Newsletter 4.28.20

Hi all.

We hope you and yours are doing well. Thank you as always for your support, it means the world to us. Here's this fortnight''s newsletter. 

-- Marco, Adam, Nima, Julianne, and Florence 

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Koch-Funded Think Tanks Are Lobbying to Send Workers to Their Deaths Sarah Lazare, In These Times (April 20, 2020)

Right-wing organizations backed by the Charles Koch Foundation such as ALEC, Americans for Prosperity and the Heritage Foundation have been lobbying to send workers back to work before epidemiologists declare it safe to do so.

The Democrats’ COBRA Proposal Is an Insurance Industry Bailout Natalie Shure, In These Times (April 17, 2020)

A Democratic proposal to subsidize 100% of COBRA insurance premiums for six months functions as essentially a bailout to the private insurance industry. The expansion would also leave out people who do not qualify for COBRA. 

DACA Workers Are Saving COVID-19 Patients' Lives While Worrying About Their Own Liz Robbins, The Appeal (April 24, 2020)

DACA recipients are among the workers on the front lines responding to the coronavirus. These workers are trying to save lives while their legal status is facing a challenge in the Supreme Court. 

The Media’s Coronavirus Coverage Exposes Its Ignorance About the Working Class Libby Watson, The New Republic (April 22, 2020)

Coronavirus coverage focusing on labor has too often highlighted the plight of the small business owner over the employees whose lives would be put at risk if they go to work. The media’s coverage also conflated the astroturfed lockdown protests with the sentiments of most workers. 

A New Age of Destructive Austerity After the Coronavirus Zoë Hu, The New Republic (April 23, 2020)

Advocates for economic liberalism are already starting to make noise about implementing austerity measures to address the impact of the coronavirus. Fears of the deficit are always cynically used to pinch pennies and fight efforts to materially help the people that suffer the most from crises. 

Michigan's Ex-Gov. Rick Snyder Knew About Flint's Toxic Water—and Lied About It Jordan Chariton, Jenn Dize, Vice (April 16, 2020)

Confidential documents revealed a five-year effort by former Governor Rick Snyder and top officials to cover up the Flint water crisis and prevent news of the crisis from going public. The documents reveal that Snyder was aware of the dangers of using Flint River as a water source before the water switch and he was aware of the Legionella outbreak 16 months earlier than he publicly claimed to. 

Economic Reporting on Hardships of Pandemic Should Explore Market Failures Nina Eichacker, FAIR (April 25, 2020)

Some analysis of the economic impact of the coronavirus suggests that there will need to be a return to some form of FDR-style social spending. While it is a first step, analysis should delve further into how the free market system is implicated in the failures to respond to the pandemic.  

The Battle to Convert California Hotels into Housing Has Begun Jonny Coleman, The Appeal (April 24, 2020)

Advocates have been pushing California elected officials  to convert vacant hotels into housing for the homeless. While the initial push is very modest considering the scope of the homeless crisis in the state, both the mayors of Los Angeles and San Francisco have been resistant to converting the hotels. 

Coronavirus Exposes Precarity of Prison Towns Jonathan Ben-Menachem, The Appeal (April 21, 2020)

Prison towns are at risk of being especially susceptible to coronavirus because prisons have been poorly managing the spread among their populations and these towns often already lack health infrastructure. Towns often court prison contracts because they believe prisons bring steady employment, but the pandemic exposes the side effects that can come with housing a prison in a town. 

Media Fail to Identify Xenophobia as Biden Says Trump ‘Rolled Over for Chinese’ Julie Hollar, FAIR (April 21, 2020)

Both the Trump and Biden campaigns are using xenophobic anti-China rhetoric to tether their opponent. While some in the media recognized the xenophobia in Trump’s ads, coverage of Biden’s anti-China ad accepted its framing and refused to question its substance. 

Tech Giants Are Using This Crisis to Colonize the Welfare System João Carlos Magalhães, Nick Couldry, Jacobin (April 17, 2020)

Big tech could enmesh itself into any expansion of the welfare state in order, making them an essential part of society. A reliance on data could increase surveillance, reduce the ability for people to negotiate welfare decisions and are often based on data with built-in inequalities.