A drone view shows informal shacks of the high-density suburb of Masiphumelele extending into a wetland adjacent to Lake Michelle private estate in Cape Town, South Africa. REUTERS/Nic Bothma
Federal grants don’t always go to the communities that need them most.
Data for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program shows just that. The grants target low- and moderate-income communities, but a disproportionate share goes to the moderate-income neighborhoods, not the ones suffering the most.
You may be privy to or unfamiliar with how the ultra-wealthy are taking advantage of the system. Either way, you’ll find this report by @ProPublica to be staggering. The facts are clear: there is a class war, and we’re losing.
“…it demolishes the cornerstone myth of the American tax system: that everyone pays their fair share and the richest Americans pay the most.”
> As radical as they might seem, calls for limits on wealth are as old as civilization itself. The Hebrew Bible and Torah recognized years during which debts should be cancelled, slaves set free and property redistributed from rich to poor. In classical Greece, Aristotle praised cities that kept wealth inequality in check to enhance political stability.
> Robeyns points out that extreme wealth “is often tied to immoral and criminal practices”. As evidence, she notes the massive use of tax evasion among ultra-wealthy people and their firms. Whether legal or not, she labels these practices as unethical. Going further, she reminds us that current wealth inequalities have some roots in historical practices such as slavery or military conquests…
> As a growing literature in economics has shown, more wealth at the very top has often meant fewer resources to lift people at the bottom, contrary to the mantra of trickle-down economics. But wealth concentration isn’t just an issue that affects poor people, Robeyns argues — it is an issue for everyone.
> scholars have increasingly documented how democracy can be undermined by the disproportionate political power of media tycoons, rich founders of philanthropic organizations and large political-party donors. Extreme wealth concentration limits governments’ abilities to invest in public goods, such as education, health care and climate-change mitigation.
> the author ponders: “There is so much good that money above the riches line could do, if only it were used for addressing collective problems”
Holly Pester's short novel The Lodgers (2024), is a timely mediation on the unanchored life of the peripatetic life of the renter/lodger. At times elliptical, with two narratives whose relations remains unsettled, this is a book which offers a real feeling for a key element of modern life; moving from one lodging/rental to another. While at time wry, it remains elegiac in its approach to tenant's despair & longing.
Other professors used to take me to snacks when I was single, so I was well aware that hostesses were mostly divorced or single mothers. Mimi sheds light on the nature of snacks by saying that #Japan has a dark side. Regarding the #social#inequality that Greg mentions, Mimi clarifies that there is a double standard whereby men can go to snacks openly, but it is shameful for #women to work in them. Now I'm a family man, but I sympathize with such women, who would otherwise have to #work for close to the minimum wage.
A documentary succeeds insofar as it sheds light on the topic. If you watch it, perhaps let us know your impressions.
IDENTIFIED: Meet racist Zionist provocateur David Kaminsky, who attacked and spat on pro-Palestine protesters at the UCLA student encampment. Kaminsky is openly boasting about his hate crime on social media.
The fact that (some) economists have been surprised that data on retail in march show stagnation not continued 'growth' is just an indication of the continuing disconnect between the economics profession (or at least media-friendly/quoted analysts) and the real world.
That real wages have yet to recover, that mortgage rates remain high(er) & that financial insecurity persists, seem to have passed them by in their (likely) London walled garden.
"Modern imperialism is embodied by industrial capitalism, which prioritizes resource extraction and maximizing profit. This paradigm is deeply embedded in the fabric of global affairs, influencing international trade, political dynamics, and the economic frameworks of nations".
"Modern imperialism is embodied by industrial capitalism, which prioritizes resource extraction and maximizing profit. This paradigm is deeply embedded in the fabric of global affairs, influencing international trade, political dynamics, and the economic frameworks of nations".
Peter Turchin introduces the concept of the "wealth pump," by which the elites funnel money and resources away from the poor and up to the very top. It's an accurate description of the changes to modern society around the late 1970s and early 80s. Turchin predicts the outcome of this "wealth pump" will be violent revolution if the elites don't voluntarily turn it off on their own.
In the new episode of New Books Network, we’re discussing my new book ‘The urban life of workers in post-Soviet Russia’ together with sociologist Dr. Anna Zhelnina. Enjoy listening to our conversation!
"As environmental, social and humanitarian crises escalate, the world can no longer afford two things: first, the costs of economic inequality; and second, the rich."
Not only that, but there is strong evidence that the lives of the wealthy will improve, even as they get poorer.
So stop trying to #EatTheRich (the thought of which is gross and unsettling) and, instead, help them live their best lives by taxing the ever-living hell out of them.
Very pleased to see my new book ‘The urban life of workers in post-Soviet Russia’ among the titles recommended by the Working-Class Studies Association!
A Radical Plan to Win Back the Left Behind and Achieve Prosperity for All
In this original, engaging book, Martin Sandbu argues that economics remains at the heart of our widening inequality and it is only by focusing on the right policies that we can address it. He proposes a detailed, radical plan for creating a just economy.
#Budget#UKPolitics This article by Gary Stevenson is so good, please read every word of it.
“Whatever Jeremy Hunt says, traders know the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. And they’re paid millions to bet on it.”
This is what the world is - it is run by a minute elite for a minute elite and the rest of us, the masses, the natural world, we just don’t count. It is a #TragedyOftheNonCommons (will reshare my own piece on this below 1/n)
#FollowTheMoney 🧵 7/n Now something different - this really is a rag bag, really just adding things as they come along, occur to me, no careful crafting! Just things that enable you to trace and understand how money flows to the rich, how accumulation works. So here, a piece, with this fantastic map, of second homes in the UK, in #Cornwall in particular. Key arena of widening #WealthGap#Inequality
A lady runs with a pram along the Sea Point Promenade as The World, an exclusive private residential ship during its 2024 journey to six continents, arrives in Cape Town, South Africa. REUTERS/Esa Alexander
Is America a Democracy or an Oligarchy? Edited by Eamon Doyle
The viewpoints in this volume examine the development of the country from political, social, and economic perspectives to determine whether the country can still be considered a democracy.
Two books I loved, part 1: Honeybees and Distant Thunder by Riku Onda, which is about four entrants in a classical piano competition in Tokyo, and the characters are all interesting and charming but best of all it just has wonderful writing about music -- like the title itself as a description of how a particular player makes a particular piece sound. It's beautiful, and unlike many books with multiple POVs, I loved all the protagonists equally and was never annoyed by a switch at the wrong time. Just beautiful stuff.