Trump Administration refuses to fund Food Assistance for Poor Families by AP, agencies USA   28 Oct. 2025   More than two dozen Democratic state attorneys general on Tuesday sued the Trump administration for withholding emergency food assistance that could help prevent 42 million people from going hungry next month, arguing that the US Department of Agriculture is legally obligated to ensure federal nutrition aid gets to people who rely on it.   With the US government shut down since October 1, the USDA said weeks ago that it could reprogram an emergency reserve held by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to ensure people don’t lose their benefits on November 1.   But last Friday a memo from the department claimed the emergency funds were to be used during disasters such as hurricanes and floods, and were “not legally available” for families set to lose their benefits due to the shutdown.   Officials from New York, Nevada, Minnesota, and other Democratic-led states are asking the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts to rule by October 31, on a motion to force the Trump administration to use the contingency fund to send at least partial payments to SNAP beneficiaries.   About $5 billion-$6 billion is estimated to be in the fund; before the shutdown, about $8 billion in benefits went out to families per month.   In the lawsuit, the attorneys general also argue that the USDA could use Section 32 funds, as it did to provide funding for the Women, Infants, and Children program, to continue funding SNAP in November.   The shutdown began when Democrats in Congress refused to vote with the Republican Party on a continuing resolution that would have allowed Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire at the end of the year, doubling the cost of health insurance premiums for over 20 million people.   The Trump administration has continued to place blame for the shutdown the Democrats, whom President Donald Trump refused to negotiate with over healthcare before government funding was cut off at the end of September.   “Terminating SNAP is a choice, and an overtly unlawful one at that,” says David Super, a constitutional law professor at Georgetown University. “The administration has chosen to hold food for more than forty million vulnerable people hostage to try to force Democrats to capitulate without negotiations.”   The USDA website on Tuesday amplified misinformation Republicans have spread, accusing Democrats of “holding out healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures” and claiming that “the well has run dry” for SNAP despite the emergency fund being available.   North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson accused the USDA of “playing an illegal game of shutdown politics” that could result in suffering for nearly 600,000 children in his state.   “They have emergency money to help feed children during this shutdown, and they’re refusing to spend it,” said Jackson. “I warned them last week that I would take them to court if they tried to hurt our kids, and today that’s what we’re doing.”   Economist Paul Krugman noted that “the Republican majority in the Senate could maintain aid by waiving the filibuster on this issue.”   “They have done this on other issues—for example, to roll back California’s electric vehicle standard,” he wrote. “But for today’s Republican Party, blocking green energy is more important than keeping 40 million Americans from going hungry.”   Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford accused the Trump administration of making a “deliberate, cruel, and extraordinarily harmful decision” to allow tens of thousands of people to go hungry.   “Contingency funds exist for this exact scenario, yet the USDA has abdicated its responsibility to Nevadans and refused to fund SNAP benefits,” said Ford. “I understand the stress of not knowing where you’re next meal is coming from, because I’ve lived it. I don’t wish that stress on any Nevadan, and I’ll fight to be sure nobody in our state goes hungry.”   “SNAP isn’t a political bargaining chip — it’s lifesaving help for working families, kids, and seniors,” Delaware Governor Matt Meyer said. “With tens of thousands of Delaware households set to lose SNAP benefits on November 1, I stand with Attorney General Jennings and my fellow governors in urging the court to restore SNAP funding immediately and protect access to food for every family that needs it.”   * The lawsuit is filed by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The Governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania have also joined:   http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26202185-mass-v-usda-snap-lawsuit http://www.npr.org/2025/10/27/nx-s1-5587255/snap-benefit-shutdown-contingency-fund-food-stamps http://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/snaps-contingency-reserve-is-available-for-regular-snap-benefits-as-usda http://democracyforward.org/updates/snap-lawsuit-filed/ http://democracyforward.org/updates/snap-statements/ http://www.hungerfreeamerica.org/en-us/national-hunger-hotline http://www.thenation.com/article/society/trump-food-stamps-snap-ending-hunger/ http://www.feedingamerica.org/about-us/press-room/feeding-america-shutdown-release-SNAP-funds http://hsph.harvard.edu/news/snap-funding-cuts-threaten-food-security-health http://childrensdefense.org/cdf-urges-u-s-senators-to-reject-harmful-budget-cuts-threatening-families-health-food-financial-security/   * 31/10/25   Federal judges order administration to pay SNAP benefits (NPR).   Two federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to use emergency funding to provide SNAP benefits for the 42 million people who rely on the program to feed their families. But it was unclear hours after the rulings how much assistance may be provided or when it might come.   In Rhode Island, U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell granted a temporary restraining order while saying ending SNAP payments would harm not only people, but also local economies. The judge said the Trump administration "must distribute" aid from emergency reserves as soon as possible. He also said it must submit a plan on how it would comply with his order. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston said the U.S. Department of Agriculture must use emergency funds to keep SNAP going. She also said other money is legally available.   3 Nov. 2025   With hundreds of thousands lining up at food banks across America the Trump Administration announced it will comply with the court orders and partially fund SNAP. It’s not clear how much beneficiaries will receive, or how quickly the benfits will be processed with some States taking up to 2 weeks.   “Trump should have paid full SNAP benefits all along,” said Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Just now paying the bare minimum to partially fund SNAP is not enough, and it is not acceptable.”   http://www.npr.org/2025/10/31/nx-s1-5592366/snap-food-benefits-judge-trump-administration-usda-wic http://apnews.com/article/snap-shutdown-lawsuits-deadline-4af8b0dec6cd31cddd023cc99c131b73 http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/pressreleases/federal-court-blocks-trump-administrations-attempt-cut-food-assistance-42-million http://democracyforward.org/updates/snap-tro-granted/ http://www.hungerfreeamerica.org/en-us/press_release/breaking-hunger-leader-reacts-to-federal-judges-or Visit the related web page
	In 2024 alone, billionaires’ wealth soared by $2 trillion while poverty barely budged by Oxfam, Development Finance International   Sep. 2025   Stand with Billions, Not Billionaires. Change the System. (Economic Justice Mobilisation)   We live in a critical moment in history. Humanity is confronted with massive economic and climate injustice, because the system is rigged — and we are all paying the price. This unjust economic system advantages rich countries to the detriment of poorer nations, fossil fuels over clean energy, and billionaire oligarchs over everyone else.   The super-rich and large corporations control the media, manipulate politicians and dodge taxes — increasing their political power and trapping billions of people in poverty.   While billionaires, big corporations and rich nations hoard wealth and power, climate disasters and crushing debt push billions deeper into poverty. The richest 1% pollute more than the poorest 66%, yet vulnerable communities bear the devastation — with floods, fires, and storms wiping out lives and livelihoods. The wealthiest countries owe an enormous debt for this damage, which impacts women, youth and marginalised groups the hardest.   At the same time, nearly one in three countries face a catastrophic debt crisis — the biggest in a generation. Instead of funding healthcare and schools, low-income countries are forced to pay billions to wealthy creditors, at crushing interest rates, while institutions like the IMF and World Bank impose brutal austerity. When public services fail, women and girls bear the heaviest burden, as they perform the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work.   At the heart of this injustice is an outdated global financial system that fuels inequality and the climate crisis. We must fight back — and there is a better way.   2025 is a Jubilee Year — a rare opportunity to cancel debts and start afresh. Let’s create a new financial system to prevent future debt crises, end austerity, create a progressive tax system and tackle climate change. We pledge to stand together and make our values and demands visible everywhere, so that every government feels the urgent pressure to act.   Here’s what we’re fighting for:   Cancel the Debt: End the debt crisis today by canceling unsustainable and illegitimate debts — no strings attached — and requiring rich countries to pay their climate debts to support communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis.   Change the System: Transform the outdated, rigged financial system with a fair, democratic and transparent one under the United Nations — including a binding debt framework and international tax convention. Everyone deserves a voice in shaping the future, not just a few billionaires.   Choose Hope and Justice: Debt cancellation cannot be done in isolation. To build just economies we must (a) tax the super-rich and large corporations to curb inequality, (b) guarantee public services including health care, education, and social protection for all, and (c) accelerate a just transition for people and planet, including a fair, equitable and timebound transition away from fossil fuels as well as the protection of biodiversity and community livelihoods.   But the clock is ticking. With only five years left to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, we're failing. At this rate, ending poverty will take 230 years—but the world's first trillionaire could emerge in less than a decade.   This is not a time to be defined by tyranny, oligarchy, exploitation, and greed. Instead, we are defined by our courage to fight for justice, our solidarity and a determination to build a just and equitable world. We can rewrite the rules. We can change the system. We choose Hope and Justice — for Billions, Not Billionaires.   * 1071 civil society organisations from 115 countries have signed the Economic Justice statement: http://economicjustice.global/   Aug. 2025 (Oxfam International)   In reaction to the United Nations’ 2025 edition of “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” (SOFI) report launched today, showing only a slight progress in reducing hunger and warning that over half a billion people could be chronically hungry by 2030—nearly 60% of them in Africa — Emily Farr, Oxfam’s Food and Economic Security Lead, said:    “We are witnessing the collapse of a moral contract. While some regions have seen some modest gains, the world is veering dangerously off track, leaving the poorest and more vulnerable behind. As top donors, including the G7, push through a historic 28% cut to aid by 2026, 2.6 billion people —over a third of humanity —still cannot afford a healthy diet. These are not just statistics. These are lives unravelling and futures stolen.   “This is not a crisis of scarcity — it is a crisis of inequality. Climate chaos, conflict unchecked, and broken policies—driven by greed and impunity—are tearing apart global food systems and entrenching inequality.   In 2024 alone, billionaires’ wealth soared by $2 trillion while poverty barely budged. Since 2015, the world’s richest 1% have amassed $33.9 trillion — enough to end global poverty 22 times over. Yet hunger persists, not by accident, but by design. As fields flood and crops wither, aid is slashed, and a few corporate giants profit from the wreckage.   Low-income countries are paying the highest price for a crisis they did not create. While global food price inflation peaked at 13.6 percent, it soared to 30 percent in the poorest economies— wiping out household budgets and access to food.   In Africa, 1 in 5 people remain chronically hungry, with women and children hit hardest by deep cuts in nutrition programs.   “We cannot afford a global food system built on injustice and indifference. Despite a modest improvement, we are nowhere the pace needed to meet global goals. The tide can still be turned, but only if governments act with urgency and unity: restore gutted aid, crack down on food profiteers, and invest in local farmers and local food systems that feed people, not profit margins.”   http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/oxfam-reaction-sofi-2025-rep   The richest 3,600 Europeans now hold as much wealth as the poorest 181 million. (Oxfam)   In 2025, the EU counted nearly 500 billionaires, 39 more than in 2024. In the last year alone, a new billionaire was created, on average, every 9 days in the EU. Altogether, the richest 3,600 Europeans now hold as much wealth as the poorest 181 million – equivalent to the populations of Germany, Italy and Spain combined.   Europe faces a deep inequality crisis: the richest 1% in the EU own nearly a quarter of all wealth while half the population shares just 3%. Decades of tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations has resulted in the super-rich paying proportionally less taxes than ordinary citizens, eroding fairness, democracy, and social cohesion. The EU lacks harmonized policies to curb extreme wealth concentration and tax avoidance of the wealthiest.   Decades of tax policies have been rigged to benefit the super-rich while squeezing ordinary people. Since the 1980s, EU governments have cut taxes for the super-rich and companies, while relying more heavily on taxes paid mainly by ordinary Europeans, such as wage and consumption taxes.   Today, 8 in every 10 euros of tax revenue in the EU comes from taxes paid primarily by ordinary Europeans. Corporate income tax, the tax companies pay on their profits, makes up just 9% and taxes on wealth only 0.4%. Ordinary Europeans mostly earn through wages, which are, on average, taxed at a higher rate. By contrast, the super-rich grow even richer while paying less, using investments and holding companies that are taxed at lower rates or not at all in some EU countries. Meanwhile, wealth itself is barely taxed.   Oxfam calls for bold reforms, such as an EU-wide or national tax on the super-rich and transparency mechanisms like an EU assets registry, to fund social needs, climate action, and development. Taxing the super-rich is widely supported, is feasible and is urgent.   http://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/a-european-agenda-to-tax-the-super-rich-a-solution-to-inequality-in-the-europea-621736/ http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/eu-billionaires-wealth-surges-over-eu400-billion-first-half-2025   Australia's tax system is providing huge tax discounts to the wealthiest, reports Oxfam Australia.   “Our tax system is deepening inequality because it fails to tax wealth. Today, billions of dollars in budget revenue is given away to the wealthiest in the form of tax discounts and because our tax system does not effectively tax the super-rich. Instead, it allows them to amass wealth and fund lavish lifestyles through untaxed growth in assets and investments. It’s time we tax income from wealth like wages, and that starts by scrapping the 50% capital gains discount on profits from sales of investments,” says Oxfam.   In a new report, The Elephant in the Room: Australia’s failure to tax wealth, presents new analysis showing what a wealth tax for Australia’s richest could raise. According to Oxfam Australia, if Australia’s 161 billionaires were taxed at a rate of 5% in 2025, this could have raised $33.5 billion alone.   $33.5 billion per year is enough to raise social support payments above the poverty line, build 50,000 new social housing properties a year, invest in better health and social services and offer greater support for international aid.   “Everywhere, ordinary people are feeling the squeeze from rising costs in housing, healthcare, transport, grocery prices. Yet while households struggle with cost of living pressures, our tax system allows unbridled wealth growth at the top and starves the budget of the revenue needed for the delivery of adequate public services. Wealth taxes and ending tax breaks that disproportionately benefit the rich and corporations are critical to funding health, housing, education and social security — the foundations of social cohesion and economic resilience,” said Dr. Muli.   http://media.oxfam.org.au/2025/10/24000-millionaires-pocket-half-of-capital-gains-tax-break-oxfam-australia/ http://media.oxfam.org.au/2025/06/number-of-australian-billionaires-more-than-doubles-in-10-years-turbocharging-inequality-oxfam http://www.oxfam.org.au/2025/01/takers-not-makers-how-billionaires-profit-while-billions-struggle   July 2025   Africa’s richest four hold more wealth than half the continent - Oxfam, Development Finance International   Today, just four of Africa’s richest billionaires hold $57.4 billion in wealth — more than the combined wealth of 750 million people, or half the continent’s population, according to a new Oxfam report.   The report – Africa’s inequality crisis and the rise of the super-rich – launched ahead of the African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, warns that the explosive concentration of wealth is accelerating inequality, driven by policies that enrich elites while starving public services.   Fati N’Zi-Hassane, Director, Oxfam in Africa, said:   “Africa’s wealth is not missing. It’s being siphoned off by a rigged system that allows a small elite to amass vast fortunes while denying hundreds of millions even the most basic services. This is an utter policy failure —unjust, avoidable and entirely reversible."   Africa is one of the most unequal regions in the world and has some of the highest poverty rates. Nearly half (23) of the world’s 50 most unequal countries are African, while extreme poverty has soared: seven in ten people living in extreme poverty today are in Africa, compared to just one in ten in 1990. Hunger is also worsening, with nearly 850 million Africans experiencing hunger — an increase of 20 million since 2022.   Despite deepening poverty and widening inequalities, African governments remain the least committed globally to narrowing the gap — slashing budgets for public services like education, health and social protection, while imposing some of the world’s lowest wealth taxes on the ultra-rich.   On average, the continent collects just 0.3% of GDP in wealth taxes. This is less than any other region and well below Asia (0.6%), Latin America (0.9%), and OECD countries (1.8%). Over the past decade, that already meagre share has dropped by nearly 25%.   For each dollar African countries raise from personal income and wealth taxes, they collect nearly three dollars from indirect taxes like Value Added Tax (VAT) — levies that deepen inequality.   The consequences are glaring. Half of Africa's population live in 19 countries where income inequality has worsened or stagnated over the past decade. The richest 5% in Africa now hold nearly $4 trillion in wealth, more than double the combined wealth of the remaining 95% of the continent’s population.   Fatouma, a mother of 10 children who sells vegetables in El Afweyn, Somalia says: "Meat is a luxury we cannot afford in many homes. I earn about two dollars a day while the price of one kilo of flour has tripled."   As debt burdens mount, governments across the continent are squeezing the poor – gutting essential public services – while shielding the wealthiest from fair taxation.   An earlier report by Oxfam and Development Finance International found that 94% of African countries with active World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans (44 out of 47 countries) have slashed spending on education, health and social protection in 2023-2024 to repay debt. This significantly undermines the AU’s goal of reducing inequality by 15% over the next 10 years.   “The solution is not far-fetched: tax the rich and invest in the majority. Anything less is a betrayal. If African leaders are serious about their commitments, they must stop rewarding the few and start building economies that work for everyone,” added N’Zi-Hassane.   Some African governments are already proving that fairer economies are possible. Morocco and South Africa collect 1.5% and 1.2% of their GDP from property taxes, respectively — among the highest in the continent. In Seychelles, the poorest 50% have seen their income share grow by 76% since 2000, while the richest 1% have lost two-thirds of theirs. The government also guarantees universal healthcare, free quality education, along with a robust welfare system for the most vulnerable.   A modest tax on Africa’s richest - just 1% more on wealth and 10% more on income – could generate $66 billion a year for the continent (2.29% of Africa’s GDP), according to the report. This would be more than enough to close the funding gaps needed to deliver free quality education and provide electricity to every home and business still in the dark.   "Every African woman, man and child deserves to live in dignity. When a handful of billionaires are allowed to hoard obscene wealth while millions are trapped in poverty, the system becomes not just broken but morally bankrupt. As leaders meet for AU Summit, delay is indefensible. Taxing the super-rich isn’t just fair — it’s essential for building the Africa we want," said N’Zi-Hassane.   http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/africas-richest-four-hold-more-wealth-half-continent-oxfam http://www.oxfam.org/en/research/africas-inequality-crisis-and-rise-super-rich http://www.equals.ink/p/the-rise-of-africas-super-rich-part http://www.equals.ink/p/taxing-africas-super-rich-part-2 http://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/the-commitment-to-reducing-inequality-index-2024-621653/
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