Each day, the pandemic gets worse. While Jim Hightower condemns the GOP’s response — which includes trying to throw 23 million Americans off their health care by getting Obamacare thrown out — my colleague Lindsay Koshgarian offers another idea.
What if, she asks, we cut just 10 percent of the Pentagon’s $740 billion annual budget and spent that money on public health instead? With the money we spend on just two military contractors, we could fund nearly a million positions in teaching or infrastructure, creating badly needed jobs while paving the way for a safer reopening of schools, cleaner water, or all of the above.
Also this week, Margot Rathke notes the dismal job prospects for recent college grads and points out that many will choose this time to invest in more education. But with student debt also at record highs, that option may be out of reach for many. What better time to invest in college for all?
Finally, Jill Richardson offers tips for learning to listen to those with opposing views, while cartoonist Khalil Bendib imagines Roger Stone and Donald Trump as “jail birds of a feather.”
New This Week…
Cut the Pentagon 10 Percent, Invest in Public Health | Lindsay Koshgarian
Tanks and ships can’t save us from our greatest dangers, so let’s pay for the things that can.
Now Is the Time for Free College | Margot Rathke
With youth unemployment and student debt skyrocketing, young people need free higher education.
What If We Actually Listened? | Jill Richardson
Here’s what I learned when I stopped trying to convince anyone of anything.
The GOP’s ‘Moral Insanity’ on Health Care | Jim Hightower
Republicans are trying to throw 23 million Americans off their health care — in a pandemic.
Jail Birds of a Feather | Khalil Bendib
Donald Trump, Roger Stone, and the art of the deal.
In Case You Missed It…
I Got COVID-19 at Work. I Won’t Be the Last One. | Claire Chadwick
Essential workers aren’t being treated like our lives are essential at all.
Policing Is Not a Public Good | Ravi Mangla
From the beginning, policing in this country has primarily protected the powerful. Maybe now that can change.
We Need a Global Green New Deal | Michael Galant
The rules of the global economy got us into this mess. But rules can change.
Learning Not to Look Away | Jill Richardson
Anti-racist work can be emotionally difficult. Take time to process your feelings — but don’t forget the big picture.
