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For Immediate Release
July, 01 2025, 11:45am EDT
Contact:
Cass Hebron in Seville | cass.hebron@oxfam.or
Oxfam reaction to Spain, Brazil and South Africa launching a new coalition to tax the super-rich
SEVILLA, Spain
In response to Spain, Brazil and South Africa’s new global coalition to tax the super-rich, launched today at the Fourth Financing for Development Conference in Seville, Oxfam Tax Justice Policy Lead Susana Ruiz said:
"We welcome the leadership of Brazil, Spain and South Africa in calling for taxes on the super-rich. People around the world are pushing for more countries to reject the corrupting political influence of oligarchies. Taxation of the super-rich is a vital tool to secure sustainable development and fight inequalities. The wealth of the richest 1% has surged $33.9 trillion since 2015, enough to end annual poverty 22 times, yet billionaires only pay around 0.3% in real taxes.
“This extreme inequality is being driven by a financial system that puts the interests of a wealthy few above everyone else. This concentration of wealth is blocking progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and keeping over three billion people living in poverty: over half of poor countries are spending more on debt repayments than on healthcare or education.
“In a tense geopolitical environment, Spain, Brazil and South Africa have taken an important step in forging an alliance here at the UN conference in Seville to show political will for taxation of the super-rich. Now other countries must follow their lead and join forces. This year, the FFD in Seville, COP30 in Brazil and G20 in South Africa are key opportunities for international cooperation to tax the super-rich and invest in a sustainable future that puts human rights and equality at its core.”
Oxfam International is a global movement of people who are fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice. We are working across regions in about 70 countries, with thousands of partners, and allies, supporting communities to build better lives for themselves, grow resilience and protect lives and livelihoods also in times of crisis.
LATEST NEWS
'This Moment Is a Test,' Says Ocasio-Cortez as Government Shutdown Begins
"What I'm not going to do is tolerate 4 million uninsured Americans because Donald Trump decided one day that he just wants to make sure that kids are dying because they don't have access to insurance," said the New York Democrat. "That's what's not gonna happen."
Oct 01, 2025
With the US federal government in a shutdown after a midnight deadline passed, outside progressive voices and Democrats in Congress who are holding the line against a $1 trillion evisceration of healthcare funding by President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers say the battle lines should be made clear for all to see.
"When Republicans use a legislative mechanism to gut the American healthcare system, we have to use a legislative mechanism in order to restore it," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), in a Tuesday night interview with MSNBC's Chris Hayes just hours before the shutdown became inevitable after the Senate failed to pass a stopgap bill, one already passed by the GOP-controlled House.
"This moment is a test. Donald Trump wants us to blink first and hand him over power. We have too much to save to give in," Ocasio-Cortez declared. "Protecting the American people is too important a task for us to give up before anything even starts."
Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) have falsely claimed that Democrats refused to back the stopgap bill because they want to extend healthcare insurance benefits to unlawful and undocumented immigrants, a claim that is not just "misleading," says expert critics, but a "giant lie."
"What I'm not going to do is tolerate 4 million uninsured Americans because Donald Trump decided one day that he just wants to make sure that kids are dying because they don't have access to insurance. That's what's not gonna happen."
—Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Asked to explain the Democratic message and strategy surrounding the shutdown fight, Ocasio-Cortez said, "We're here to help people. We are here in the midst of the destruction of the federal government, the federal safety net, a trillion dollars eviscerated from people's healthcare, their Medicare, their Medicaid, in this country, with prices that are skyrocketing and life becoming completely untenable for the American people. We are here to try to be a backstop...which is what the American people have elected us to do."
Ocasio-Cortez pushed back on the idea that fears of a possible primary challenge against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also from New York, had anything to do with his refusal to cave to the Republicans and therefore made her culpable for the shutdown in the eyes of some GOP lawmakers who have floated such speculation.
"This moment is so not about me," she said when asked about that dynamic by Hayes. But given those claims by GOP senators, she added, "If that is the case, my office is open and you are free to walk in and negotiate with me directly. Because what I'm not going to do is tolerate 4 million uninsured Americans because Donald Trump decided one day that he just wants to make sure that kids are dying because they don't have access to insurance. That's what's not gonna happen."
Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) described the shutdown as a "sad day" for the nation. Still, she echoed Ocasio-Cortez's vow to fight on behalf of her constituents and all Americans facing real hardship due to the impacts of Trump's agenda.
"Republicans own this shutdown," said Chu in an overnight statement. "They control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and yet they chose to shut down the government rather than protect affordable health care for millions of Americans. After forcing through a partisan spending bill that failed in the Senate, Republicans then blocked House Democrats from bringing up a commonsense bill that would have kept the government open, canceled health care cuts, lowered out-of-pocket costs, and protected the affordable care that working families rely on."
The shutdown, she said, makes clear the GOP's priorities under Trump.
"First, they passed their Big Ugly Law, which ripped $1.5 trillion out of our health care system, kicked 15 million Americans off their insurance, slashed Medicare and Medicaid, and weakened the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—all to fund massive tax cuts for billionaires," explained Chu. "Now, with 24 million Americans facing premium hikes of up to 114 percent, Republicans left town and shut down the government. This is a failure of leadership and a despicable betrayal of working Americans who depend on ACA tax credits to afford health care."
Progressive advocates nationwide backed the message and the strategy that Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats are rallying around.
“Across the country, working-class people are struggling," said Carolyn Martinez-Class and Rebecca Garrard, co-executive directors of Citizen Action of New York, in a Tuesday night statement alongside groups aligned with the national community organizing group People's Action.
"Instead of getting to work delivering affordability for their constituents, the Republican majority in Congress continues to advance MAGA extremism in DC," said Martinez-Class and Garrard. "Instead of reigning in Trump’s attacks on our rights, the Republican majority are taking our money for Medicaid and food stamps and giving it to billionaires. Republican leaders, like Thune and Johnson, want to pass an annual funding bill that will result in health and housing costs skyrocketing while funding Trump’s assault on our communities using ICE and the military. It’s on the Republican majority to come to the table and negotiate a deal with the Democratic minority that prioritizes New Yorkers and working people across the country living paycheck to paycheck, not CEOs."
Lindsay Owens, executive director at Groundwork Collaborative, blasted the GOP for their refusal to meet the Democrats' demand to restore healthcare funding cuts that will impact an estimated 22 million people struggling to make ends meet.
"Republicans in Congress just sent a message to the American people that they would rather shut down the government than lower your health care costs," said Owens. "Each day that the government is shut down and Republicans refuse to negotiate brings more than 20 million people closer to seeing their insurance premiums spike on November 1, and puts millions more at risk of losing Medicaid coverage. The American people deserve leaders who’ll fight to protect our health care and lower costs — not drive prices up and make life harder for everyone.”
Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said, “This harmful and perfectly avoidable government shutdown is the natural conclusion of the MAGA agenda," applauding lawmakers in Congress for their opposition.
Polling released Tuesday from Our Revolution, the organizing group founded in the wake of Sen. Bernie Sanders first presidential run in 2016, showed that the Democratic base of the party wants its elected leaders to fight tooth and nail over the healthcare funding, as well as Trump's increasingly authoritarian push that has attacked free speech, targeted political enemies with the power of the state, and threatened to use US cities as "training grounds" for the US military.
Laura Martin, executive director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada Action Fund, echoed those calling for Democrats to continue holding the line.
"Our community continues to come last for the Trump administration and his billionaire cronies," said Martin. "We saw it in the budget reconciliation bill, and now, working families are expected to accept cuts to life-sustaining social safety net programs while billionaires benefit from tax cuts and ICE gets more funding than a small army."
What people across need across the country, she added, "is health care, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Congress should not pass any funding bill that forces struggling families to choose between health care and basic needs. It is an impossible decision that results in the loss of lives. We expect our representatives in the House and Senate to make it clear that our lives are non-negotiable, which means no cuts to health care or social security benefits."
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Hollywood Union Says AI-Generated Tilly Norwood 'Not an Actor'
The synthetic performer, says SAG-AFTRA, is "a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers—without permission or compensation."
Sep 30, 2025
Screen actors and their union are among those who on Tuesday condemned a computer-generated "actress" created by a newly launched artificial intelligence studio as "not a replacement for a human being," while urging talent agencies to eschew signing synthetic performers.
Billed as Hollywood's first artificial intelligence actor, "Tilly Norwood" was introduced by Particle 6 founder and CEO Eline Van der Velden, who has launjched a new venture called Xicoia, the "world's first AI talent studio."
One of over 40 digital personalities Xicoia says it aims to develop, Norwood has attracted the attention of real-life talent agents—a development that has drawn condemnation from the powerful Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union, which represents more than 160,000 performers in film, television, voice acting, video games, and other media.
“SAG-AFTRA believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered," the union said in a statement Tuesday, adding that it is "opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics."
The union continued:
To be clear, "Tilly Norwood" is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers—without permission or compensation. It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion, and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience. It doesn’t solve any “problem”—it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.
"Additionally, signatory producers should be aware that they may not use synthetic performers without complying with our contractual obligations, which require notice and bargaining whenever a synthetic performer is going to be used," SAG-AFTRA added.
Individual actors also slammed Norwood's rollout, with Melissa Barrera—who has starred in films including Scream and In the Heights—taking aim at any agent who might be tempted to represent the AI character.
“Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$," Barrera said. "How gross, read the room."
Natasha Lyonne, star of Russian Doll and director of Uncanny Valley, said: "Any talent agency that engages in this should be boycotted by all guilds. Deeply misguided and totally disturbed. Not the way. Not the vibe. Not the use.”
Veteran television actor Chris McKenna addressed those who think Norwood "will only replace actors," writing on social media that the AI creation "needs no hairstylist, makeup, wardrobe, lighting, direction, transportation, rest, or lunch... the trickledown will be devastating."
Van der Velden defended her creation in a Sunday Instagram post, writing, “To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work—a piece of art."
“Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity," she added.
SAG-AFTRA has long opposed the use of AI performers, making the issue a key part of its 2023 strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and last year's video game strike. The union has also backed legislation at the federal and state level to regulate AI.
The 2023 strike, which lasted 118 days, ended with SAG-AFTRA winning concessions including explicit consent, notification, and bargaining for the use of AI replicas of performers and safeguards against digitally generated characters replacing human actors.
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Unions Sue to Protect Federal Workers From Mass Firings During Government Shutdown
"If these mass firings take place, the people who keep our skies safe for travel, our food supply secure, and our communities protected will lose their jobs," one labor leader warned.
Sep 30, 2025
Just hours before an expected US government shutdown, two major unions for federal workers filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in hopes of protecting them from the Trump administration's threat of mass firings.
"Announcing plans to fire potentially tens of thousands of federal employees simply because Congress and the administration are at odds on funding the government past the end of the fiscal year is not only illegal—it's immoral and unconscionable," American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) national president Everett Kelley said in a statement.
"Federal employees dedicate their careers to public service—more than a third are military veterans—and the contempt being shown them by this administration is appalling," Kelley declared.
Filed by AFGE and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in the Northern District of California, the new suit specifically takes aim at the Office of Management and Budget, OMB Director Russell Vought, the Office of Personnel Management, and OPM Director Scott Kupor.
"Federal workers do the work of the people, and playing games with their livelihoods is cruel and unlawful."
The OMB last week "issued a memorandum threatening that if 'congressional Democrats' do not agree to the administration's
demands, and the federal government shuts down, there will be mass firings of federal employees," the complaint explains. The memo "takes the legally unsupportable position that a temporary interruption of appropriations eliminates the statutory requirement for all unfunded government programs and directs all federal agencies to 'use this opportunity' to consider reductions in force (RIFs) for any programs for which the funding has lapsed and that are not priorities of the president."
"This past weekend, the Trump administration doubled down on its illegal activity," the complaint notes, as OMB and OPM "told agencies that federal employees could work during the shutdown in order to effectuate these RIFs. But this directive is contrary to federal law, because carrying out RIFs is plainly not a permitted (or 'excepted') function that can lawfully continue during a shutdown."
"The threat of massive layoffs was repeated and reinforced yesterday by the White House press secretary who, when asked whether there will be mass layoffs of federal employees, answered, 'There will be if Democrats don't keep the government open,'" the filing continues. "These actions are contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious, and the cynical use of federal employees as a pawn in congressional deliberations should be declared unlawful and enjoined by this court."
AFSCME president Lee Saunders highlighted how the firing threat connects to Project 2025, a policy agenda from a host of far-right figures, including Vought, published last year, in the lead-up to the November election.
"The Trump administration is once again breaking the law to push its extreme Project 2025 agenda, illegally targeting federal workers with threats of mass firings due to the federal government shutdown," Saunders said. "If these mass firings take place, the people who keep our skies safe for travel, our food supply secure, and our communities protected will lose their jobs. We will do everything possible to defend these AFSCME members and their fellow workers from an administration hell-bent on stripping away their collective bargaining rights and jobs."
AFSCME and AFGE are represented by Altshuler Berzon LLP, Democracy Defenders Fund, and Democracy Forward, whose president and CEO, Skye Perryman, accused President Donald Trump of "using the civil service as a bargaining chip as he marches the American people into a government shutdown."
"Federal workers do the work of the people, and playing games with their livelihoods is cruel and unlawful. That is why we have sued today," said Perryman, whose group has played a leading role in challenging the administration in court, as an increasingly authoritarian Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency have worked to gut the federal bureaucracy.
"Since inauguration, this administration has pursued a harmful Project 2025 agenda, attacking community programs and charities, lawyers, schools, private companies, law firms, judges, universities, public servants, and the programs, foundations, and civil servants working to deliver services to people and keep communities safe," she noted. "No one's lives have been made easier or better by these actions, and we will continue to meet these attacks in court. We are honored to again represent AFGE and AFSCME in protecting the American people from the Trump-Vance administration's callous and unlawful agenda."
The government will shut down at midnight unless Congress takes action. Although the GOP controls both chambers and the White House, they lack the numbers to advance most legislation in the Senate without Democratic support. The Senate voted Tuesday evening on Democrats' and Republicans' competing resolutions, neither of which passed.
Democrats have fought to expand Affordable Care Act subsidies and reverse cuts to Medicaid in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act that congressional Republicans passed and Trump signed this summer. GOP leaders have refused to consider walking back their assault on the healthcare of millions of Americans.
In the event of a shutdown, "non-expected" employees are furloughed while "excepted" employees continue working, but no one gets paid until the shutdown ends.
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