Although most of those infected with COVID-19 have recovered relatively quickly, a substantial share has not, and remains symptomatic months or even years later, in what is commonly referred to as long COVID. Data on the incidence of long COVID is scarce, but recent Census Bureau data suggest that sixteen million working age Americans suffer from it. The economic costs of long COVID is estimated to be in the trillions. While many with long COVID have dropped out of the labor force because they can no longer work, many others appear to be working despite having disabilities related to the disease. Indeed, there has been an increase of around 1.7 million disabled persons in the U.S. since the pandemic began, and there are close to one million newly disabled workers.
Inequality
Taking responsibility One of the primary objectives of any government is to feed its people. But geopolitical events over recent months highlight the fact that many governments in countries who are dependent on food imports have lost sight of their responsibilities. Food security, particularly for a net importer like the UK, is a serious but […]
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The state of the world from the elite point of view.
The post The Voldemort Index appeared first on Economics from the Top Down.
People who have been infected with the respiratory virus that causes COVID-19 can experience long-term negative effects from the infection. These lasting effects are typically referred to as Long COVID. The most frequently reported Long COVID symptoms include difficulty concentrating or thinking (“brain fog”), difficulty breathing, fatigue that interferes with daily life, post-exertional malaise, and […]
The post The Extent and Demographics of Long COVID Disability in United States appeared first on Center for Economic and Policy Research.
This sixteen-part series, The Souls of the People, will explore these issues and the ideas and economics behind them. The values, origins, economics and philosophy behind the call to "cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub" (Norquist). The creation of think tanks specifically to provide a pseudo-intellectual foundation for inequality, and that along with media convince the middle class to vote against their own interests. The rise, reasons for, and effect of beliefs that markets without law allow for full employment and that wage laws cause unemployment. That competition alone can bring about good working conditions. The rejection of progressive taxes, and of the right to avail ourselves of the power and resources of the country through organizing public goods. And most importantly, how all of these are maintained by laws that impoverish the powerless and enrich the powerful, and thus are self-perpetuating.
These issues are yet again the problem of our age. Their seeming trajectory towards resolution post WWII, with widespread prosperity and a rising middle class, has been undone. What undid them points to the underlying problem: Immediate causes include the spectacular increase in financialization and unearned rents, the lack of and lack of enforcement of progressive taxes, both in turn largely due to a shift in the public's understanding of these issues. What caused this shift in public understanding is the age old problem—power and the lack thereof.
The sentence in Ben Shapiro's book preceding the title quote is this: "Discussions of income inequality, after all, aren't about prosperity but about petty spite."
I'm sorry Mr. Shapiro, but this is entirely about prosperity. And not at all petty.