Trump’s Prescription for Poverty: Forced Psychiatry and the Criminalization of Homelessness

Trump order pushes forcible hospitalization of homeless people

Related:

Trump Pushes Policies That ‘Treat Homelessness and Mental Illness as a Crime’

New Research Shows Risks of Coercive Psychiatric Treatment

A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is raising difficult but necessary questions about a practice that affects hundreds of thousands of lives each year: involuntary psychiatric hospitalization.

This equates to a 79% increase in risk of being charged with a violent crime, and almost a doubled risk of dying by suicide or overdose, in the three months following evaluation for hospitalization.

The researchers also found hospitalization often caused destabilization. It led to declines in employment and earnings, and increased use of homeless shelters. It did not lead to better outpatient care or more consistent medication use.

Tricking Veterans: Using Suicide and Mental Health Struggles as a Guise for Privatizing the VA

While attention remains focused on the looming crisis of Department of Veterans Affairs employees facing termination, an even more ominous threat to veterans’ health care advances unnoticed through the halls of Congress

Tricking Veterans: Using Suicide and Mental Health Struggles as a Guise for Privatizing the VA

Previously:

Speak Up Before VA Health Care Is Gutted #Project2025

Taxpayers ARE on hook for bank bailout – and could even fund bankers’ bonuses

As regulators rush through emergency measures to prevent further chaos following the disastrous collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, there’s a point they’re very keen to emphasize: this is not a bailout.

Taxpayers ARE on hook for bank bailout – and could even fund bankers’ bonuses

Related:

Joe Biden stuck around just long enough to lie about who’s on the hook for SVB bailout

Russia’s “Sanction-Proof” Trade Corridor to India Frustrates the Neocons

by Conor Gallagher

Russia, Iran, and India are speeding up efforts to complete a new transport corridor that would largely cut Europe, its sanctions, and any other threats out of the picture. The International North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) is a land-and sea-based 7,200-km long network comprising rail, road and water routes that are aimed at reducing costs and travel time for freight transport in a bid to boost trade between Russia, Iran, Central Asia, India.

Russia’s “Sanction-Proof” Trade Corridor to India Frustrates the Neocons

H/T: Alex Christoforou

US Treasury recommends exploring creation of a digital dollar

The Biden administration is moving one step closer to developing a central bank digital currency, known as the digital dollar. Administration officials say it’d help reinforce the U.S. role as a leader in the world financial system.

US Treasury recommends exploring creation of a digital dollar

H/T: PFYT2

Related:

A digital dollar would allow Americans to directly open up an account at the Fed

And while some have suggested that the Fed could potentially launch a digital dollar on a public network like Ethereum, Luther suspects that it would instead choose to launch on its own dedicated blockchain.

“A public blockchain would limit the government’s ability to control access and monitor transactions. I am not convinced it will give up control and oversight, even if doing so would be in the best interest of society.”

Fed’s Powell: a U.S. digital dollar could help maintain international primacy

The development of an official digital version of the U.S. dollar could help safeguard its global dominance as other countries issue their own, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday, weighing in with generally positive remarks on a hot-button topic at the central bank that has left policymakers divided.

Ten countries have already launched central bank digital currencies and another 105 countries are exploring the option, according to the Atlantic Council, leading to fears the dollar could lose some of its dominance to China.

Inflation and financial risk

Is inflation coming back in the major capitalist economies? As the US economy (in particular) and other major economies begin to rebound from the COVID slump of 2020, the talk among mainstream economists is whether inflation in the prices for goods and services in those economies is going to accelerate to the point where central banks have to tighten monetary policy (ie stop injecting credit into the banking system and raise interest rates). And if that were to happen, would it cause a collapse in the stock and bond markets and bankruptcies for many weaker companies as the cost of servicing corporate debt rises?

Inflation and financial risk