(2019-09-16). Financial Transactions Tax Would Cost Most People Little, Be Paid by the Wealthy, Discourage High-Frequency Trading. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2019-09-16). Would Trump Try to Manipulate Economic Data Before the Election? truthout.org | | I talked to a reporter last week who wanted to know if Donald Trump could manipulate economic data for political advantage. For example, could Trump make the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show a lower rate of unemployment or the Bureau of Economic Analysis show a higher rate of GDP growth, just before the election next fall? | I told the reporter that it would be extremely difficult. First, the people at these and other statistical agencies are dedicated professionals. It is inconceivable that i…
(2019-09-15). Republicans Partied in a Monument to American Wealth Inequality. therealnews.com 
The little-known back story of the hotel where Republicans gathered in Baltimore last week is how it embodies all the unjust policies that have created record wealth inequality in the US…
(2019-09-15). Yang says SNL novice should not be fired over Chinese racial slur, drowned out by PC crowd. rt.com 
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has said that Saturday Night Live's new hire Shane Gillis should not be sacked for making a tasteless joke after a clip of him mocking Chinatowns resurfaced, setting Twitter alight. | Yang, a son of immigrants from Taiwan, struck a distinctly different tone from most online warriors when he said he would be "happy to sit down and talk" with Gillis about the ill-fated clip that resurfaced on Friday. The video shows the comedian tearing into Chinatowns and their inhabitants. | "Damn, Chinatown is f**king nuts," Gillis says in the clip, referring to the ability of Chi…
(2019-09-15). Poor Patients Face Lawsuits From Nonprofit Hospitals That Trap Them in Debt. truthout.org | | This article was produced in partnership with MLK50, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. | Investigative reports have spurred the moves, and they prompted criticism from a top federal official. | "We are learning the lengths to which certain not-for-profit hospitals go to collect the full list price from uninsured patients," Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid S…
(2019-09-14). Sackler family behind OxyContin busted trying to hide $1bn as lawsuits over opioid crisis pile up. rt.com 
New York's attorney general has uncovered over $1 billion in wire transfers by the Sackler family and accused the OxyContin magnates of trying to shield their wealth from mounting lawsuits over their role in the opioid crisis. | The prodigious stash was discovered in the records of just one of the 33 financial institutions Attorney General Letitia James subpoenaed last month in an effort to trace the extent of the Purdue Pharma owners' wealth, James' office said in a statement on Friday. The money passed through several Swiss bank accounts, indicating the family may have tried to hide profits from the sale of…
(2019-09-14). Strikes Have Followed Me All My Life: The Thirty-Seventh Newsletter (2019). mronline.org 
Strikes have followed Sala all her life, as they followed Emma Mashinini. These are militants who understand that social divisions favour the wealthy, while social unity favours the poor. Those fires in the South African spazas mirror the attacks on the houses, schools, and health centres in Milagro Sala's Jujuy province. Tears are not enough […] | Source
(2019-09-13). Bronzeface? Woke warrior Meryl Streep accused of wearing Latina 'blackface' in new Netflix film. rt.com 
Hollywood actress Meryl Streep is under fire for portraying a Latina character in upcoming Netflix film, 'The Laundromat,' with critics accusing the liberal darling of sporting a form of 'blackface.' | Directed by Steven Soderbergh of 'Ocean's 11' fame and set to drop on Netflix later this month, the comedy-drama delves into the story behind the Panama Papers, a trove of millions of documents leaked in 2015 which detail the corrupt dealings of thousands of wealthy individuals around the world. | Though Streep assumes the lead role in the first section of the film, her less conspicuous portrayal of a Latina off…
(2019-09-13). Buying votes? Yang announces he'll give 10 people $1,000 a month… but read the fine print first. rt.com 
Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang is dangling cash in front of voters, announcing he'll raffle off 10-year-long samples of his Universal Basic Income program — $1,000 a month — in a promo he swears is legal. | Yang opened the third Democratic presidential debate with the "unprecedented" promotion, having teased his followers with the "debate surprise" in the days leading up to the event. Winners will receive $1,000 per month for 12 months even if Yang does not win the nomination, with the funds coming from his campaign war chest. | In his opening statement, Andrew Yang says his campaign w…
(2019-09-13). Canadian health care getting attention in U.S. election; how about income inequality? peoplesworld.org 
OTTAWA, Ont. (PAI)—South of the border, in the United States, we tend not to pay much attention to our northern neighbors. Entire election cycles can come and go without anyone running for national office saying anything significant about Canada. But that all changed of late. Canada now looms large in our politics, mainly because many …
(2019-09-13). 3rd Democratic Debate: Education, Inequality, and Racism (2/3). therealnews.com 
Our panel on the 3rd Democratic presidential debate takes a closer look at how the candidates look at and overlook crucial issues related to inequality and education in the United States…
(2019-09-11). Joe Biden Is Demanding Financial Transparency While Concealing His Own Wealth. theintercept.com Former Vice President Joe Biden is telegraphing that he plans to attack his rivals on the debate stage for a lack of transparency into their finances. Biden is expected to go after Sen. Elizabeth Warren in particular, Bloomberg reported, for failing to disclose details of private income during the 1990s and 2000s from the types of companies that she now lambasts for "rigging the system." | Warren, as a law professor, did consulting work for private companies that involved her bankruptcy ex…
(2019-09-11). Headlines for September 11, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Ousts National Security Adviser John Bolton, Palestinians Say Annexation of West Bank Would Be "Paramount to a War Crime", Scottish Court Declares Johnson's Suspension of Parliament Ahead of Brexit "Unlawful", Japan Warns Radioactive Water from Fukushima to Be Dumped into Pacific Ocean, Republicans Win Two Special Congressional Elections in North Carolina, Study: 1,700 Polling Places Have Closed Since Gutting of Voting Rights Act, California Votes to Force Gig Companies to Treat Contract Workers Like Employees, Number of Uninsured Americans Jumps to 27.5 Million, CDC Warns Against Vaping Use as Sixth User D…
(2019-08-29). Taxpayers Have Been Ordered to Pay Over $2 Million For Discriminating Against LGBTQ People. aclu.org Government officials should know that discrimination comes with a cost to taxpayers. | Last week, a federal appeals court ruled that the Commonwealth of Kentucky was liable for $224,000 for the actions of Kim Davis, who refused to do her job and issue marriage licenses (to same-sex or different-sex couples) as county clerk. | While Davis' story made national headlines, her case isn't the only one in the past year where a court case filed by the ACLU has led to a bill for discriminatio…