Neoliberalism

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Oxfam , the British charity, has released a new report finding that the global problem of wealth inequality is growing ever more threatening. Of all the new wealth the entire human race has produced in the past two years, the richest 1% gobbled up 66% of it. The less-rich 99% […]

Drugs

Big Pharma spent more on Stock Buybacks and Dividends than on Research and Development even during COVID

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Florida (Special to Informed Comment) – The 14 largest publicly-traded pharmaceutical companies spent $747 billion on stock buybacks and dividends from 2012 through 2021 — substantially more than the $660 billion they spent on research and development. So argue economists William Lazonick, professor emeritus of economics at University of Massachusetts, and Öner Tulum, a […]

Corporations

Southwest’s Meltdown: Stock Buybacks, High Exec Pay, and Neglected Software Upgrades

Sam Pizzigati

() Inequality.org) – For America’s rich and powerful, the new year is beginning in a most inauspicious fashion. Millions of Americans are once again fuming at the greed and grasping of our deepest pockets. That fuming — from would-be passengers of Southwest Airlines and their families — filled airports throughout this past holiday week. For […]

Inequality

The Top 10 Inequality Victories of 2022

Inequality.org

By Sarah Anderson | Inegality.org | – Congratulations to everyone who worked to move the country and the world towards greater equity in 2022. Herewith are 10 of the most inspiring economic inequality victories of the year. 1. The Union Boom No question. The union organizing surge has been this year’s top story. Petitions for […]

Carbon Footprint

G20 still paying Billions in Fossil Fuel Subsidies

China Dialogue

By Catherine Early | – ( China Dialogue) – The Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of 19 countries and the European Union. These include most of the world’s largest economies, including those of many developing nations, and together account for over 80% of world GDP. Subsidies to the sector had fallen to $147bn […]

Corporations

Parasitic Private Equity is Consuming U.S. Health Care from the Inside Out

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Fl. (Special to Informed Comment) – Private equity has succeeded in depicting itself as part of the productive economy of health care services. even as it is increasingly being recognized as being parasitic. The essence of this toxic parasitism is not only to drain the host’s nourishment, but also to dull the host’s brain […]

Inequality

Inequality Kills. But We Can Stop the Killing

Sam Pizzigati

( Inequality.org ) – Over a half-century ago, back in the mid-1960s, books about poverty abounded. But publishers paid relatively little attention to wealth’s concentration. A generation earlier, Americans had obsessed about grand private fortunes. By late mid-century, that obsession no longer excited either the media or the public. That would all soon change, particularly […]

Climate Crisis

COP27 Climate Summit sparks Action Against Investment Treaties Favoring Fossil Fuel Corporations Over People and Planet

Inequality.org

By Manuel Pérez-Rocha | – ( Inequality.org ) – Regarding the global climate negotiations in Egypt, several countries announced important actions to curb the power of the fossil fuel industry. For decades now, a global web of international investment agreements has given corporations excessive powers to block government policies they don’t like. Through “investor-state dispute […]

Banking

Tackling Inflation By Rewarding the Rich Is a Fool’s Errand

Sonali Kolhatkar

By Sonali Kolhatkar | – ( Otherwords.org ) – British Prime Minister Liz Truss recently resigned after just 45 days in office, disgraced by her own economic prescriptions. There’s a lesson here for the United States, a nation beset by similar economic troubles. The main takeaway? Tackling inflation by rewarding the rich is a fool’s […]