Daily Archives: April 9, 2021

2021-04-09: News Headlines

WSWS (2021-04-09). As US Department of Labor reports 896,000 combined unemployment claims last week, states move to impose new restrictions. wsws.org As millions of people continue to look for steady, safe work amid the latest deadly surge in the pandemic, states are moving forward with reimposing unemployment restrictions and processing evictions.

Ronald Stein (2021-04-09). Senator Scott Weiner (D) Introduces Bill To Financially Nail Californians That Can Least Afford Most Expensive Energy In Nation — OpEd. eurasiareview.com California Senator Weiner has taken Governor Newsom's recent Executive order to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles and hydraulic fracturing one step further with his introduction of SB 467 to obliterate the California economy. The bill is so broad and ambiguous that the results of its passage would lead to a total production ban in California and increase energy costs upon those that can least afford it. With California already having the highest cost of fuels in the country, the wealthy and middle class have more tolerance for expensive energy, but poverty kills and having legislatures pass legislation maki…

Rob Urie (2021-04-09). Capitalism Versus Economic Democracy, Minimum Wage Edition. counterpunch.org The last time that the pay of the rich— corporate profits and gains on speculative wealth, failed to rise for a few months in a row, a revolution ensued. The revolutionary method, now called neoliberalism, was well under way by the time that Ronald Reagan was elected to the presidency in 1980. It emanated from

_____ (2021-04-09). The Enormous Impact Of Eroded Collective Bargaining On Wages. popularresistance.org A major factor depressing wage growth for middle earners and driving the growth of wage inequality over the last four decades has been the erosion of collective bargaining.1 Indeed, the only factor more responsible for weak wage growth for the typical worker is the excessive unemployment perpetrated by central bank policymakers' high interest rate policies and fiscal austerity.2 The share of workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement fell from 27.0% in 1979 to just 11.6% in 2019 (Hirsch and Macpherson 2020). The erosion of collective bargaining has been especially harmful to men's wages because men were…

MEE, agencies (2021-04-09). Norway wealth fund should not include Saudi stocks in reference index, says finance ministry. middleeasteye.net Norway wealth fund should not include Saudi stocks in reference index, says finance ministry | The stocks should be excluded due to environmental, social and corporate governance risk, parliament is advised | Fri, 04/09/2021 – 12: 21 | Norway's minority government must win the support of other parties in parliament to pass its proposals (AFP) | Norway's $1.3tn sovereign wealth fund, the wo…

webdev (2021-04-09). Amnesty Int'l: COVID-19 Exacerbates Inequality in Americas as U.S. Policy Drives Refugees to Border. democracynow.org A new Amnesty International report lays out how the pandemic has significantly exacerbated inequality across the Americas over the past year. Over 1.3 million people have died in the region from COVID-19, making the Americas the hardest-hit area in the world. Women, refugees, migrants, underprotected health workers, Indigenous peoples, Black people and other groups historically excluded and neglected by governments have borne the brunt of the pandemic, according to the report, which also points out the rise in gender violence and lethal crackdown on human rights defenders. "It's not a surprise that the Americas h…

WSWS (2021-04-08). Europe's billionaires' wealth surges in a year of the coronavirus pandemic. wsws.org The pandemic saw increased mass death, hardship, unemployment, poverty, social isolation, and suffering for Europe's workers, and unprecedented wealth for its billionaires.

Eurasia Review (2021-04-08). Using Mario Kart To Teach How To Reduce World Poverty And Improve Sustainability. eurasiareview.com Many Mario Kart enthusiasts are familiar with the rush of racing down Rainbow Road, barely squeaking around a corner, and catching a power-up from one of the floating square icons on the screen–or, less ideally, slipping on a banana peel laid by another racer and flying off the side of the road into oblivion. This heated competition between multiple players, who use a variety of game tokens and tools to speed ahead or thwart their competitors, is part of what makes the classic Nintendo racing game that has been around since the early 1990s so appealing. | "It's been fun since I was a kid, it's fun for my kids…

Taylor Griggs (2021-04-08). Inequality in U.S. Education Goes Beyond the College Admissions Scandal. progressive.org The new Netflix documentary, "Operation Varsity Blues," looks into what happened in 2019, but what's needed are real solutions to the ongoing achievement gap.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-04-08). Iraqis protest against unemployment, shut down major oil refinery. peoplesdispatch.org Protests against unemployment have been taking place for five days in a row in southern Iraq, causing massive fuel shortages in the region and adversely impacting oil production and refining at the Nasiriyah oil refinery…

Staff (2021-04-08). Median Worker Makes $3,250 Less Per Year Than in 1979 Due to Decline in Unions. truthout.org As unionization and collective bargaining have declined in the U.S., wages have also declined for the average worker over the past four decades, finds "A major factor depressing wage growth for middle earners and driving the growth of wage inequality over the last four decades has been the erosion of collective bargaining," wrote Lawrence Mishel…

webdev (2021-04-08). "Vaccine Passports": ACLU Warns of Privacy Nightmare That Could Create "Two-Tiered Society" democracynow.org As people try to find a safe way to gather and travel during the pandemic, there is growing interest in documenting who has been vaccinated or tested negative for COVID-19. The World Health Organization has warned so-called vaccine passports may not be an effective way to reopen, and healthcare professionals argue vaccine certificates may further exacerbate vaccine inequality. New York is already testing a digital vaccine passport app made by IBM called the Excelsior Pass, while countries including the U.K. and Israel have issued their own versions of electronic vaccine certificates. The U.S. government has ruled…

Anand Naidoo (2021-04-08). The Heat: Vaccine inequality and Brazil battles COVID-19. america.cgtn.com Vaccinations are ramping up in the U.S., but President Joe Biden warns the country is still in a war against COVID-19. Meanwhile, in Brazil, hospitals and morgues are being stretched to the limit, and the prognosis for other low-income countries is similarly grim, as vaccine distribution continues to be a major challenge.

ecns.cn (2021-04-08). Uzbek economics lecturer praises poverty elimination in China. ecns.cn Shahboz Babaev, an Uzbek lecturer in economics at the Anhui Finance and Trade Vocational College, praised China's practical measures and experiences on poverty alleviation and called on other countries to learn from China.

Updated: 1618-05-02 22:24 | 00:24 EST | 14 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 0