2020-02-24: News Headlines

Staff (2020-02-24). What Happened to the Keynesian Dream of a 15-Hour Work Week? truthout.org Now a famous economist, Thomas Piketty (along with co-researcher Emmanuel Saez) wrote Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2013), contending that capitalism has within it the germinating seeds of ever-growing inequality. That is what his longitudinal study of masses of data proved conclusively. | Yet millions of alarm bells still sound in the wee hours each Monday morning, as people hit their snooze buttons, hoping for a moment's rest before the inevitable rush to the office. Their weekend is over. Their fun…

Staff (2020-02-24). Radical Urban Planning Can Fight Gentrification With Affordable Housing. truthout.org We tend to talk about gentrification as if it's beyond our control, that replacing old urban houses with identical high-end condos is a law of nature. We sigh as historically Black, ethnically diverse, and immigrant communities are displaced, destroying social infrastructure that was built up over generations. | But it isn't inevitable; it's the result of decades of policies that reflect the power of wealth in shaping our urban landscapes. So why do city governments in the United States usually do…

Jon Queally, staff writer (2020-02-24). Democratic Frontrunner Bernie Sanders Releases Plan for Guaranteed 'Child Care and Pre-K for All'. commondreams.org "We know that the first four years of a child's life are the most important years of human development, so it is unconscionable that in the wealthiest country in the world, we do not properly invest in early childhood education." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/bernie_sanders_early_childcare.jpg

Staff (2020-02-20). Bloomberg Takes Debate Stage for First Time & Struggles to Face His History of Misogyny, Racism. democracynow.org Tensions flared at the ninth Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Senator Bernie Sanders sought to defend his position as front-runner in the Democrats' nomination fight, and former Vice President Joe Biden, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar tried to attract more supporters. Senator Elizabeth Warren led a night full of attacks on the new person on stage: billionaire former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Bloomberg faced questions about his vast wealth, his defense of stop-and-frisk and his treatment of women. | We host a roundtable on the debate and Saturday's Nevada c…

news.un (2020-02-20). On World Social Justice Day, the UN labour agency says 'put people and planet first'. news.un.org Reduce inequality around the world, the United Nations labour agency urged on Thursday, World Social Justice Day.

Staff (2020-02-14). Detroit Overtaxed Residents by $600M, Causing Foreclosure Crisis. Residents Are Now Fighting Back. democracynow.org In Detroit, a showdown between progressive lawmakers and the city is taking on racist housing policies that robbed African Americans in Detroit of their homes and widened the racial wealth gap. On Thursday, the Coalition for Property Tax Justice announced a class-action lawsuit against the city of Detroit, Wayne County and the state of Michigan in response to unfair property tax foreclosures. One in four Detroit properties have been subject to property tax foreclosure, a level comparable only to tax foreclosure rates during the Great Depression. According to legal experts, many of the foreclosures were caused by…