(2020-05-05). Pennies for the workers, billions for the bosses. workers.org 
The distribution of government funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has torn away any facade of the U.S. as a "democracy," with equal access to wealth. Even as unemployment, poverty and hunger reach levels not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s, banks and corporations look to their . . . |
(2020-05-05). 'Corona is under control': Bavaria lets residents go out & businesses reopen despite Covid-19 still blighting Germany. rt.com 
Despite warnings the Covid-19 crisis isn't over, one of Germany's wealthiest states is set to open up, allowing people to go out for any reason and letting almost all businesses — from retail to tourism — welcome visitors again. | "Now it is time to act," proclaimed Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Soeder as he
(2020-05-05). Hundreds protest coronavirus lockdown at Massachusetts State House after reopening delayed for two weeks (PHOTOS & VIDEOS). rt.com 
Scores of protesters hit the streets to demand Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker streamline the reopening of non-essential businesses, delayed due to the lack of progress in slowing down the spread of Covid-19. | Hundreds of demonstrators filled the streets around the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Monday for what event organizers dubbed a "Liberty Rally," voicing outrage over Baker's decision to extend the state's lockdown another two weeks to May 18, further putting off the reopening of nonessential businesses as hundreds of thousands of residents file for unemployment. | "Let my people go", "We a…
(2020-05-05). The catastrophic unemployment crisis. workers.org 
The COVID-19 crisis has led to mass layoffs, putting millions out of work in a country where roughly 80 percent of workers lived paycheck to paycheck even prior to the pandemic. As of May 1, 30 million unemployment claims had been filed, yet the real number of unemployed is likely . . . |
(2020-05-05). Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College. indybay.org Online via Livestream…
(2020-05-05). College Coach Matt Lynch on His Public Coming-Out Story. indybay.org Online via livestream…
(2020-05-05). More Thoughts on Wealth and Tax Alternatives. counterpunch.org Last week the Boston Review (BR) published an exchange on a wealth tax that included a proposal from Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, with a number of responses, including one from me. I was critical of the proposal for both political reasons and because I think avoidance and evasion will be massive problems.
(2020-05-05). Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy: Fighting Loneliness During COVID-19 and Beyond. indybay.org Online via livestream…
(2020-05-05). The Half of It: Director Alice Wu and Star Leah Lewis talk w/ Michelle Meow. indybay.org Online via livestream…
(2020-05-05). Oakland Arts and Culture in the Era of COVID-19 (livestream talk). indybay.org Online via livestream…
(2020-05-04). ILO: Nearly half of all world's workers may lose their jobs due to COVID-19 pandemic. mronline.org 
In the absence of strong support measures by governments across the world, the estimated loss of mostly informal jobs would result in rising poverty, starvation and inequality, an ILO report says.
(2020-05-04). 30 million jobs lost so far, but many workers can't access unemployment benefits. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Another 3.84 million people filed for jobless benefits nationwide in the prior week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on April 30. That shoots the actual number of jobless due to closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic to over 30 million. The Economic Policy Institute warns that 30 million total may actually be an undercount. …
(2020-05-04). Will the pandemic hasten the demise of capitalism? peoplesworld.org 
The U.S. economy is collapsing by leaps and bounds. By the latest figures, over 30 million workers have applied for unemployment benefits in the past six weeks. Many economists are predicting a depression that will far surpass the Great Depression of the 1930s. The lines of cars at food banks stretching for miles are surreal enough …
(2020-05-04). The COVID-19 Crisis Profoundly Exposes African Americans to the Scourge of Poverty and Racism. globalresearch.ca They live below the poverty level. They are prison …
(2020-05-04). Time for an Emergency Charity Stimulus. commondreams.org In a new IPS Inequality Briefing Paper, Chuck Collins and Helen Flannery make the case for an Emergency Charity Stimulus. (Photo: Shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/charity_nonprofits_ips.jpg …
(2020-05-02). [Perspectives] Society and the slow burn of inequality. thelancet.com On June 14, 2017, Grenfell Tower, a high-rise housing block in the Royal London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, UK, went up in flames. 72 people died, among the poorest and most marginalised in society. A dramatic conflagration such as this could teach us two kinds of lessons, if we were but open to receiving them. This event exposed underlying problems in society and it showed us that we have to do things differently. In the case of Grenfell, the underlying societal problem was deep-seated and enduring social inequalities and resultant health inequalities.
(2020-05-02). COVID-19 impact could be 'disastrously high' in poverty-stricken Malawi. news.un.org In Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, with a fragile health system, the UN is bracing for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which, it is feared, could be severe.
(2020-05-02). The 5th Coronavirus Relief Package We Need. dissidentvoice.org 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 lack personal protective equipment (PPE), Congress is in recess until May 4. The childlike dummy, …
(2020-05-02). Cutbacks on the horizon: Sunshine State abandons unemployed workers. fightbacknews.org Miami, FL – More than 2 million Floridians have now applied for unemployment benefits. Only a fraction of the applications have even been processed and even fewer workers have received payments. Florida's unemployment system was already terrible before the crisis and it has completely collapsed under pressure from COVID-19. | Florida's online application process for unemployment was designed to fail. It was created by right-wing former Governor Rick Scott with big business in mind. Its goals were to be as confusing as possible for any worker trying to submit an application and to reject as many applications as po…
(2020-05-02). 1.6 Billion Workers Face Potential Unemployment Globally. dissidentvoice.org …
(2020-05-01). Corporate Looting as 'Rescue Plan,' Robber Barons as 'Saviors'. fair.org 
Framing a massive corporate bailout as a "rescue package" (NPR, For a perfect illustration of how corporate media function as ruling class propaganda, watch how they spin a titanic upward redistribution of wealth as a "rescue plan" for the US economy, and paint a robber baron like US Treasury Secretary
(2020-05-01). Recent Unemployment Insurance claims top 30 million. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, April 30, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that more than 3.8 million new claims for unemployment insurance or UI were filed in the previous week ending April 25. This means that over the last six weeks more than 30 million claims have been filed. This means that the actual unemployment rate is about 25%, a level similar to the worst of the Great Depression of the 1930s. | The number of people who are getting Unemployment Insurance benefits as of a week earlier, or April 18, reached 18 million, the highest ever. Since 27 million people had applied for benefits as of that time, mor…
(2020-04-30). Five Years After Freddie Gray's Death: The Resistance Makes Change, The Government Doesn't. therealnews.com 
The people at the core of the resistance after Freddie Gray's death are changing lives and building community five years later, while the government has done little to address poverty and isolation in the poorest Black communities of Baltimore.
(2020-04-30). Economist Thomas Piketty: Coronavirus Pandemic Has Exposed the "Violence of Social Inequality" democracynow.org 
As nearly 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment in just six weeks and millions worldwide face hunger and poverty, we look at the global economic catastrophe triggered by the pandemic and its impact on the most vulnerable. As the World Food Programme warns of a massive spike in global hunger and more than 100 million people in cities worldwide could fall into poverty, can this crisis be a catalyst for change? We ask French economist Thomas Piketty. His 2014 internationally best-selling book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," looked at economic inequality and the necessity of wealth taxes. His new b…
(2020-04-30). Headlines for April 30, 2020. democracynow.org Jared Kushner Hails "Great Success Story" as U.S. Deaths Top 60,000, Dozens of Decomposing Bodies Found in Trucks Outside Brooklyn Funeral Home, President Trump Claims Coronavirus Will Be "Eradicated" from U.S. | , FDA to Approve Emergency Use of Remdesivir After the Drug Shows Promise Treating COVID-19, More Than 30 Million U.S. Workers File Unemployment Claims in Just Six Weeks, International Labour Organization Warns Pandemic Threatens Livelihoods of 1.6 Billion, South Korea Reports No New Domestic Coronavirus Cases , U.K. Now Has Europe's Second-Highest COVID-19 Death Toll | , Femicides and Domestic Violence…
(2020-04-30). U.S. Organizations React to Global Military Spending Report. peaceaction.org Joint Statement: U.S. organizations react to global military spending report April 27, 2020 Our diverse group of 39 think-tanks, non-profits, faith-based organizations, and advocacy groups based in the United States find the exorbitant amount of money spent on militaries worldwide to be an irresponsible and harmful use of global wealth. The Global Military Expenditures Report …
(2020-04-30). More Thoughts on a Wealth Tax and Alternatives. cepr.net (This post first appeared on my Patreon page.) Last week the Boston Review (BR) published an exchange on a wealth tax that included a proposal from Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, with a number of responses, including one from me. I was critical of the proposal for both political reasons and because I …
(2020-04-30). How Workers Can Win in the Age of COVID-19. progressive.org With thirty million people filing for unemployment, a new project helps organizers fight for the common good.
(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.
(2020-04-28). 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 We Should Spell Relief. progressive.org Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States was already suffering from a pandemic of inequality.
(2020-04-23). Rich are Getting Richer, Despite Pandemic. progressive.org As billionaires' wealth continues to balloon, it's time for them to pay their fair share.
(2020-03-23). 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…