Has the Senate Majority Leader lost his faith in the wisdom and predictability of markets? Crude partisanship may underlie his reluctance to enact further Covid Depression relief assistance, but the reason given was extraordinary. The Senator professed a desire to wait for the effects of the first relief package to become apparent. “I think we […]
Frankenfuel: The Market is done with Big Oil and Coal, but will they Lumber on with Gov’t Subsidies?
Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Are the big oil stocks headed for collapse? Citizens as diverse as climate activist and 350.org founder Bill McKibben and CNBC finance guru Jim Cramer seem to think so. Here is Cramer as reported by Axios in early February even before the historic plunge in crude prices.\ […]
Why Unemployment under Trump is way worse than even the Depression-Era Numbers Suggest
Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Friday May 8 unemployment statistics were as dire as many had expected. The US Department of Labor released an unemployment rate for April of 14.7%, the worst since the Great Depression and far surpassing the worst days of the Great Recession. In light of these numbers it […]
Unionize! Trump has coerced Workers at Covid-19 Hot Spot Meat Packing Plants into Front Lines
Southwest Harbor, Me. (Special to Informed Comment) – Should we be surprised that Smithfield[s pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota was a hotspot for the Covid19 virus? No, and here is another no brainer. There are many such hotspots among meat processing plants around the US. How we handle such facts will affect […]
To Stop America’s downward Spiral into the Great GOP Depression, Save the States!
Southwest Harbor, Me. (Special to Informed Comment) – Congress recently juiced up its Paycheck Protection Program with another 310 million dollar authorization. Much of the discussion centered around what businesses qualified for this assistance and whether and when Congress might be asked to provide more. Too little attention focused on larger and more immediately pressing […]
Unprotected Nurses of the World, Unite; You have nothing to Lose but your Corporate Chains
Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Many pundits have correctly recognized Covis19’s role in exposing extreme class, race, and gender inequalities in this society and the vulnerabilities they foster. This virus also exposes the grave injustices that characterize many American workplaces, where many Americans spend nearly a third of the prime years of […]
Trump, Eyeing Reelection, Wants to Put us Back to Work too Soon: Our Health vs. Whose Economy?
President Trump, who hoped to run for re-election on a booming economy, is being frustrated by a tiny virus. As usual he lashes out with mixed and confusing messages. He acknowledges the severity of the crisis but then he suggests that health restrictions will needlessly derail the economy. He complains the cure may be worse […]
Coronavirus: Corporate Media ignores how Privatization of Hospitals explains Lack of Beds, Ventilators
Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – The escalating total Covid 19 deaths in New York City and the frantic quest to obtain life saving medical gear has rightly captured media attention. New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s impassioned plea for more federal assistance and a need-based system for allocating aid among the states was […]
What’s the Point of Bailing out Hurting CEOs if they Just use Funds to Buy Back Stock & Feather their Nests?
Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Occasionally President Trump likes to play defender of the common man. The frequent attacks on NAFTA and the promise to replace it with a better trade deal are one instance. Recently the effort to build a bipartisan stimulus response to the deepening economic losses occasioned by the […]