Economy

Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Following weeks of speculation and worry about the possibility of violence and/or crasing technical systems the United States executed a largely flawless presidential election. At least that was how the major media portrayed the events of early November. Once again American exceptionalism provided the opportunity to sing […]

Epidemics

Who will be vaccinated first — and in what country? The upcoming fights over COVID vaccine

Reese Erlich

( 48hills.org) – In recent days, two US pharmaceutical companies announced that their COVID-19 vaccines could be available by December. US-based Pfizer, which partnered with the German-based BioNTech, said it has a 95 percent success rate during clinical trials. Biotechnology company Moderna also reported a vaccine with a 94.5 percent efficacy rate. CDC image Neither […]

Donald Trump

Is it the Trump-Monster or capitalist Plutocracy? With 250,000 Dead, why is the US Virus Response so Particularly Bad?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Holly Yan, Christina Maxouris and Theresa Waldrop at CNN report that the United States has passed the grim milestone of 250,000 deaths. Trump had predicted a worst case of 50,000 deaths last spring, but then Donald Trump could not find his ass with both hands. Nor is the worrisome death […]

Banking

How the concentration of property rights within corporations has led to a rejection of democracy and a rise in inequality

British Policy and Politics

By Jean-Philippe Robé | – Jean-Philippe Robé discusses how multinational enterprises morphed into political organisations with global reach and power, but without the corresponding responsibilities. He argues that the concentration of property rights within corporations has led to the rejection of democracy as an ineffective system of government and to the rise in inequality. ( […]

Democratic Party

The Other America: The New Politics of the Poor in Joe Biden’s (and Mitch McConnell’s) USA

Liz Theoharis

( Tomdispatch.com) – In the two weeks since Election 2020, the country has oscillated between joy and anger, hope and dread in an era of polarization sharpened by the forces of racism, nativism, and hate. Still, truth be told, though the divisive tone of this moment may only be sharpening, division in the United States […]

Democratic Party

The Federal Gov’t owns 92% of Student Debt. Will Biden Wipe it Out?

Inequality.org

By Sarah Anderson and Margot Rathke | – ( Inequality.org) – Washington is abuzz with ideas for actions the Biden-Harris administration could take that would not require Congressional approval. One of the buzziest: cancellation of student debts owed to the federal government. The U.S. Department of Education owns about 92 percent of the $1.6 trillion […]

Banking

Say no to Austerity for Workers: McConnell and the GOP are about to pull the “We have no money” scam

John Buell

Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Not surprisingly the national debt is a subject of concern. Liberal and Left economists, most of whom supported the CARES relief package, knew and predicted that once the Trump tax reduction for the rich had become law—despite the massive increases in government debt it entailed– debt would […]

Donald Trump

State of Chaos: Can America Escape Trump’s Hellscape?

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com) – In 2016 as now, he was the candidate of chaos. Yes, he was a billionaire (or wanna-be billionaire or in-hock billionaire, not to mention a liar, a cheat, and a scoundrel), but from the beginning he appealed to the forces of order in America that were also, as it happened, the forces […]

Democratic Party

If President Biden is Smart, He’ll End America’s Forever Wars and Pour the Money into Jobs at Home

Reese Erlich

( 48hills.org) – I’m pissed. I’m pissed at Donald Trump for trying to shut down the vote count early and at Republicans seeking to steal the election using conservative-appointed federal judges. Will Biden end unpopular foreign wars? But I’m also mad at Joe Biden and the Democratic Party big shots who got Biden elected but […]