US company profits soar

US Treasury figures released on March 31 have revealed that US company profits soared 13.5% to US$1.3 trillion in the last quarter of last year, boosted by "labour's weak bargaining power". This brings profits to the highest portion of US income since 1968. The findings came the day before worldwide mobilisations outside the embassies of G7 countries, protesting growing wealth disparity and demanding debt cancellation. A statement by Global Call to Action Against Poverty pointed out that 50,000 people die from poverty every day; a child dies from preventable disease every three seconds; and there are 550 million working poor in the world. Yet, poor countries spend more on debt repayment than on health.

From Green Left Weekly, April 6, 2005.

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From GLW issue 621