(2020-04-20). A Universal Basic Income is Essential and Will Work. counterpunch.org According to an April 6 article on CNBC.com, Spain is slated to become the first country in Europe to introduce a universal basic income (UBI) on a long-term basis. Spain's Minister for Economic Affairs has announced plans to roll out a UBI "as soon as possible," with the goal of providing a nationwide basic wage
(2020-04-20). COVID-19, Poverty and Structural Violence. counterpunch.org As a nation, obviously, there are so many things we can do better. There always will be. Yet, what the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has made all too apparent is how we have not appropriately dealt with poverty in the United States. This is not just about the Trump Administration, it is about all past presidential
(2020-04-20). Australian governments refuse to assist international students amid pandemic. wsws.org Thousands of international students are on the precipice of homelessness and abject poverty after state and federal governments refused to provide them with any assistance.
(2020-04-20). Old SDSers, New DSAers, and Trump vs. Biden. zcomm.org In a recent letter a group of old SDSers hoped to engage some young critics of the Democratic Party and Joe Biden. Those critics actually ought to be mightily commended for many of their analyses, insights, actions, intuitions, and feelings. For example, the critics are correct that Biden is a tribune of power and wealth
(2020-04-20). UK think tank urges pension cuts to pay for pandemic. wsws.org Anticipating rising unemployment and collapsing wages, the Social Market Foundation urges the Conservative government to abandon the "triple-lock" mechanism.
(2020-04-20). Australian experts find novel method to study COVID-19. yenisafak.com Scientists in Australia are using a new method to study the thousands of genetic sequences of the coronavirus.A statement by Australia's national science agency — Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) — on Monday said that its researches unveiled a "new approach" to analyze the genetic codes, or the blueprint, of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19."The findings will help researchers better understand how strains of the virus evolve and help identify new clusters of the virus," the statement said.CSIRO's Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall said knowing the genetic co…
(2020-04-18). Furloughed Disney Workers "Can't Wait" For Help, But Florida's Unemployment System Is Broken. commondreams.org Furloughed Disney workers are now being forced to battle against Florida's dysfunctional unemployment system. (Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-1207430619.jpg …
(2020-04-18). COVID-19 Exposes the Delicate Economic Balance We All Live in Under Capitalism. truthout.org We live on a crisis-struck planet where surplus lives are struggling to survive in the wastelands of a rapidly shrinking economic order. The specter of a wageless life now befalls the billions. | COVID-19, just beginning its rampage, is battering our feeble institutions, revealing and exacerbating preexisting social and racial vulnerabilities, and laying bare the inadequacies of even the most robust social safety nets. The U.S. is staring at its sharpest unemployment rise in history. | As <...
(2020-04-18). WATCH: Global Citizen Hosts 'One World: Together At Home' Special to Support WHO's COVID-19 Response. commondreams.org The anti-poverty movement Global Citizen on Saturday held "One World: Together At Home," a globally livestreamed and televised special to celebrate the healthcare workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic and support the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/owtah.jpg …
(2020-04-17). US must improve COVID-19 strategy to keep tens of millions from falling into poverty, urges rights expert. news.un.org The United States must take urgent additional steps to prevent tens of millions of middle-class Americans hit by the COVID-19 pandemic from being "plunged into poverty", according to an independent UN human rights expert.
(2020-04-17). More than 5 million new claims for unemployment. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, April 16, the U.S. Department of Labor released their latest report on new claims for unemployment insurance, or UI, benefits showing 5.2 million more people applied. This means that more than 22 million people have lost their livelihood in the last four weeks. The number of people actually collecting unemployment insurance benefits soared to 12 million, the highest ever. | While the number of new applications did fall by about 1 million from the previous two weeks, the current figure still understates the number of people who lost their jobs and weren't able to file, as states still s…
(2020-04-16). Headlines for April 16, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Pushes to Reopen Economy by May as Doctors and CEOs Object, 22 Million U.S. Workers File for Unemployment in Just Four Weeks, Tax Loopholes in Coronavirus Relief Bill to Overwhelmingly Benefit the Wealthiest, New York Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 11,500 as Governor Orders Wearing of Masks in Public, Medical Workers Demand More Safety Measures as COVID-19 Deaths Mount, Michigan Protesters Defy Social Distancing Rules, Demanding End to Quarantine, Mexico Faces Shortage of Medical Workers as COVID-19 Spreads, French Aircraft Carrier Evacuated as Nearly 700 Sailors Test Positive for COVID-19, Swedish COVID-19 Ca…
(2020-04-15). GOP Tax Cuts in Coronavirus Relief Bill Give 82% of Benefits to Millionaires and Billionaires. mintpressnews.com A new report suggests that a tax cut quietly inserted into the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act will add almost $170 billion to the deficit over the next ten years and overwhelmingly benefit the ultra-wealthy.
(2020-04-15). Trump Cuts Funds for World Health Org as Oxfam Warns Pandemic Could Push Half a Billion into Poverty. democracynow.org 
As the confirmed cases of coronavirus surpass 2 million around the world, President Donald Trump says he will cut U.S. support for the World Health Organization. Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet medical journal, called it a "crime against humanity." Oxfam America said the cuts slash "any hopes for the responsible international cooperation and solidarity that is critical to save lives and restore the global economy." This comes as a new Oxfam report estimates the pandemic's economic fallout could push more than half a billion more people into poverty. We get response from Paul O'Brien, vice president…
(2020-04-14). Essential or Expendable? Farmworkers Condemn Lack of Protection and Economic Help During Pandemic. democracynow.org 
As the coronavirus sweeps through the United States, the country's 2.5 million farmworkers are continuing to go to work every day, often facing crowded and unsanitary conditions without personal protective equipment, for poverty wages. We speak with Gerardo Reyes Chávez, a farmworker leader with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, who describes the conditions farmworkers in Florida are facing and how they are calling on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to protect farmworkers during the COVID-19 crisis, and with Mónica Ramírez, president and founder of Justice for Migrant Women and co-founder of the National Farmwork…
(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.
(2020-04-10). Headlines for April 10, 2020. democracynow.org COVID-19 Patients Dying Every Minute in the United States, Epicenter of the Pandemic, 17 Million U.S. Workers File Unemployment Claims in Just Three Weeks, New York City Workers Dig Mass Graves Amid Surge of COVID-19 Deaths, President Trump Pushes to Reopen U.S. Economy Despite Severe Shortage of Tests, California Nursing Home with COVID-19 Cases Evacuated After Workers' No-Show, Kansas Governor Sues to Halt Church Congregations Ahead of Easter, Chicago Prisoners Post Signs in Jail Windows: "Help, No Supply" and "We're Dying", NYC Cathedral Won't Partner with Christian Fundamentalist Field Hospital Group over LGB…
(2020-04-09). Headlines for April 9, 2020. democracynow.org Coronavirus Pandemic Could Push 600 Million More People into Poverty, New York Reports Record 779 Coronavirus Deaths in Just 24 Hours, General Motors to Deliver 30,000 Ventilators, with Most Arriving Long After Projected COVID-19 Peak, Kansas to Allow Crowded Church Services as L.A. Expands Order on Face Coverings, California Fast-Food Workers Strike, Demanding Hazard Pay and Protections Against COVID-19, Trump Touts Unproven Treatments of Hydroxychloroquine and Zinc for COVID-19, World Health Organization Head: "Please Don't Politicize This Virus", Researchers Find Coronavirus Arrived in New York from Europe in…
(2020-04-09). "Exposing U.S. Racism in a Stark New Way": COVID-19 Kills Disproportionate Number of Black Americans. democracynow.org 
We speak with family physician and epidemiologist Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones about how the coronavirus is taking a devastating toll on black Americans, who are disproportionately dying from the virus across the country as a result of entrenched racial inequality. Black Americans are more likely to have chronic health problems and less likely to have insurance. They also make up significant numbers of frontline workers that are still going to work amid the pandemic. Jones is the former president of the American Public Health Association. Her recent piece for Newsweek magazine is headlined "Coronavirus Disease Discri…
(2020-04-08). Why is Alliance Defending Freedom a Hate Group? splcenter.org The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) first listed Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) as an anti-LGBTQ hate group in 2016.
(2020-03-30). The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery played key role in launching SPLC's legal battle against Ku Klux Klan. splcenter.org The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, who died on Friday at 98 years old, was a longtime friend of the Southern Poverty Law Center and played a leading role in the SPLC's first lawsuit against the Ku Klux Klan in 1980.