"That we could lose 20 million jobs in April, and the stock market could have its best month in over 30 years, demonstrates just how utterly disconnected the market is from reality," wrote Matt Fuller of the Huffington Post. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images and Scott Strazzante/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
'What a Rigged Economy Looks Like,' Says Sanders, as Stock Market Enjoys Best Month in 33 Years Despite 20%+ Unemployment
"We need to start valuing human life over corporate profits," said Rep. Ilhan Omar.
While a record 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs and one-third of people were unable to pay their rent or mortgage by the end of last month, the stock market in April enjoyed its strongest month since 1987--again supporting the common critique that Wall Street wealth is not the same as economic health.
The stock market has long been President Donald Trump's favored measurement for the wellbeing of the country, but as the pro-wealth tax group Patriotic Millionaires wrote on Twitter Friday, "The stock market is not the economy."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 300 points at opening Friday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq continued to steadily climb from a low point in late March, when states across the country were imposing economic shutdowns.
The Dow also increased by 250 points right after the Labor Department released its May jobs report Friday, which showed an official unemployment rate of 14.7%, the highest since the Great Depression. Economists estimate that including people who lost their jobs in the last two weeks and people who have not filed for unemployment, the actual unemployment rate is likely higher than 20%.
At New York magazine, Eric Levitz wrote that the incongruous response of Wall Street to the coronavirus pandemic while nearly one in five Americans are out of work is due to an economy which places corporate profits ahead of workers.
"Long before the pandemic hit, e-commerce was displacing retail, robots were replacing warehouse workers, and an erosion of labor's bargaining power was putting downward pressure on service-sector wages," wrote Levitz.
Amazon, for example, spends millions of dollars per year lobbying lawmakers to pass legislation that would make it easier to maximize its product-delivery abilities as cheaply as possible, pushing to extend the maximum length of trucks and for approval of autonomous delivery vehicles.
"The companies most immune from the shuttering of public space and, to a lesser extent, from declining working-class purchasing power--capital-intensive technology firms--were already laying claim to an outsize share of the S&P 500 before the coronavirus hit our shores," Levitz wrote.
People who are able to invest heavily in the stock market as tens of millions of Americans are out of work, "in their view...haven't lost touch with reality--equity values simply no longer depend on the functioning of society," he added.
A number of progressives on social media wrote that Wall Street's performance amid the pandemic shows that the economy must be "fundamentally" changed into one that works for working families.
"This is what a rigged and corrupt economy looks like," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote.
Bharat Ramamurti, a member of the Congressional Oversight Commission and a former economic adviser to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), wrote that Congress and the Federal Reserve must begin centering working people in its efforts to provide relief during the coronavirus pandemic, rather than focusing on propping up large corporations.
"We can do better than a long, slow recovery for workers while capital rebounds in weeks," wrote Ramamurti. "This crisis has exposed cracks in the foundation of our economy. Instead of papering over them, we should fix them now."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
While a record 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs and one-third of people were unable to pay their rent or mortgage by the end of last month, the stock market in April enjoyed its strongest month since 1987--again supporting the common critique that Wall Street wealth is not the same as economic health.
The stock market has long been President Donald Trump's favored measurement for the wellbeing of the country, but as the pro-wealth tax group Patriotic Millionaires wrote on Twitter Friday, "The stock market is not the economy."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 300 points at opening Friday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq continued to steadily climb from a low point in late March, when states across the country were imposing economic shutdowns.
The Dow also increased by 250 points right after the Labor Department released its May jobs report Friday, which showed an official unemployment rate of 14.7%, the highest since the Great Depression. Economists estimate that including people who lost their jobs in the last two weeks and people who have not filed for unemployment, the actual unemployment rate is likely higher than 20%.
At New York magazine, Eric Levitz wrote that the incongruous response of Wall Street to the coronavirus pandemic while nearly one in five Americans are out of work is due to an economy which places corporate profits ahead of workers.
"Long before the pandemic hit, e-commerce was displacing retail, robots were replacing warehouse workers, and an erosion of labor's bargaining power was putting downward pressure on service-sector wages," wrote Levitz.
Amazon, for example, spends millions of dollars per year lobbying lawmakers to pass legislation that would make it easier to maximize its product-delivery abilities as cheaply as possible, pushing to extend the maximum length of trucks and for approval of autonomous delivery vehicles.
"The companies most immune from the shuttering of public space and, to a lesser extent, from declining working-class purchasing power--capital-intensive technology firms--were already laying claim to an outsize share of the S&P 500 before the coronavirus hit our shores," Levitz wrote.
People who are able to invest heavily in the stock market as tens of millions of Americans are out of work, "in their view...haven't lost touch with reality--equity values simply no longer depend on the functioning of society," he added.
A number of progressives on social media wrote that Wall Street's performance amid the pandemic shows that the economy must be "fundamentally" changed into one that works for working families.
"This is what a rigged and corrupt economy looks like," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote.
Bharat Ramamurti, a member of the Congressional Oversight Commission and a former economic adviser to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), wrote that Congress and the Federal Reserve must begin centering working people in its efforts to provide relief during the coronavirus pandemic, rather than focusing on propping up large corporations.
"We can do better than a long, slow recovery for workers while capital rebounds in weeks," wrote Ramamurti. "This crisis has exposed cracks in the foundation of our economy. Instead of papering over them, we should fix them now."
While a record 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs and one-third of people were unable to pay their rent or mortgage by the end of last month, the stock market in April enjoyed its strongest month since 1987--again supporting the common critique that Wall Street wealth is not the same as economic health.
The stock market has long been President Donald Trump's favored measurement for the wellbeing of the country, but as the pro-wealth tax group Patriotic Millionaires wrote on Twitter Friday, "The stock market is not the economy."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 300 points at opening Friday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq continued to steadily climb from a low point in late March, when states across the country were imposing economic shutdowns.
The Dow also increased by 250 points right after the Labor Department released its May jobs report Friday, which showed an official unemployment rate of 14.7%, the highest since the Great Depression. Economists estimate that including people who lost their jobs in the last two weeks and people who have not filed for unemployment, the actual unemployment rate is likely higher than 20%.
At New York magazine, Eric Levitz wrote that the incongruous response of Wall Street to the coronavirus pandemic while nearly one in five Americans are out of work is due to an economy which places corporate profits ahead of workers.
"Long before the pandemic hit, e-commerce was displacing retail, robots were replacing warehouse workers, and an erosion of labor's bargaining power was putting downward pressure on service-sector wages," wrote Levitz.
Amazon, for example, spends millions of dollars per year lobbying lawmakers to pass legislation that would make it easier to maximize its product-delivery abilities as cheaply as possible, pushing to extend the maximum length of trucks and for approval of autonomous delivery vehicles.
"The companies most immune from the shuttering of public space and, to a lesser extent, from declining working-class purchasing power--capital-intensive technology firms--were already laying claim to an outsize share of the S&P 500 before the coronavirus hit our shores," Levitz wrote.
People who are able to invest heavily in the stock market as tens of millions of Americans are out of work, "in their view...haven't lost touch with reality--equity values simply no longer depend on the functioning of society," he added.
A number of progressives on social media wrote that Wall Street's performance amid the pandemic shows that the economy must be "fundamentally" changed into one that works for working families.
"This is what a rigged and corrupt economy looks like," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote.
Bharat Ramamurti, a member of the Congressional Oversight Commission and a former economic adviser to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), wrote that Congress and the Federal Reserve must begin centering working people in its efforts to provide relief during the coronavirus pandemic, rather than focusing on propping up large corporations.
"We can do better than a long, slow recovery for workers while capital rebounds in weeks," wrote Ramamurti. "This crisis has exposed cracks in the foundation of our economy. Instead of papering over them, we should fix them now."