Soaring tortilla prices hit struggling Mexican households hard

Mexico’s poorer households are hardest hit by food price inflation because it eats up a bigger share of their income.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/7/28/soaring-tortilla-prices-hit-struggling-mexican-households-hard
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Journalism’s two Americas

There’s a sharp divide in American journalism between haves and have-nots. While national journalists covering tech and politics on the coasts reap the benefits of booming businesses and book deals, local media organizations, primarily newspapers, continue to shrink.

Why it matters: The disparate fortunes skew what gets covered, elevating big national political stories at the expense of local, community-focused news.

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At the local level, newspapers continue to be gobbled up by hedge funds eager to slash jobs for profits. News veterans with more experience are often the first to go.

• Dozens of journalists at the Chicago Tribune have recently taken buyouts in response to the purchase of its parent company by a hedge fund known for slashing local newspaper jobs for profit.
• A recent New York Times opinion piece about Julie Brown, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at the Miami Herald who broke the story about Jeffrey’s Epstein’s abuses but often had to pay her own expenses, also underscores that discrepancy.

At the national level, venture money continues to pour into new outlets like Puck and Recount Media, among others, creating more opportunities for those that cover broad national topics, like media, influence, politics and technology.

• CNN says it will hire 450 new people for its new streaming service, CNN+. While it’s unclear how many of those jobs will be local, it’s reportedly paying one top national anchor over $1 million to be a part of the service.
• CNET recently announced plans to hire 150 people. While many jobs are remote, most are based in New York or San Fransisco.

Be smart: Such opportunities give national journalists much more bargaining power in salary negotiations and more visibility for book deals.

• “I can’t sell local books, only national,” says Jane Dystel, a veteran book agent and the president of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC. “For local, they’re not getting paid any advances.”
• “A reader in the Midwest is not going to want to read about a local L.A. politician no matter how big or rich he is,” Dystel says.

Case in point: Facebook recently said it has been the subject of 368 books. There is a wave of at least 17 new books about Donald Trump, and The New York Times reported last year that there were over 1,200 books written about Trump between 2016 and 2020.

The salary disparity at the local and national levels contributes to broader competitive issues for local outlets.

• The average base pay for a local reporter job, according to Glassdoor, is $49,061 annually, compared to $65,437 for national reporters.
• “You don’t want to limit your hiring pool to those who are being financially supported by their family, which is basically what you’re doing by paying someone with a college degree so little,” says Scott Brodbeck, Founder and CEO of Local News Now, which operates several digital outlets in Northern Virginia.

What to watch: There have been hundreds of new digital ventures and newsletter experiments at the local level, but many of those efforts are bootstrapped.

• “More than half our membership has two or fewer full-time employees for their whole company,” says Chris Krewson, executive director at the trade group LION (Local Independent Online News). “This obviously means they are not even paying *themselves* while they establish themselves.”
• A recent study from LION, Google News Initiative and the University of North Carolina found that of 700+ digital-first local news outlets, more than half bring in less than $100,000 a year. Only 10% have revenue of more than $1 million annually.

The big picture: Despite an overwhelming number of new efforts trying to bridge the gap between local and national news investments, the delta between the two seems to be growing wider.

• “I think there is a disparity right now in the sustainable businesses we see with national media companies versus local media companies,” says Fran Wills, CEO of the Local Media Consortium.
• Willis’ group aims to provide more shared services and technology for local outlets so that their cost structure is lower. “That way, they can pay their journalists more of the revenue that they bring in.”

What to watch: Some local outlets are leaning into partnerships like the Local Media Consortium to save costs.

• Others are becoming non-profits so that they can accept philanthropic donations, a trend that’s become very popular during the pandemic. Most, however, are still scrambling to find a workable solution.

Source: https://www.axios.com/journalisms-two-americas-1a0550bf-b3d1-487e-92c7-c889c3d5a1ff.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Sara Fischer

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Reducing poverty can actually lower energy demand, finds research

Ethiopians carrying jerrycans of water. (credit: UNICEF Ethiopia/2011/Lemma)

As people around the world escape poverty, you might expect their energy use to increase. But my research in Nepal, Vietnam, and Zambia found the opposite: lower levels of deprivation were linked to lower levels of energy demand. What is behind this counter-intuitive finding?

After all, the prevailing strategy to end extreme poverty relies on the belief that we need to grow the economic “pie,” so we can produce more goods and services, at the same time as households and government spending capacity increases to consume those goods and services. And so, when poverty is “diagnosed” by income, the “remedy” is said to be economic growth.

However with widening inequalities and an acute sanitation crisis in much of the world, many still evade the promised benefits of economic growth. It turns out that poverty is not only about income: it consists of multiple deprivations.

Read 13 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/06/reducing-poverty-can-actually-lower-energy-demand-finds-research/
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Ars Staff

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Vaccine inequality exposed by dire situation in world’s poorest nations

Analysis: the failings of the Covax programme, logistical issues and governments’ own inadequacies are making a bad situation worse

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Only 1% of the 1.3 billion vaccines injected around the world have been administered in Africa – and that comparative percentage has been declining in recent weeks. It is a stark figure that underlines just how serious a problem global vaccine inequity has become. But the answer for the developing world is not as simple as delivering more vaccines.

From Africa to Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean, the same issues have been replicated. On top of finding enough doses, there have been logistical difficulties with delivery, problems over healthcare infrastructure and, in some countries, public hesitancy towards vaccines.

Continue reading…

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/30/vaccine-inequality-exposed-by-dire-situation-in-worlds-poorest-nations
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Peter Beaumont

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Rich countries drained $152tn from the global South since 1960

Imperialism never ended, it just changed form.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/5/6/rich-countries-drained-152tn-from-the-global-south-since-1960
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Biden administration eyeing long-term increase in food stamps: report

The Biden administration is reportedly looking into increasing long-term food aid for millions of households, building on the temporary expanded benefits that were included as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 reli…

Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/551435-biden-administration-eyeing-long-term-increase-in-food-stamps-report
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Joseph Choi

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Ritchie Torres represents America’s poorest congressional district. He’s on a mission to save public housing.

Ritchie Torres already made history in 2013, when he became the youngest member of the New York City Council at 25. In 2021 he did it again becoming the first openly gay Afro-Latino person elected to Congress. Before getting here, he made waves demanding to be allowed in both the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses, writing an op-ed saying, “You have to pick a side, so to speak. You can be either Black or Latino, but never both. In real life, however, I am both.”

He won that battle and has quite a few more he plans to tackle while in Congress. At top of mind is child poverty, including a permanent expansion of the child tax credit. Torres grew up with a single mom in public housing (across the street from a Trump golf course) and is always thinking of that experience while representing the poorest district in Congress.

“And I remember wondering to myself at the time, what does it say about our society that we’re willing to invest more in a golf course than in the homes of Black and brown Americans?” Torres said.

One really interesting point of the conversation is his thoughts on defunding the police. While in the City Council, Torres called a proposal to cut the NYPD by 50 percent “arbitrary and irresponsible.”

“Almost none of my constituents want to defund policing by 50 percent. You would never know that listening to the intelligentsia, but that it’s absurd,” Torres said. “We want better policing. We don’t want a total defunding of police.”

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/26/ritchie-torres-new-117th-congress-freshman-members-diversity-2021-484443
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Eugene Daniels, Krystal Campos and Michael Cadenhead

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L.A. must offer shelter for homeless on Skid Row, judge orders

Judge David O. Carter slammed officials’ inability to restrain the unprecedented growth of homelessness.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/l-must-offer-shelter-homeless-skid-row-judge-orders-n1264791
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The Article Was Written/Published By: The Associated Press

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Poverty soared to a pandemic high last month

Black poverty was close to double that of the overall rate, and childhood poverty soared to 17.4 percent.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/poverty-soared-pandemic-high-last-month-n1264692
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Martha C. White

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‘People are not starving, they’re being starved’: millions at risk of famine, NGOs warn

Open letter backing UN call to action says Covid has exacerbated problems of conflict, climate crisis and inequality

World leaders are being urged to act immediately to stop multiple famines breaking out, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and caused by conflict, climate crisis and inequality.

In an open letter published on Tuesday to support the UN Call for Action to Avert Famine in 2021, hundreds of aid organisations from around the world said: “People are not starving – they are being starved.”

Continue reading…

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/apr/20/millions-at-risk-of-famine-without-urgent-help-governments-warned
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Sarah Johnson

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Global food prices continue to surge, hitting 7-year highs, UN says

A new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations shows that global food commodity prices rose in March, marking their tenth consecutive monthly increase.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in March, 2.1% higher than in February and reaching its highest level since June 2014. 

According to the FAO, the March increase was led by the vegetable oil price index, which rose 8% from the previous month to hit a nearly 10-year high, “with soy oil prices rising sharply due in part to the prospects of firm demand from the biodiesel sector.” 

Global food commodity prices rose in March for the tenth consecutive month, with quotations for vegetable oils and dairy products leading the rise.

World cereal production in 2021 expected to increase for the third consecutive year.

More: https://t.co/tb2BVv1kYw #foodprices pic.twitter.com/BATonHu9hw

— FAO Newsroom (@FAOnews) April 8, 2021

The dairy price index increased 3.9% from February, with “butter prices buoyed by somewhat tight supplies in Europe associated with increased demand in anticipation of a food-service sector recovery.” Milk powder prices also rose, supported by a surge in imports in Asia, particularly China, due to declining production in Oceania and scarce shipping container availability in Europe and North America.

The meat price index showed a 2.3% rise from February, according to the report. The agriculture organization pointed out that imports by China and a surge in internal sales in Europe ahead of the Easter holiday celebration underpinned increasing poultry and pig meat quotations. 

Also on rt.com

Covid pandemic could push more than a BILLION people worldwide into extreme poverty, UN warns

By contrast, the cereal price index dropped by 1.8%, but it is still 26.5% higher than in March 2020, the report said, adding: “Wheat export prices declined the most, reflecting generally good supplies and favourable production prospects for 2021 crops. Maize and rice prices also declined, while those for sorghum rose.”

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT’s business section

Source: https://www.rt.com/business/520594-global-food-prices-rise/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
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California to set aside 40 percent of vaccine doses for areas most at risk

California officials announced Thursday the state will set aside 40 percent of all coronavirus vaccine doses for people living in the most vulnerable neighborhoods who have been disproportionately impacted by the pa…

Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/541666-california-will-set-aside-40-percent-of-vaccine-doses-for-areas-most-at
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Celine Castronuovo

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Sudan declares states of emergency after protests over soaring food prices

As famine warnings are triggered and food is stolen from markets, the government blames supporters of ousted president al-Bashir

Seven regions of Sudan have declared states of emergency following violent protests against food price rises. Curfews have been imposed and schools have been forced to close in 10 cities across Darfur, North Kordofan, West Kordofan and Sennar. Buildings were looted and burned, and food was stolen from markets and shops. The regions are among the poorest in Sudan.

The joint military-civilian government believes supporters of the former president, Omar al-Bashir, are behind the protests. The government recently ordered the prosecution of members of Bashir’s party.

Continue reading…

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/16/sudan-declares-states-of-emergency-after-protests-over-soaring-food-prices
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Zeinab Mohammed Salih in Khartoum

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In Pictures: Desperation to migrate grows in battered Honduras

Poverty, gang violence, COVID-19 pandemic and devastation wrought by hurricanes are driving migration out of Honduras.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/2/15/in-pictures-desperation-grows-in-battered-honduras
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Dems try to shoehorn major child poverty reduction plan into Covid bill

Congressional Democrats will try to insert a major child poverty reduction proposal into their Covid relief package when it comes up for consideration in the next few weeks.

The proposal, details of which are still being finalized, would provide families a $3,600-per-child allowance for children under the age of 6 over the course of three years. and $3,000 per child for those between the ages of 6 and 17. The size of the benefit would grow smaller at certain yearly income levels — $75,000 for single parents and $150,000 for a couple’s aggregate total — and would be distributed on a monthly basis.

News of the proposal was first reported by The Washington Post. A copy of the proposed legislation — which is being spearheaded by House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) — was obtained by POLITICO.

“The pandemic is driving families deeper and deeper into poverty, and it’s devastating,” Neal said in a statement. “We are making the Child Tax Credit more generous, more accessible, and by paying it out monthly, this money is going to be the difference in a roof over someone’s head or food on their table. This is how the tax code is supposed to work for those who need it most, and so long as I am Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, it’s what you can expect to see from us.”

Experts say that such a measure would make a dramatic contribution in lowering child poverty, which has been worsened by the Covid pandemic. And, as of last week, there is bipartisan support for it with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) introducing child allowance legislation of his own.

But the likelihood of passage would still be remote given the slim Democratic majority in the Senate and the early Republican opposition to Romney’s proposal, in part because aid would be sent to both working and nonworking Americans.

And so, Democrats are pushing to include the measure as part of a reconciliation package that they are putting together in the coming weeks. Such a measure only requires 50 votes for passage in the Senate, but it could be axed if the Senate parliamentarian rules that it is extraneous to budget-related matters.

“There are worries about the Byrd rule,” said a congressional Democratic aide, referencing the rule governing such matters.

A Senate Democratic source said that they would be seeking to include it in their version as well.

A White House spokesperson said: “The President has made it a central priority of his first legislative proposal to cut child poverty in half this year through a child tax credit expansion in the American Rescue Plan, and looks forward to working with members of Congress on this legislation.”

News that Democrats will push to include a child allowance measure in their reconciliation package comes as President Joe Biden stated on Friday that he did not believe that another major provision — the hiking of the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour — would not survive a parliamentarian’s ruling. Several congressional Democrats on Sunday pressed leadership to find avenues to make a minimum wage hike reconciliation compliant.

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/07/democrats-child-poverty-covid-bill-466810
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Sam Stein

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What’s driving the recent COVID lockdown protests?

Financial hardship and uncertainty over the COVID pandemic fuelling anti-lockdown demonstrations, experts say.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/7/protests-over-new-covid-19-measures-whats-behind-them
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Food stamp spending jumped nearly 50 percent in 2020

Federal spending on the country’s largest nutrition assistance program increased by nearly 50 percent in 2020 amid the economic shock of the pandemic, according to newly released data from the Agriculture Department.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, still known to many as food stamps, cost nearly $90 billion in fiscal year 2020, USDA said Wednesday. That’s a major jump from just over $60 billion in 2019.

The why: The massive increase in cost is a result of two major factors: Some 8 million more Americans are getting aid, and benefit levels were increased by Congress on an emergency basis last spring to help blunt the effects of widespread business and school shutdowns.

There are now nearly 44 million individuals on the program, up more than 20 percent from about 36 million in 2019, according to the latest data. The average monthly benefit per person has jumped to $161, from about $130.

Roughly 5 million more households got help from the program in 2020 compared with 2019.

The backstory: The Trump administration had fallen behind on reporting data on SNAP participation, so the full picture of how the program expanded was not previously known.

The cost of SNAP had been steadily declining before Covid-19 as the economy improved and wages started to rise.

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/27/food-stamp-spending-2020-463241
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Helena Bottemiller Evich

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Americans join miles-long queues at food banks across the US as thousands face hunger during pandemic

States like California, Texas, Michigan, and New York report long food bank lines ahead of Thanksgiving

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-food-banks-thanksgiving-poverty-b1761426.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Danielle Zoellner

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Help the Hungry: Food poverty risks long-term psychological trauma, expert warns

‘Poverty is not just about a lack of money or food… It has an impact on hope,’ specialist tells Anna Davis

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/helpthehungry/food-poverty-trauma-royal-holloway-b1760384.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Anna Davis

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California city to guarantee cash payments for some low-income residents

A California city is rolling out a pilot program that will guarantee a basic income to some low-income families in the area, …

Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/521835-california-city-to-guarantee-basic-income-for-some-low-income-residents
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Cameron Jenkins

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