2020-07-20: News Headlines

_____ (2020-07-20). On Using Our Power To Stop Climate Disaster And Create A Just World. popularresistance.org Time is running out to prevent full-blown climate catastrophe. Intertwined crises of wealth inequality, poverty, racism, and corporate despotism are deepening. | When working people refuse to go to work — when we put a stick in society's gears — we can make enormous changes quite rapidly. There are many historical examples of this, including, flawed though it was, the New Deal. | How can we join forces across movements today to use our power to create the world we want before it's too late? | Labor organizer, climate activist, and historian Jeremy Brecher will speak and then answer questions. He is the author o…

Aaron Morrison (2020-07-20). Tens of thousands walk off job in 'Strike for Black Lives'. peoplesworld.org NEW YORK (AP)—Organizers of a national workers strike say tens of thousands are walking off the job today in more than two dozen U.S. cities to protest systemic racism and economic inequality that has only worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. Dubbed the "Strike for Black Lives," labor unions, along with social and racial justice organizations …

WSWS (2020-07-20). Campaign continues against New Zealand visa processing delays. wsws.org One migrant from South Africa told the WSWS that being sent back would put her in extreme poverty and at risk of dying from COVID-19.

WSWS (2020-07-20). Millions in the US face disaster as $600 federal unemployment aid set to end this week. wsws.org The extended weekly payment has been the target of venomous attacks by big business as a "disincentive" to work and is unlikely to be reinstated by Congress in its current form.

_____ (2020-07-20). Why The Labor Movement Should Support The 'Beyond Recovery' Campaign. popularresistance.org Even before the pandemic, a large share of Americans cited housing availability and affordability as a major and growing concern. With rising unemployment, housing experts are predicting that 20 percent of all renters will be at risk of eviction by early fall. | As with other aspects of the pandemic, Black and Latino people will be hurt the most. As reported in the Washington Post, a recent Census survey found that "about 44 percent and 41 percent of adult Latino and black renters, respectively, said they had no or slight confidence they could pay their rent next month or were likely to defer payment." Majority B…

Mike Hastie (2020-07-19). Homeless in Portland, Oregon. zcomm.org Old Town Portland looks like a huge refugee settlement. I deliver lunches to 4 homeless encampments three days a week. It is like walking into a poverty war zone…

Prabhat Patnaik (2020-07-19). Decline in global poverty is a farce perpetuated by World Bank's poverty line. peoplesdispatch.org The real problem with the World Bank's poverty estimates, is that its International Poverty Line is set at an impossibly low level, which greatly underestimates world poverty…

Dedrick Asante-Muhammad (2020-07-19). The simplest way to close the racial wealth gap? Direct cash payments. zcomm.org Here's my proposal: give $20,000 to every American with an enslaved ancestor, every year, for 20 years. We can afford it…

Dr. Jack Rasmus (2020-07-18). What Lies Ahead: Permanent Job Losses, Poverty in America, Financial and Political Instability. globalresearch.ca On July 6, 2020 I posted my extended view and analysis why the 3rd quarter US GDP would falter—and lead to a W-shape recovery, as it typical of all Great Recessions. The current recession's scenario was compared with 1929-30 and …

news.un (2020-07-18). 'Inequality defines our time': UN chief delivers hard-hitting Mandela day message. news.un.org Inequality, an issue which "defines our time", risks destroying the world's economies and societies, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a hard-hitting speech on Saturday.

Fight Back (2020-07-18). The $600 is essential for the unemployed, extend FPUC now! fightbacknews.org San José, CA – In less than two weeks the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation or FPUC, which provides an extra $600 a week to those who are unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will end. The FPUC was part of CARES act passed back in March as disaster relief as the pandemic began to ravage the U.S. economy. | In addition to the $600 a week in extra unemployment benefits, another part of the CARES act protecting tenants is about to expire. There has been an eviction ban on all apartment buildings that are part of federal assistance programs, or whose landlords have federally insured mortgages. These…

_____ (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…

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…

Manning Marable (2020-07-17). History and Black Consciousness: The Political Culture of Black America. mronline.org Many people from divergent ethnic backgrounds, speaking various languages, and possessing different cultures now share a common experience of inequality in the United States. Yet there is an absence of unity among these constituencies, in part because their leaders are imprisoned ideologically and theoretically by the assumptions and realities of the past.

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 …

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…

teleSUR (2020-07-17). France: Macron Steps Back, Postpones Pension Reform Until 2021. telesurenglish.net During a meeting with employers and workers in Paris, France's Prime Minister Jean Castex Friday proposed delaying pension reform negotiations until 2021. | RELATED: | Arguing the existence of an economic crisis and a health emergency, he proposed also to postpone the reform of unemployment insurance until next year. | The new public pension system law, which was approved on Nov. 1, 2019, was expected to take effect in September…

Josh Bivens (2020-07-17). Recovering Fully From the Coronavirus Shock Will Require Large Increases in Federal Debt—and There's Nothing Wrong With That. commondreams.org It is important to note that right now, and for the foreseeable future, we are in a demand-constrained economy, not a supply-constrained economy. (Photo: Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/unemployment_3_0.jpg

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…

teleSUR (2020-07-17). The US Economy to Shrink Up to -6,6% in 2020, IMF Predicts. telesurenglish.net The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Friday predicted that the U.S. economy would drop to -6.6 percent by 2020 and that the unemployment rate would be 9.7 percent. | RELATED: | "Washington needs to deploy as soon as possible a new fiscal stimulus proposal to accelerate its economic recovery," IMF warned in a statement. | To prevent the new predictions, the U.S. administration must also promote its social safety net and it shoul…

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.

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

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

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