(2021-05-18). Report highlights shocking growth of poverty among US infants during the pandemic. wsws.org Zero to Three's State of Babies Yearbook: 2021 reports that nearly 40 percent of babies in the US now live at or near the poverty line, with food insecurity and lack of child care severely worsened by the pandemic.
(2021-05-18). How America Went From Mom-and-Pop Capitalism to Techno-Feudalism. scheerpost.com Daniel Oberhaus / CC BY 2.0] By Ellen Brown / Original to ScheerPost In a matter of decades, the United States has gone from a somewhat benign form of capitalism to a neo-feudal form that has created an ever-widening gap in wealth and power. In his 2013 bestseller Capital in the 21st Century, French economist Thomas Piketty declared that "the level of inequality in the US is probably higher than… |
(2021-05-18). Alliance Of Democracies Summit. popularresistance.org Copenhagen, Denmark — The United States is the nation that most threatens democracy worldwide, far more than Russia or even China. That is the headline finding from a new worldwide poll of 53 countries commissioned by the Alliance of Democracies (AoD). The poll also found that the global public considers rising inequality and the increased power of the super rich to be the greatest threat to liberty and democracy. | This was likely not the response the Alliance of Democracies wished to hear as it opened its third annual Democracy Summit in Copenhagen this week — precisely because the organization repr…
(2021-05-18). Colonialism & Imperialism are the Root of Venezuela's Economic Problems, Not Socialism, Says US Economist Michael Hudson (#SanctionsKill). orinocotribune.com May 16 (Special for OrinocoTribune.com)—The US oligarchy became wealthy by exploiting the labor and natural resources of peoples and lands across the Americas, Africa, and Asia. In our millennium, Venezuela's assets were seized by an empire in decline. As its economy continues to weaken, the US lashes out with increasingly desperate policies of economic "sanctions" against those that try to break out of its orbit. In the process, it drives its enemies together. | "Ironically, America's attempt to isolate other countries is turning into an attempt to isolate itself," said economist Michael Hudson recently. O…
(2021-05-18). Repression Of National Protests In Colombia Is Backed By The United States. popularresistance.org Colombians have been on a national strike since April 28 with protests in 500 cities and blockades that have shut down the major highway. The protests were sparked by a proposed bill that would place the burden of financing the country's debt on the people while cutting taxes for the wealthy, but economic conditions for most people have been in decline for a long time. The government has responded to the protests with violent repression by its militarized police that are funded and trained by the United States. Clearing the FOG speaks with Charo Mina-Rojas, a human rights defender in Colombia who was a leader in…
(2021-05-17). Tomgram: Todd Miller, Maintaining Instability in a World of Inequality. warisacrime.org This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here. The pandemic should remind us that we increasingly live in two ever-less-equal worlds. Think of them as Planet A and Planet B. Right now, the one you generally wouldn't want to be living on is Planet B. There, …
(2021-05-17). While Professing BLM Support, Wall Street Banks Reject Racial Equity Audits. ips-dc.org 
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is urging shareholders to vote against a proposed review of the impact of bank policies and practices on racial inequality.
(2021-05-17). The social conformation of the productive forces: why does technology always end up working against us? challenge-magazine.org 
"Economists explain how production takes place in the above-mentioned relations, but what they do not explain is how these relations themselves are produced, that is, the historical movement that gave them birth." — Karl Marx, The Poverty of Philosophy. | The nature of productive forces is not ideologically neutral. Science, technology and machinery are devoted and subordinate to capital. The Marxists who treat socialism as an inevitable result of expanded production revise the core essence of Marxism: revolutionary struggle. | A Marxist who upholds dialectical materialism knows that the productive forces…
(2021-05-17). Colonialism & Imperialism are the Root of Venezuela's Economic Problems, Not Socialism. libya360.wordpress.com Steve Lalla The US oligarchy became wealthy by exploiting the labor and natural resources of peoples and lands across the Americas, Africa, and Asia. In our millennium, Venezuela's assets were seized by an empire in decline. As its economy continues to weaken, the US lashes out with increasingly desperate policies of economic "sanctions" against those…