Category Archives: Banana republic

Essential – and Expendable – Labor, in Mexico, for the US

How workers in Mexico are now essential—to U.S. corporations.

Pathbreaking Public Pension Case Mayberry v. KKR Is Back From the Dead as Kentucky Attorney General Joins Case

The unexpected resurrection of the pathbreaking pension lawsuit Mayberry v. KKR is a welcome but politically extremely puzzling development.

How Mitch McConnell’s Hostility to the Unemployment Supplement Puts Ordinary Americans’ Welfare at Risk

Republicans intend to shoot themselves and the economy in the head out of ideological rigidity by killing the unemployment supplement.

Ohio House Speaker Arrested in Alleged $60 Million Racketeering, Bribery, Money Laundering Scheme; A Window Into Politics in America

Ohio’s biggest political corruption case is a doozy, with riveting racketeering charges and lots of dirty tricks.

COVID-19 and the Garment Industry’s Invisible Hands

How the cornacrisis has led to investigations of garment industry supply chains to unearth worker exploitation and shady contractors.

Immaculate Deception, Fed Style

The Fed knows it it is up to no good as far as ordinary citizens are concerned, witness its propaganda efforts.

COVID-19 Mistakes to Avoid: Don’t Mix Up Prophylaxis and Cure

Big Pharma is promoting untested proprietary vaccines and therapies and giving short shrift to repurposing cheaper generic alternatives.

US Corporations a Driving Force Behind ‘Unprecedented Wave’ of Global Land Privatization: Report

This Oakland Institute study documents how the neoliberal project proceeds, with US interests pushing to privatize land in the Global South.

Coronavirus Shows the Dangers of Letting Market Forces Govern Health and Social Care

The coronavirus crisis showcases the folly of letting the market determine health and social care: high time for governments to listen,

COVID-19 Mistakes to Avoid: Don’t Conflate Contact Tracing with Contact Tracing By App

Big Tech and Big Pharma each has a dog in the COVID-19 fight and wish to replace what has worked before and is working now with technofixes.

Next Showdown in Congress: Protecting Workers vs. Protecting Employers in the Pandemic

Next showdown in Congress over CoVID-19 relief legislation: protecting workers or shielding employers from lawsuits.

Wolf Richter: The Great American Shale Oil & Gas Massacre: Bankruptcies, Defaulted Debts, Worthless Shares, Collapsed Prices of Oil & Gas

The day of reckoning has arrived in oil and gas. A record number of companies have filed for bankruptcy. with the epicenter in Texas.

With Covid-19 Deaths on the Rise, Hardest-Hit States Report Hospitals are Near Capacity Following Early Reopenings

COVID-19 deaths spike and hospitals run out of beds as many states reap the consequences of poor pandemic management and reopening too early.

Biden Defends Undying Allegiance to For-Profit Healthcare During Interview With Dying Medicare for All Advocate Ady Barkan

Biden acts like the heartless pol he is. He can’t keep up the pretense if someone wants to get between him and insurer profits.

Let the Predation Begin! CFPB Rolls Back Obama-Era Payday Loan Protections

Payday loan abuses are baaack, thanks to a full bore lobbying effort.