Poverty

I’m ordinarily a big booster of NASA and space exploration. I understand the concerns of those who think the whole thing is a boondoggle that reduces government services to people who need a safety net. I don’t think they are taking account of all the benefits to science and technology and thence to everyday life […]

Inequality

Why the Supreme Court’s Gutting of Unions dooms US to Deeper Poverty, Inequality

Sam Pizzigati

(Inequality.org) – Any court ruling that limits how effectively unions can bargain on behalf of workers, even mainstream economists now recognize, concentrates wealth at our economic summit. The U.S. Supreme Court’s just-announced decision in the Janus case surprised no one who pays attention to America’s highest judicial panel. Every analyst following the case expected the […]

Featured

The American March to Inequality: Why the UN Alston Report Alarms the Trump Plutocrats

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It is no surprise that flacks for the plutocrats in charge of the US like Nikki Haley are squawking about the report on American poverty just issued by UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston. It throws loads of light on how unequal a society America is, how it is marching rapidly […]

Inequality

Why has the GOP grown the Military-Industrial Complex but slashed Human Security?

H. Patricia Hynes

“8 Candidates, 8 Visions for 1st Franklin Seat,” announced the April 17th lead story of my county newspaper in western Massachusetts. Most, if not all, of the basic needs for human security and well being are there in the platforms of four women and four men who are Democratic candidates running for this seat in […]

Haredim

1/3 of Israelis live in Poverty, especially Palestinians & Ultra-Orthodox

contributors

Middle East Monitor | – – Israel has one of the highest poverty rates of any developed country with the gap between the rich and the poor ever widening, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed yesterday. Single-parent families or families where only one parent works have a disproportionate rate of poverty, the […]

Inequality

The last time the US enacted Punitive Tariffs it enabled the Great Depression

contributors

By Charles Hankla | (The Conversation) | – – President Donald Trump finally appears poised to make good on his promised threats to slam the door on free trade and erect walls around the country’s economy. Citing the need to protect national security, he released plans to impose tariffs of 25 percent on foreign steel […]

Inequality

World’s Richest 1% Acquired 82% of Wealth in 2017: Report

Juan Cole

TeleSur | – – Only 42 people own the same amount of wealth as the poorest 50 percent worldwide, the report claimed. Nearly 82 percent of global wealth generated last year went to one percent of the population, while the bottom 50 percent saw no increase at all, according to a new Oxfam report that […]

Economy

The Rise and Fall of America’s Middle Class

contributors

By Jim Hightower | (Otherwords.org) | – – The middle class was built by movements — and can be rebuilt by movements. Ever since 1776, the “common yeoman” — America’s middle class — has been hailed as the virtuous heart and backbone of our nation. How ironic, since it took 150 years before we actually […]

Inequality

Will Americans finally start fighting back against tax cuts for the rich?

contributors

Stephanie Leiser | (The Conversation) | – – The 60 percent of Americans who believe that the GOP tax package will mostly help the wealthiest among us are right, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center. But will widespread disapproval translate into political costs or electoral losses for Republicans? Will Americans decide they […]