Why are the billionaires always laughing?

Because they know the corporate media will never call bullshit on their bullshit.

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Why are the billionaires laughing?

It’s easy to laugh when the corporate press treats you as a glorious success instead of the epitome of a broken social order. They laugh because they know the corporate media prefers to fawn over them rather than hold them to account. We are not laughing. We are hard at work digging out the truth. Please support our independent journalism today by donating to our critical Fall Campaign.

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Why are the billionaires laughing?

It’s easy to laugh when the corporate press treats you as a glorious success instead of the epitome of a broken social order. Billionaires laugh because they know the corporate media prefers to fawn over them rather than hold them to account.

Today, we ask you to support our nonprofit, independent journalism because we are not impressed by billionaires flying into space, their corporations despoiling our health and planet, or their vast fortunes safely concealed in tax havens across the globe. We are not laughing.

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Speaker Pelosi held a briefing on the Coronavirus Aid Package Bill that will deal with the outbreak of COVID-19.

 U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is followed by members of the media on her way back to her office after a briefing at the U.S. Capitol March 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. Speaker Pelosi held a briefing on the Coronavirus Aid Package Bill that will deal with the outbreak of COVID-19. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Paid Sick Leave Loopholes: 'There’s a Giant Hole in Pelosi’s Coronavirus Bill'

"In fact, the bill guarantees sick leave only to about 20 percent of workers."

Common Dreams staff

Early Saturday morning the US House of Representatives voted 363-40 to pass a coronavirus relief package, days after the World Health Organization declared the virus a pandemic. The US Senate won’t take the bill up until at least Monday, because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell decided to give Senators the weekend off.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing widespread criticism Saturday for misrepresenting what the legislation would actually do.

In a letter to her Democratic colleagues Saturday Pelosi wrote:

"I am very proud to write that the provisions we put forth with your input, including paid sick leave, paid family and medical leave, enhanced Unemployment Insurance, food security initiatives and free and widespread testing, are all included in this agreement. "

The New York Times editorialized Saturday afternoon:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi early Saturday celebrated passage of legislation she described as providing paid sick leave to American workers affected by the coronavirus.

She neglected to mention the fine print.

In fact, the bill guarantees sick leave only to about 20 percent of workers. Big employers like McDonald’s and Amazon are not required to provide any paid sick leave, while companies with fewer than 50 employees can seek hardship exemptions from the Trump administration.

“If you are sick, stay home,” Vice President Mike Pence said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon. “You’re not going to miss a paycheck.”

But that’s simply not true. Sick workers should stay home, but there is no guarantee in the emergency legislation that most of them will get paid.

The White House and congressional Republicans, who insisted on the exemptions as the price of bipartisan support for the legislation, bear the primary responsibility for the indefensible decision to prioritize corporate profits in the midst of a public health emergency...

The House’s failure to require universal paid sick leave is an embarrassment that endangers the health of workers, consumers and the broader American public.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
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