Health Care Giants Are Making Millions off of Unfair Medicare Overpayments
Health insurers have made millions of dollars off of overpayments from Medicare. The industry is gearing up to fight any effort for the government to demand that money back.
20406 Article(s) by: Karl Leffme
Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
When McCarthyism Came to a Small Town in Vermont
Vermont is widely acknowledged as avoiding the worst of Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist hysteria. But even there, people’s lives were needlessly upended and hurt because of the witch hunts McCarthy helped stoke.
Nurses at Two New York City Hospitals Just Won Historic Strike Victories
This week, 7,000 nurses at Montefiore Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital walked out and won significant victories on patient-staff ratios. Jacobin spoke with striking nurses at both hospitals.
Lula Has the Upper Hand After Last Sunday’s Riot of Bolsonaro Supporters
Bolsonaro supporters’ January 8 riot has left the Brazilian right divided over how to respond to the antidemocratic attacks. And that’s put Lula in a stronger position to shore up Brazil’s democracy.
You Don’t Have to Suffer Through Avatar: The Way of Water. Just Don’t.
For three whole hours, Avatar: The Way of Water evokes Important Issues — imperialism, colonialism, racism, sexism, ransacking the environment for commodifiable resources — in the silliest, shallowest way possible.
The US Should Learn From Brazil and Actually Punish Its Coup Plotters
The riots in Brazil have drawn Jan. 6 comparisons, but they’re even more reminiscent of a different episode: the Bolivian coup that liberals misguidedly backed. Another big difference from Jan. 6: Brazil is actually prosecuting its high-level coup plotters.
Kathy Hochul Is Failing New York
New York governor Kathy Hochul’s “State of the State” address Tuesday failed to address the challenges facing millions of New Yorkers. Instead, she offered more of the free-market centrism that has been disastrous for Democrats around the country.
Ron DeSantis’s Crusade Against “Wokeness” in Public Schools Isn’t Popular
Despite what major news outlets say, Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s attack on public schools is not the driving force behind his popularity. His recent success can be chalked up to a GOP-led voter registration effort and record-breaking campaign funds.
Lula Is Giving a Lesson in How to Respond to Right-Wing Attacks on Democracy
On January 8, far-right supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the seat of Brazil’s government in a scene reminiscent of the US Capitol riot. But President Lula, unlike the US government, is swiftly cracking down on the perpetrators.
After a Decades-Long Fight, Yale Graduate Student Workers Just Won Their Union
Graduate student workers at Yale University have been trying to unionize since the early 1990s; on Tuesday, they finally won a union election. Jacobin spoke with two Yale worker-organizers in the lead-up to the vote.
Deport Bolsonaro
Jair Bolsonaro is currently in Florida after fleeing Brazil to escape justice for his many crimes. There’s no reason to offer him safe haven — the US should kick him out immediately.
A Tiny Cut in the Military Budget That Probably Won’t Happen Is Causing Panic in Washington
The bipartisan establishment is having a freak-out over the prospect of a modest cut to the defense budget. It’s not clear it will actually happen — but even if it did, the gargantuan US military budget would still be wasteful and counterproductive.
Inflation Is About Class Struggle
Inflation is far from being a boring economic concept — it’s a question of who gets what in society, and how much power workers have versus bosses and shareholders.
The NHS Is Struggling Because of Years of Austerity
Britain’s National Health Service is in crisis, with sky-high and still-rising waiting lists and huge delays in emergency services. It’s the predictable result of over a decade of Tory-imposed austerity.
A Marxist View of Tolkien’s Middle Earth
J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy world is a medieval utopia with poverty and oppression airbrushed out of the picture. But Tolkien’s work also contains a romantic critique of industrial capitalism that is an important part of its vast popular appeal.
William Longbeard Was England’s First Revolutionary Leader
William Longbeard led a 12th-century revolt in London that forms a key part in the thread of class struggle that runs through English history. He deserves a place of honor in the radical tradition.
The Lie at the Heart of Politicians’ “Job Creation” Rhetoric
When they want to wage war or destroy the planet, American political elites are obsessed with “job creation.” When workers start accruing a modest amount of power, elites demand increased unemployment.
Over the Holidays, Congress Gave the Military an $860 Billion Budgetary Gift
At the end of last year, Joe Biden signed a $1.7 trillion budget bill that gives $1.1 trillion to the Pentagon, police, and prisons, including a whopping $860 billion for the military alone. So much for Build Back Better.
New York Nurses Are on Strike While Medical Executives Are Rolling in Cash
Nurses at two hospitals in New York City are on strike, fighting for wage increases and against chronic understaffing. Meanwhile, executives of these nonprofit institutions are making millions of dollars at the expense of patient care.
We Are Reversing Austerity in London’s Poorest Borough
I became mayor of London’s Tower Hamlets in May 2022. In seven months, I have put local services under public control, given money to poor high school students to continue their education, and proven that austerity is a political choice.