Monthly Archives: September 2021

2021-09-30: News Headlines

rebekah (2021-09-30). Big Money's War on the Build Back Better Plan. inequality.org

Newsclick (2021-09-30). Imperialism then and now: [3] Capital relocation, inequality, encroachment and protracted crisis. peoplesdispatch.org Prabhat Patnaik shows that as capital is relocated, real wages do not rise, inequality widens, and global demand is suppressed. The system remains in protracted crisis; Keynesianism in the North alone is no solution. The struggle is everywhere.

Michael Hudson — Ross Ashcroft (2021-09-30). China's Fortune Cookie Crumbles. counterpunch.org With China's increasing wealth, Western investors want some of the action. One of those investors is a bullish gentleman called George Soros. However, the Chinese are acutely aware that with Western investment comes inequality. So as Beijing begins to rethink how to do proper economic growth, can we expect that China will learn from Western mistakes?

SAM (2021-09-30). The Least Sympathetic People in the Entire World? inequality.org

Marie Solis (2021-09-30). For Many, the Pandemic Was a Wakeup Call About Exploitative Work. zcomm.org The unemployment expansion showed us what work could be like if it was freely chosen…

Newsclick (2021-09-30). Imperialism then and now: [2] Wealth drain, depression, the role of the state and globalization. peoplesdispatch.org Prabhat Patnaik explains how the colonial system led to depression. Then, in advanced countries governments stepped in to increase demand and productivity, but how unless the periphery is available for extraction of wealth and cheap provision of inputs the system would collapse. So, the Global South was absorbed by a globalization process where finance becomes predominant, income deflation is widespread and governments everywhere are turned into servants of financialization.

Madaar (2021-09-30). The hidden hunger in Morocco. peoplesdispatch.org Hunger has a strong presence in the Moroccan imaginary as much as it exists in reality. Throughout the course of history, the people of Morocco have suffered from cyclical droughts, marginalization and exclusion, and the systemic theft of their wealth and harvests by the Mahkzen, the political regime led by the monarchy. | The agricultural sector in the country employs 40% of the labor force and contributes to 15% of the GDP, therefore making the country's economy and the economic situation of its people very vulnerable to shifts in the global market and climate change. | In addition to the challenges presented b…

Staff (2021-09-30). "A Moral Crisis": Reverend William Barber on Why Congress Must Pass $3.5 Trillion Bill. democracynow.org Activists continue to call on Democratic leaders to pass the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, which expands the social safety net and includes measures to address the climate crisis. Progressives remain resolute in their opposition to passing a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill unless it is paired with the larger package. The Build Back Better Act represents "economic investment in the lives of poor and low-wealth people in this country," says Reverend William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign. "The question here is not 'What will it cost if we do this?' What will it cost if we don't do…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-09-30). EU-Morocco Trade Deals that Include Western Sahara Violate International Law. libya360.wordpress.com Peoples Dispatch (Photo: Ambassador Oubi Bachir/Twitter) The European Court of Justice had issued similar verdicts in 2016 and 2018, stating that the Western Sahara region cannot be considered as part of Morocco in such trade agreements The European Union's (EU) highest court on Wednesday, September 29, cancelled two trade deals with Morocco, involving farm and…

_____ (2021-09-29). UN Experts Denounce 'Truly Shocking' Magnitude of Inequality Revealed by Pandemic. commondreams.org "The world is on the brink of a sixth mass extinction," said the director of one advocacy group. "Enforcing conservation laws like the Migratory Bird Treaty Act is vital."

WSWS (2021-09-29). The significance of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei's campaign in the German elections. wsws.org The federal election has made it clear that only the independent intervention of the working class can put an end to the ruthless policies of herd immunity, militarism and inequality. The Socialist Equality Party has used the election campaign to give such a movement a socialist perspective.

WSWS (2021-09-29). Samoa's Supreme Court ends bitter parliamentary standoff. wsws.org Behind the Pacific country's political upheaval is mounting opposition to growing inequality, poverty and authoritarianism, and intensifying geo-political rivalry in the region between the US and China.

_____ (2021-09-29). Over 20 Newly Extinct Species in US Offer 'Sobering Reminder' of Humanity's Wreckage. commondreams.org At a panel on Tuesday, officials condemned vaccine apartheid, rising food insecurity, and other markers of inequality that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Brian Wakamo (2021-09-29). To Save Jobs and Fund Infrastructure, Close This Loophole. otherwords.org The multi-trillion-dollar budget reconciliation bill moving through Congress represents an enormous opportunity to invest in unmet human and environmental needs. It's also the best chance we have to close loopholes that help the wealthy avoid their fair share of taxes. | One of the most extreme is the so-called "carried interest" loophole. This allows wealthy private equity, real estate, and hedge fund managers to claim the fees they receive for their services as capital gains, which are taxed at a rate of just 23.8 percent, instead of the top marginal income tax rate of 37 percent. | As Charles Khan, organizing…

Peter Certo (2021-09-29). In OtherWords: September 29, 2021. otherwords.org It's crunch time for the Democrats' jobs and infrastructure package, also known as the reconciliation bill or the Build Back Better plan. | There's a big debate in Congress right now between members who support a more ambitious package a handful of moderates and conservatives trying to pare it back. But there's not much debate among the American people, as Sondra Youdelman explains this week. In fact, the bill's main provisions — more health and child care, green jobs, lower drug prices, and the like — are really, really popular. So is the idea of funding them by reversing big tax cuts for the wealthy…

jz 2021-09-30 19:37 | 21:37 EST | 15 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0

2021-09-29: News Headlines

WSWS (2021-09-29). The significance of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei's campaign in the German elections. wsws.org The federal election has made it clear that only the independent intervention of the working class can put an end to the ruthless policies of herd immunity, militarism and inequality. The Socialist Equality Party has used the election campaign to give such a movement a socialist perspective.

WSWS (2021-09-29). Samoa's Supreme Court ends bitter parliamentary standoff. wsws.org Behind the Pacific country's political upheaval is mounting opposition to growing inequality, poverty and authoritarianism, and intensifying geo-political rivalry in the region between the US and China.

Brian Wakamo (2021-09-29). To Save Jobs and Fund Infrastructure, Close This Loophole. otherwords.org The multi-trillion-dollar budget reconciliation bill moving through Congress represents an enormous opportunity to invest in unmet human and environmental needs. It's also the best chance we have to close loopholes that help the wealthy avoid their fair share of taxes. | One of the most extreme is the so-called "carried interest" loophole. This allows wealthy private equity, real estate, and hedge fund managers to claim the fees they receive for their services as capital gains, which are taxed at a rate of just 23.8 percent, instead of the top marginal income tax rate of 37 percent. | As Charles Khan, organizing…

Peter Certo (2021-09-29). In OtherWords: September 29, 2021. otherwords.org It's crunch time for the Democrats' jobs and infrastructure package, also known as the reconciliation bill or the Build Back Better plan. | There's a big debate in Congress right now between members who support a more ambitious package a handful of moderates and conservatives trying to pare it back. But there's not much debate among the American people, as Sondra Youdelman explains this week. In fact, the bill's main provisions — more health and child care, green jobs, lower drug prices, and the like — are really, really popular. So is the idea of funding them by reversing big tax cuts for the wealthy…

ecns.cn (2021-09-28). China's anti-poverty success benefited world, white paper says. ecns.cn China's success in transforming itself into a "moderately prosperous society in all respects" has contributed to world peace and development, a white paper said.

Dean Baker (2021-09-28). Winning the Tax Game: Tax Stock Returns. cepr.net President Biden efforts to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy has been getting seriously bogged down in recent weeks. More conservative Democrats have objected to the 28 percent corporate tax rate he proposed. Others seem to have nixed plans for raising the estate tax by making the capital gains held by large estates taxable. And, the Republicans working on the bipartisan infrastructure package were adamantly opposed to increasing the resources available to the I.R.S. so that it could better crack down on tax cheats. | Sometimes, when a particular game is not going well, the best way to turn things aroun…

Brian Wakamo (2021-09-28). Close the Carried Interest Loophole and End Private Equity Abuse. counterpunch.org The multi-trillion-dollar budget reconciliation bill careening its way through the House and Senate represents an enormous opportunity to invest in unmet human and environmental needs and close loopholes that have allowed the wealthy to avoid their fair share of taxes. One of the most extreme examples of tax privilege is the so-called "carried interest" loophole.

_____ (2021-09-28). Reconciling The Reconciliation Bill: A Preview. popularresistance.org This past week maneuvers within the Democratic party intensified over the content and magnitude of the two pending fiscal stimulus bills—the Infrastructure Bill (with $550B of net new spending) and the Reconciliation Bill ( with initial $3.5T 'human infrastructure & climate change' spending). While the maneuvering appears as a deep difference of views between progressives in the US House and Senate demanding both bills pass simultaneously and Democrat Senators, Manchin and Sinema in that body blocking both bills in current form, the actual conflict is really between the corporate wing of the Democratic…

jz 2021-09-30 01:57 | 21:57 EST | 8 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0