On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Lord John Bird, founder of the Big Issue. He discusses Boris Johnson’s decision to end homelessness practically overnight due to the coronavirus pandemic, why homelessness is a political decision, how coronavirus forced the government to reckon with equality and end homelessness temporarily, the prospect of 500,000 homeless due to a coronavirus economic collapse, his calls for banning evictions for two years until the coronavirus crisis has been weathered, why a rise in homelessness would be ultimately more expensive for the government, how Britain has a tradition of being progressive at home and being reactionary abroad, and more!
Finally, we speak to Omar Ocampo, co-author of the ‘Billionaire Bonanza 2020: Wealth Windfall, Tumbling Taxes and Pandemic Profiteers’ report. He discusses how inequality is an ‘American pre-existing condition,’ the astronomical growth of the wealth of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos during the Covid-19 pandemic which has at the same time rendered 40 million Americans jobless, how Amazon is arguably risking the lives of its workers while Bezos gets richer, how the rich avoid paying taxes through philanthropy and charity, how the government ends up borrowing money from billionaires, how taxes paid by billionaires have fallen 80 percent between 1980-2018, and more!
