(2021-01-28). Billionaires Gone Wild: Pandemic Profiteering By the Numbers. scheerpost.com By Chuck Collins / Inequality.org The collective wealth of all U.S. billionaires has increased over $1.1 trillion since mid-March 2020, a nearly 40% leap during the past 10 months of national emergency. This wealth windfall could pay for all the relief for working families contained in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package proposed by President Biden, while leaving the nation's richest… |
(2021-01-27). NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang doubles down on anti-BDS remarks. middleeasteye.net 
NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang doubles down on anti-BDS remarks | After accusing BDS of 'unfair economic punishment', Yang asserts his opposition is based on the movement's 'refusal to condemn violence' | Wed, 01/27/2021 – 19: 18 | Andrew Yang, a NYC mayoral candidate, has drawn criticism for his stance against the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement (AFP/File photo)…
(2021-01-27). Don't Be Fooled: The Official Unemployment Numbers Are a Lie. mintpressnews.com 
The "'Underemployed' would be the most accurate, but there's not really a good definition," A.K. says, responding to my question of how he would identify his employment status. "As a freelancer, we're put aside to kind of fend for ourselves, even before all this." He's a freelance c…
(2021-01-27). Corona crisis, capital and politics. indybay.org There is no question that the economic power of the state is being deployed here in a concentrated manner to combat the crisis. However, this was also the intention of the two "stimulus packages" in the financial and economic crisis of 2008 and 2009, the volume of which was around EUR 187 billion or 3 percent of GDP.
(2021-01-27). If There's No Fear of Inflation, Why is GOP Against More Stimulus? — Rana Foroohar and Mark Blyth. theanalysis.news If there were a real fear of inflation, there wouldn't be such an appetite for long term government debt at what amounts to a negative interest rate. Rana Foroohar and Mark Blyth on theAnalysis.news with Paul Jay.
(2021-01-27). Sanders, Warren Warn Senate Majority Will Be Used in 'Very Aggressive Way' if GOP Blocks Stimulus. zcomm.org Both Sanders and Warren said the timely passage of another massive stimulus bill is more important than waiting on GOP lawmakers mired in gridlock…
(2021-01-27). A decade into Arab uprising: Tunisians keep on protesting. yenisafak.com A decade after the Jasmine Revolution, which ousted longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power, anger and frustration among young Tunisians continues to brew. Protests [1] have been held in various cities across the country over the last few days, defying restrictions in place following a surge in coronavirus cases.While the daytime demonstrations are overwhelmingly peaceful, clashes occur with security forces take place during the night. More than 600 people were arrested [2], and the army was deployed to quell the tensions.Protestors' grievances are the same as they were a decade ago: unemployment, s…
(2021-01-27). Quick Thoughts on the Minimum Wage. cepr.net President Biden's proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 is prompting a backlash from the usual suspects. As we hear the cries about how this will be the end of the world for small businesses and lead to massive unemployment, especially for young workers, minorities, and the less-educated, there are …
(2021-01-27). The Cure is the Sickness, 2001. indybay.org "Good policy" in the sense of the Washington Consensus can be paraphrased with these ten principles. The key to development successes lies only in a correct policy mix. Development backlogs, continuing poverty and so forth are referred back everywhere to "bad policy" in the sense of disregarding the ten principles.
(2021-01-26). COVID Windfall for Billionaires Could Fully Fund Relief for the Working Class. truthout.org 
The $1.1 trillion in wealth that America's billionaires have collectively gained during ten months of pandemic and economic crisis could fully pay for key relief measures that President Joe Biden proposed in his recently released
(2021-01-26). The COVID Windfall for Billionaires Could Fully Fund Relief for Working Class. truthout.org The $1.1 trillion in wealth that America's billionaires have collectively gained during ten months of pandemic and economic crisis could fully pay for key relief measures that President Joe Biden proposed in his recently released
(2021-01-26). Oxfam: Global billionaires' wealth up $3.9 trillion during the pandemic. wsws.org The annual report on inequality exposes the effect the pandemic and the response of governments around the world has had in exacerbating social inequality.
(2021-01-26). NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang blasted for comparing BDS to 'fascist boycotts'. mronline.org 
One-time presidential hopeful faces backlash over op-ed saying BDS movement 'rooted in antisemitic thought and history'.
(2021-01-26). Biden willing to negotiate $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package. laprensalatina.com Washington, Jan 25 (efe-epa).- United States President Joe Biden on Monday expressed willingness to negotiate his proposed $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus plan to obtain its approval in Congress, after some legislators rejected it as being too expensive. "This is just the process beginning," Biden, who presented his plan to achieve economic reactivation and recovery from …
(2021-01-26). Patriotic Millionaires Praise the Raise the Wage Act as "An Incredible Long-Term Economic Stimulus" commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-01-26). Unemployment rate soars to highest level for more than four years. thecanary.co Britain's jobless rate has soared to its highest level for more than four years as official figures showed nearly 830,000 workers have been dropped from UK payrolls since the start of the pandemic. | The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the unemployment rate reached 5% for the first time since early 2016 in the three months to November after another 202,000 people lost their jobs. | Figures for December also showed there were 828,000 fewer Britons on company payrolls since before the crisis struck last February as the pandemic has hammered the jobs market. | Our latest labour market statistics have b…
(2021-01-26). Corruption Ranks First Among Social Problems in Panama. telesurenglish.net Panama's International Center for Political and Social Studies (CIEPS) published a survey showing corruption and inequality as the country's main problems. | RELATED: | Carried out in the second week of January, the CIEPS survey had a sample of 1,199 people, 46 percent of whom pointed to corruption as the main obstacle to the country's development. | Around 24 percent of the interviewees described inequality as a problem and 1…
(2021-01-25). 'Abolish Billionaires': Oxfam Report Shows Combined Pandemic Wealth of Richest 10 People Could Pay to Vaccinate Entire World. commondreams.org "Rigged economies are funnelling wealth to a rich elite who are riding out the pandemic in luxury, while those on the frontline of the pandemic… are struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/abolish_the_billionaires.png …
(2021-01-25). Rev. William Barber Says Biden Admin Must Not Sacrifice Racial & Economic Justice for False Unity. democracynow.org 
We look at how COVID-19 has increased economic inequality with anti-poverty campaigner Reverend William Barber, who delivered the homily at the official inaugural prayer service. Barber says President Joe Biden's focus on unity cannot come at the expense of major reforms needed to fight systemic racism, poverty, environmental destruction and more. "It cannot be just kumbaya. It has to be fundamental change," he says. "We cannot be the wealthiest nation in the world, where billionaires in this country made a trillion dollars between May and November during COVID, while poor and low-wealth people of every race, cre…
(2021-01-25). Saudi sovereign wealth fund to invest billions to tackle soaring joblessness. middleeasteye.net 
Saudi sovereign wealth fund to invest billions to tackle soaring joblessness | Unemployment in Saudi Arabia touched 14.9 percent in the third quarter of 2020 as Covid-19 continues to sink the economy | Mon, 01/25/2021 – 08: 01 | The board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh (AFP) | Saudi Arabia is moving to tackle soaring unemployment and a Covid-19-triggered economic d…
(2021-01-25). With COVID controlled and economy growing, Vietnam's Communists plan for future. peoplesworld.org 
HANOI—With only 35 recorded deaths, Vietnam has managed the coronavirus pandemic better than almost any other country on earth. And, unlike other nations, where mass unemployment and recession are the norm, Vietnam's economy is actually growing. That's the context in which the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is set to …
(2021-01-25). Leith Mullings, 1945-2020: Anthropologist behind the Sojourner Syndrome. mronline.org 
Leith Mullings, an anthropologist whose work on what she dubbed the Sojourner Syndrome created a baseline understanding of the "weathering" that the amplified stresses of race, class, and inequality have on African Americans, and in particular African American women, died of cancer on December 12.
(2021-01-25). Wealth rise of richest in pandemic could protect all: Report. yenisafak.com The expansion of wealth during the pandemic of the 10 richest people of the world would be enough to cover the cost of vaccination for every single person on the planet, according to a new report.The global charity organization Oxfam said in its report that the combined wealth of the 10 richest men rose by $540 billion from mid-March to the end of last year.Oxfam's report underlined that reduced global aid programs paved the way for a "lost decade in the fight against poverty."The charity organization said the total wealth of billionaires hit $12 trillion in December, which is equivalent to total pandemic spendin…
(2021-01-25). Egyptians mark decade to Arab Spring. yenisafak.com Egyptians on Monday marked the 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring protests which led to the end of Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule in the country.The string of protests in 2011 against dictatorships across the Arab world spread like wildfire after a Tunisian street vendor self-immolated to protest the regime's human rights abuse.On Jan. 25, 2011, Egyptians staged protests against unemployment and corruption as the security forces responded with disproportionate violence, killing hundreds of people.The ensuing demonstrations ended Mubarak's era on Feb. 11, 2011."Egyptians revolted for their freedom and dignity when…
(2021-01-25). Missouri residents confront growing joblessness, hunger, evictions. wsws.org Mass unemployment and the miserable levels of state aid available are sowing increasing devastation throughout the region.
(2021-01-25). Farmers' Protests Reflect Existential Crisis of Indian Agriculture. dissidentvoice.org With over 800 million people, rural India is arguably the most interesting and complex place on the planet but is plagued by farmer suicides, child malnourishment, growing unemployment, increased informalisation, indebtedness and an overall collapse of agriculture. Given that India is still an agrarian-based society, renowned journalist P Sainath says what is taking place can be described …