there. So we deliver roughly 25 million packages a day around the world. We have a very
substantial healthcare segment.
So vaccines themselves would not be six percent. Our healthcare is very substantial amount of our shipments. It leverages our technology, but in
case of vaccines, we did create this dry ice capability.
We will continue to deliver vaccines wherever we're asked to in terms of that mid-ground between the manufacturing and the dosing sites.
But you know, I think the world needs to increase manufacturing capability. We can't wait five years for the world's population to get this much
critical vaccine.
And therefore, as soon as that manufacturing of vaccine increases, we are going to be there ready to move it.
CHATTERLEY: So, logistics will never be a problem in vaccine delivery. We've just got to get the supplies going.
PRICE: That's right.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Scott, thank you to you and your team and great to chat with you this morning.
PRICE: Thank you, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Scott Price, President of UPS International there.
All right, the market opens next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:31:40]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE where U.S. stocks are up and running this Wednesday and we are mostly flat. Interest rate sensitive tech
stocks though are taking a bit of a hit as U.S. bond yields firm up in the session.
Ten-year yields, once again, on the rise. But just to be clear, we are nowhere near, and you could see it there, that 1.6 percent level that we
hit last week.
Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard saying yesterday that rising yields have "caught her eye,' quote and that the Fed is watching things closely.
Watch Fed Chair Jay Powell as a result will be speaking tomorrow in case he says anything further on this point, too.
In the meantime to crude now. Rally to fresh pre-pandemic highs going on. As you can see the there, ahead of tomorrow's OPEC Plus meeting, hopes for
high demand offsetting concern that OPEC will begin pumping more and of course, that then puts downward pressure, crude up some 20 percent so far
this year.
All right, let's head to Germany now where German Chancellor Angela Merkel meeting with local leaders to discuss lockdown measures as COVID cases rise
again and the country's vaccine rollout stalls.
Fred Pleitgen is live in Berlin for us. Fred, great to have you on the show. It is a case of to extend or not to extend the lockdown measures, and
it is a bitter pill for Germans to swallow in light of all the disappointment over non-vaccine deliveries. How are they going to handle
this?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why, I think you're absolutely right. I think it is certainly is a pretty bitter pill to
swallow, and certainly, there is also a lot of anger building up about that slow vaccine rollout and the fact that a lot of lockdown measures keep
getting extended here in this country.
And one of the things that we are expecting is that Angela Merkel is very reluctant to ease, at least a significant point of the restriction. There
are some who are saying the restrictions could go on for at least another two weeks until about the end of March.
You know, the street that I am standing in right now here, it has got a lot of small and medium size businesses and they are by far the ones that have
been the hardest hit.
These clothing shops, smaller stores, they have been closed for months, and a lot them are yearning for some sort of relief from all of that. It is
highly unlikely though that the majority of them are going to get it.
Let's have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice over): This isn't a birthday party or wedding anniversary. Nope. It is Germans being allowed back to the hairdresser after months of
lockdown, leaving both the coiffeur and his customers ecstatic.
"It's like Christmas, New Year's and my birthday combined," he says. "I'm allowed to do again what I love most, working with hair."'
Hair and nail salons are among the few businesses allowed to open again in Germany since the start of this week. Other than that, the country remains
in a hard lockdown. Shops, cafe, restaurants all shut.
And Chancellor Angela Merkel reluctant to allow for the restrictions to be loosened.
"First, we need to see how well we can manage contact tracing, the coronavirus warning app and reinforcements for health authorities. Better
test strategies and so on," she said. "We then the need to see how we can step by step allow for more openings without risking another exponential
growth."
Public support for Angela Merkel's course is waning in Germany, especially as the country's vaccination campaign is only slowly moving ahead.
This vaccination center we visited in Berlin is running like clockwork, mostly elderly folks and frontline medical workers getting their shots.
[09:35:09]
PLEITGEN (voice over): The Managing Director saying most are grateful to get the vaccine.
MARKUS NISCH, MANAGING DIRECTOR, VACCINE CENTER: Everyone is really happy to meet each other, and so that's why the old people are very grateful to
be here and to have a nice treatment.
PLEITGEN (voice over): But the staff also acknowledge they could be vaccinating almost twice as many people each day if they could get their
hands on more vaccine.
The problem social democratic politician and health expert, Karl Lauterbach says is that Germany relied on the E.U. to order vaccine doses, and it
didn't order fast enough.
KARL LAUTERBACH, GERMAN SOCIAL DEMOCRATS MP AND PHYSICIAN: The procurement of the vaccines was slow. Past considerations were overwhelming. Capacity
was not given the attention it should have been given. So we lost time. And we are basically suffering from a shortage of all of the major vaccines.
PLEITGEN (voice over): The German government acknowledges there have been lapses in its vaccine rollout, but says there will be a lot more vaccine
available soon. As many citizens grow tired of waiting, their politicians tell them to be patient just a little longer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (on camera): Julia, unfortunately, that's probably what most Germans or what all Germans are probably going to hear from Angela Merkel
at the end of this evening is to be patient just that little bit longer.
Again, what we're hearing is that probably those measures are going to be extended until at least the end of March, the 28th of March. There might be
some special regulations then over Easter.
But as we just saw there, there are more and more people who are growing impatient, especially folks like the ones who own the businesses that you
see behind me, those small and medium sized businesses which we know, Julia, are the backbone of the German economy.
And from folks are telling us, they say that every day that they're in lockdown, and of course, becomes more difficult for them and their
businesses to survive long term, even after the lockdown ends -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it's heartbreaking. We're seeing it all around the world. Frederik Pleitgen, great to have you with us and thank you for that update
there.
All right, coming up, imagine getting a cash payout every month for two years. No strings attached. Sound good? Well, it happened in one city in
California and the results are priceless. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:31]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. It was a unique experiment to fight poverty in a hard hit American city brought about by an
unconventional mayor who garnered worldwide attention.
The radical idea for my next guest put $500.00 a month into the pockets of a handful of residents of Stockton, California for two years. There were no
strings except to see where the money went and if it helped.
Recipients reported income volatility fell and that it helped them in many cases find full time work, they felt better. And according to the survey,
less than one percent of the money was spent on things like alcohol or tobacco.
It was brought about by former Mayor of Stockton, Michael Tubbs who joins us now.
Michael, great to have you on the show. We can talk about the politics of the former aspect later on in the interview, but you know, when I read the
results and we talked about this universal basic income experiment in the past on the show, I was so happy for the people involved. And I was also
heartbroken for the people that didn't get this opportunity.
But just talk us through, for the people that got this, it was life changing.
MICHAEL TUBBS, FORMER MAYOR OF STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA: To your point -- and thanks so much for having me -- it is incredibly inspiring, but also
incredibly tragic, being randomly selected through luck to be a recipient of $500.00 a month over the past 18 months has meant the world of
difference, particularly during a crisis and the pandemic.
It's been inspiring to hear about folks like Tomas, who went from part-time work and took time off work and used the $500.00 that he was able to
interview for a fulltime job and get that.
To folks like Laura who talked about being the matriarch of her family. The $500.00 allowed her to deal with moving costs when her house caught on fire
through no fault of her own, and also allowed her to buy Thanksgiving dinner as the matriarch for her family.
And countless stories of people who bought dentures, who bought birthday cakes for their kids, and who all reported feeling better, feeling
healthier, feel like they can breathe.
So to your point, I think the real tragedy is that there's 315,000 other people in my city, millions of other people in this country who can also
benefit and the data is clear. Guaranteed income works, an income floor works.
And now it is just summoning the political will so we don't have to have a conversation about how 125 people did relatively well or did better,
despite sort of mass economic suffering.
CHATTERLEY: The statistics here actually a really important, just so people are clear, 50 percent of this money the people reported spending on
things like food and utilities. I mean, you mentioned things like birthday cakes, or I saw in the report the odd gift for a mother that they simply
just felt so grateful to be able to do something like this, that they wouldn't be able to do.
I mean, these were basic survival spending that was taking place in many cases. But Michael, key for me, and I think one of the criticisms of this
is well, people are going to do nothing, or they're going to use the money and spend it on immaterial things and perhaps hang out on the sofa.
The statistics show that 28 percent of people before they got this money were in full-time employment and that leapt as a result, to your point,
because they could spend more time looking for the right job. They just had that little bit of freedom to get the right job rather than doing several
part-time jobs, perhaps and just trying to make ends meet.
TUBBS: Yes, and I think that was the biggest criticism I faced over the past two and a half years, this notion that folks will lose their dignity,
because that's attached to work rather than their humanity. This notion that $500.00 was enough to replace work and it's inherently false.
In fact, a guaranteed income made those who received the guarantee income more likely to get full-time employment than those in the control group who
didn't, which really I think pushes back to these harmful notions that an income floor would somehow robbed the American people of their ingenuity,
of the desire, of their natural entrepreneur traits. That's just not the case.
In fact, an income floor allows people to work better, work more productive and work in more dignified environments. So I'm super excited about that
stat, because when I'm arguing with Chuck Woolery, like I had to do or with Sarah Palin, former Governor Palin as I had to do during this pilot, kept
going back to people aren't going to work, people aren't going to work. That's false.
The vast majority of people in this country that can work do work. The highest group of people not working in this country is children and a
guaranteed income actually allows people to be more productive because they could pay for childcare, because they could pay for transportation, because
they can pay for time off to interview for another job.
[09:45:10]
CHATTERLEY: I know. You know, one of the statistics that shocked me coming into the pandemic, and of course, this coincided with the pandemic, which
was something else was that 40 percent of American households couldn't cut a $400.00 check in an emergency in the richest nation in the world.
And this was one of the other things that came out from this, 25 percent of people could pay, had enough cash on them to pay an emergency bill, if they
needed to. That went from 25 percent of people to more than half of people simply having the cash available to meet a financial emergency versus, you
know, you assume going to other sources and perhaps, you know, creating more difficulties for themselves.
Never mind the anxiety, which was something else that came out in this, the mental health aspects of this are so important.
TUBBS: Well, particularly in a public health crisis, the fact that giving everyone economic security reduces cortisol levels, it makes people
happier. It deletes toxic stress and trauma. That's a big win.
And especially in the conversation we're having nationally about public health and comorbidities and how when people are stressed and anxious, they
can't show up as their full selves, and also the timing. And I think that goes back to what you said in terms of tragedy.
Thank God, these 125 families were given the $500.00 a month before we knew what COVID-19 was because during COVID-19, guess what they were able to do?
They were able to shelter in place for two weeks without fear of being back a couple of months from losing two weeks' worth of pay.
They were able to pay for rising utility costs and rising food costs as their kids came back. They were able to wait. They were able to navigate
waiting three to four months for their unemployment benefits, because they were getting that $500.00 a month.
And again, in the richest country in the world, it should not be an act of lottery, an act of chance or an act of luck to have your basic necessities
met. Poverty, economic insecurity is so expensive. There's no reason why we should tolerate it.
And now we have evidence that illustrates that guaranteed income actually allows us to live to our full values as a country in terms of opportunity,
in terms of productivity, and in terms of creating the communities I would argue we all deserve to live in.
CHATTERLEY: Michael, are you going to share this to the U.S. administration? Are you speaking to anybody in the U.S. administration --
very quickly -- about the results of this and how it needs to be a discussion that we're having?
TUBBS: Absolutely. We started a group called Mayors for Guaranteed Income. We have over 40 mayors. We took out a full page ad in "The Washington Post"
calling for reoccurring stimulus checks. We requested a meeting with the Biden-Harris administration on this topic and we're excited about the 10
senators who also sent letters to the President saying we need reoccurring checks during the pandemic.
So absolutely, I am a hundred percent convinced it has to be a policy that circumstances dictate that.
CHATTERLEY: So Michael, you and I have something in common, and you talked about this the last time you came on that you have amazing mother figures
in your life, including your actual mother, and I also have an incredibly fabulous and fierce mother who I completely adore and miss like mad.
You also have a fantastic wife as well, who I believe is about to become a mother again. So congratulations on that, too. But she has also been busy
writing a book about the mothers of incredibly well-known men and the stories behind them that we don't often hear about.
You have about 30 seconds. Talk to me about the book and your fabulous wife.
TUBBS: Oh, thethreemothersbook.com by my wife, Anna, it is a bestseller, it was editor's pick. It speaks about how we often erase mothers, we often
erase women and we also erase black mothers, and we can't understand progress. We can't understand history. We can't understand anybody without
looking and interrogating the role of their mothers.
She is an author. She is an advocate. She's an amazing partner. She's an amazing mother. She's a PhD student. And you would appreciate, a Cambridge
Gates scholar. She is brilliant.
And I am not only saying this because she is my wife, but actually, reading the book, I remember looking at her and like, wow, babe, you can really
write. It is really well done.
And she also speaks about how a guaranteed income would have helped those mothers as they navigated through the deaths of their sons and their
husbands.
CHATTERLEY: Wow, babe, you can really write. That's a quote. Awesome.
Michael, thank you for coming on. Great work. And we will talk to you again soon.
Michael Tubbs, former Mayor of Stockton there in California. Thank you.
All right, we are back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. It's been nearly a year since the lights went dark on Broadway. Since then, some actors and performers have
packed their bags and traveled half a world away to find work and to survive. CNN's Will Ripley has been investigating.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The brilliant lights of Broadway, dark for almost a year. New York's iconic theaters
empty likely for many months to come.
Nearly 10,000 miles away in Sydney, Australia, the show goes on.
"Kismet" created by Broadway performer Reed Kelly and Australian acrobat, Jack Dawson, the aerial straps duo, Two Fathoms.
REED KELLY, PERFORMER @JACKROBAT: Right now this is really the only place that both of us can be and do what we do.
RIPLEY (voice over): What they do takes hours of daily practice, discipline, athleticism, sacrifice.
KELLY: I'm away from my family. I'm not at home. I don't get to see my husband. We FaceTime every day, but it's been such a challenge.
I'm good. How's your day?
RIPLEY (voice over): Kelly's husband, a doctor in Los Angeles. They've been apart for almost a year.
If Kelly leaves Australia, his visa won't allow him to return. Sydney one of the only places in the world where theaters have reopened.
JACK DAWSON, PERFORMER @JACKROBAT: We seem to be doing really well. We're really grateful to be here where everything seems to be really under
control.
RIPLEY (voice over): Broadway star, Gabrielle McClinton just returned to the U.S. She spent months in Australia as the lead player in "Pippin." The
Tony Award winning Broadway musical was a smash hit in Sydney.
RIPLEY (on camera): Does that give you hope about Broadway?
GABRIELLE MCCLINTON, BROADWAY PERFORMER: Absolutely. It definitely had its challenges, but we got through the season and people came to the show
wearing their masks and we would get COVID tested every week, and when we were on stage, we were in our masks and everybody obeyed all the rules.
And we did our due diligence when we were outside of the theater to make sure that we weren't putting people at risk.
RIPLEY (voice over): A model for reopening Broadway and beyond, says Australian playwright, Tom Wright.
TOM WRIGHT, BELVOIR ST THEATRE ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE: You need political and social leadership to provide a safe set of circumstances for theater to
reopen.
RIPLEY (voice over): Sydney's Belvoir St Theatre has been open for five months. Strict COVID-19 lockdowns worked, virtually eliminating local
cases.
WRIGHT: The reason why Sydney has been able to reopen is because people at local, State and Federal level took seriously the safety of the most
vulnerable people in their society, and we are a reflection of that.
RIPLEY (voice over): The pandemic's devastating toll goes beyond empty theaters. Artists around the world are struggling.
KELLY: I've lost three people this year to suicide. And that's on top of the people that I know that have actually died from COVID. It's not just a
job for us, this is our lives.
DAWSON: We want to do this and we need to keep doing this, so we're just pushing through and hope for better days.
RIPLEY (voice over): Giving hope to performers everywhere. Their future remains up in the air.
Will Ripley, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: And now to what performer like no other, country music legend, Dolly Parton giving a COVID twist to a greatest hit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOLLY PARTON, COUNTRY MUSIC LEGEND: Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. I'm begging you please don't hesitate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:55:07]
CHATTERLEY: Receiving a vaccine in Nashville, Tennessee. She said it was fun to rewrite her lyrics, but she had a serious point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARTON: I just wanted to encourage everybody because the sooner we get to feeling better, the sooner we are going to get back to being normal.
So I just want to say to all of you cowards out there. Don't be such a chicken squat. Get out there and get your shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Get shot, you chicken squat. I don't sound like her saying it. I'm not going to sing either, but it is worth noting, she got a Moderna
vaccine, and last year, she donated a million dollars to Moderna for research. So you could say she is receiving a taste of her own medicine.
What an amazing woman.
Okay, that's it for the show. If you've missed any of our interviews today, they will be on my Twitter and Instagram pages. You can search for
@jchatterleyCNN, and in the meantime, stay safe.
As always, I'll see you tomorrow and "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
