Inequality

Why Trump/DeSantis Herd Immunity (‘Let’s Kill Grandma’) Strategy won’t Work: Only about 9% of Americans have Covid-19 Antibodies

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Taking his cue from Trump, Florida governor and grandma-killer Ron DeSantis announced on Friday the complete reopening of Florida, unleashing crowds in restaurants and bars. He won’t allow city governments like Miami’s to fine residents who won’t wear masks or establishments that do not honor social distancing. He says he […]

Inequality

Stop Profiteering on Misery: Private Prisons must be ended Now

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Florida (Special to Informed Comment) – Every state should follow California’s outstanding example by ending the obscene system of private prisons and privately-run immigration detention facilities. California will phase out the use of these for-profit, private detention facilities by 2028. The state prohibited renewing contracts or signing new contracts with a private prison company […]

Debt

In Praise of Public Debt

John Buell

Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Even as California burns, the states of the Gulf of Mexico brace for another hurricane, a global pandemic rages, an influential segment of DC political opinion wants the populace to focus on the national debt. Employing arguments that go back at least as far as Andrew Mellon, […]

Donald Trump

Aztec Politics: Trump sacrificed 200K by Downplaying Covid-19 to save the Stock Market from Panic

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Bob Woodward’s new book of interviews with Trump and figures in his administration records how Trump told the reporter in mid-March that he plays down the coronavirus to avoid a panic. According to CNN, which obtained Woodward’s tapes, Trump said: “I wanted to always play it down. I still like […]

Employment

On Labor Day, Trump’s mismanagement of Pandemic has left 27 mn Unemployed and Turning to Food Banks

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It is a sad Labor Day, in the shadow of the Trump Pandemic. Over a fourth of workers are afraid of losing their jobs because of the pandemic, up from 15% last year this time, according to Gallup. That is, the anxiety over joblessness has almost doubled. Many are much […]

Donald Trump

Trump’s Metaphor of ‘Missing a Putt’ for Police Killings says everything about our spoiled Plutocrats

Sam Pizzigati

(Inequality.org) – Trying to keep up with the stunningly inappropriate — and worse — remarks of Donald Trump can sometimes seem a full-time job. Just this past week, for instance, we’ve seen the president seem to encourage voters in North Carolina to vote twice, once by mail and once by person, a felony under state […]

Epidemics

Fears Pandemic could Spur Dramatic Spike in Homelessness

Cronkite News Arizona PBS

By Jessica Myers (Luce Foundation: Southwest Stories Fellowship): ( Cronkite News) – PHOENIX – For more than three decades, André House just west of downtown has provided food, showers, temporary housing and other services to Arizonans experiencing homelessness or poverty. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of families seeking such services has […]

Donald Trump

How Trump brought us 11.1% Unemployment, lost Manufacturing Jobs, worsened Trade Deficits and Kowtowed to China

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump supporters often acknowledge that Trump’s personal style puts them off, but that they like his economic program. They agree that the trade deficit with China is too high and that the US should not let its manufacturing sector dwindle. The problem is that Trump’s rhetoric on those issues, like […]

Inequality

The Triumph of Monopoly Capitalism is Hurting American Workers’ Life Expectancy

John Buell

Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – As summer comes to an end the economic news is strangely bipolar. Business Insider reported that From March to June 2020, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos saw his wealth rise by an estimated $48 billion.. The journal might also have added that 40 million workers had filed for […]