Dispatches

SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON UNIONS

If your stereotype of a union worker is a white guy in a hard hat, let’s take this Labor Day to change that in a big way. Here’s the reality: 46.2% of union workers are women, and 36.1% are people of color. Black workers are the most likely to be represented by a union. More than half of workers represented by unions have an associate degree or more, and 43.1% have a bachelor’s degree, Laura Clawson noted at DailyKos (9/7).

A reality you may be somewhat more aware of is that unions benefit their members and other workers covered by union contracts. Which they do—to the tune of an 11.2% wage boost for a worker under a union contract as compared to an equivalent worker in a nonunion workplace. But it’s important to understand that unions help nonunion workers, too.

“Research shows that deunionization accounts for a sizable share of the growth in inequality between typical (median) workers and workers at the high end of the wage distribution in recent decades—on the order of 13-20% for women and 33-37% for men,” the Economic Policy Institute reports.

Put together the union wage boost and the diversity of today’s union members and there’s something else: Unions help fight not just overall economic inequality—the gulf between the 1% and the rest of us—but racial and gender disparities.

This, again from the Economic Policy Institute, is staggering: “White workers represented by union are paid ‘just’ 8.7% more than their nonunionized peers who are white, but Black workers represented by union are paid 13.7% more than their nonunionized peers who are Black, and Hispanic workers represented by unions are paid 20.1% more than their nonunionized peers who are Hispanic.”

Union workers are more likely to have paid sick days and health insurance—and unions have fought for laws ensuring that everyone will have access to paid sick days and health insurance.

So, remember: Unions help reduce racial and gender disparities for those covered by union contracts, as well as reducing the distance between typical workers and those at the very top—an effect that goes well beyond union members. They promote benefits like paid sick leave and have been instrumental in state and local campaigns to raise the minimum wage. And their members are definitely not all white guys in hard hats. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

SIX MONTHS INTO RECESSION, ECONOMY IS STILL DOWN 19 MILLION JOBS. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported (9/4) that 13.6 million Americans were unemployed, for an official unemployment rate of 8.4%, but Elise Gould of the Economic Policy Institute noted that the increase of 1.4 million jobs in August represents a noted slowdown from last month’s increase of 1.7 million and June’s increase of 4.8 million. “At this point, the U.S. economy is still down 11.5 million jobs from where it was in February, before the pandemic hit. With this kind of slowing in job growth, it will take years to return to the pre-pandemic labor market. And, without the $600 boost to unemployment insurance, jobs will return even more slowly than had policymakers stepped up and continued that vital support to workers and the economy,” she wrote. But there’s more:

“Overall job growth was bolstered by a temporary gain in government employment for Census workers; without it, the jobs deficit would be 11.8 million. Public sector employment is still 831,000 below its pre-pandemic level in February. Federal policymakers need to step up and provide more fiscal relief to state and local governments so they can continue to provide necessary services and prevent unnecessary cuts to their budgets as their revenue falls in the face of the historically large shutdown in economic activity. In fact, they could do one better and increase public-sector employment through the hiring of additional public health workers and contact tracers. Further, the current challenges to schools require more, not less, education staff in coming months. As in the Great Recession, the pursuit of austerity will stifle a quick and full recovery.

“In the private sector, job growth occurred in retail trade, profession and business services, and leisure and hospitality. However, leisure and hospitality still has 4.1 million fewer jobs than in February. Education and health services has 1.5 million fewer jobs in August than in February. Professional and business services are 1.5 million down from February. Retail trade has 655,400 fewer jobs in August than in February. The US economy is still facing a huge jobs deficit. Even in manufacturing, which saw gains of 29,000 in August, there are 720,000 fewer jobs than in the pre-pandemic economy.”

She added, “It’s important to remember that the overall unemployment rate of 8.4% is still higher than the unemployment rate ever got in either the early 1990s or the early 2000s recessions. And, the unemployment rate is not counting all coronavirus-related job losses. In August, there were 13.6 million workers who were officially unemployed. But there were an additional 1.1 million workers who were temporarily unemployed but who were being misclassified as ‘employed not a work.’ There were also 4.3 million workers who were out of work as a result of the virus but who were being counted as having dropped out of the labor force because they weren’t actively seeking work. Altogether, that is 19 million workers who were either officially unemployed or otherwise out of work as a result of the virus in August. If all these workers were taken into account, the unemployment rate would have been 11.5% in August. Furthermore, August saw an increase of over half a million in permanent job losses. It is clear that the pain is nowhere near over for millions of workers and their families across the country.”

US DEBT WILL OVERTAKE GDP NEXT YEAR. The national debt is projected to exceed the size of the entire country’s economy next year, the Congressional Budget Office reported (9/2).

It will be the first time the federal debt could be bigger than the US gross domestic product since 1946, just after World War II, CNN reported.

The CBO also projected that the federal budget deficit will hit $3.3 trillion this year, more than triple the shortfall recorded in 2019. That would be the largest deficit as a percentage of GDP since 1945.

The increase is mostly caused by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, which is shrinking GDP as Congress spends trillions of dollars to help keep the economy afloat. Lawmakers approved $3.7 trillion in spending earlier this year, sending out stimulus payments directly to American households, boosting unemployment benefits and expanding lending to small businesses.

While some conservatives already are pointing to the size of the debt as a reason to scale back on pandemic relief, it’s clear that more federal aid is needed, Katie Lobosco noted at CNN. More than 1 million people filed for new unemployment claims in each of the previous two weeks and the unemployment rate remains higher than at any point during the Great Recession.

Many of the aid programs created by Congress have lapsed. Lawmakers on both sides have proposed another spending package, but negotiations have been stalled since early August. Democrats put forth a $3 trillion plan and Republicans want to keep the top-line number closer to $1 trillion.

Dean Baker has noted (7/20), “It is difficult to see why debt levels should be a major impediment to the United States or China, or other countries that print their own currencies. The current interest rate on long-term government bonds in the United States is 0.6%, which is higher than the negative 0.5% rate on German bonds [which has a relatively low debt-to-GDP ratio of 82%], but it is difficult to see how it would be a major impediment to future growth. When the United States had budget surpluses at the end of the 1990s, the rate on 10-year Treasury bonds was near 5%.

“If we want to look at everyone’s debt basket case, Japan is currently paying 0.03% interest on its 10-year Treasury bonds. Again, this is higher than Germany’s rate, but the interest burden is hardly a major strain on Japan’s economy, even with its debt to GDP ratio of 250%.”

SOCIAL SECURITY’S FUTURE HANGS IN THE BALANCE. During this COVID-19 pandemic, the commonly-used phrase “essential workers” brings to mind the often underappreciated but crucial contributions that workers such as nurses, grocery store employees, bus drivers, farm workers, and delivery people make to our lives, Nancy Altman wrote at Social Security Works (9/7)

“In this time of widespread insecurity, uncertainty, and economic collapse, Social Security continues to protect workers who are on the front lines of the pandemic, just as it continues to protect all workers and their families. During a raging pandemic and the resulting economic hardship, Social Security is more vital to American workers’ economic security than ever.

“Social Security is there for the families of those who have succumbed to COVID-19. It will be there for those who suffer long-term disabilities as a result of the novel coronavirus, impacts just starting to be understood.

“This Labor Day, as we sprint toward the November election, the future of Social Security is on the ballot. Donald Trump is devastating the nation, and not only by his incompetent handling of the pandemic. He threatens the economic security of America’s families by defunding, and apparently planning to destroy, Social Security.

“That is not an overstatement. On August 8, Donald Trump took the unprecedented step of unilaterally deferring about $100 billion of Social Security’s dedicated revenue. As he did that, he bragged that, if reelected, he would “terminate” — his word — Social Security’s dedicated revenue. (Elsewhere, I have explained how, if reelected, Trump could continue to unilaterally defer Social Security’s dedicated revenue and literally kill Social Security as we know it.) …”

According to a letter released by Stephen Goss, the independent Chief Actuary of Social Security, Trump’s plan to “terminate” Social Security’s dedicated funding if he is reelected would destroy Social Security. Goss states that if Social Security’s funding were terminated, the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund would be exhausted by 2021 and the Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund would be exhausted by 2023 “with no ability to pay benefits thereafter.” Goss is not a politician, but rather a hard-working civil servant who has served under every president since Richard Nixon.

“This should put all supporters of Social Security on red alert,” Altman wrote. “It is easy to become overwhelmed by this chaotic president. He does not hide his contempt for prisoners of war, Gold Star families whose loved ones have paid the ultimate price, and others who serve the greater good. He urges Americans to commit felonies by voting twice. He slows down the mail, including deliveries of life-saving medications, to help him remain in power. He attacks truth itself. So, he undermines Social Security? What’s the big deal?

“The big deal is that, without Social Security, one out of two seniors would be left impoverished. So would millions of people with disabilities and millions of children who have lost parents. Like the military, the free press, our fair elections, and our postal service, Social Security is a vital institution. The choice this election could not be clearer. ...

“Every generation has built on the strong foundation laid down 85 years ago, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law. Now it is our turn.”

TRUMP ADMIN PLANS $250M AD BUY TO PERSUADE YOU NOT TO WORRY ABOUT PANDEMIC. The Trump administration has given up on any serious attempts to curb the nation’s ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, “Hunter” noted at DailyKos (9/7). As US deaths inch towards the 200,000 mark, outside experts are now warning Americans to ignore the “dysfunctional” Centers of Disease Control and Prevention after the agency issued new, Trump-favored guidelines to reduce testing, rather than expand it. There is no federal contract tracing effort. There is no standard, expert-based pandemic policy—each state has been left to its own devices, with federal officials ignoring even the most serious state outbreaks.

Don’t worry, though. The US Department of Health and Human Services is seeking bids for a new quarter-billion dollar communications contract, reports Politico. No, not to encourage Americans to social distance, wear masks, or get tested—don’t be stupid. The new publicity campaign will instead “defeat despair and inspire hope,” advising businesses how to operate “in the new normal” and instilling “confidence to return to work and restart the economy.”

Hunter noted that this language sounds very much like Trump’s own anti-pandemic anti-policy. Rather than taking more aggressive steps to curtail the pandemic—as nearly every other nation on the planet has—the new publicity campaign will presume we live in a “new normal.” It will be based, says “a senior HHS official” who for some reason would not go on the record to say these embarrassing things, on “defeating the mental health challenges of the coronavirus,” which sounds explicitly like Trump’s own insistence that it’s depression over social distancing that’s killing people, not the deadly disease marked on the death certificates.

DEMS URGE PROBE OF FUNDRAISING FRAUD ALLEGATIONS AGAINST POSTMASTER GENERAL. Less than two months before US elections in November, high-level Democrats in Congress and the Attorney General of North Carolina called for state and federal investigations into Postmaster General Louis DeJoy after explosive reporting that the GOP megadonor now running the US Postal Service may have criminally violated campaign finance laws, Jon Queally reported at CommonDreams (9/7).

First reported by the Washington Post (9/6), the story included claims from former employees of DeJoy, most notably from his human resources director David Young, who said DeJoy—a major donor to the Republican Party and President Trump—would reimburse workers using payroll bonuses for political giving, an arrangement that is unlawful under both federal law and in North Carolina, where his logistics company, New Breed, is located.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein backed an investigation.

“It is against the law to directly or indirectly reimburse someone for a political contribution,” Stein said in statement on social media. “Any credible allegations of such actions merit investigation by the appropriate state and federal authorities. Beyond this, it would be inappropriate for me as Attorney General to comment on any specific matter at this time.”

While Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) called for DeJoy—described as “Trump’s crony”—to be fired in response to the allegations, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer endorsed an immediate probe by North Carolina authorities.

“These are very serious allegations that must be investigated immediately, independent of Donald Trump’s Justice Department,” Schumer said. “The North Carolina Attorney General, an elected official who is independent of Donald Trump, is the right person to start this investigation.”

Speaking on behalf of the Democratic Association of Attorneys General (DAGA), co-chairs AG Maura Healey of Massachusetts and AG Ellen Rosenblum of Oregon said that with the election fast-approaching—and DeJoy’s role as Postmaster General so pivotal in terms of securing the integrity of the vote—the best option would be for DeJoy to step down while a thorough probe is conducted.

“The allegations that Postmaster DeJoy engaged in an extensive scheme to violate federal and state campaign finance laws are profoundly troubling,” Healey and Rosenblum said in a joint statement. “If true, they call into question DeJoy’s leadership and compliance with the law yet again, this time revealing a pattern of potentially criminal misconduct. This matter will require time to resolve—time that DeJoy does not have with the election just 60 days away. Postmaster DeJoy should immediately step aside, pending an independent investigation.”

TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND GOP HAVE SPENT NEARLY $60M ON LAWYERS FOR TRUMP. As evidence mounts that the Donald Trump campaign is going broke, “Hunter” noted at DailyKos (9/6) you might be wondering just how a presidential incumbent could manage to churn through a nine-figure amount of donations and be coming up short only weeks after its own national convention.

This might be a clue: The New York Times and Campaign Finance Institute counted up the latest totals of how much Republican "donation" money is being spent, not on Trump's campaigning, but Trump's lawyers. The new total? At least $58.4 million. Trump, his allies, and the Republican National Committee have spent nearly $60 million, since 2015, on Dear Leader's lawyering.

The Times makes it clear that this level of legal spending is absolutely not normal. In addition to defending Trump from the Russia probe and sexual harassment and corruption scandals surrounding him, Trump has also used donor cash to file lawsuits against ex-campaign and White House staff members who he says broke "nondisclosure" agreements and to file lawsuits against major news outlets after they published damaging opinion columns about him, thus turning the supposed legal fund into a slush fund for settling Trump’s personal vendettas.

If you're thinking Trump is bilking small-dollar donors out of their money, with all these legal bills: yes and no. The Trump campaign has provided some of the money, but a large chunk is coming from the Republican National Committee's legal "recount account" fund, an established party fund that is allowed to accept donations far in excess of normal campaign contribution limits. That means it's funded by some of the richest Republicans in America.

Oh, but don't worry. The Times reports that a National Republican Committee spokesperson "rejected" the notion that wealthy Republicans are pouring money into the legal slush fund in an attempt to "influence" Trump.

So this is all very interesting, but it's not immediately clear that you can blame the party spending away nearly $60 million on Trump's personal defenses, scandals and vendettas for its apparent new money woes. It does seem a risky choice, however, for the party to be so freely spending money intended to fight election-related legal issues only months before a presidential election that (shudder) stands a very good chance of being litigated to hell and back, if Trump has his way.

US GOES IT ALONE ON COVID VACCINE. More than 170 countries are in talks to participate in the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) Facility, which aims to speed vaccine development, secure doses for all countries and distribute them to the most high-risk segment of each population. The plan, which is co-led by the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, the vaccine alliance, was of interest to some members of the Trump administration and is backed by traditional US allies, including Japan, Germany and the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, the Washington Post reported (9/1).

But the United States will not participate, in part because the White House does not want to work with the WHO, which President Trump has criticized over what he characterized as its “China-centric” response to the pandemic. “The United States will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China,” said Judd Deere, a spokesman for the White House.

The Covax decision, which has not been previously reported, is effectively a doubling down by the administration on its bet that the United States will win the vaccine race. It eliminates the chance to secure doses from a pool of promising vaccine candidates — a potentially risky approach. “America is taking a huge gamble by taking a go-it-alone strategy,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University.

The question of who wins the race for a safe vaccine will largely influence how the administration’s “America First” approach to the issue plays out. An unlikely worst-case scenario, experts said, is that none of the U.S. vaccine candidates are viable, leaving the United States with no option because it has shunned the Covax effort.

“When the U.S. says it is not going to participate in any sort of multilateral effort to secure vaccines, it’s a real blow,” said Suerie Moon, co-director of the Global Health Center at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. “The behavior of countries when it comes to vaccines in this pandemic will have political repercussions beyond public health,” she added. “It’s about: Are you a reliable partner, or, at the end of the day, are you going to keep all your toys for yourself?”

From The Progressive Populist, October 1, 2020

Populist.com