(2020-05-17). [Commentary] The imperative for universal healthcare to curtail the COVID-19 outbreak in the USA. thelancet.com The COVID-19 outbreak in the United States is growing steeply and spreading widely. As of March 26, national incidence surpassed every other country, and as of April 28 has reported over a million cases. The COVID-19 crisis is exposing the systemic frailties in our healthcare system. More than 78 million people in America do not have access to adequate health insurance [1]. Given that health insurance in the US is typically provided by employers, millions more are at risk of losing their healthcare coverage as unemployment surges.
(2020-05-16). U.S. jobless rate broke depression-era record—but most media missed it. mronline.org 
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' eagerly awaited Friday morning Official Unemployment Rate report for April—what editors generally call the BLS's "headline" rate of unemployment—was definitely headline-worthy.
(2020-05-16). Dispatch from the Frontlines: Gender Inequality and COVID-19 (CPCC). indybay.org Online livestream & Zoom…
(2020-05-16). Australian governments exploit mass unemployment to coerce workers into unsafe workplaces. wsws.org Nearly half a million workers dropped out of the workforce in April, yet unemployment and underemployment still reached a record total of 19.9 percent.
(2020-05-16). It's time for a basic, guaranteed income for all. thecanary.co The pandemic crisis has laid bare the multiple flaws in the British system of social support. With the economy shrinking and unemployment soaring, the government has been forced to support falling incomes through wage subsidies and the easing of
(2020-05-16). Unemployment soars in New Zealand. wsws.org Having handed tens of billions of dollars to big business, the Labour Party-led government is presiding over an increase in unemployment and social misery on a scale not seen in generations.
(2020-05-15). Video: Coronavirus: Economic and Social Collapse: Mass Unemployment, Bankruptcy, Poverty and Despair. globalresearch.ca First published on April 16, 2020 | There is a serious health crisis which must be duly resolved. But there is another important dimension which has to be addressed. | Millions of people have lost their jobs, and their lifelong savings. In …
(2020-05-15). What Happens In the Wake of the COVID-19 Lockdown? Economic Destruction, Global Poverty, Bankruptcies, Mass Unemployment. Neoliberalism to the Rescue. globalresearch.ca In the wake of the lockdown: Bankruptcies and mass unemployment, the economic destabilization of entire countries. | Millions of people have lost their jobs, and their lifelong savings. They are unable to pay their home mortgages. | In developing countries, poverty and …
(2020-05-15). Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic, America's Billionaires Thrive and Prosper. dissidentvoice.org Although most Americans currently face hard times, with unemployment surging to the levels of the Great Depression and enormous numbers of people sick or dying from the coronavirus pandemic, the nation's super-rich remain a notable exception. Financially, they are doing remarkably well. According to the Institute for Policy Studies, between March 18 and April 28, …
(2020-05-15). Back to work, or else: Trump administration tells states to pull unemployment benefits. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—GOP President Donald Trump's Labor Secretary, Eugene Scalia, and his #2 who runs the agency that oversees jobless benefits want employers to report—and states to bar benefits from—workers who fear returning to their old jobs because their employers won't protect them against the coronavirus. The memo, from John Pallasch, a GOP operative, an advocate for …
(2020-05-15). War and Plagues: Military Spending During a Pandemic. counterpunch.org 
Welcome to the world of the hypersonic weapons, devices that are not only superfluous, but which will almost certainly not work, They will, however, cost enormous amounts of money. At a time when countries across the globe are facing economic chaos, financial deficits and unemployment at Great Depression levels, arms manufacturers are set to cash in big.
(2020-05-15). The Fed Hasn't Spent a Dime Yet for Main Street Versus $735 Billion for Wall Street. counterpunch.org 
The stimulus bill known as the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) was signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27. Among its many features (such as direct checks to struggling Americans and enhancing unemployment compensation by $600 per week for four months to unemployed workers so they could pay
(2020-05-15). Study: Coronavirus Has a Been a Massive Boon for America's Billionaires. thealtworld.com A new study found that in the past eight weeks alone, the country's super wealthy have added a further $368.8 billion to their already enormous fortunes. | MPN— America's billionaires have seen their wealth increase by 12.5 percent during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank,
(2020-05-15). Is Universal Basic Income the Way Out of the Current Economic Crisis? globalresearch.ca Philip's third interview with Ellen Brown focused on the Universal Basic Income, which Philip believes is the ONLY way out of the current economic crisis. The social distancing forced by the COVID-19 epidemic has shut down the country, and one-time …
(2020-05-15). The Real Coronavirus Victims: Relations between People. globalresearch.ca Phenomenal profits in the offing. A real gush of dollars and euros to come for the majority shareholders and CEOs of Big Pharma, who are already immensely wealthy. In the meantime, the constitutional rights dearly acquired by our ancestors are under attack.
(2020-05-15). Almost 3 million more applied for Unemployment Insurance last week. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, May 14, the Labor Department reported more bad news, saying that almost 3 million people applied for unemployment insurance in the previous week ending May 9. This means that over the last eight weeks more than 36 million people applied after losing jobs and income. Another 3.5 million are collecting the federal government's Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, which goes to the self-employed. This brings the total number of recently unemployed people to about 40 million. | This report was worse than mainstream economists expected, with a drop of only 200,000 from the week before,…
(2020-05-15). Three million more US workers apply for unemployment, reaching 36 million in two months. wsws.org On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reported that 40 percent of US households bringing in less than $40,000 a year lost a wage earner in March.
(2020-05-14). Coronavirus Pandemic Prompts Global Mental Health Crisis as Millions Feel Alone, Anxious & Depressed. democracynow.org 
Is the coronavirus pandemic generating a mental illness crisis? Millions face isolation, poverty and anxiety. We speak with psychology professor and author Andrew Solomon, as the United Nations calls on governments to put mental health "front and center" in their response to the crisis.
(2020-05-14). Headlines for May 14, 2020. democracynow.org World Health Organization Says Novel Coronavirus "May Never Go Away", Whistleblower Warns U.S. Faces "Darkest Winter" Without Urgent Action on COVID-19, Trump Calls Dr. Anthony Fauci's Warning on COVID-19 and Schools "Not an Acceptable Answer", Wisconsin Stay-at-Home Orders Struck Down, Threatening New Wave of COVID-19 Deaths, Fed Reserve Chair Warns of Long Recession as Unemployment Claims Hit 36 Million, Trump Calls Democrats' Coronavirus Relief Bill "Dead on Arrival", Native Americans Make Up Half of New Mexico Coronavirus Deaths; New Orleans Sanitation Workers Strike, China to Test 11 Million Wuhan Residents…
(2020-05-14). U.S. pandemic unemployment grows again, but so does the number of billionaires. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Some 2.981 million more people filed for jobless benefits in the week ending May 7, the Labor Department said Thursday, bringing total unemployment insurance claims since the coronavirus pandemic-caused shutdowns began to 36.5 million. Progressive analysts at the Economic Policy Institute predict jobless figures will only get worse, especially for low-wage workers, women workers, and …
(2020-05-14). US: Nearly 3 Million Newly Unemployed Ask for Subsidies. telesurenglish.net Nearly 3 million U.S. workers filed for jobless benefits last week, bringing the total number of people applying for unemployment since the coronavirus pandemic erupted in March to 36 million. | RELATED: | The U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday that 2.98 million people have applied for unemployment benefits in the country. | This brings the total number of unemployed people in the nation who took advantage o…
(2020-05-13). US Jobless Rate Broke Depression-Era Record—but Most Media Missed It. fair.org 
The New York Times (5/9/20) featured a chart of job losses that stretched all the way down the front page. | The Bureau of Labor Statistics' eagerly awaited Friday morning Official Unemployment Rate report for April—what editors generally call the BLS's "headline" rate of unemployment —was definitely headline-worthy. This was especially evident in the next day's New York Times (5/9/20), which ran a bar chart of historic unemployment going back to 1946 across the top of the front page, and then a long red bar down the right-hand column of the entire page showing job losses for April. | It was a drama…
(2020-05-12). Shelter-in-Place and Internet Inequality: What's the Connection? dissidentvoice.org 
Photo Source: Unsplash As most of the world is forced to stay home, internet and technology play essential roles in almost every aspect of the population's shelter-at-home lives. The internet keeps loved ones communicating and in touch, informs people of what's going on in the world, connects students to their teachers and professors, and provides …
(2020-05-12). [Research Paper] Mapping of variations in child stunting, wasting and underweight within the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2000—2017. thelancet.com CGF indicators have improved in India, but there are substantial variations between the districts in their magnitude and rate of decline, and the inequality between districts has increased in a large proportion of the states. The poor correlation between the national surveys for CGF estimates highlights the need to standardise collection of anthropometric data in India. The district-level trends in this report provide a useful reference for targeting the efforts under NNM to reduce CGF across India and meet the Indian and global targets.
(2020-05-12). The Censorship of Inequality in the Covid-19 Era: How Corporate and Market-Based Metrics Rule the News, and Why it Matters. projectcensored.org By Anthony DiMaggio The old adage that "the more things change the more they stay the same" seems particularly appropriate to media coverage in the Covid-19 crisis. Old patterns of media…
(2020-05-10). New York pandemic spending favors wealthy over workers. liberationnews.org 
New York politicians have recently barreled forward with plans for massive cuts to public spending.
(2020-05-09). White Unemployment Rose More than Black Unemployment and No One Notices. cepr.net One of the most striking items in a very striking employment report yesterday is that white unemployment has actually risen slightly more than black unemployment in this crisis. White unemployment has risen from 3.1 percent in February to 14.2 percent in April, a rise of 11.1 percentage points. Black unemployment rose from 5.8 percent to …
(2020-05-08). Headlines for May 8, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Pass 75,000 as Trump Sidelines Top Medical Experts, Trump to Be Tested for Coronavirus Daily After Valet Tests Positive, Vigil at White House Honors 88 Who Died from "Trump's Abhorrent Failure to Protect Nurses", U.S. Unemployment Claims Soar to 33.3 Million Amid Pandemic | , Democrats Promise "Rooseveltian" Coronavirus Relief Bill | , Mitch McConnell Prioritizes Judicial Confirmations as Senate Returns Amid Pandemic | , Data Shows 35 of 40 People Arrested in NY for Social Distancing Violations Are Black | , Texas Stops Jailing Lockdown Violators; Nebraska Ends Reporting on Meat Plant COVI…
(2020-05-07). Reflections on the Coronavirus Economic Relief Bills. peoplespolicyproject.org 
When coronavirus relief bills were being discussed a couple of months ago, I Paid Leave. Create a one-month sickness allowance for those who need to take leave from work because they contracted the virus. Create a family leave benefit for those who need to take leave from work because they need to take care of family, e.g. due to school closures. | Unemployment Insurance. Expand unemployment benefits by replacing 100 percent of prior earnings up to $8,…