Joe Wilkins is an orchestral conductor, composer, and tubist.
For years, Puerto Rico has endured a ruthless campaign of austerity and privatization, including a corporate takeover of its once-public power grid. The result: nearly a quarter-million people have been without power for over two weeks since Hurricane Fiona.
American businesses received billions of dollars to continue providing jobs during the pandemic. But workers haven’t seen much of that money — so where did it all go? In one typical Michigan town, it seems to have gone straight into employers’ pockets.