Inflation

Liberating Africa Requires Changing Power Relations With The West

November 21, 2022 Ramzy Baroud, Mintpress News. Educate! Africa, Inflation, Pandemic, Poverty, Western imperialism

Soon after arriving in Oslo, my taxi zigzagged through the city’s well-organized streets and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Large billboards advertised the world’s leading brands in fashion, cars, and perfumes. Yet, amid all the expressions of wealth and plenty, an electronic sign by a bus stop flashed the images of poor-looking African children needing help. Over the years, Norway has served as a relatively good model of meaningful humanitarian and medical aid. This is especially true compared to other self-serving western countries, where aid is often linked to direct political and military interests. Still, the public humiliation of poor, hungry and diseased Africa is still disquieting. The same images and TV ads are omnipresent everywhere in the West.

Inflation Strikes Disrupt Trains, Flights In Greece, Belgium

November 9, 2022 Elena Becatoros, WHEC. Resist! Belgium, Europe, Greece, Inflation, Strikes

Athens, Greece - Workers walked off the job in Greece and Belgium on Wednesday during nationwide strikes against increasing consumer prices, disrupting transportation, forcing flight cancellations and shutting down public services in the latest European protests over the rising cost of living. In Greece, where workers were holding a 24-hour general strike, thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki. Brief clashes broke out at the end of demonstrations in both cities, with small groups of protesters breaking off from the main march to throw Molotov cocktails and rocks at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. The clashes were over within minutes.

Vectors Of Inflation

November 8, 2022 Radhika Desai, New Left Review. Educate! Finance and the Economy, Inflation, wealth inequality

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s recent speech at the Jackson Hole conference, delivered to an audience of central bankers from around the world, was a highly anticipated event. He arrived there a chastened man, having previously claimed that US inflation was a transitory phenomenon while implementing the lax monetary policies that many blamed for its recent surge. Could he now pull off a ‘soft landing’, bringing inflation back down from its forty-year high of 9.1% to the desired 2%, without causing a recession? Central banks have various tools at their disposal for managing inflation: higher rates, quantitative tightening (i.e. selling assets to reduce liquidity in the system) and managing expectations about future monetary policy through ‘forward guidance’.

#Britainisbroken: Trade Unions And Social Movements Rally

November 7, 2022 People's Dispatch. Resist! Britain, Inflation, Mass Action, Neoliberalism, United Kingdom (UK)

On Saturday, November 5, over 15,000 people marched in London to protest the policies of the Tory government that have failed to tackle the soaring cost of living crisis and its attack on working class sections and social movements. The protest demonstration was called by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity, trade unions, including the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), National Education Union (NEU), Communication Workers Union (CWU), Unite the Union, Trade Union Congress, and ASLEF, and groups such as Stand Up To Racism, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, and Keep Our NHS Public. Political parties including the Communist Party of Britain (CPB), Young Communist League (YCL-Britain), and MPs from the Labour Party also participated in the protest.

Scotland Is Freezing Rent And Train Fares

November 6, 2022 Kate Daniel, Nice News. Create! Inflation, Rent Freeze, Scotland, Transportation

Scotland is world famous for its breathtaking beauty, rich history, and impossibly cute cows. It’s also known for its community spirit, evidenced by a new government initiative: a combined rent freeze and eviction moratorium, designed to help people through the current cost of living crisis. First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said the legislation is a response to the “humanitarian emergency” caused by skyrocketing energy prices, among other factors, Sky News reports. The program will remain in effect until at least March 31, 2023. “This Program for Government is published in the context of the most severe cost crisis in many of our lifetimes. It is a crisis pushing millions into poverty and poses a genuine danger, not just to livelihoods, but to lives,” Sturgeon said in a press release.

The Truth About Cargill, The World’s Most Evil Company

November 3, 2022 Lee Camp, Mintpress News. Resistance Report Cargill, Corporatism, Food and Agriculture, Inflation

The biggest supervillains in the world are not human: they’re corporations. And one of those corporations owns nearly our entire food system. This year, food prices have soared and Americans are feeling it. For example, egg prices have doubled since last year to nearly $3 a dozen, which is especially difficult if you make your living as an egg-juggling busker down by the condemned jungle gym. But the supervillain companies that set those prices aren’t struggling at all. The largest one is Cargill. And this year, Cargill’s revenue jumped to a record $165 billion. That’s $30 billion more than the year before. Let’s learn a little more about Cargill. Known to friends as the evilest company in the world – and to enemies as even worse than that – Cargill Inc. is the biggest privately owned company in the U.S., and they own a large chunk of every portion of the food that ends up on your plate.

One In Three Americans Are Struggling: What If We United?

October 23, 2022 Lee Camp, Mintpress News. Resistance Report Class Struggle, Economic insecurity, Finance and the Economy, Inflation

If you’re having trouble making ends meet right now, you’re not alone. Nearly 52 million adults – about 1 in 4 – are having difficulty paying for usual household expenses, according to the most recent Census data, and, according to Monmouth polling, more than 4 in 10 Americans, 42 percent, “say they are struggling to remain where they are financially.” So let’s split the difference between those numbers and say one in three American adults say they’ve found it difficult to cover expenses or pay bills. Does that sound like a system that’s working well? Does that sound like a machine that is just humming along beautifully? Does that sound like citizens are living the American dream? This system is clearly not working for everyone and this is happening while rich-ass Congresspeople do next to nothing to help Americans.

The Fight Against Inflation Doesn’t Have To Be Rich-People Friendly

October 22, 2022 Sam Pizzigati, Inequality.org. Create! Class Struggle, Finance and the Economy, Inflation, Taxes

The world’s central bankers, almost without exception, are now busy swinging sledgehammers. Only whopping interest-rate hikes, they’re preaching, can pound down inflation’s rising prices. In the United States, the Federal Reserve has so far this year raised the nation’s benchmark interest rate by three points, something that hasn’t happened since the 1980s, and still more rate hikes, the Fed pledges, are coming. These interest-rate boosts, the central banker reasoning goes, will slow the economy, deflate consumer demand, and get prices shrinking. The downside? Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is readily acknowledging the hardships rate hikes are provoking. The slower growth and softer labor market rising rates make inevitable, Powell conceded this past August, “will also bring some pain to households and businesses.”

Thousands Protest Climate And Cost of Living Crises In The UK

October 5, 2022 Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch. Resist! climate crisis, Inflation, Protests, United Kingdom (UK)

Thousands of people across the UK took to the streets Saturday and Sunday to protest the climate and cost-of-living crises, which demonstrators linked to the country’s dependence on fossil fuels. Saturday’s protests were joined by thousands of people in major cities from London to Glasgow to Belfast, as the Press Association reported. On Sunday, 250 demonstrators from the group Just Stop Oil marched through London and blocked its Waterloo Bridge for the second day in a row, the group said. “I’m doing this for my son,” one demonstrator said as she was arrested Sunday. “The government’s inaction on climate change is a death sentence to us all. The United Nations has said we should have no new oil. Liz Truss wants to open 130 new oil licenses. That’s a death sentence to this planet.”

Belgian Left Launches ‘Fridays Of Rage’ Against Cost Of Living Crisis

October 4, 2022 People's Dispatch. Resist! Belgium, Inflation, Mass Action, Trade Union

Belgium - On Friday, September 30, the Workers Party of Belgium (PTB/PVDA) launched weekly protests called ‘Fridays of Rage’ (Vendredis de la Colère) against the government’s failure to tackle the ongoing cost of living crisis. Protests were held on Friday in the cities of Kortrijk and La Louvière with the call to bring down the prices of food, energy, and other essentials. Along with activists of the PTB/PVDA, cadres of youth and student groups like COMAC and RedFox took part in the protests. The protesters also demanded that the government tax the energy multinational that they say is benefiting from the crisis. More protests have been scheduled for October 7 in Liege, Saint Nicolas, and Genk, in Gare du Nord and Ghent on October 14, and in Namur and Antwerp on October 21.

Protests Erupt In Tunisia Over Rise In Prices Of Essential Commodities

September 29, 2022 People's Dispatch. Resist! Elections, Inflation, Mass Action, Tunisia

Hundreds of Tunisians marched on the streets of capital Tunis on Sunday, September 25, protesting against the rise in the prices of essential commodities in the country. Sporadic protests broke out in the evening in different parts of the city, as protesters criticized the failure of President Kais Saied’s government to address their economic hardships. The protesters carried loaves of bread and shouted slogans such as “where is sugar?” and “we can’t support crazy price rise!” They demanded improvements in living conditions and “jobs, freedom, and national dignity!” Some protesters, for example those in Mornag on the outskirts of the city, blocked roads and burnt tires in response to claims that one person had committed suicide due to state repression and economic concerns.

‘We’ve Incentivized Corporations To Go After This Price-Gouging Strategy’

September 27, 2022 Janine Jackson, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. Educate! Corporatism, Employment, Inflation, Wages

Janine Jackson: In a section labeled “Core of the matter,” the Economist declared: “Despite rosier figures, America still has an inflation problem. Is higher unemployment the only cure?” I guess we’re meant to find solace in the idea that the magazine thinks there might conceivably be other responses, in addition to what we are to understand is the proven one: purposely throwing people out of work, with all of the life-changing harms that come with that. CNBC‘s story, “Inflation Fears Spur Shoppers to Get an Early Jump on the Year-End Holidays,” encouraged us to think that “inflation is a Scrooge.” So—an abstraction that is somehow stealing Christmas, to which the healthy response is to make more people jobless while corporate profits soar. It makes sense to corporate media, but if it doesn’t make sense to you, you are far from alone.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: The Inflation Reduction Act’s Effects on US Agriculture

September 20, 2022 NFFC. Educate! Finance and the Economy, Inflation, Inflation Reduction Act

The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, passed on August 11, 2022, includes more than $370 billion in investments towards conservation, environmental, and agricultural programs. This landmark bill was heralded by President Joe Biden as “the most aggressive action ever…in confronting the climate crisis.” In a letter to House colleagues, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi even proclaimed that the bill is “life-changing legislation”. The Inflation Reduction Act is certainly an important piece of legislation, with many far-reaching impacts on the US food and agriculture sector. Not all of these impacts are good, however, and some are downright ugly.

Protests Across Austria Demand Solution To Cost Of Living Crisis

September 19, 2022 People's Dispatch. Resist! Austria, Energy, Housing, Inflation, Unions

On Saturday, September 17, trade unions and other working class sections hit the streets across Austria protesting the government’s inefficiency in tackling the ongoing cost of living crisis. The protests called by the Austrian Trade Union Federation (OGB) saw the participation of various groups including the Party of Labor of Austria (PdA), Youth Front, Communist Youth of Austria (KJO), Communist Party of Austria (KPO), and Links, among others. Marches were held in cities in all federal States including Vienna, Eisenstadt, Bruck an der Mur, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Bregenz, Lower Austria, and Upper Austria. According to the organizers, over 30,000 people participated in the protests, with 20,000 people having marched in Vienna alone. The protesters called on the politicians to take concrete actions to tackle the current crisis.

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