News, Opinions & Events
Senator Cotton and Others News Conference on Antisemitism and Campus Protests – C-Span
Are southern “Christians” in Congress taking the lead in promoting Jewish supremacy in Israel/Palestine as practiced by the Netanyahu regime? Have they read the New Testament? Do these guys really care about Jewish students? Or is this politics as usual? Echoes of Jim Crow? … It’s ironic that last year this bill was filed:
COTTON, COLLEAGUES INTRODUCE LEGISLATION PROTECTING FREE SPEECH ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES
Free speech for whom? … Sen. Ted Cruz once edited the Harvard Law Review. Ask him about habeas corpus and Israel’s secret detention of thousands of Palestinians without legal process:
Israel high court hears first case challenging secret detentions in Gaza war – msn/WaPost
Is this the kind of legal system Cruz and his colleagues would impose on US citizens who are in the minority?
Meanwhile, even a broken clock is right twice a day:
Lawler, Moskowitz slam Greene over antisemitism bill pushback – Hill
Do we really want Congress to define what is a Jew? Good luck.
Inclusive economics and the IMF – Michael Roberts
“…the IMF is worried. Climate change, rising inequality and increased geopolitical ‘fragmentation’ threaten the world economic order and the stability of the social fabric of capitalism. So something must be done. As I reported before, Georgieva argues that “In the years ahead, global cooperation will be essential to manage geoeconomic fragmentation and reinvigorate trade, maximize the potential of AI without widening inequality, prevent bottlenecks on debt, and respond to climate change.”
“Global cooperation? We are in a world where rivalry between the major economic powers is intensifying, with the US imposing trade tariffs, technology bans, and military measures against China , while Europe conducts a proxy war with Russia. Corporations, banks and governments continue to subsidise fossil fuel production while avoiding significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions; and the rich get richer and the poor cannot catch up. We are in a lost decade not just for the world’s poor, but also for reversing global warming and avoiding geopolitical conflict.”
Evidence from Israel’s finance minister’s own mouth of intent to commit first-degree murder in Gaza. By giving Israel arms to carry this out, US leaders are abetting this intended act. This is not a war. It is slaughter.
Note that, one day later, the May 1 printed Washington Post buried Smotrich’s call for genocide in Rafah at the end (para. 30) of a story about Blinken bleating for more aid distribution on p. A13. It should have been reported on p. 1. The WaPost is subtler than Fox News in burying the truth about Israeli brutality toward Palestinians. Fox acts as a mouthpiece for leaders of the “Knesset West” – the pro-Zionist majority in the US Congress.
What will happen if the ICC charges Netanyahu with war crimes? – Kenneth Roth/Guardian
“For much of the war Israel has allowed just enough food into Gaza to avoid widespread death, but not enough to prevent pervasive hunger and, in some parts of Gaza according to the USAid administrator, Samantha Power, “famine”. Oxfam calculated that hundreds of thousands of people in northern Gaza were receiving on average only 245 calories a day, about one-tenth of normal requirements. At least 28 children younger than 12 were reported to have died of malnutrition as of 17 April.
“Israeli authorities have been blaming anyone but themselves for this deprivation, but the evidence points primarily to Netanyahu’s government.”
‘My whole family has perished:’ 22 killed in Israeli airstrike on Rafah, hospital staff say – CNN
Why Baby Bonds Are a Bust – Justin Vassallo/Compact
“What working American families need—what all American families need, in fact—is a system that encourages both parents to engage in more at-home activities while supporting and expanding family-based public recreation; and in-kind subsidies and labor-market regulations that alleviate the stress of working parents, especially those dependent on hourly wages. If more essentials were covered in early childhood, and new parents were less compelled to return to full-time employment (or “on-call” part-time employment), the country might have better odds at reversing many disturbing developmental trends, from drug abuse to teenage suicidal ideation to the decline of two-parent homes.
“On that note, nothing suggests that baby bonds will dramatically alter family formation in the United States. The reality is that it has become extraordinarily expensive to raise a family on a “high-wage” blue-collar or middle-class income since at least the early aughts; indeed, these costs have likely contributed to the declining fertility rate, which economist Melissa S. Kearney has traced to the Great Recession and its lingering effects. Baby bonds might instill the working poor with more optimism, but as structured, they are unlikely to incentivize marriage or inspire confidence that America’s political class, Democratic and Republican, is really focused on making it easier to parent.
“None of this is to say baby bonds couldn’t be part of a far-ranging social-democratic transformation of the American economy. Wealth and income inequality in all its forms should be tackled…”
Instead of baby bonds, the government could provide each kid applying for a Social Security card to enter the workforce with a contribution to an IRA account or employee retirement plan. Part of the government contribution could be used for education or work training expenses. In this way, all Americans would be owners of working capital and retirement savings could be universal. Now, most of “bottom 50%” is left out.
Corporations have broken capitalism. Here’s how to fix it. – Hunter Hastings/msn
Interesting critique albeit based on the false premise that “capitalism” is solely responsible for material improvements supporting human life.
A Doctor at Cigna Said Her Bosses Pressured Her to Review Patients’ Cases Too Quickly. Cigna Threatened to Fire Her. – ProPublica
“Cigna tracks every minute that its staff doctors spend deciding whether to pay for health care. Dr. Debby Day said her bosses cared more about being fast than being right: ‘Deny, deny, deny. That’s how you hit your numbers,’ Day said.”
US medical industrial complex algorithm: AI + stopwatch + crappy offshore nurse review = ‘getting to no’ faster = mucho $$$ for C suite + more denial of needed medical care …
Seven health insurance CEOs raked in a record $283 million last year – STAT
Think you can sue for damages? Don’t count on it… Blast from the past:
ERISA Health Plan Liability: Issues and Options for Reform – GWU
Featured
Missing the obvious: life expectancy in the U.S. is closely related to income – Karl Polzer
“The underlying theory is simple: More income and wealth allow people and governments to support more years of life. Fewer resources put them at a disadvantage. Some politicians who see the connection may be leery of talking about it. Doing so would lead to awkward questions about improving working and living conditions for millions of Americans and dealing with growing economic inequality.
“The strong relationship between income and longevity is clear when comparing states… (E)ight of the nine states with the lowest median household income also are among the bottom nine in longevity. Similar clustering occurs comparing the highest ranked states across the two categories. Seven of the nine states with the highest median household income also are among the top nine in life expectancy.
“Realizing they are rowing in the same economic boat could prompt states to join forces on policy changes, particularly Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, New Mexico, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and others ranking at or near the bottom…
“Presidential candidate and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley strongly proposes raising the program’s retirement age on the premise that increased life spans are undermining Social Security’s long-term solvency. If long-held assumptions about longevity were challenged, and potential losses to low-income workers and low-income states caused by raising the eligibility age came to light, would she change her position? Republican candidate Donald Trump, by the way, opposes cuts in Social Security as do most Democrats…”
Thanks to the Washington Examiner for running this op-ed:
Senate minimum wage bills make bipartisan compromise possible – Washington Examiner
For longer version with references, see:
Previous work on this issue:
One way to make living easier in Virginia – letter to WaPost
Yes, raise the minimum wage, but don’t stop there – op-ed
“More Americans are rightly asking if Israel could neutralize Hamas without massive destruction and loss of civilian life. Indiscriminate air attacks by the Netanyahu regime already have killed and injured tens of thousands of Gazans with no end to the violence in sight. To put this in perspective, imagine how Washington, D.C., would look if a foreign government with the power to fence in the District of Columbia dropped a comparable number of bombs here while shutting off access to water and food and destroying most of the capital area’s housing and medical system. UN officials say conditions in Gaza are catastrophic.”
Thanks to the Washington Post for publishing our letter to the editor:
One way to make living easier in Virginia – Karl Polzer/letter to WaPost
“Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) told reporters he is ‘concerned about the cost of living in Virginia and we’re continuing to evaluate how best to address that,’ as reported in the Nov. 26 Metro article ‘Budget battle looms in Virginia. Facing a tighter fiscal environment and Democratic control of the legislature, Mr. Youngkin and fellow Republicans could help working families without denting the budget by making an expected Democratic push for a higher minimum wage a bipartisan affair.
“The GOP has been trying to attract more minority and working-class voters. However, party leaders have stopped short of addressing core economic issues, such as supporting higher wages and better benefits, and mainly stress cultural issues…”
Background Information on these issues provided to Virginia legislators
McCarthy & Co. offer themselves up on the cross to help motivate lazy poor people back to work
Work requirements are a policy failure: Why are they still an option? – The Hill
Thanks to the Washington Post for running our letter:
“Letting Americans Down”
“How can House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), President Biden and Senate leaders claim to represent the working class and poor when Medicaid work requirements are a focal point in the debt ceiling standoff and the Trump-era tax cuts are not? According to the Congressional Budget Office, the work requirements in the Limit, Save, Grow Act would have a tiny impact (about $5.6 billion in fiscal 2025) on the nation’s $31.4 trillion national debt, but they would increase the number of uninsured and state costs and have no effect on hours worked by Medicaid recipients.
“In contrast, ending the Trump-era tax cuts, which disproportionately benefit the wealthy, could put a major dent in the national debt….”
Because most of this site’s readers won’t be able to get through the newspaper’s pay gate, here’s the draft of the letter sent to the Post:
Debt ceiling negotiators focus on a ‘speck’ in benefits for the poor, ignore the ‘logs’ in their own eyes.
“Legislative Choices for Paying Promised Social Security Benefits”
Statement of Karl Polzer, Center on Capital & Social Equity,
U.S. Senate Budget Committee hearing: “Protecting Social
Security for All: Making the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share”
Has DT crossed the line into delirium tremens?
“It came out of his mouth during a campaign speech last month.”