(2020-09-06). Can U.S. Democracy Be Fixed? indybay.org To distract and divert, scapegoating becomes a core tactic of these moves away from democratic cohesion. In a world of inequalities and global warming, there has arisen a frightening receptivity to blaming the stranger or the other for the unfairness being experienced in the forms of inequality, economic displacement, and erosions of national identity.
(2020-09-05). My Call to Jeff Bezos, the World's Very Richest Man. commondreams.org Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is the wealthiest person on Earth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. (Photo: Blue Origin) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bezos_wealthiest_man_welfare_0.jpg …
(2020-09-05). [Perspectives] Uché Blackstock: dismantling structural racism in health care. thelancet.com Uché Blackstock's father, a Jamaican immigrant, arrived in New York State, USA, aged just 17 years. "Like many young immigrant men, he had a variety of jobs", she recalls, "he was a mechanic, a refrigerator repair person, [and] he finally went to a Brooklyn college, where he met our mom." Her mother, Dale Blackstock, was a physician who went to Harvard Medical School and practised in Brooklyn, but had to fight her way to college. "She grew up in poverty here in Brooklyn, where I was born, and where I live.
(2020-09-05). Unprecedented US Economic Collapse and Reality Defying Market Bubble. globalresearch.ca For 24 straight weeks, over a million working-age Americans applied for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. | What's been going on since March is unprecedented in US history, likely more of the same ahead and perhaps the worst of times to come….
(2020-09-05). In The Worst Of Times, The Billionaire Elite Plunder The Working Class. popularresistance.org Since March, more than 58 million people in the U.S. have filed for unemployment. The Internal Revenue Service now predicts that the U.S. economy will have almost 40 million fewer jobs in 2021 than they predicted before the pandemic, as a result of the prolonged economic depression. As it becomes widely recognized that the economy is not going to "bounce right back" into full activity — even when coronavirus cases do eventually decline — and that the current depression will continue for a long time, companies are doing anything they can to drive their stock prices higher.
(2020-09-04). Economy Adds 1.4 Million Jobs in August, Unemployment Falls to 8.4 Percent. cepr.net Even with strong job growth the last four months, we have recovered less than half the jobs lost due to the pandemic. The August employment report showed the economy again adding back jobs at a strong rate. The reported gain of 1,371,000 somewhat overstates underlying strength since it includes the addition of 238,000 temporary Census …
(2020-09-04). Stocks fall as numbers collecting unemployment benefits rise. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, September 3 the U.S. stock market took its biggest fall since in three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 800 points, or almost 3%. The broader S&P 500 index fell more than 3%, while the tech heavy NASDAQ index fell almost 5%. All of these measures of the stock market had been at or near record highs until their share drop. | On the same day, the Labor Department released their weekly report on unemployment insurance. While the usual seasonally adjusted measure of new claims for regular state unemployment insurance fell, it was not really comparable to the previ…
(2020-09-04). Stagehands to hold Labor Day "Push for $600" in Michigan. fightbacknews.org Grand Rapids, MI – Joining other unions across the United States on Labor Day, IATSE union stagehands are holding a "Push for $600" on Monday, September 7, 11 a.m. near the Gerald R. Ford Museum. Currently there are 29 million workers receiving some form of unemployment across the U.S. | "There are no concerts, theater performances, in-person meetings or conventions for stagehands to work at and we need the $600 to pay our bills. Economists and industry owners are saying we cannot start work again until spring 2021 or later," said Josh Roskamp, business agent for the stagehands union IATSE Local 26. | Roskamp c…
(2020-09-04). US joblessness crisis worsens as nearly 900,000 file new unemployment claims. wsws.org Millions of families' daily existence has been reduced to the struggle for bare necessities as hunger continues to grow.
(2020-09-04). Trump Says Willing to Use $300 Billion of Unspent Money for COVID-19 Stimulus. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US President Donald Trump said he wants to release an unspent $300 billion to use for coronavirus financial relief if Congress approves the plan.
(2020-09-04). Less Than Half of Jobs Lost at Start of Pandemic Have Been Recovered. truthout.org The August employment report showed the economy again adding back jobs at a strong rate. The reported gain of 1,371,000 somewhat overstates underlying strength since it includes the addition of 238,000 temporary Census jobs. However, even without these jobs, the gain would still be over 1.1 million. The unemployment rate dropped 1.8 percentage point to 8.4 percent, while the employment-to-population ratio (EPOP) rose 1.4 percentage point to 56.5 percent. (The Bureau of Labor Statistics warns that due…
(2020-09-04). US economy gains 1.4M jobs; unemployment falls to 8.4%. yenisafak.com The unemployment rate in the US dropped to 8.4% in August as the economy added 1.4 million jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.Data reflected the continued resumption of economic activity that was curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it, which pushed job losses to the Great Depression-era levels.The unemployment rate declined by 1.8% from 10.2% in July and the number of jobless Americans fell by 2.8 million to 13.6 million.August marks four consecutive months of the decline in both areas.The unemployment rate fell below 10% for the first time since March."In August, an inc…
(2020-09-04). Workers Struggling This Labor Day as High Unemployment Persists. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-09-03). American Workers Have Been Given a Raw Deal Throughout the Trump Era. counterpunch.org Although Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that American workers are "thriving" during his presidency, this contention rings hollow. The mishandled coronavirus pandemic, of course, has created levels of unemployment, hunger, and misery in the United States not seen since the Great Depression. But even in the years before the pandemic, when Trump claimed he had
(2020-09-03). In the Worst of Times, the Billionaire Elite Plunder Working Class America. counterpunch.org 
In the midst of a global pandemic, unprecedented economic collapse, mass unemployment, hunger and desperation, the stock market is booming and the richest of the rich are richer than ever before. Since March, more than 58 million people in the U.S. have filed for unemployment. The Internal Revenue Service now predicts that the U.S. economy
(2020-09-03). Why Evicting Millions During a Pandemic is Bad For Our Democracy. aclu.org As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on, people across the country face the economic devastation left in its wake. Along with staggering unemployment numbers, millions of renters now
(2020-09-03). Total Initial UI Claims Have Risen in Each of the Last Four Weeks. commondreams.org "Most people on UI are now are forced to get by on the meager benefits that are in place without the extra payment, benefits which are typically around 40% of their pre-virus earnings," writes Shierholz. (Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/unemployment_7.jpg …
(2020-09-03). Either Raise Taxes on Wealthy to Fund Recovery or Expect Years of 'Grinding Recession,' Argues Nobel Prize-Winning Economist. commondreams.org Failing to increase taxes on the rich to support recovery will lead to "cutbacks in basic services that will weaken our social fabric and harm our potential for years to come." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/billionaires_1.jpg …
(2020-09-03). Medicare for All Advocate Finds Universal Healthcare Mandates in Islam. commondreams.org "Kassem continues her work building support for Medicare for All, especially in communities of color that make up 59% of the nation's uninsured," writes Quigley. (Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/m4a.jpg …
(2020-09-02). Women bear the brunt, as COVID erodes progress on eradicating extreme poverty. news.un.org The coronavirus pandemic and its fallout will likely push 47 million more women into poverty, reversing decades of progress to eradicate extreme poverty, new data released on Wednesday by the UN has revealed.
(2020-09-02). Congress Urged to Enact 'Emergency Charity Stimulus' to Unlock Profits of the Rich to Serve Common Good. commondreams.org "The world of philanthropy must step up and do more, faster. Congress must insist on it." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/getty-covid-nonprofit-stimulus.jpg …
