Truthout is a vital news source and a living history of political struggle. If you think our work is valuable, support us with a donation of any size.
Washington, DC – The UN General Assembly passed a historic resolution to begin treaty negotiations to enact a global bankruptcy process and stop predatory hedge funds. The resolution passed by a super-majority vote of 124-11 with 41 abstentions. The US voted no along with 10 other countries. The bankruptcy process could make it more difficult for hold-out investors to block countries from debt restructuring and could limit future defaults.
“The strong majority vote shows how powerful the global consensus is to stop predatory financial behavior,” noted Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious debt relief organization, Jubilee USA. “If we are going to solve what global leaders believe is the root cause of inequality, we need a bankruptcy system in place.” LeCompte serves on UN expert groups working to create an international bankruptcy process.
Adam Smith, founder of modern economics, argued in favor of a sovereign country bankruptcy process. The United Nations resolution passed in the wake of Argentina’s legal dispute with hold-out investors and predatory hedge funds. During today’s session of the UN General Assembly the United States government argued that there needs to be more stability in the global financial system and an end to predatory behavior. However, the US government was one of a handful of countries who voted against the resolution while defending a market-based solution.
“The United States has led for 15 years on debt relief and has been a powerful voice against predatory behavior,” said LeCompte. “I along with the entire faith community is so deeply saddened that the US government voted against our debt relief efforts. Our leaders failed us today.”
Important Message: Please Read
For 25 years, Truthout has survived by publishing impactful investigative journalism and analysis; distributing full editions 365 days a year; and building a community of readers who support us with small, hard-earned donations.
Eighty percent of our $3 million yearly budget comes from small donors alone. Of those, 8,000 readers support us with monthly donations. Back in 2018, when Facebook decided to suppress the circulation of posts made by organizations, thereby cutting readers off from seeing many articles shared by the news organizations they had intentionally decided to follow, Truthout’s total traffic declined by 40 percent, as nearly all of our traffic from that platform disappeared.
Now, Google has recently rolled out its AI search bar, providing AI summaries instead of directing readers to our site. Google Search is our single largest source of traffic; it’s the route by which nearly one third of our readers find us. Much like in 2018, a shocking 40 percent of our Google traffic has disappeared overnight.
It will not be easy for Truthout to shoulder this blow. Nor will it be easy for our peers and collaborators — news sites that depend on traffic and aren’t bankrolled by large corporations.
If you can support Truthout with a donation today, you can help us resist the AI onslaught. Please give today.