(2020-06-09). Economic Collapse and Unemployment Councils — Then and Now. counterpunch.org 
Hunger, homelessness, and evictions were features of the Great Depression in the United States. Jobs disappeared and working conditions deteriorated. Some "250,000 teenagers were on the road." And how many others? By 1933 one third of farm families had lost their farms. Unemployment that year was 25 percent. The lives of working people were devastated.
(2020-06-09). Podcast: Pandemic Profiteering — How Billionaires Are Looting American Taxpayers. mintpressnews.com In this segment of Mintcast, journalist and author Alan MacLeod discusses how COVID-19 became a boon for the ultra-wealthy and allowed America's billionaires to accrue more wealth in just three weeks of lockdown than they made in total prior to 1980.
(2020-06-09). US Elections and Trump's Sinking Approval. Main Street Depression and Unemployment. globalresearch.ca It's a political lifetime from now to November 3 presidential, congressional, and local elections. | Things can swing back and forth numerous times between now and then. | Most often, Americans vote with their pocketbook. | If unprecedented main street Depression and unemployment …
(2020-06-09). Militarized Police a Gift from Israel? thealtworld.com Training of American police in brutal tactics revealed | The killing of black man George Floyd by white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has produced the highest level of national unrest seen in the United States since the 1960s. Tens of thousands of protesters are demonstrating against racism and perceived police brutality. As it also comes at a time of coronavirus pandemic and record unemployment, it has the potential to change the U.S. in fundamental ways. The core issue is that many on the left, as well as some on the right, see America's police as something like an "occupying force," increasingly sel…
(2020-06-09). We Must Change the System for Our Future Generation: Roger Waters. peoplesdispatch.org Vijay Prashad, Executive Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, talks to Roger Waters of Pink Floyd on the crisis of capitalism and the need to fight for a better world. Roger Waters talks about the death of activist Ramona Medina in Buenos Aires, poverty and access to water and the responsibility we have to future generations.
(2020-06-09). We Need a Universal Basic Income Now and After COVID-19. zcomm.org In easing pandemic uncertainty and promoting a post-pandemic recovery, a permanent UBI with large investments in social programs will increase solidarity, ease poverty and stabilize a volatile market that's headed toward depression…
(2020-06-09). Act now to avert COVID-19 global food emergency: Guterres. news.un.org Although the COVID-19 pandemic could push nearly 50 million more people into extreme poverty, this and other dire impacts of the crisis can be avoided if countries act immediately to shore up global food security, the UN Secretary-General said on Tuesday.
(2020-06-09). New UN report highlights link between gender, climate and security. news.un.org Even as countries buckle under the devastating social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, they must consider the links between gender inequality and crisis, particularly in communities affected by climate change and conflict.
(2020-06-09). How Will COVID-19 Affect the Health Care Economy? jamanetwork.com Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created an economic crisis alongside a health care crisis. During the 2 weeks ending on March 28, nearly 10 million people filed for unemployment insurance, dwarfing any previous monthly numbers. Estimates suggest that the US economy will contract by 10% to 25% during the second quarter. The US has entered a COVID-19 recession.
(2020-06-08). Understanding the New Unemployment Numbers. counterpunch.org 
Seventy-three percent of the unemployed report being on temporary layoffs. The May jobs numbers were considerably better than most analysts had expected with the economy reportedly adding 2,509,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate fell by 1.4 percentage points to 13.3 percent. This improved labor market picture should not have been surprising since many businesses across
(2020-06-08). Amazon workers declare support for mass protests as management imposes pay cut. wsws.org Amazon workers expressed solidarity with the protests, even as the company, which provides facial recognition software to police departments, feigned concern over racism and inequality.
(2020-06-08). Coronavirus: World Bank confirms deepest recession since World War Two. news.un.org The COVID-19 pandemic will shrink the global economy by 5.2 per cent this year, representing the deepest recession since World War Two, and triggering a dramatic rise in extreme poverty, the World Bank said Monday in its latest Global Economic Prospects report.
(2020-06-08). German government's stimulus package: €50 billion for automakers, €1 billion for childcare. wsws.org Like the previous bailouts, the latest package showers cash on the rich, concealed behind a few modest rations for families and will produce a further increase in social inequality.
(2020-06-07). The Illusion of Economic Recovery Began in the US. globalresearch.ca Protracted main street depression conditions have existed in the US since 2008 with no relief for ordinary Americans in prospect. | Before economic collapse this year, unemployment exceeded 20%, Labor Department numbers rigged to pretend otherwise. | The so-called U-3 BLS number …
(2020-06-07). A Strategy for Global Democracy and Wealth Sharing. globalresearch.ca It is time for power to the people! | Global capitalist inequality contributes directly to health pandemics, environmental degradation, and mass poverty. Elite-corporate oligarchs control the governments and political parties. They use established militarized police states to protect their vast empires …
(2020-06-06). Brazil's President Bolsonaro calls demonstrators "terrorists," threatens military repression. wsws.org Gen. Hamilton Mourà£o viciously attacked protests against the murder of George Floyd and social inequality, calling for the arrest of demonstrators.
(2020-06-06). [Perspectives] Indigenous populations: left behind in the COVID-19 response. thelancet.com Scholar Annie Belcourt described Native American populations in the USA as having lives that are "challenging and short". Globally, across countries and populations, Indigenous peoples face a greater burden of disease than non-Indigenous peoples, including cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, and have higher infant and maternal mortality and lower life expectancy. Their health is impacted by epigenetic stressors of generational oppression and violence, including disproportionate numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women, lower educational attainment, and persistent poverty.
(2020-06-06). [Comment] Healthier societies for healthy populations. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic makes the importance of health and wellbeing clear. The pandemic's implications for societies are far reaching. Yet the response to this pandemic and the creation and promotion of health and wellbeing require action beyond the health sector—and beyond the usual ways of working in global health. Governments are not adequately tackling inequality, ongoing economic crises, or continuing environmental damage, which undermines the health of current and future generations. For example, tobacco and alcohol use, unhealthy diets, air pollution, and insufficient physical exercise contribute to m…
(2020-06-06). Racial inequalities contribute to higher unemployment rates in black communities, new research reveals. nationofchange.org The "devastating effects of COVID-19 on the economic and physical well-being of black Americans were entirely predictable given persistent economic and health disparities."
(2020-06-06). Trump hails dubious May jobless report to boost stock market, back-to-work drive. wsws.org An unexpected decline in the unemployment rate in May is being used by the White House to declare the pandemic-fueled economic crisis over.
(2020-06-06). Don't believe the hype: Unemployment increased in May. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – Corporate-owned media is blaring that the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in May to 13.3%, from 14.7% in April. This was far better than even the most optimistic economist expected and even led to at least one to declare that "the recession is over." Well, when something is too good to be true, it usually isn't true. | This report flies in the face of all the other reports on the job market in May. The Labor Department's own report on continuing unemployment insurance claims, including regular state unemployment insurance, the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), the federal Pandemic…
(2020-06-05). Urban Poor Lose Fear and Release Pent-Up Rage. zcomm.org The torching of our cities, and the looting of the malls is what is really sending the message that we're "all in this together," by making it clear that if this country continues down its current path towards ever increasing racial and economic inequality, no one, regardless of their wealth and power, will escape the consequences…
(2020-06-08). The End of Policing: Alex Vitale on How Cops & Their Unions Cover Up Inequality, Exploitation. democracynow.org 
Professor Alex Vitale argues the answer to police violence is not "reform." It's defunding. The author of "The End of Policing" says the movement to defund the police is part of "a long story about the use of police and prisons to manage problems of inequality and exploitation." He asks, "Why are we using police to paper over problems of economic exploitation?" He also discusses the role of police unions. "They become, in many cities, the locus, the institutional hub, for a whole set of right-wing 'thin blue line' politics that believe that policing is not only effective but it's the most desirable way to solve o…
(2020-06-08). Isn't that racist? Kentucky governor vows to 'prioritize' free healthcare for African-Amerians. rt.com 
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear intends to 'put dollars' into ensuring all of the state's African-American residents have healthcare, citing 'inequalities' in Covid-19 treatment — which was fully funded by the federal government. | "I believe health care is a basic human right," Beshear, a Democrat, said on Monday at a press conference in Frankfort. While he campaigned on providing it to everyone, "as I've been trying to hear from those who have been giving voice on in inequality …it's time to give prioritization in black and African-American communities, so we are going to do that." | "We are gonna beg…
(2020-06-08). Isn't that racist? Kentucky governor vows to 'prioritize' free healthcare for African Americans. rt.com Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear intends to 'put dollars' into ensuring all of the state's African-American residents have healthcare, citing 'inequalities' in Covid-19 treatment — which was fully funded by the federal government. | "I believe health care is a basic human right," Beshear, a Democrat, said on Monday at a press conference in Frankfort. While he campaigned on providing it to everyone, "as I've been trying to hear from those who have been giving voice on in inequality… it's time to give prioritization in black and African-American communities, so we are going to do that. | "We are gonna begi…
(2020-06-06). As UK braces for post-lockdown 'crime tsunami,' some turn to TRAINED DOGS for security. rt.com 
The UK is bracing for a crime wave, with unemployment soaring and US riots on every screen. But unlike Americans, Brits cannot own guns — so they're scrambling for whatever security they can get, from CCTV to trained dogs. | As Britain begins to ease its Covid-19 lockdown conditions, the nation is on alert. | The UK has been warned to expect a deluge of criminality. | Doctor Simon Harding, a former Home Office and Metropolitan Police adviser,
(2020-06-05). Twitter users blast Trump over out-of-context 'great day for George Floyd' quote. It was about 'equal justice,' not jobs numbers. rt.com 
Twitter erupted in a rage after reports that Donald Trump said the murdered George Floyd would be "happy" about good US jobs figures. It turned out the president wasn't talking about jobs figures when he made the comment at all. | During remarks at the White House on Friday, Trump took time to boast about figures showing unemployment had fallen to 13.3 percent with 2.5 million jobs added in May, as the economy begins to rebound following the Covid-19 lockdown. | Many reporters on Twitter were then quick to share shortened versions of a clip in which Trump said Floyd was hopefully "looking down right now and sa…
(2020-06-08). Boris Johnson Says Protesters Who Engage in Vandalism Will 'Face Full Force of Law'. sputniknews.com A wave of protests against racial inequality and police brutality has swept through the United Kingdom over the death of African American man George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, with instances of police officers attacked and historic monuments vandalised by protesters.
(2020-06-08). 'Hunger is worse than corona': Sudanese demand end to lockdown amid economic woes. yenisafak.com Like many Sudanese, car mechanic Mohamed Othman says the government must end its coronavirus lockdown now so that he can get back to work because "me and my family have no other source of income".The transitional civilian government, which runs Sudan under a power-sharing deal with the army, ordered most businesses, markets, schools and mosques to shut and imposed travel restrictions nearly two months ago.But it is facing growing demands to end the restrictions from a population mired in poverty and facing annual inflation of nearly 100% as well as complaints that promised aid for poorer Sudanese has failed to ma…
(2020-06-06). 'Major Co-Option': Without Action, Hospitals' BLM Statements Are Performative. popularresistance.org As the fight against racial inequality in the US has become a national, pervasive movement following the killing of Minneapolis, Minnesota, resident George Floyd, many corporations have argued that they too are helping in the struggle for justice. One anonymous doctor reminds Sputnik that these statements, without acts, are simply performative. | An academic physician based in Washington, DC, who wished to remain anonymous joined Radio Sputnik's Political Misfits on Friday to provide insight on performative allyship and how their own hospital is contributing to the problematic practice. | "I just witnessed major…
(2020-06-05). Unemployment Far Worse in Lockdown States, Data Show. globalresearch.ca The novel coronavirus has done severe economic damage all over the globe. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) stated on June 1, 2020 that
(2020-06-05). Employment Jumps 2.5 Million in May, as Unemployment Falls to 13.3 Percent. cepr.net Seventy-three percent of the unemployed report being on temporary layoffs. The May jobs numbers were considerably better than most analysts had expected with the economy reportedly adding 2,509,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate fell by 1.4 percentage points to 13.3 percent. This improved labor market picture should not have been surprising since many businesses across …