NBA Coach Van Gundy Says Whites ‘Ones Who are Racist’ and More News

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Stan Van Gundy, the coach of the NBA’s Pelicans, says Whites “are the ones who are racist…This is wrong and we need to correct things”; US billionaires got $931 billion richer in 2020; 500 teens in mall brawl and more news.

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NBA coach says whites are the ones who are racist

Coach of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans Stan Van Gundy said Whites are “the ones who are racist.” Speaking out on ESPN’s “The Undefeated” last week, Van Gundy said whites need to correct the wrongdoings imposed upon Black people, Daily Wire reported.

“We’re the ones that are racist,” Van Gundy said. “It’s a white person’s problem that affects people of color, and so we’re the ones who have to change.”

“Certainly you want to promote Black voices, right?” Van Gundy continued. “But if they’re the only ones speaking out, a lot of people just push it aside. There needs to be people saying, ‘No, wait a minute. This is wrong, and we need to correct these things. ’”

America’s billionaires got $931 billion richer this year

While the pandemic devastated the economy of the United States and many Americans struggled with joblessness or work reductions, America’s billionaires grew $931 billion richer in 2020.

A report by USA Today identified the 30 billionaires in America whose wealth saw the greatest increase the most during the pandemic. Among the names were well-known billionaires such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the richest person in the world whose $90.1 billion growth in wealth alone accounts for almost 10% of the total increase enjoyed by American billionaires this year. Entrepreneur and Tesla founder Elon Musk moved into the number two spot for richest person in the world. Also profiting is the third richest person in the world, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

The richest man in the world, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, saw his company increase its profits by 70 percent as the pandemic forced more Americans to shop online. Amazon said its profits were driven by its “Prime members [shopping] with greater frequency and across more categories than before the pandemic began,” Unilad reported.

Wealthy squeeze out small business

While the wealth of larger corporations helped them stem the tide of the pandemic, while independent shops and restaurants were not capable of withstanding the loss of foot traffic, causing many to close down. At the same time, the wealth accumulated by these large companies isn’t necessarily tricking down to employees. As evidenced by the story that follows…

Half-century of tax cuts has failed to trickle down

Trickle-down economics is the theory that tax cuts on businesses trickle their way down and boost the income and jobs of everyone else.

But a new study from the London School of Economics says 50 years of such tax cuts have only helped one group — the rich, CBS reported.

A new study by David Hope of the London School of Economics and Julian Limberg of King’s College London examined 18 developed countries over a 50-year period from 1965 to 2015. The research compared countries that passed tax cuts in a specific year, such as the U.S. in 1982 when US President Ronald Reagan drastically reduced taxes on the wealthy, with those that didn’t, and then examined their economic outcomes.

The study found that per capita gross domestic product and unemployment rates were nearly identical after five years in countries that reduced taxes on the rich and in those that didn’t.

However, the study did find one thing that was apparent: The incomes of the rich grew much faster in countries where tax rates were lowered. The research found that instead of trickling down to the middle class, the wealthy held onto their gains. The research indicated that tax cuts for the wealthy may not accomplish anything more than helping the rich keep more of their riches and worsen income inequality.

Nearly 500 teens involved in massive brawl at Independence Center Mall

Nearly 500 teenagers were involved in a massive fight that occurred on Saturday night at independence Center Mall in Independence, Missouri, authorities say. Teens left the center then created problems at a strip mall across the street, according to the Independence Police Department, who say as many as 500 people were involved.

Authorities say they arrested six adults and four juveniles. Police say they believe this is part of a bigger problem. In October, a similar event at the mall involved 300 juveniles, KMBC-ABC9 reported.