[Perspectives] Society and the slow burn of inequality
Michael Marmot | thelancet.com | 2020-05-02
On June 14, 2017, Grenfell Tower, a high-rise housing block in the Royal London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, UK, went up in flames. 72 people died, among the poorest and most marginalised in society. A dramatic conflagration such as this could teach us two kinds of lessons, if we were but open to receiving them. This event exposed underlying problems in society and it showed us that we have to do things differently. In the case of Grenfell, the underlying societal problem was deep-seated and enduring social inequalities and resultant health inequalities.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30940-5/fulltext?rss=yes
Argentine unions and employers agree to wage cuts pushing millions into poverty
wsws.org | 2020-05-02
More than a million workers will face hunger and poverty while businesses get massive subsidies.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/02/arge-m02.html
Dorothea Lange: Words and Pictures: An exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art
wsws.org | 2020-05-02
Lange's turn to documentary photography was spurred by the Great Depression as she sought to address economic inequality and social injustice through activism and the lens of her camera.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/02/lang-m02.html
As Amazon announces sales surge, its staff protest against poor safety conditions on International Workers' Day
Peadar O'Cearnaigh | thecanary.co | 2020-05-01
The first quarter of 2020 saw a surge in Amazon sales as a result of the coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown. Sales are also expected to increase again in the second three months of the year. | According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index daily ranking on 1 May, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the world's richest man. The pandemic has also resulted in his personal wealth rising by £19bn. And the increase in online shopping has boosted the company's…
thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2020/05/01/as-amazon-announces-sales-surge-its-staff-protest-against-poor-safety-conditions-on-international-workers-day/
Germany: Working Class Protests Against Unemployment in May Day
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-01
On International Workers' Day, Germany's trade unions protested over the collapse of labor rights and the significant increase of unemployment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | Germany Bans All Hezbollah Activities | According to forecasts by Angela Merkel's administration, Germany will experience the worst recession since World War II this year. | Recent unemployment figures have soared despite the economic aid that Germany's authorities have set up to prevent mass layoffs. | In Apr…
telesurenglish.net/news/germany-working-class-protests-against-unemployment-in-may-day-20200501-0002.html
Africa: Comoros Registers its First COVID-19 Case
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-01
Comoros' President Azali Assoumani Thursday announced the first COVID-19 case in this South-Eastern African nation. | RELATED: | Germany: Working Class Protests Against Unemployment in May Day | "While other countries who were hit earlier are preparing to go back to normality, our country is entering a critical phase," Assoumani warned.‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã | The COVID-19 patient is a Comoran citizen who was in contact with a 50-year-o…
telesurenglish.net/news/africa-comoro-registers-first-covid19-case-20200501-0005.html
ILO: Nearly half of all world's workers may lose their jobs due to COVID-19 pandemic
Abdul Rahman | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-05-01
In the absence of strong support measures by governments across the world, the estimated loss of mostly informal jobs would result in rising poverty, starvation and inequality, an ILO report says…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/05/01/ilo-nearly-half-of-all-worlds-workers-may-lose-their-jobs-due-to-covid-19-pandemic/
Corporate Looting as 'Rescue Plan,' Robber Barons as 'Saviors'
Joshua Cho | fair.org | 2020-05-01
Framing a massive corporate bailout as a "rescue package" (NPR, 3/27/20) was a PR coup. | For a perfect illustration of how corporate media function as ruling class propaganda, watch how they spin a titanic upward redistribution of wealth as a "rescue plan" for the US economy, and paint a robber baron like US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin as…
fair.org/home/corporate-looting-as-rescue-plan-robber-barons-as-saviors/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=corporate-looting-as-rescue-plan-robber-barons-as-saviors
Coronavirus and the Increase in Domestic Violence
David Rosen | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-01
Americans are paying dearly as they suffer through the coronavirus epidemic. The costs of inadequate testing, poor medical care and even death in isolation are only compounded by the nation's staggering economy, mounting unemployment rate and uncertainty of recovery. Making matters worse, there has been an increase in domestic violence.
counterpunch.org/2020/05/01/coronavirus-and-the-increase-in-domestic-violence/
US: FEMA Ordered 100,000 Body Bags
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-01
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requested 100,000 more body bags amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. The agency ordered a similar amount in early April. | RELATED: | US: Workers Must Risk Infection or Lose Unemployment Payments | E.M. Oil Transport Inc. of Montebello, California, received the new body bags batch order. The company advertises construction vehicles, building materials, and electronics on its website. According to local news media, the delivery would a…
telesurenglish.net/news/us-fema-ordered-100-000-body-bags–20200501-0007.html
As US Unemployment Reaches Great Depression Levels, Millions Still Unable to Obtain Assistance
Shannon Jones | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-01
More than 3.8 million workers in the US filed for unemployment benefits last week as the country faced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. More than 30 million American workers have filed unemployment claims since the beginning of …
globalresearch.ca/us-unemployment-reaches-great-depression-levels-millions-still-unable-obtain-assistance/5711499
Recent Unemployment Insurance claims top 30 million
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-05-01
San José, CA – On Thursday, April 30, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that more than 3.8 million new claims for unemployment insurance or UI were filed in the previous week ending April 25. This means that over the last six weeks more than 30 million claims have been filed. This means that the actual unemployment rate is about 25%, a level similar to the worst of the Great Depression of the 1930s. | The number of people who are getting Unemployment Insurance benefits as of a week earlier, or April 18, reached 18 million, the highest ever. Since 27 million people had applied for benefits as of that time, mor…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/5/1/recent-unemployment-insurance-claims-top-30-million
US: Workers Must Risk Infection or Lose Unemployment Payments
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-01
Some, among the millions of American workers laid off because of the COVID-19, are beginning to face a tough choice
U.S. Organizations React to Global Military Spending Report
Jeff Jurgens | peaceaction.org | 2020-04-30
Joint Statement: U.S. organizations react to global military spending report April 27, 2020 Our diverse group of 39 think-tanks, non-profits, faith-based organizations, and advocacy groups based in the United States find the exorbitant amount of money spent on militaries worldwide to be an irresponsible and harmful use of global wealth. The Global Military Expenditures Report …
peaceaction.org/2020/04/30/u-s-organizations-react-to-global-military-spending-report/
Economist Thomas Piketty: Coronavirus Pandemic Has Exposed the "Violence of Social Inequality"
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-30
As nearly 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment in just six weeks and millions worldwide face hunger and poverty, we look at the global economic catastrophe triggered by the pandemic and its impact on the most vulnerable. As the World Food Programme warns of a massive spike in global hunger and more than 100 million people in cities worldwide could fall into poverty, can this crisis be a catalyst for change? We ask French economist Thomas Piketty. His 2014 internationally best-selling book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," looked at economic inequality and the necessity of wealth taxes. His new b…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/30/thomas_piketty
Headlines for April 30, 2020
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-30
Jared Kushner Hails "Great Success Story" as U.S. Deaths Top 60,000, Dozens of Decomposing Bodies Found in Trucks Outside Brooklyn Funeral Home, President Trump Claims Coronavirus Will Be "Eradicated" from U.S. | , FDA to Approve Emergency Use of Remdesivir After the Drug Shows Promise Treating COVID-19, More Than 30 Million U.S. Workers File Unemployment Claims in Just Six Weeks, International Labour Organization Warns Pandemic Threatens Livelihoods of 1.6 Billion, South Korea Reports No New Domestic Coronavirus Cases , U.K. Now Has Europe's Second-Highest COVID-19 Death Toll | , Femicides and Domestic Violence…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/30/headlines
America's super-rich see their wealth rise by $282 Billion in three weeks of pandemic
Alan MacLeod | mronline.org | 2020-04-30
America's billionaires have accrued more wealth in the past three weeks alone than they made in total prior to 1980.
mronline.org/2020/04/30/americas-super-rich-see-their-wealth-rise-by-282-billion-in-three-weeks-of-pandemic/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=americas-super-rich-see-their-wealth-rise-by-282-billion-in-three-weeks-of-pandemic
Millions More US Jobless than Reported. Real U.S. Unemployment Rate at 38%
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
Based on how it was calculated pre-1990s, Shadowstats economist John Williams has the real US unemployment rate at around 38%, heading higher. | According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), "millions" of jobless US workers aren't getting benefits because applications they …
globalresearch.ca/millions-more-us-jobless-than-reported-real-u-s-unemployment-rate-at-38/5711311
The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Exposed the "Violence of Social Inequality"'
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
As nearly 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment in just six weeks and millions worldwide face hunger and poverty, we look at the global economic catastrophe triggered by the pandemic and its impact on the most vulnerable. As the World Food Programme warns of a massive spike in global hunger and more than 100 million people in cities worldwide could fall into poverty, can this crisis be a catalyst for change? We ask French economist Thomas Piketty. His 2014 internationally best-selling book,…
truthout.org/video/the-coronavirus-pandemic-has-exposed-the-violence-of-social-inequality/
Five Years After Freddie Gray's Death: The Resistance Makes Change, The Government Doesn't
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-30
The people at the core of the resistance after Freddie Gray's death are changing lives and building community five years later, while the government has done little to address poverty and isolation in the poorest Black communities of…
therealnews.com/stories/five-years-after-freddie-grays-death-the-resistance-makes-change-the-government-doesnt
More Thoughts on a Wealth Tax and Alternatives
Dean Baker | cepr.net | 2020-04-30
(This post first appeared on my Patreon page.) Last week the Boston Review (BR) published an exchange on a wealth tax that included a proposal from Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, with a number of responses, including one from me. I was critical of the proposal for both political reasons and because I …
cepr.net/more-thoughts-on-a-wealth-tax-and-alternatives/
How Workers Can Win in the Age of COVID-19
Sarah Jaffe | progressive.org | 2020-04-30
With thirty million people filing for unemployment, a new project helps organizers fight for the common good.
progressive.org/dispatches/how-workers-can-win-jaffe-200430/
Almost 40 per cent of UK firms to cut staff
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-04-30
Roughly 40 per cent of UK firms expect to lay off staff over the next 12 months, a survey has shown, raising the prospect of many more job cuts in the UK economy. UK unemployment has already surged as coronavirus lockdown measures cause businesses to close or cut costs significantly. Close to a third of …
truepublica.org.uk/newsbits/almost-40-per-cent-of-uk-firms-to-cut-staff/
ONE IN SEVEN Americans would avoid Covid-19 treatment for fear of cost, even as pricey new pill shows promise against virus
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Some 14 percent of US adults would forgo medical care for Covid-19 symptoms because they couldn't pay for it, a new poll has found
As US Economy Tanks, Study Finds Unemployment Numbers Likely Double Official Figure
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-29
"These findings on the millions of frustrated filers and the UI system's low payment rate highlight the need for policies to improve rather than hinder the UI application process," noted the studies authors.
mintpressnews.com/coronvirus-us-economy-study-finds-unemployment-numbers-double-official-figure/267124/
White Collar Criminals, Celebrities, Wealthy Use Privilege For Early Release Amidst Pandemic
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-28
Michael Cohen and Michael Avenatti were released, and some Los Angeles prisons offer pay-to-stay rooms for celebrities. But a huge number of people are still imprisoned and at risk of COVID-19 just because they can't afford cash bail.
therealnews.com/stories/white-collar-celebrities-wealthy-privilege-release-prisons-pandemic-coronavirus-bail-parole
How We Should Spell Relief
Adam Briones | progressive.org | 2020-04-27
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States was already suffering from a pandemic of inequality.
progressive.org/op-eds/how-we-should-spell-relief-briones-200427/
How Historical Trauma And Structural Inequality Help Spread COVID-19
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-27
Historical and generational trauma affect Black and other marginalized communities, and ongoing inequality is making the coronavirus pandemic worse among those groups.
therealnews.com/stories/historical-trauma-structural-inequality-spread-covid-19-coronavirus
Roaming Charges: American Thanatos, Inc
Jeffrey St. Clair | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-01
"Poverty made a sound like a wet cough in the shadows of the room."
As Millions Stripped of Health Coverage Amid Covid-19, House Dems Unveil Bill for Emergency Expansion of Medicare and Medicaid
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-05-01
Just a day after the U.S. Labor Department announced that more than 30 million people have applied for unemployment benefits since mid-March, over 30 House Democrats came together to introduce legislation that would guarantee healthcare coverage to all Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-12108885731.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2020/05/01/millions-stripped-health-coverage-amid-covid-19-house-dems-unveil-bill-emergency?cd-origin=rss
Georgia's Furloughed Workers Struggled To Get Unemployment Benefits. Now They Worry About Losing Them
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-24
Once businesses reopen, workers like Cameren Cook in Atlanta may have to decide between risking COVID-19 and not making their rent.
therealnews.com/columns/georgias-furloughed-workers-struggled-to-get-unemployment-benefits-now-they-worry-about-losing-them
Rich are Getting Richer, Despite Pandemic
Omar Ocampo | progressive.org | 2020-04-23
As billionaires' wealth continues to balloon, it's time for them to pay their fair share.
progressive.org/op-eds/rich-getting-richer-despite-pandemic-ocampo-collins-200423/
SPLC condemns attack on Alabama synagogue
splcenter.org | 2020-04-11
The Southern Poverty Law Center condemns the antisemitic attacks that took place during Passover at the Etz Chayim Synagogue in Huntsville, Alabama.
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/10/splc-condemns-attack-alabama-synagogue