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INTERNATIONAL EDITION | MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2021 America can Biden hopes help end the big spending pandemic will bridge wealth gap Programs are designed to put Congress behind Michelle Goldberg U.S. economic repairs

BY JEANNA SMIALEK AND JIM TANKERSLEY

OPINION The coronavirus pandemic has threat- ened to rapidly expand yawning gaps Last July, during the U.S. presidential between the rich and the poor, throwing campaign, Joe Biden promised the lower-earning service workers out of universal health care advocate Ady jobs, costing them income and limiting Barkan that he wouldn’t let intellectual their ability to build wealth. But by bet- property laws stand in the way of ting on big government spending to pull worldwide access to coronavirus vac- the economy back from the brink, cines. United States policymakers could limit “The World Health Organization is that fallout. leading an unprecedented global effort The $1.9 trillion economic aid package to promote international cooperation in President Biden signed into law last the search for Covid-19 treatments and month includes a wide range of pro- vaccines,” said Barkan. “But Donald grams with the potential to help poor Trump has refused to join that effort, and middle-class Americans to supple- cutting America off from the rest of the ment lost income and save money. That world. If the U.S. discovers a vaccine includes monthly payments to parents, first, will you commit to sharing that relief for renters and help with student technology with loans. The Biden other countries, Now, the administration is rolling out administration and will you en- additional plans that would go even fur- sure there are no ther, including a $2.3 trillion infrastruc- should support patents to stand in ture package and about $1.5 trillion in a waiver the way of other PHOTOGRAPHS BY SIMA DIAB FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES spending and tax credits to support the of intellectual countries and Visitors to ancient monuments in Giza, . International tourism, a mainstay of Egypt’s economy, has plunged in the pandemic, presenting an “unprecedented challenge.” labor force by investing in child care, property rules companies mass- paid leave, universal prekindergarten for Covid-19 producing those and free community college. The meas- vaccine patents. lifesaving vac- ures are explicitly meant to help left-be- cines?” hind workers and communities of color Biden was un- who have faced systemic racism and en- equivocal. “It lacks trenched disadvantages — and they any human dignity, what we’re doing,” More mummies, few tourists would be funded, in part, by taxes on the he said of Trump’s vaccine isolation- rich. ism. “So the answer is yes, yes, yes, restoration; and progress is being made Forecasters predict that the govern- yes, yes. And it’s not only a good thing on the stunning Grand Egyptian Mu- ment spending — even just what has to do, it’s overwhelmingly in our inter- seum, which is scheduled to open some- been passed so far — will fuel what could est to do.” time this year. be the fastest annual economic growth Yet now that Biden is in power, his Egypt has new treasures But the pandemic has dealt a severe in a generation this year and next, as the perception of “our interest” doesn’t blow to the industry, and what had been United States recovers and the economy seem quite so clear. Last year, India to lure visitors, if they expected to be a bonanza season be- reopens from the coronavirus pan- and South Africa requested a waiver will brave the pandemic came a bleak winter. demic. By jump-starting the economy from World Trade Organization rules Tourism is a crucial part of Egypt’s from the bottom and middle, the re- governing intellectual property for BY ABDI LATIF DAHIR economy — international tourism reve- sponse could make sure the pandemic technology dealing with the pandemic. nues totaled $13 billion in 2019 — and the rebound is more equitable than it would Dozens of mostly developing countries On a cool morning last November, country has been eager to attract vis- be without a proactive government re- have since joined them. A handful of Egypt’s tourism and antiquities min- itors back to its archaeological sites. sponse, analysts said. rich nations, including the United ister stood in a packed tent at the vast With travel restrictions, border clos- That is a big change from the wake of States, oppose the waiver, but there’s a necropolis of Saqqara just outside Cairo ings and reduced capacity at hotels, in- the 2007 to 2009 recession. Then, Con- widespread belief that if America to reveal the ancient site’s largest ar- ternational visitors to Egypt dropped by gress and the White House passed an changes its position, other countries chaeological discovery of the year. 69 percent in the first eight months of $800 billion stimulus bill that many re- will follow. Much of the world is wait- The giant trove included 100 wooden 2020 alone, while revenues plunged by searchers have concluded did not do ing to see what Biden does. coffins — some containing mummies in- 67 percent in the same period, according enough to fill the hole the recession left There’s an enormous consensus in terred over 2,500 years ago — 40 stat- to the World Tourism Organization, a in economic activity. Lawmakers in- favor of a waiver. It includes dozens of ues, amulets, canopic jars and funerary United Nations agency. stead relied on the Federal Reserve’s Nobel laureates and the former leaders masks. The minister, Khaled el-Enany, Now more than ever, tourism in Egypt cheap-money policies to coax the United of Britain, Canada, Costa Rica, France, said the latest findings hinted at the Inspecting a newly discovered mummy. “The more discoveries we make, the is facing “an unprecedented challenge,” States’ economy back from the brink. Malawi, New Zealand and many other great potential of the ancient site and more interest there is in this site and in Egypt worldwide,” an official said. Zurab Pololikashvili, the organization’s What ensued was a halting recovery countries. Ten Democratic senators showcased the dedication of the all- secretary general said in an email. marked by climbing wealth inequality have asked Biden to accede to India Egyptian team that had unearthed the In recent years, Egypt’s tourism has as workers struggled to find jobs while and South Africa’s request. Represent- gilded artifacts. in this site and in Egypt worldwide.” museum in a lavish spectacle that was been adversely affected by a string of the stock market soared. ative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois is But he also singled out another reason Egyptology is having a big moment: broadcast worldwide. In addition, the misfortunes, starting with the political “Fiscal policy can be more targeted” helping to organize a letter from mem- the archaeological discoveries were cru- Archaeologists announced this month discovery of 59 beautifully preserved instability that followed the 2011 revolu- than monetary policy, said Cecilia GOLDBERG, PAGE 9 cial: They were a boon for tourism, that they had unearthed an ancient sarcophagi in Saqqara is now the sub- tion and occasional bursts of terrorism, Rouse, who oversees the White House which had been decimated by the co- Pharaonic city near the southern city of ject of a Netflix documentary; a bejew- including attacks on tourists, bomb Council of Economic Advisers. In the The New York Times publishes opinion ronavirus pandemic. Luxor that dated back more than 3,400 eled statue of the god Nefertum was blasts that damaged prominent muse- pandemic crisis, which disproportion- from a wide range of perspectives in “This unique site is still hiding a lot,” years. found in Saqqara; the 4,700-year-old ums and a downed airliner that killed ately hurt women of all races and men of hopes of promoting constructive debate Mr. el-Enany said. “The more discover- The discovery came just days after 22 Djoser’s Step Pyramid was reopened hundreds of Russian tourists in 2015. color, she said, “If we tailor the relief to about consequential questions. ies we make, the more interest there is royal mummies were moved to a new last year after a 14-year, $6.6 million EGYPT, PAGE 4 INEQUALITY, PAGE 7

How the Super League scheme fell apart

LONDON tempt broadcasters across the planet to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for the rights to show their games. But while soccer is now the biggest Fan fury helps topple business in sports, it remains, at heart, a deal worth billions for an intensely local affair. Teams rooted in neighborhoods and based in small KARA SWISHER DOESN’T Europe’s elite soccer clubs towns compete in domestic leagues that DO EASY INTERVIEWS. have existed for more than a century, BY TARIQ PANJA AND RORY SMITH competitions in which the great and the good share the field — and at least some For 48 hours, soccer stood on the brink. of the finances — with the minor and the Fans took to the streets. Players broke makeweight. into open revolt. Chaos stalked the An uneasy truce between the two game’s corridors of power, unleashing a faces of the world’s game had held for shock wave that resonated around the decades. And then, on April 18, it world, from Manchester to Manila, Bar- cracked as an unlikely alliance of U.S. celona to Beijing and Liverpool to Los hedge funds, Russian oligarchs, Euro- Angeles. pean industrial tycoons and Gulf royals A new Opinion podcast That internationalism is what has sought to seize control of the revenues of about power. turned European soccer, over the last 30 the world’s most popular sport by creat- years, into a global obsession. The elite ing a closed European Super League. nytimes.com/sway teams of Western Europe are stocked How that plan came together and with stars drawn from Africa, South then spectacularly collapsed is a story of America and all points in between. They egos and intrigue, avarice and ambition, draw fans — not just from England, Italy ROB PINNEY/GETTY IMAGES secret meetings and private lunches, in- and Spain, but from China, India and Hundreds of fans gathered before Chelsea’s midweek game with Brighton outside ternational finance and internecine Australia — in numbers large enough to Stamford Bridge in London, the team’s stadium, to protest plans for the Super League. SOCCER, PAGE 2

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