Daily Archives: July 11, 2020

2020-07-11: News Headlines

Yanis Iqbal (2020-07-11). The hunger pandemic in Colombia. mronline.org The unchecked growth of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America is tearing apart the socio-economic fabric of the countrieslocated in that continent. One manifestation of this socio-economic rupture is the emergence of what David Beasley, the Executive Director of UN World Food Programme (WFP), has called a "hunger pandemic". According to WFP, "The socio-economic impact …

Tony Norfield (2020-07-11). Richie Rich & friends. mronline.org Being the biggest rich capitalist country, the U.S. also has the largest number of wealthy people. Quite how many will come as a bit of a surprise for those who have heard the '1% versus 99%' slogan; it is not just Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.

Chuck Collins (2020-07-11). Fair Tax Solutions for Cities Facing Covid-19 Budget Crises. zcomm.org Local policymakers are facing pressure to make painful spending cuts. Instead, they should raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy…

Peadar O'Cearnaigh (2020-07-11). As mining companies amass wealth amidst coronavirus, community resistance has become even more essential. thecanary.co As coronavirus (Covid-19) cases around the globe

WSWS (2020-07-11). Biden promotes economic nationalism and anti-China militarism. wsws.org Biden offered no opposition to Trump's "back-to-work" drive, mass job destruction during the pandemic or the looming unemployment benefit cutoff.

_____ (2020-07-11). Covid Recovery And Radical Social Change. popularresistance.org I share the hope that the pandemic serves as a wake-up call for mobilizing action for radical societal change, and I don't think that those who see fragments of this happening in commoning or solidarity practices during this pandemic are either naàØve or only see part of the picture. | But I am troubled by the signs that the inequality wagon might have a long way before it derails, which I see side-by-side with those other hopeful signs. | Still, the care and vulnerability vision I sketched could provide a basis for a more hopeful outlook. Keeping in mind that pain better not be romanticized, valuing care…

yenisafak (2020-07-11). UK 'stands with' all feeling Srebrenica genocide pain. yenisafak.com British administration on Saturday "reiterated the UK's commitment to supporting reconciliation across the Western Balkans," on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina."Today (11 July) marks twenty-five years since the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the worst atrocity in Europe since the end of the Second World War," a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) statement said."Today I stand with all who continue to feel unimaginable pain from the genocide 25 years ago at Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Twitter…

Staff (2020-07-10). Headlines for July 10, 2020. democracynow.org Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Claim of Absolute Immunity, Court Says Much of Oklahoma Remains Indian Country in Landmark Indigenous Sovereignty Case, Hospitals Face Surge as U.S. Reports Record 65,000 New Coronavirus Cases, Surge in Cases Directly Tied to Early Reopenings in Florida, Arizona, Texas, Bolivia's Interim President Tests Positive; India, S. Africa & Mexico Report New Record Highs, 1.3 Million More File for Unemployment as GOP Rejects Extending Jobless Aid, Biden Unveils $700 Billion "Buy American" Economic Recovery Plan, St. Louis Police Break Up City Hall Encampment, With Veto-Proof Majority,…

Joel Wendland-Liu (2020-07-10). Overcoming Civil Discourse and Other Illusions of Democracy for the 1%. dissidentvoice.org Festishizing democracy The U.S. racist-capitalist class and its ideological apparatus fetishize the word democracy. Using fatuous appeals to civil discourse, it sponsors the illusion that democracy is the most advanced political system in human history. In addition to voting for their representatives, people supposedly engage with civil society through which they achieve greater social goods …

David Rosen (2020-07-10). Inequality and the End of the American Dream. counterpunch.org Well, it's over. After nearly a century of self-promotion, the American Dream has been officially declared over. Donald Trump declared, during his 2016 campaign, "Sadly, the American dream is dead. But if I ever get elected president, I will bring it back bigger and better than ever." He advocated a slogan that looked backward to

Dean Baker (2020-07-10). Propaganda on Government Action and Inequality from David Leonhardt. cepr.net It really gets annoying how all discussions in the media of inequality in the media take the White Savior route, where we need the government to act to reduce inequality created by the natural workings of the market. David Leonhardt gave us another dose of this one today when he speculated about the state of …

WSWS (2020-07-10). Joblessness soars as COVID-19 pandemic accelerates across US. wsws.org Another 1.3 million people filed for unemployment for the first time last week as 18.1 million placed continuing claims.

WSWS (2020-07-10). Chancellor Sunak announces end of UK jobs furlough and rolls out cheap labour scheme. wsws.org Sunak's declaration that "we can't protect every job" is the understatement of the century. Companies are announcing thousands of redundancies every day amid warnings of unemployment reaching 5 million by next year.

Fight Back (2020-07-10). Total number of people getting unemployment benefits continues to climb. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, July 9, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the broadest measure of people on unemployment continued to climb. In the week ending June 20, the total number was 32.9 million, up by 1.4 million from a week earlier. This number includes those who are receiving the regular state unemployment insurance benefits, the growing number getting the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or PUA, the Federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation or PEUC, and other smaller programs. | The latest report on new applications for state unemployment benefits for the week ending July 4 did…

_____ (2020-07-10). Here Not Death But The Future Is Frightening. popularresistance.org The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released its June 2020 update. The prognosis is bleak. Global growth for 2020 is projected at -4.9%, 1.9% below the IMF's forecast from April. 'The COVID-19 pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated', acknowledges the IMF. Forecasts for 2021 are somewhat optimistic, sitting at 5.4%, which is higher than the 3.4% the IMF predicted in January 2020. 'The adverse impact on low-income households is particularly acute', says the IMF. Poverty reduction is effectively off the agenda. The World Bank's recent report takes a dim v…

Staff (2020-07-09). Hate Groups Rake In PPP Loans as Racial Justice Movement Expands. truthout.org As millions took to the streets in all 50 states last month to against systemic racism and police brutality, several organizations that are considered hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) were enjoying new six- or seven-figure Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from the federal government. | On Monday, the Small Business Administration released the names of over 650,000 PPP beneficiaries that received $150,000 or more in forgivable loans from the agency. That list included a…

news.un (2020-07-09). Address 'unprecedented' impact of coronavirus on Latin America and the Caribbean, urges Guterres. news.un.org As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the world, Latin America and the Caribbean have become a "hotspot of the pandemic", the UN chief said on Thursday, releasing a new policy initiative on how best to recover in a region already embroiled in poverty, hunger, unemployment and inequality.

teleSUR (2020-07-09). The Pandemic Could Cause 12,000 Hunger Deaths, NGO Says. telesurenglish.net Oxfam in Kenya warned on Thursday that the COVID-19 impact on the economy could lead to about 12,000 hunger-related deceases topping the pandemic tally. | RELATED: | "COVID-19 is the last straw for millions of people already struggling with the impacts of conflict, climate change, inequality, and a broken food system that has impoverished millions of food producers and workers," Oxfam's Interim Executive Direct…

Staff (2020-07-09). Conservative Elites Are Fighting for "Values" Invented to Justify Slavery. truthout.org Throughout its history the U.S. has had two very different ruling elites, motivated by very different definitions of liberty. Let's call them the New England Yankees vs. the Old South Planters. Their radically different definitions of "liberty" still divide liberals and conservatives today. | Wealthy elites are not all alike, and the differences between them are crucial. As the New England Yankee elite saw it, people with money and power must temper their predatory instincts with a code of conduct…

repost (2020-07-09). Corrupt Pelosi & Here Wealthy Husband Get PPP-Nancy Pelosi's husband among lawmaker-linked. indybay.org Corrupt Nancy Pelosi's wealthy husband received PPP loan funds.

Heidi Peltier (2020-07-08). The 'Camo Economy' Hides Military Costs and Exacerbates Inequality. commondreams.org In 2018, Lockheed Martin Corporation earned $8 billion in profits. About 85 percent of their business was government contracts. (Photo: Lockheed Martin) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/f-35_cold_war_arms_trade_0.jpg

Dean Baker (2020-07-08). Combating the Political Power of the Rich: Wealth Taxes and Seattle Election Vouchers. cepr.net I have written many times that I thought the focus on wealth inequality, as opposed to income inequality, was misplaced. There are many practical, political, and legal problems associated with taxing wealth that are considerably smaller when we talk about altering the economic structures that redistribute so much income upward. But beyond the issue of …

Bob Lord (2020-07-08). Welcome to Hectobillionaire Land. counterpunch.org You don't hear much about millionaires these days in America. Which makes some sense. Add up all our nation's personal wealth, divide by our number of people, and we have an average wealth per person in the United States today of about $300,000. At that average, a family of three worth a million dollars turns

Alec Connon (2020-07-08). What Do the Racial Wealth Gap, Police Brutality, and the Climate Crisis Have in Common? Wall Street. commondreams.org "The fossil fuel corporations funded by Wall Street cause vast harm to black communities," writes Connon, "yet, black communities reap almost no benefit from the industry." (Image: Flood Wall Street) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/image.jpg_0.jpg

Fight Back (2020-07-08). A new Michigan rally for 'HEROES Act now' set for July 15. fightbacknews.org Grand Rapids, MI – After a lively rally on June 24 with nearly 100 workers, the stagehands union IATSE is calling a new rally on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol for July 15. The stagehands and other gig workers are demanding the passage of the HEROES (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions) Act by the U.S. Senate. July 25 is looming as the $600 per week unemployment boost that keeps people paying their bills is set to run out. Tensions are rising not just in Michigan, but also for stagehands from New York City to Hollywood, across the whole country. | "The U.S. House of Representatives…

_____ (2020-07-08). Pandemic Capitalism: Pervasive Inequality Is A Chosen Catastrophe. popularresistance.org The current flavor of 'no holds barred' capitalism sits at this precipice. For years, it has extracted everything within its reach. It has exploited our natural resources and damaged our ecosystems. It has claimed our time and effort, and even our hopes and dreams. All these things have been treated as resources to be mined for a system that's systematically designed to benefit the few. | The main idea underpinning the current version of capitalism is blindingly simple: you only have to remember one thing – that your job is to maximize profits. And you only have to accept one lie – that in doing so, you benefit t…

_____ (2020-07-08). A Decade Of Research On The Rich-Poor Divide In Education. popularresistance.org Education inequality is not just a divide between rich and poor but also between the ultra-rich and everyone else. In 2020, a Pennsylvania State University researcher documented how the wealthiest school districts in America — the top 1 percent — fund their schools at much higher levels than everyone else and are increasing their school spending at a faster rate. The school funding gap between a top 1 percent district (mostly white suburbs) and an average-spending school district at the 50th percentile widened by 32 percent between 2000 and 2015, the study calculated. Nassau County, just outside New Y…