The global death toll from COVID-19 has reached six million—and nearly one million of those deaths are from the United States alone. Let’s do the math: that means the U.S. accounts for 4 percent of the world population but nearly 17 percent of its COVID deaths. Why is that?

“We should recognize that disasters can be better or worse depending on how those in government and those with economic power respond,” says journalist John Nichols. “They too frequently failed the American people [during the pandemic], and that’s why we have a higher death rate than other countries.”

Meanwhile, as vulnerable Americans have suffered devastating health and economic consequences from two years of COVID, the billionaire class has expanded.

It’s time to hold these pandemic profiteers accountable, says John Nichols. That’s the theme of his latest book, Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers: Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis. Today, he joins guest host Bert Zipperer to discuss.

John Nichols is the national affairs correspondent for The Nation, a contributing writer for The Progressive and In These Times, and the associate editor of the Cap Times. He’s the author of over a dozen books, including Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers: Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis (Verso, 2022).

 

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