Billionaires have been doing EXTREMELY well during the pandemic. While $6.5 trillion in household wealth disappeared, billionaires have made over $584 billion since the pandemic hit! On top of that, there’s another disturbing way the ultra-wealthy have been benefiting.
Many people have focused on petty theft during protests, and Trump sent in federal troops to respond to looting.
Meanwhile, much larger white-collar crimes like securities fraud, antitrust violations, and corporate misconduct are being prosecuted at a RECORD LOW under Trump. This is really insulting to Black America.
Many Black businesses have closed their doors and Black unemployment has skyrocketed. Looting is tied to poverty, gentrification, inequality, and police violence.
But financial crimes – to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars – have been punished less and less! It tells you what this nation's priorities really are.
Police funding is growing to punish poor people for looting – while the SEC, the agency that polices financial markets, is way underfunded.
Punishing vulnerable people seems to be a higher priority for the U.S. than stopping major crimes.
The legal system is designed to benefit some and throw away others. Black people bear the brunt of this. Policing, prisons, and punishment were meant for us by design. Seeing white-collar crime go unpunished is just evidence this system is not for us AT ALL.