Inequality

( Inequality.org ) – Can we please get serious about taxing the rich? Polls show that hefty majorities of people in the United States — and around the world — believe the rich ought to be paying more at tax time. Yet our contemporary don’t-tax-the-rich era has now entered its fifth consecutive decade. Egalitarian tax […]

Employment

From Couriers to factory Laborers, Turkish Workers are Protesting low Wages amid economic Crisis

Global Voices

By Doga Celik and Arzu Geybullayeva | – ( Globalvoices.org ) – Prices are rising in Turkey and people have had enough. The leader of a Turkish opposition party recently tweeted he won’t be paying inflated electricity bills following January price hikes on basic commodities. At the same time, shop owners have been posting their […]

Afghanistan

US Sanctions on Afghanistan are Complicit in Mass Hunger, even as Biden withholds $3.5 bn in Afghan Money

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Kevin Liptak and Natasha Bertrand report at CNN that the Biden administration has decided to split the $7 billion in Afghanistan government money held in the US and confiscated last August when the Taliban took over the country. $3.5 billion will be released for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan itself, while […]

Climate Crisis

The Rich produce the most Heat-Trapping CO2, but Heat Waves hit the Poorest Hardest

The Conversation

By Mojtaba Sadegh, John Abatzoglou, and Mohammad Reza Alizadeh | – Spend time in a developing country during a heat wave and it quickly becomes clear why poorer nations face some of the greatest risks from climate change. Most homes don’t have air conditioning, and even health clinics can get overheated. These countries tend to […]

Inequality

Two Sides, Same Coin: Suppressing Votes, Cutting Rich People’s Taxes

Sam Pizzigati

( Inequality.org) – America’s national media typically pay little attention to the moves the nation’s state lawmakers make. Not this year. State legislative battles have emerged over recent months as a top-tier national story. And deservedly so. The battling at the state level — on a tidal wave of proposed new voter-suppression laws — could […]

Economy

160 mn. Fell into Poverty during Pandemic as 10 Wealthiest Men doubled Wealth to $1.5 Trillion (Oxfam)

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The charitable organization Oxfam reports this week that 160 million people fell into poverty during the past two years of pandemic, while the richest 10 men in the world doubled their wealth from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion. The authors of the report argued that this is not simply a […]

Children

How Affordable Child Care will turbocharge the US Economy

OtherWords

By Mary C. King | – Child care is one of the biggest expenses many families face — in much of the country, it can run higher than college tuition. Could a national child care program ease that burden? We’ve come close before. During World War II, the federal government provided child care around the […]

Democratic Party

Three Reasons to be Hopeful Democrats will Still Pass Key Parts of Build Back Better

OtherWords

By Karen Dolan | – ( Otherwords.org ) – There’s no getting around it: 2021 has been a tough year. As with 2020, many of us are glad to see its back end. Do let the door hit you on the way out. Yet, there is more than just Senator Joe Manchin’s coal and Omicron […]