Tag Archives: Economics

Wyden Says Trillions in Taxes Dodged by Ultra-Rich Could Fund Social Security Until 2100

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“The ultra-wealthy are avoiding nearly $2 trillion in taxes every 10 years,” said Sen. Ron Wyden. “That’s where we ought to go to start making progress.”

By Jake Johnson. Published 9-11-2024 by Common Dreams

Photo: AFGE/flickr/CC

The Democratic chair of the Senate Finance Committee said during a hearing Wednesday that instead of tossing Social Security’s sacred guarantee “in the trash” by cutting benefits, lawmakers should crack down on mega-rich tax dodgers as a way to keep the New Deal program fully solvent for decades to come.

“The ultra-wealthy are avoiding nearly $2 trillion in taxes every 10 years,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said during a Senate Budget Committee hearing. “That is enough to keep Social Security whole till the end of this century.”

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‘Simply Unacceptable’: Nearly 200 Environmental Defenders Killed in 2023

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“Activists and their communities are essential in efforts to prevent and remedy harms caused by climate damaging industries,” one campaigner said. “We cannot afford to, nor should we tolerate, losing any more lives.”

By Olivia Rosane. Published 9-10-2024 by Common Dreams

Manuel Teran, who was shot and killed by a Georgia State Trooper. Photo: Gabe Eisen

Almost 200 people were killed in 2023 for attempting to protect their lands and communities from ecological devastation, Global Witness revealed Tuesday.

This raises the total number of environmental defenders killed between 2012—when Global Witness began publishing its annual reports—and 2023 to 2,106.

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Report Details Ongoing Civilian Harm From Banned Cluster Bombs

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“The Convention on Cluster Munitions provides a vital framework for ending the immediate and long-term harm and suffering caused by these abhorrent weapons,” said one of the treaty’s architects.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 9-9-2024 by Common Dreams

Unexploded M85 type cluster submunition. Photo: Stéphane De Greef, Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor/flickr/CC

The overwhelming majority of cluster bomb casualties last year were civilians, with children making up nearly half of those killed or maimed by remnants of the internationally banned munitions, a report published Monday revealed.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) published its annual Cluster Munition Monitor report, which “details the policy and practice of all countries with respect to the international treaty that prohibits cluster munitions and requires destruction of stockpiles, clearance of areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants, and victim assistance.”

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100,000+ People Across France March to Decry Macron’s ‘Denial of Democracy’

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“Expressing one’s vote will be useless as long as Macron is in power,” said one demonstrator.

By Julia Conley. Published 9-8-2024 by Common Dreams

Protest against the selection of Michel Barnier as prime minister on September 7, 2024 in Nantes, France.. Photo: Lee/X

In cities and towns across France on Saturday, more than 100,000 people answered the call from the left-wing political party La France Insoumise for mass protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s selection of a right-wing prime minister.

The demonstrations came two months after the left coalition won more seats than Macron’s centrist coalition or the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in the National Assembly and two days after the president announced that Michel Barnier, the right-wing former Brexit negotiator for the European Union, would lead the government.

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‘Astonishing’ Study Shows Infant Deaths Rise in US When Bat Populations Fall

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Experts hailed the study as “groundbreaking” and “sobering” for the connections it draws between ecosystem and human health.

Mexican free-tailed bats outside Frio Cave near Concan, TX. Photo: dizfunkshinal/Wikimedia Commons/CC

By Edward Carver. Published 9-6-2024 by Common Dreams

Bat die-offs in the U.S. led to increased use of insecticides, which in turn led to greater infant mortality, according to a “seminal” study published Thursday that shows the effects of biodiversity loss on human beings.

Eyal Frank, an environmental economist at the University of Chicago, authored the study, which was published by Science, a leading peer-reviewed journal.

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‘Dangerous’: Judge Blocks Student Debt Relief Rule That Doesn’t Exist Yet

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“Opponents of democracy are terrified that they will lose again at the ballot box in November and are rushing to right-wing judges to hamstring democratic governance,” said one observer.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 9-5-2024 by Common Dreams

Photo: American Association of University Professors/flickr/CC

A Republican-appointed U.S. federal judge in Georgia raised eyebrows and objections Thursday after taking what observers called the “unprecedented” step of blocking a rule that hasn’t even been finalized in order to stop the Biden administration from implementing a plan to deliver promised debt relief to millions of student borrowers.

U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia James Randal Hall issued an order blocking the Biden administration’s proposed federal student debt relief rule. Hall—an appointee of former President George W. Bush—granted a motion by a coalition of right-wing state attorneys general to preempt the rule’s eventual implementation.

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Texas GOP Invents Corporate Courts Ready to Do Industry’s Bidding

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“Why bother judge-shopping when you can just invent a new court?” asked one watchdog.

By Jake Johnson. Published 9-4-2024 by Common Dreams

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Photo: World Travel & Tourism Council/flickr/CC

In recent months, corporate groups such as the powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce have faced growing backlash over “judge-shopping,” a tactic whereby plaintiffs deliberately select legal venues they believe will produce favorable outcomes.

But as of the beginning of this month, corporations have access to nearly a dozen Texas courts created specifically for the purpose of settling major business cases as well as a statewide panel that will hear appeals from the newly established courts.

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Once Free, Covid-19 Vaccines Now Cost Up to $200 for Uninsured in US

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“What’s at stake is we are reverting back to a system where a person’s financial ability to be able to pay will determine their ability to be healthy.”

By Edward Carver. Published 9-3-2024 by Common Dreams

Photo: U.S. Secretary of Defense/flickr

The latest coronavirus vaccine costs up to $200 for the roughly 25 million uninsured people in the U.S., due to the defunding of a federal program that previously covered the costs, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

It’s the “latest tear in the safety net as pandemic-era programs wind down, the newspaper reported. Covid-19 vaccines were free for everyone in the U.S. in 2021 and 2022, per federal policy. However, in January, congressional Republicans negotiated a deal that rescinded $6.1 billion in emergency coronavirus relief funding, which killed the Bridge Access Program, launched in April 2023, that covered the cost for the uninsured.

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After Weekend Walkouts, Hotel Worker Strikes Grow on Labor Day

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“We refuse to accept wages that can’t support our families. It’s insulting. And it ends now.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 9-2-2024 by Common Dreams

Workers from over two dozen hotels across the United States are on strike as of September 2, 2024, which is Labor Day. Photo: UNITE HERE! Local 30/X

After approximately 10,000 hotel workers across the United States walked off the job over the weekend ahead of Labor Day, the strikes not only continued but grew on Monday, with employees of the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor taking to the streets.

In Maryland’s biggest city, workers with UNITE HERE Local 7 carried signs that said, “Respect our work,” “One job should be enough,” and “Make them pay.”

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What happens in the US could have global implications for abortion

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What could Project 2025 mean for abortion rights around the world?

By Dr Anu Kumar. Published 8-27-2024 by openDemocracy

The U.S. Supreme Court. (Photo: Joe Ravi/cc)

It has been two years since the US Supreme Court blew up federal protection for abortion, handing states the power to enact abortion bans and realising the decades-long fever-dream of anti-rights actors.

Though a minority in the US, these extremists are loud and determined and won’t stop at our borders. Their plans for the future are outlined in Project 2025, which is already being implemented in the US and abroad through anti-abortion and anti-LGBTIQ+ initiatives and would be fully executed if radical conservative forces reclaim the White House.

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