Rich richer, poor poorer

US corporate profits are soaring in the midst of the deepest economic slump since the Great Depression, on the basis of a ruthless policy of using mass unemployment to slash wages and heighten the exploitation of American workers: here.

The combined net worth of the world’s billionaires has reached a new high in 2015 of $7.05 trillion, according to the latest compilation published by Forbes magazine on Monday. There are a record 1,826 billionaires, each with an average wealth of $3.8 billion. Relative to last year, the world’s billionaires have increased their combined wealth by more than 10 percent, from $6.4 trillion in 2014, while the total number of billionaires has grown by 11 percent: here.

Tens of thousands of distressed homeowners line up for assistance in Los Angeles: here.

USA: Firefighters were told to stand down as a family’s home burned because they had not paid a fee for fire protection: here.

A matter of days after losing everything they owned, including their home, their pets — everything — and all because of a delinquent $75 fee, Gene Cranick and his family were excoriated and teased by multimillionaire celebrity televangelist Glenn Beck: here.

Cash-Strapped States Resurrect “Debtors’ Prisons“: here.

Asian-Americans Out Of Work Longer: here.

A new study reports increasing social polarization among German youth and registers growing opposition by young people to capitalism: here.

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• U.S. is the only developed country with no guaranteed paid vacation or holidays (washingtonpost.com)
• Is a Richer City Making the Suburbs Poorer? (blogs.villagevoice.com)
• Today’s News: MP calls for action on gulf between rich and poor schools in the North East (journallive.co.uk)