US Poverty Rate Increases as Pandemic Aid Ends and Inflation Persists

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Dr. Jack Rasmus, economist, radio show host, & author of 'The Scourge of Neoliberalism' to discuss a report from the Census Bureau documenting that the poverty rate increased to 12.4% as pandemic aid expired and prices increased, how much of the spending on pandemic aid has now been re-routed toward war spending, why the issue of inflation may still be persistent despite the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, and how these issues might affect the political aspirations of the Democratic Party.

In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Ricardo Vaz, political analyst & editor at Venezuelanalysis.com to discuss the visit by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to China and the elevation of relation between the two countries, what this relationship will mean for Venezuela as it continues to deal with US sanctions, and how this relates to ongoing developments with the BRICS economic grouping and the growing trend toward a multipolar world system.

In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Amir Khafagy, an award-winning journalist based out of New York City who you can follow on Twitter @AmirKhafagy91 to discuss undocumented workers who cleaned up in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks and how many are still trying to gain citizenship while also dealing with the health effects of working at Ground Zero, how this impacts the mythologies created after 9/11 and pokes holes in the idea of unity in the aftermath of the attacks, why many politicians have ignored calls from these undocumented workers for relief from the adverse health outcomes they are suffering, and how this demonstrates the position of undocumented workers in the economy of New York City.

Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Ajamu Baraka, National Organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace to discuss the indictment of Hunter Biden on gun-related charges and how it relates to the weaponization of the US legal system against activists, the connections between Russiagate and ongoing repression against activists like the African People's Socialist Party and how that repression is based on a racial concept, and how the two major anniversaries of September 11th in Chile and in the US demonstrate a phenomenon of imperial blowback that is continuing to play out all over the world.

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