Over the 12 months to the end of March 2021, wages rose by a dismal 0.72%. That’s according to recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Well, naturally, it has been a disastrous year for everyone, we might say in response, and this is only to be expected. We would be wrong. The year to March was a superb year for Australia’s corporate profits, which the same source said soared 12.1%.
Source: The Coalition’s pandemic: fantastic for profits, woeful for wages
Source: Against Meritocracy
In summing up, the only way out of poverty and joblessness is for the public sector to work again and to regulate the worst excesses of private capital… which even pre COVID-19 had driven us to the point of extreme hardship, transferring wealth to the very rich, while making it harder for every day folks to survive let alone thrive. Scandinavian countries are an excellent example of what could be achieved with the political will. So far, the only major party that has touched on creating a New deal is the Greens, who are advocating a Green New Deal. Under this radical new approach, we could eliminate poverty, create an abundance of well-paying jobs, and in turn kick start a very moribund economy. Be bold and be visionary, people! We can do this if we embrace Modern Monetary Theory. Of course that would mean the wealthy job creators would have to compete with the public sector and provide decent wages, full-time jobs, and good conditions… which is exactly what they have been avoiding for the past 30 plus years!
Creating the Australian New Deal – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Social media algorithms, artificial intelligence, and our own genetics are among the factors influencing us beyond our awareness. This raises an ancient question: do we have control over our own lives? This article is part of The Conversation’s series on the science of free will.
Do social media algorithms erode our ability to make decisions freely? The jury is out
The wealthiest 3 billionaires in the U.S. –Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett — now have as much wealth as the bottom half of the U.S. population combined.
Since 1982, these three families have seen their wealth increase nearly 6,000 percent, factoring in inflation. Meanwhile, the median household wealth went down 3 percent over the same period.
The dynastic wealth of the Walton family grew from $690 million in 1982 (or $1.81 billion in 2018 dollars) to $169.7 billion in 2018, a mind-numbing increase of 9,257 percent.
via Is Bernie Sanders Right that 3 Billionaires Have more Wealth than Half of America?
Barcelona is an extreme case, but certainly the law needs to catch up so Airbnb doesn’t price locals out of their community
“Greetings from the 1%,” Disney begins the video. “[W]e in the 1% got a great Christmas present last year,” she says, “I don’t know if you remember—it was called a very big tax break.”
“I didn’t need it,” Disney continues, “but the Republicans gave it to me anyway. And I hear [that] if the Republicans do well in these midterms, they want to give me another one; an even bigger one, in fact.”
via A Disney Heiress Reveals the 1 Percent’s Worst-Kept Secret
Depending on who you ask, class is a major barrier to social mobility — or it scarcely exists. Drive around Melbourne for a day and those conflicting views come to the fore.
via Inside the class divide – RN – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Here lies the Real News one needs to ask why our Government is in the business of selling Fake News ( OD)
And it’s true that it sometimes happens. Sometimes a child born into poverty grows up to become the president of the United States, a multi-billionaire, or an Olympic gold medalist.Most of the time, however, they don’t. And it’s not because they’re bad, lazy, stupid, or immoral. Often it’s because of our system itself.
Source: Sometimes the Poor Make It Big; Usually They Stay Poor | Alternet
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