(2020-04-30). The jobless crisis and im/migrants. workers.org 
Farmworker wearing bandana during pandemic. It's not just COVID-19 that's racing like wildfire across the U.S. It's unemployment. The number of newly jobless workers has climbed to an astounding 26 million. That is due to coronavirus-related layoffs or furloughs caused by business closures or contractions. Added to the number of . . . |
(2020-04-30). US unemployment set to soar to 30 MILLION as coronavirus pandemic wrecks economy. rt.com 
With the US Labor Department set to release weekly jobless claims figures on Thursday, economists project that another 3.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits during the week ending April 25. | That will add to the 4.427 million initial jobless claims in the previous week, bringing the total number to at least 30 million during the six-week period of the forced lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. | Economists expect the number of unemployed Americans in April to shatter…
(2020-04-30). Racial Disparities During COVID-19 (webniar). indybay.org Online via livestream…
(2020-04-30). Tracy, California Amazon worker speaks out on coworker's death. wsws.org At least one worker at the warehouse has died from COVID-19 and many other have tested positive, as management moves to force workers to accept deadly working conditions or face getting fired and losing unemployment benefits.
(2020-04-30). Almost 40 per cent of UK firms to cut staff. truepublica.org.uk 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 …
(2020-04-29). Coronavirus Capitalism and "Exceptional" America. counterpunch.org United States capitalism was already on the verge of a major recession before COVID-19 hit. All the classic signs were there: absurdly inflated P/E ratios s (an absurdly inflated stock market), massively deb-leveraged corporations, giant consumer and student debt, savage economic inequality (so extreme that the top tenth of the U.S. upper 1 percent had more wealth than the nation's bottom percent), tens of millions living just one inadequate paycheck away from being unable to meet basic living expenses , and more. If the virus hadn't broken that camel's back, something else would have done the job, albeit with a…
(2020-04-29). As US Economy Tanks, Study Finds Unemployment Numbers Likely Double Official Figure. mintpressnews.com 
"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.
(2020-04-29). True Number of Americans Run Out of Work by Virus Maoists Could Be 10 Million Higher at 36 Million. anti-empire.com 
Millions of Americans who have been thrown out of work during the coronavirus pandemic have been unable to register for unemployment benefits since the U.S. economy entered a free fall, according to a poll released on Tuesday. | The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute found in an online poll that for every 10 people who have successfully filed unemployment claims, three or four people have been unable to register and another two people have not tried to apply at a time of acute economic crisis. | Official U.S. statistics show that 26.5 million people have applied for unemployment benefits since mid-March, w…
(2020-04-29). The Coronavirus 5th "Relief Package" We Need. globalresearch.ca The coronavirus depression is fast becoming as deep as the Great Depression. The federal government's response has been too little, too late. | While sickness and death spread, while unemployment and small business failures soar, while health care and essential workers …
(2020-04-29). Millions of US Workers Blocked from Applying for Jobless Benefits. globalresearch.ca While the US government has proceeded expeditiously to hand over trillions of dollars to the Wall Street banks and corporations, millions of workers who have lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic have been blocked from applying for unemployment benefits….
(2020-04-28). Protests erupt in Lebanon over collapsing economy. peoplesdispatch.org Thousands of Lebanese took to the streets on April 27, Monday, demanding revolution amid rising poverty, hunger, economic hardship and uncertainty, even as the government seems to turn a blind eye to the urgent issues plaguing the country…
(2020-04-28). White Collar Criminals, Celebrities, Wealthy Use Privilege For Early Release Amidst Pandemic. therealnews.com 
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.
(2020-04-27). How Historical Trauma And Structural Inequality Help Spread COVID-19. therealnews.com 
Historical and generational trauma affect Black and other marginalized communities, and ongoing inequality is making the coronavirus pandemic worse among those groups.
(2020-04-27). How We Should Spell Relief. progressive.org Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States was already suffering from a pandemic of inequality.
(2020-04-27). Deja vu: Another Bail-Out for Banks and Other Giant Corporations. dissidentvoice.org The name of the latest enormous transfer of wealth to the one percent, the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act, represents a public relations coup. Unsurprisingly, this great sounding title misrepresents the bill's contents. Pattern of transferring wealth upward Unfortunately, this bill is essentially a repeat of the bailout of Wall Street during …
(2020-04-24). Georgia's Furloughed Workers Struggled To Get Unemployment Benefits. Now They Worry About Losing Them. therealnews.com 
Once businesses reopen, workers like Cameren Cook in Atlanta may have to decide between risking COVID-19 and not making their rent.
(2020-04-23). Rich are Getting Richer, Despite Pandemic. progressive.org As billionaires' wealth continues to balloon, it's time for them to pay their fair share.
(2020-04-22). Chileans Who Took to Streets Against Inequality & Climate Crisis Say Virus Lockdowns Won't Stop Them. democracynow.org 
Months ago, the streets of Santiago and other Chilean cities were alive with a vibrant mass protest movement that drew hundreds of thousands and even led the U.N. climate summit to be relocated to Madrid, Spain, last December. Now the public spaces of Santiago are largely empty as citizens shelter in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But the protest movement against austerity and right-wing President Sebastián Piñera lives on as activists find new ways to organize online. We go to Santiago, Chile, to speak with Angela Valenzuela, a 350.org organizer who has been active both in the country's uprising and in…
(2020-04-11). SPLC condemns attack on Alabama synagogue. splcenter.org The Southern Poverty Law Center condemns the antisemitic attacks that took place during Passover at the Etz Chayim Synagogue in Huntsville, Alabama.
(2020-03-23). How To Think About Corporate Bailouts Correctly. peoplespolicyproject.org As the negotiations over the economic response to the Coronavirus recession heat up, we are seeing more and more talk about how (or whether) to provide relief to corporations and industries that are facing bankruptcy due to the economic slowdown. Some of this talk is intelligent. A lot of it is not. So in this post, I hope to lay out what I believe is the correct way to think about corporate bailouts. | Due to an aversion to socialist rhetoric about "capitalists" or even "the wealthy," American populist lingo tends to focus on "corporations" as the great evil. We talk about "corporate power" and "corporate concen…
(2020-03-18). Understanding Claims About Basic Income and Inflation. peoplespolicyproject.org A variety of elected officials are currently proposing that the federal government send cash payments to every person in the country (sometimes called a "universal basic income" or "UBI") as a way of responding to the recession. These calls have resurrected claims that a UBI is inflationary. Such claims circulate widely among advocates of workfare and in certain niche internet circles. But these claims are nonsensical and deceptive. In this post, I walk through these claims to promote better understanding of the issue. | Deceptive Language: | Many people who claim that UBI is inflationary also belong to t…
(2020-04-30). EU unemployment rate up 6.6% in March. yenisafak.com The European Union's unemployment rate rose to 6.6% in March, the bloc's statistical office reported on Thursday.The figure was up from 6.5% in the previous month, while it dropped from 6.9% in the same month last year, Eurostat said in a press release.Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was 7.4% in the euro area, the office said, rising from 7.3% in the previous month and decreasing from 7.7% in the same month of 2019.The eurozone/euro area or EA19 represents member states that use the single currency
(2020-04-03). Mainstream Canadian LGBTQ Organizations Fail to Address Poverty, Homelessness. projectcensored.org The number of homeless LGBTQ people in Toronto, Ontario is staggering. More than eleven percent of Toronto residents who identify as LGBTQ are homeless. The rate is even worse for…
(2020-04-29). "Only in Trump's America": Despite Covid-19, Employees in Texas and Iowa Told to Get Back to Work or Lose Unemployment Benefits. commondreams.org "I feel like either I'm going to lose my business and everything I worked for, or I'm going to get sick." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump_and_kim.jpg …
