Rich Mostly Fine But Poorest 'Completely Crushed' After Covid-19 Triggered 'Most Unequal' Recession in Modern US History

A new analysis by the Washington Post found that the coronavirus recession has eliminated low-wage jobs at around eight times the rate of high-wage jobs.


Jake Johnson, staff writer

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/01/rich-mostly-fine-poorest-completely-crushed-after-covid-19-triggered-most-unequal

While the ongoing pandemic-induced economic collapse has left the highest earners in the U.S. largely unscathed—or, in the case of some billionaires, even wealthier than before—the recession has devastated lower-income workers whose jobs have been disrupted or completely wiped out, making the current downturn the "most unequal" in modern American history.

That's according to a detailed analysis released Wednesday by the Washington Post, which found that the coronavirus recession has eliminated low-wage jobs at around eight times the rate of high-wage jobs. Though no industry has been immune to the pandemic and resulting economic meltdown, the Post emphasizes that low-wage jobs tend to be concentrated in sectors that have been hit hardest by the recession, which triggered the sharpest economic contraction ever recorded in the U.S.

"What ties all of the hardest-hit groups together—low-wage workers, Black workers, Hispanic men, those without college degrees, and mothers with school-age children—is that they are concentrated in hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality jobs," the Post noted. "Most recessions, including the Great Recession, have affected manufacturing and construction jobs the most, but not this time. Nine of the 10 hardest-hit industries in the coronavirus recession are services."

In contrast, as the Post found, "By the end of the summer, the downturn was largely over for the wealthy—white-collar jobs had mostly rebounded, along with home values and stock prices. The shift to remote work strongly favored more-educated workers, with as many as six in 10 college-educated employees working from home at the outset of the crisis, compared with about one in seven who have only high school diplomas."

A series of charts published by the Post starkly display how the coronavirus recession has hit low-income Americans far harder than other major downturns in recent decades:


"There are very clear winners and losers here," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told the Post. "The losers are just being completely crushed. If the winners fail to help bring the losers along, everyone will lose. Things feel like they are at a breaking point from a societal perspective."

The analysis comes as the nation's economic metrics continue to show that there is no end in sight to the coronavirus recession, which has permanently wiped out millions of jobs and pushed countless Americans to or over the brink of financial ruin. As Common Dreams reported Wednesday, new research by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that 60% of U.S. households with children are struggling to afford basic expenses.




Commerce Department figures released Thursday show that personal income in the U.S. fell by 2.7% in August—the largest decline in three months—after the $600-per-week federal unemployment supplement expired due to Republican opposition.

Additionally, the Labor Department reported Thursday that 1.5 million Americans filed unemployment claims last week, bringing the estimated number of people in the U.S. who have applied for or are currently receiving unemployment benefits to around 28 million.

"That's 28 weeks in a row with more new jobless claims than the worst week of the Great Recession," tweeted Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.).

With the nation's economic conditions continuing to deteriorate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin jumpstarted stalled coronavirus relief negotiations this week in an effort to reach a deal before lawmakers leave town for their pre-election October recess.

The Democrat-controlled House is expected to vote as early as Thursday on a $2.2 trillion relief package that includes a $600-per-week federal unemployment supplement, another round of $1,200 stimulus checks to most Americans, and around $440 billion in aid to cash-strapped state and local governments.

During talks with Pelosi on Wednesday, Mnuchin reportedly put forth a less ambitious $1.6 trillion counteroffer that proposes a $400-per-week federal unemployment boost, $250 billion in state and local aid, and another round of stimulus payments.

"Today, Secretary Mnuchin and I had an extensive conversation and we found areas where we are seeking further clarification," Pelosi said in a statement following her meeting with Mnuchin on Wednesday. "Our conversations will continue."

'This Is Fascism': Trump Riles Up Minnesota Supporters With Racist Attack on Somali Refugees

"This is the overlap between white supremacy, the climate emergency, misogyny, and human rights abuses."


by
Jake Johnson, staff writer



https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/01/fascism-trump-riles-minnesota-supporters-racist-attack-somali-refugees




Just 24 hours after refusing to condemn white supremacists during the first 2020 general election debate, President Donald Trump late Wednesday launched a racist attack on refugees from Somalia and other nations and parroted an unfounded right-wing claim about Rep. Ilhan Omar, sparking "lock her up!" chants from his Minnesota supporters.

"Another massive issue for Minnesota is the election of Joe Biden's plan to inundate your state with a historic flood of refugees," Trump said to boos from the crowd gathered at Duluth International Airport. "Coming from the most dangerous places in the world including Yemen, Syria, and your favorite country, Somalia. Right? You love Somalia... Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp."

In the middle of his xenophobic rant against refugees—which the president has made central to his Minnesota stump speech in recent weeks, given the state's large Somali population—Trump veered into an attack on Omar, who is herself a Somali refugee.

"And what about Omar, where she gets caught harvesting?" Trump said, referring to a video released Sunday by Project Veritas, a right-wing group that is notorious for spreading deceptive footage purporting to expose Democratic lawmakers and organizations. The video Project Veritas unveiled Sunday—shortly after the New York Times published its bombshell report on the president's tax returns—was described by researchers as "a great example of what a coordinated disinformation campaign looks like."

Watch Trump's comments:


"This is the overlap between white supremacy, the climate emergency, misogyny, and human rights abuses," tweeted meteorologist Eric Holthaus in response to Trump's latest attack on refugees. "This is fascism."




Journalist Matt O'Brien echoed Holthaus' characterization of the president's rally Wednesday night as fascistic. "Demonizing refugees, attacking political opponents based on race, the crowd cheering for those opponents to be locked up," O'Brien wrote, listing just some of the alarming components of the president's event.

Trump's Duluth campaign rally came after the president officially and unlawfully missed the deadline to establish the number of refugees who will be allowed into the United States in fiscal year 2021, effectively bringing the nation's refugee admissions to a standstill.

"For the third year in a row, this administration is in violation of the immigration laws, specifically the refugee program requirements added by the Refugee Act of 1980," Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said in a statement Wednesday. "This president has shown on countless occasions that he believes he is above the law. This time, refugees—including many who served alongside our troops—will be the victims of the Trump administration's lawless approach."

"The administration's violations," the lawmakers warned, "will bring our refugee admissions program to a halt, leaving thousands stranded abroad with their lives at risk."

In a tweet late Wednesday, Omar said the U.S. refugee program "is a life or death matter to millions of children around the world."

"I know because I was one of them," Omar added.

'Strong Start' But 'Not the End of the Road,' Says Greenpeace as Biden Vows to Bar Fossil Fuel Leaders From Transition Team

"Personnel is policy, and we need experts in the White House who put climate and environmental justice ahead of corporate profits."

Jake Johnson, staff writer



https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/01/strong-start-not-end-road-says-greenpeace-biden-vows-bar-fossil-fuel-leaders

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday vowed to bar from his transition team any "leaders" of fossil fuel companies, a pledge environmentalists cautiously applauded while urging the former vice president to go further by committing to banning all Big Oil lobbyists and executives from both his transition team and cabinet.

"Rejecting fossil fuel influence is a smart move for the Biden-Harris campaign," Charlie Jiang, climate campaigner with Greenpeace USA, said in a statement Thursday. "Voters are hungry to elect a climate champion. Joe Biden is running on the most ambitious climate platform in history, but it won't mean much if his transition team is stacked with oil and gas insiders."


But the ethics plan falls well short of adhering to a list of demands issued last month by a coalition of nearly 150 climate organizations, which urged Biden to "ban all fossil fuel executives, lobbyists, and representatives from any advisory or official position on your campaign, transition team, cabinet, and administration" if elected president.In a document titled "Biden-Harris Transition Team Ethics Plan" (pdf), the campaign states that "in addition to instituting a robust code of ethical conduct, Vice President Biden aims to ensure that those who serve are aligned with his values and policy priorities, and have not, for example, been leaders at fossil fuel or private prison companies."

While the Biden campaign will require transition team members to sign a pledge promising to disqualify themselves from "involvement in any particular Biden-Harris transition team matter" if they have "engaged in regulated lobbying activities with respect to such matter" within the previous 12 months, the requirement comes with a substantial loophole.

"Persons who have registered as federal lobbyists within the last 12 months may only serve as transition team members with advance approval of the General Counsel," the document states, suggesting that lobbyists for the fossil fuel industry could ultimately be permitted to serve on the transition team.


Jiang said that while the Biden campaign's ethics plan "is a strong start," it "is not the end of the road."

"We urge Biden to commit to banning all fossil fuel executives and lobbyists from his cabinet and administration," Jiang added. "Personnel is policy, and we need experts in the White House who put climate and environmental justice ahead of corporate profits."

On Twitter, Collin Rees, senior campaigner at Oil Change U.S., called Biden's move "a key first step" made possible by constant pressure from grassroots climate activists.

"Committing to a fossil-free transition team is exactly what we need to see heading into a new administration with climate impacts mounting rapidly," Rees added in a statement Thursday. "Keeping fossil fuel representatives out of the federal government is a position that's extremely popular with Democrats and the entire American public, and builds on the key improvements Biden has made to his climate plan since the primary. The Biden-Harris campaign is clearly listening to its potential allies, and this willingness to listen and adapt will be critical in the months ahead."

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