Daily Archives: October 25, 2020

2020-10-25: News Headlines

Prabhat Patnaik (2020-10-25). The rising wealth of billionaires even amid a pandemic. peoplesdispatch.org It is inevitable under capitalism that every human tragedy which unleashes a crisis in this system becomes an occasion for an increase in wealth concentration, writes Prabhat Patnaik…

Sasha Abramsky (2020-10-25). Candidates Focus on the Middle Class, But They Must Also Tackle Deep Poverty. zcomm.org For the kind of unfettered poverty that is being unleashed will, if left unchecked, likely result in massive political turmoil over the coming years and decades…

_____ (2020-10-25). Protests Against Greed And Inequality Are Spreading Like Wildfire Through Latin America. popularresistance.org With attention fixed on this week's events in Bolivia, you would be excused for not realizing that much of the rest of the region has for weeks also been ablaze in the flames of protest. | In Costa Rica, the neoliberal coalition government of Carlos Alverado attempted to force through a $1.75 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. As has been its modus operandi this year, the organization offered the money attached to a host of free-market changes, including tax changes, cuts to public services, and privatization of state-owned assets, s…

Fight Back (2020-10-24). Long-term unemployment continues to grow. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, October 22, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that there were 787,000 new claims for regular state unemployment in the week that ended October 17. This was 55,000 fewer than the previous week, but still 20,000 higher than two weeks ago and almost four times as high as the same week a year ago. While new claims have fallen dramatically from the record high of almost 6 million in April, they are still higher than the pre-recession high of less than 700,000. | The report also said that continuing claims for regular state unemployment did fall by a million to 8.4 million for the week e…

Brian Wakamo (2020-10-24). 17 Ballot Initiatives to Reduce Inequality. zcomm.org On November 3, voters in many states and cities will weigh in on a variety of inequality-related proposals, from taxing the wealthy to increasing worker and tenant protections…

_____ (2020-10-24). Prisoners Won The Right To Stimulus Checks. popularresistance.org Last week, Thomas Root emailed his weekly legal newsletter from his office in Ohio to nearly 11,000 federal prisoners around the country — just as he's done every Monday since 2015. That same day, attorney Brandon Sample in Vermont fired off his own weekly legal updates to more than 6,700 federal prisoners — as he's done for three years. | Within days, the men were flooded with rejection emails declaring that the Federal Bureau of Prisons had abruptly banned their newsletters, saying they were "detrimental to the security, good order, or discipline of the facility, or might facilitate criminal activit…

Richard Horton (2020-10-24). [Comment] Offline: Science and politics in the era of COVID-19. thelancet.com "How can we follow the science when scientists haven't the foggiest." "'Big mouth' scientists losing trust of Ministers." Headlines such as these are increasingly common in UK newspapers. Scientists are no longer seen as providing impartial, independent advice to government. They are seen as being responsible for crashing economies, driving up unemployment, and ruining livelihoods. Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer, and Patrick Vallance, Chief Scientific Adviser, have received the sharpest criticism.

Sara Flounders (2020-10-23). New York Workers Assembly Against Racism. workers.org A powerful and forward-planning Workers Assembly Against Racism was held at Union Square in New York City on Oct. 18. Participants projected the possibilities of workers' power through general strikes, shutdowns and mass actions to dramatically push back ongoing attacks — including police and racist violence, evictions, lack of stimulus . . . |

Stephen Lendman (2020-10-23). US 2020 Economic Collapse a Bonanza for Billionaires. globalresearch.ca US billionaires are cashing in big at a time of widespread unemployment, underemployment, and deprivation. More below on reported data. | *** | A previous article stressed that the disparity between super-wealth and growing poverty in the US is greater than any …

WSWS (2020-10-23). Catastrophic job losses continue in the US as nearly 800,000 new unemployment claims reported. wsws.org Over 65 million claims have been filed since mid-March as state and federal assistance expires for millions.

WSWS (2020-10-23). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Nigerian Federal airport workers stage one-day warning strike under conditions of mass unemployment, poverty and inequality in Africa's largest country—which has fueled mass protests against state violence.

Editor (2020-10-22). It's No Surprise Corporate Media Abhors Wealth Taxes. scheerpost.com Neil Alexander McKee / CC BY-NC 2.0] By Alan MacLeod / FAIR The coronavirus pandemic has greatly increased wealth inequality in the United States, a key issue in the upcoming presidential election. Polls are currently looking good for the Democrats, many of whom have been murmuring about—or even demanding—a new wealth tax. Recent surveys show the idea is overwhelmingly popular with the electorate… |

Patricia Gorky (2020-10-22). Purdue Pharma settlement: Opioid kingpin Sackler family gets away with murder. liberationnews.org From this pain and suffering the Sackler family has built their enormous wealth estimated at $13 billion. The Sacklers will not face any jail time or significant fines despite the charges against Purdue Pharma…

WSWS (2020-10-22). Marcus Rashford's fight against child poverty exposes Labour and trade unions' partnership with Johnson government. wsws.org Marcus Rashford has more fight in his little toe than the entire Labour and trade union bureaucracy.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-22). Colombia witnesses massive national strike. peoplesdispatch.org On October 21, tens of thousands of workers, peasants, teachers, students, Indigenous and Afro-descendant people took part in a new national strike in Colombia to protest against the social and economic policies of President Iván Duque. Several peaceful demonstrations were held throughout the country in rejection of the economic crisis, rising unemployment, police repression, the increase in massacres, assassination of social leaders, armed group activity, among other issues. | In the capital Bogotá, hundreds of workers from diverse sectors hit the streets and marched towards the Plaza Bolívar, demanding a guaran…

John Scales Avery (2020-10-22). Ye are many, they are few! nationofchange.org How do elites keep their monopoly on wealth and power?>

Chuck Collins (2020-10-22). U.S. Billionaires Wealth Surges $931 Billion since Beginning of Pandemic. zcomm.org An Unseemly Juxtaposition: 220,000 Dead and Millions Lose their Health, Wealth and Livelihoods…

_____ (2020-10-22). OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma To Plead To Three Criminal Charges. popularresistance.org Washington – Drugmaker Purdue Pharma, the company behind the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin that experts say helped touch off an opioid epidemic, will plead guilty to federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. | The deal does not release any of the company's executives or owners — members of the wealthy Sackler family — from criminal liability, and a criminal investigation is ongoing. Family members said they acted "ethically and lawfully," but some state attorneys general said the agreement fails to hold the Sackle…

sputniknews (2020-10-22). Stalled Stimulus; Big Pharma Pays Up; Hidden Agendas & Anti-Semitism. sputniknews.com There are still negotiations underway on an economic stimulus bill for pandemic relief in the US, even though it won't come before the November 3 election.

WSWS (2020-10-22). Australian corporate elite demands lifting of all coronavirus safety restrictions. wsws.org A hysterical campaign is underway, insisting that any public health measures are an unacceptable impost on the wealth and profits of the financial aristocracy.

Heidi Shierholz (2020-10-22). With Millions of People Out of Work, the Senate's Inaction Is Not Only Cruel, It's Bad Economics. commondreams.org Due to the impact of historic and current systemic racism, Black and Latinx communities have seen more job loss in this recession and have less wealth to fall back on. (Photo: Giles Clarke/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/essential_1.jpg

Global Research News (2020-10-21). Selected Articles: The 2020 Great Recession 2.0. globalresearch.ca By Both political parties have played a 'hot potato' bargaining game: i.e. "here's my offer, the ball's in your …

Staff (2020-10-21). Looming Failure of Stimulus Exposes GOP's Double Standards on the Deficit. truthout.org With Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell coming out