2020-07-17: News Headlines

RT (2020-07-17). WATCH: Immigrant workers camp outside Bezos' NYC apartment as part of AOC-sponsored campaign to tax billionaires. rt.com Dozens of immigrant workers have begun a joint 24-hour fast and sleep-out outside billionaire Jeff Bezos' $16 million penthouse in Manhattan, to lobby New York authorities to tax the wealthy to help the pandemic-affected poor. | High-profile Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is among those behind a campaign to push New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to further tax the mega-rich in the state and use the revenue generated to help workers in need of assistance during the pandemic. | Eyewitness footage from the scene shows the workers, joined by city council members, set up camp on Fifth Avenue near the Amazon-o…

Stephen Lendman (2020-07-17). Dems and GOP to Debate Extended Stimulus Benefits Next Week. globalresearch.ca Current federal unemployment benefits expire in days. | In May, House-controlled Dems narrowly passed a new $3 trillion stimulus package. | So-called Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) legislation extends current federal benefits through at least yearend. | Senate Majority Leader …

Margot Kidder (2020-07-17). Now Is the Time for Free College. zcomm.org With youth unemployment and student debt skyrocketing, young people need free higher education…

Fight Back (2020-07-17). Michigan workers rally and march for unemployment extensions. fightbacknews.org Lansing, MI – 120 union members and supporters marched through downtown Lansing, July 15, chanting, "They say cut back! We say fight back!" The march stopped at a union worker statue where Nick Eaton of IATSE Local 247 spoke, "This statue represents the workers who built the new buildings you see in front of you. It also reflects the history of factory workers before deindustrialization left ugly scenes and empty lots, like many cities in the Midwest." | The marchers returned to the State Capitol building chanting about unemployment, "Extend to the end!" and "HEROES Act now!" Josh Roskamp with IATSE Local 26 expl…

Zach Conti (2020-07-17). G20 Must Act, Say Hundreds of Religious, Labor, Human Rights, Environmental and Developmen. indybay.org Washington DC – Ahead of Saturday's G20 Finance Minister meetings, a wide range of 213 organizations is pressing for more action to confront the global health and economic impacts of the coronavirus. The largest religious bodies in the United States and Africa were joined by the biggest labor unions, human rights, environmental and anti-poverty groups in letters sent to the G20, IMF and White House.

_____ (2020-07-17). Nicaragua: The Revolution Won't Be Stopped. popularresistance.org 2019 was an amazing year in the search for peace in Nicaragua with The Amnesty Law and the promotion of reconciliation between neighbors in every corner of the nation. It was a year of life-giving advances in all aspects of wellbeing: poverty reduction, health, education, gender equity, recreation, culture and infrastructure; strengthened food security, and a new highway that joins Bluefields to the rest of the nation making the first paved transit route from the Caribbean to the Pacific. | And all this despite cruel US unconventional warfare against the Sandinistas that has gone on for decades and reached a peak…

Peter Koenig (2020-07-16). Video: The COVID-19 Lockdown: Economic and Social Impacts. globalresearch.ca The unspoken truth is that the novel coronavirus provides a pretext to powerful financial interests and corrupt politicians to trigger the entire World into a spiral of mass unemployment, bankruptcy, extreme poverty and despair. | Michel Chossudovsky interviews Economist and Geopolitical …

Norman Solomon (2020-07-16). 'Not Him… Us': On the Ultimate Meaning of the Bernie Sanders Campaign. commondreams.org Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) addresses supporters during a campaign rally on March 8, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sanders covered his policy agendas for immigration, women's rights, healthcare and economic inequality. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bernie_not_him_us.jpg

sputniknews (2020-07-16). Republicans Roll Out Resolution Accusing Ilhan Omar of 'Anti-American' Remarks. sputniknews.com Minnesota House of Representatives Democrat Ilhan Omar has been accused by members the Republican party of violating her oath to defend the US Constitution, following a speech earlier this month in which she called on the US public to tear down "systems of oppression" and fight racism and inequality.

Mark Gruenberg (2020-07-16). Despite Trump's happy talk, 2.4 million more claim jobless benefits. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON — Another 2,432,380 people filed for unemployment insurance benefits last week, the Labor Department reported, pushing the official total of jobless above 32 million, and the unofficial total far beyond that. Just over 1.5 million (1,503,892) newly jobless sought state-paid benefits, funded by employers' contributions and payroll taxes—sources that are rapidly running out of …

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-07-16). Ocasio-Cortez, NY State Progressives Call on Cuomo to Pass Billionaires' Tax to Support Immigrants Left Out of Covid-19 Relief. commondreams.org Progressive lawmakers in New York on Thursday demanded that Gov. Andrew Cuomo impose a tax on the few wealthy New Yorkers who have benefited financially from the coronavirus pandemic in order to support immigrant workers who have been excluded from relief measures. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1222279641_1_0.jpg

news.un (2020-07-16). COVID-19: UN relief chief urges G20 to step up to avert 'cascading crises' in fragile countries. news.un.org The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting recession are set to trigger the first increase in global poverty in three decades, pushing 265 million people to the point of starvation by the end of the year, the UN's top humanitarian official warned on Friday.

Heidi Shierholz (2020-07-16). With Unemployment at Historic Heights, Congress Must Extend $600 Lifeline to Workers. commondreams.org Letting the $600 expire won't just hurt UI recipients and their families, it would hurt millions more. (Photo: Andrew Cashin / MTA New York City Transit / flickr / cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/coronavirus_workers_0_0.jpg

Dean Baker (2020-07-16). It's Going to be a Long, Hard Recession. counterpunch.org When the unemployment rate goes up, a standard theme in the media is that workers don't have the right skills. We saw that yesterday in the New York Times when an article told us "The Pandemic Has Accelerated Demands for a More Skilled Workforce." It tells us how the growth of telecommuting in response to

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-07-16). Bolstering Case for Extending Unemployment Relief—and Higher Wages Overall—Study Shows Recipients Spent More During Pandemic. commondreams.org www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/unemployment_0.jpg

Michael James (2020-07-15). Can romance transcend class? Hochschild's 'Rebel Cinderella' in review. peoplesworld.org Can romance transcend class? The answer, based on Adam Hochschild's latest book, Rebel Cinderella: From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose Pastor Stokes, seems to be yes—for a while. Hochschild, author of King Leopold's Ghost and Spain in Our Hearts, tells the life story of Rose Pastor Stokes, a Jewish woman born into poverty in …

Heidi Peltier (2020-07-15). Profit Driven "Military Contracting" Camouflages Military Costs, Exacerbates Inequality. globalresearch.ca Military contracting was sold to the American people as a way to reduce the cost of military operations, yet the result has been quite the opposite. Recent

news.un (2020-07-15). Independent rights expert says emerging technologies entrenching racism, discrimination. news.un.org An independent UN human rights expert is calling for greater scrutiny of emerging digital technologies which she said are being used to uphold racial inequality, discrimination and intolerance.

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-07-15). Monopoly Is the New Normal. thealtworld.com CNN is happy to report more bad news that can help the presstitutes unseat President Trump: | "Mass unemployment. Surging bankruptcies. An unprecedented health crisis. It's going to be really ugly. Here come the big bank earnings." The report has interesting information that CNN doesn't seem to have noticed. CNN reports that banks are in trouble because of low interest rates. But don't banks pay low interest rates and charge high rates? Interest on…

_____ (2020-07-15). Economic Collapse, Pandemic: There Is No Plan (For You). popularresistance.org In the midst of an enormous, unavoidable increase in national unemployment, the $600 per week unemployment benefit increase that has sustained millions is set to run out at the end of this month, and is unlikely to be renewed at its current level, if at all. Eviction moratoriums are expiring, and more than 20 million Americans could be in danger of eviction in the next four months. Many small businesses, their resources exhausted, are closing for good, and bankruptcies of large businesses are accelerating. Millions have already lost their employer-based health insurance, and millions more will. At the same time t…

_____ (2020-07-15). Toppling Statues As An Act Of Historical Redemption. popularresistance.org The brutal murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police set off an unprecedented wave of protests. In a highly publicized, graphic execution, Floyd was killed in broad daylight for possession of an alleged counterfeit bill. The ensuing rebellion of global dimensions is undoubtedly fueled by the exposure to uncertainty, stress and anxiety that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated. In the United States and beyond, frustration and anger at unprepared and incompetent governments overlap with the pressures of systemic racism, seen in sheer wealth gaps and repressive state practices. | Across the pond, protests ha…

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-07-15). On Tax Day, Analysis Shows Billionaire Wealth Growth Since Start of Pandemic Exceeds Total Budget Deficits of 23 US States. commondreams.org "Billionaire wealth is booming during the pandemic while states are drowning in red ink." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/closed_1_0_0.jpg

_____ (2020-07-15). The Quiet Return of Feudalism. strategic-culture.org Silicon Valley oligarchs are ushering in a new age of serfdom, aided by the left. | Jorge GONZàÅLEZ-GALLARZA | Few policy items have more ominously heralded the ongoing realignment of our politics than Universal Basic Income. That its proponents and detractors can't seem to agree on what UBI is intended for in the first place is merely a measure of that omen. | Take Spain. The country's far-left government was an early fan…

Staff (2020-07-14). Malaysia Still Pushes False Claim That It Has Eradicated Poverty. therealnews.com Malaysia must acknowledge that the country's rapid economic growth has not benefited all of its residents, says Philip Alston, former UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

Staff (2020-07-14). Malaysia Still Vastly Undercounting People Living In Poverty. therealnews.com Malaysia must acknowledge that the country's rapid economic growth has not benefited all of its residents, says Philip Alston, former UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

RT (2020-07-14). 'I'm not worried. What do I care?' Bloomberg's sycophantic 'billionaires are human too' profile seems to suggest just the opposite. rt.com Bloomberg's 'Covid conversation' with an anonymous billionaire might have intended to humanize the rich in a time of unprecedented social upheaval, but the subject's clueless callousness will likely fuel class resentment. | Bloomberg reporter Max Abelson interviewed the richest person he knew the day the World Health Organization declared a pandemic back in March, explaining that he "thought someone so well-connected might know what was going on." The mystery tycoon's response? "What the f**k, I'm not worried." | As more Americans than ever before face joblessness, poverty, and a prolonged recession sparked by…

Eds. (2020-07-14). The parlous state of poverty eradication. mronline.org The world is at an existential crossroads involving a pandemic, a deep economic recession, devastating climate change, extreme inequality, and an uprising against racist policies. Running through all of these challenges is the longstanding neglect of extreme poverty by many governments, economists, and human rights advocates.

Rep. Ron Paul (2020-07-14). Will the Federal Reserve Cause the Next Riots? globalresearch.ca Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly both recently denied that the Federal Reserve's policies create economic inequality. Unfortunately for Powell, Daly, and other Fed promoters, a cursory look at the Fed's operations shows that …

Dean Baker (2020-07-14). Propaganda on Government Action and Inequality from David Leonhardt. counterpunch.org It really gets annoying how all discussions in the media of inequality in the media take the White Savior route, where we need the government to act to reduce inequality created by the natural workings of the market. David Leonhardt gave us another dose of this one today when he speculated about the state of

Dean Baker (2020-07-14). It's Going to Be a Long and Harsh Recession: NYT Warns of Skills Gap. cepr.net When the unemployment rate goes up, a standard theme in the media is that workers don't have the right skills. We saw that yesterday in the New York Times when an article told us "The Pandemic Has Accelerated Demands for a More Skilled Workforce." It tells us how the growth of telecommuting in response to …