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Labor mobilizes votes for health care bill

Mark Gruenberg — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:48:00 -0400

WASHINGTON (PAI)--The drive by Democratic President Barack Obama and congressional Democratic leaders to pass health care reform came down to the wire the weekend of March 19. The AFL-CIO Executive Council voted March 18 to support the Senate-passed health care bill, despite all its flaws.

Leaders of 3 million-member unions weighed in to drum up support for the legislation, while other unions were part of a joint effort for the cause.

The fed's decision could sway some votes in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., acting with President Obama, is trying to stitch together a 216-member majority -- among the current 431 representatives -- for the Senate-passed health care overhaul.

"After 60 years of fighting for health care reform, we are convinced that now is the time to say 'yes,'" Trumka said after the council meeting. "The health care bill is good for working families, now and in the future."

But, Trumka also said the plan still needs improvements, alluding to the problems with the Senate bill, which includes the lack of a "public option" and a tax on "high-value" insurance. Labor vociferously opposes such a tax.

Nevertheless, Trumka called it "landmark legislation" and promised labor would continue to battle the nation's insurers over future changes.

As part of her lobbying to get the Senate's bill through the House and to the president's desk, Speaker Pelosi promised upset pro-worker lawmakers that a measure fixing the Senate-passed health care plan -- including postponing the 40% excise tax until 2018 -- would be part of a second bill vote immediately afterwards.

It would pass by a special budget bill procedure, reconciliation, to ban a Senate GOP filibuster.

Money-saving is the key, because then the second bill full of such "fixes" could be voted on in the Senate under special "reconciliation" rules that require only 51 votes and avoid a GOP filibuster.

Pelosi's latest convert was Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who voted "no" on the House version of the health care bill because it did not allow any path -- even state by state -- for government-run single-payer health care coverage, abolishing the insurance companies, their high premiums and co-pays, denial of care and 44,780 annual deaths.

Union leaders in northeast Minnesota told PAI they were assured another doubter, Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., would vote "yes," too. Yet another, Rep. John Boccieri, D-Ohio, was still getting pressure from all sides.

Millions of dollars in advertising, thousands of e-mails and phone calls, personal calls by the president and grassroots demonstrations all targeted the final undecided Democrats.

In a full-page ad, United Food and Commercial Workers President Joe Hansen thanked Obama "for showing us the way forward on health care reform." Then he declared: "The House must act swiftly on the framework you have provided. Delay is not an option for working people.

"The men and women who check groceries, stock shelves, cut meat, make soup, clean buildings, care for children, care for the sick and aged -- including tens of millions of part-time workers -- are counting on Congress to enact the foundation of a health care system that will serve all Americans," Hansen's union said in the ad.

Teamsters President James Hoffa and AFSCME President Gerald McEntee also spoke out, with McEntee urging members and allies to contact Congress by phone or e-mail. He concentrated on the House, which has turned into a battleground on the health plan.

"Insurance industry operatives and Republican talking heads you see on cable TV say we need to start over and spend another year -- or another decade -- before we pass reform. They twist the facts to say that the public opposes reform, but what the public really opposes are attempts to water down or kill reform to keep the insurance companies happy," McEntee's message said.

"The bill would end the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage to those who have pre-existing conditions -- or deny coverage when you get sick. It would require insurance companies to pay for preventive care. It would allow parents to keep their unemployed children on their policies until they turn 26. And it would end taxpayer funded subsidies to Big Insurance...The opportunity to end insurance company abuses is a moment for which we worked long and hard. It is a vote that will affect our children, and their children. The time has come to pass health care reform," McEntee declared.

Hoffa also urged Teamsters to get their representatives to agree to the Senate's health care bill, however flawed, thus sending it to Obama.

The bill's 40% excise tax on the value of health care plans above a minimum of $27,500 per family draws the ire of union presidents and their members -- ire Hoffa shares.

"We fought against this tax because it was the right thing to do," he said.

Nevertheless, "Now is the time to get this done," the Teamsters leader said of health care revision.

"Teamster members have solid health care coverage, but the outrageous cost of insurance is hurting our employers and dragging down the economy. Working families cannot afford a health care system that allows a for-profit insurance company to increase premiums by 39%, the way Anthem Blue Cross did in California recently. The burden on working people is too great. The plan...will provide insurance to millions of Americans who don't have it and control costs for millions more who do."

Arrayed against the bill were the GOP, the Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, right-wing lobbies, about a thousand "tea party" zealots who descended on Congress on March 16 and -- of course -- the insurance companies. Insurers spent $20+ million on TV ads.

Photo: Union members are part of many street heat demonstrations for health care across the country. Progress Ohio/http://www.flickr.com/photos/progressohio/ / CC BY 2.0

Women's history: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, the Rebel Girl

Tony Pecinovsky — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:36:00 -0400

In honor of Women's History Month, the seventh article in our series on the Communist Party's 90th Anniversary will survey a few documents written by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, one of the most prominent women Communists in U.S. history.

Flynn was a labor leader, activists and feminist. At 16, she gave her first speech, "What Socialism Will Do for Women." For her political activities, Flynn was expelled from high school.

By 1907, Flynn had become a full-time organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World, the IWW, where she helped organize union campaigns among garment workers, silk weavers, restaurant workers and textile workers. In 1920, Flynn helped to found the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU, where she helped organize the defense of Sacco and Vanzetti, among other union and labor activists.

Flynn was also concerned with women's rights. She supported access to birth control and women's suffrage, and criticized some unions for being male-dominated. In 1936, Flynn joined the Communist Party and started to write for the Daily Worker. By 1938, she was elected to the CP's National Committee. (It was due to her Party membership the ACLU kicked her off of their board of directors.)

During WWII, Flynn played an important role in the campaign for equal economic opportunity and pay for women workers. In 1942, Flynn ran for Congress in New York and received 50,000 votes. By 1948, McCarthyism had become the law of the land and top leaders of the CP were thrown in jail. In 1951, Flynn was arrested under the provisions of the Smith Act and thrown in jail for two years.

Flynn was elected as the national chair of the Communist Party in 1961. She visited the Soviet Union many times, where she died on September 5, 1964. Her remains were flown to the United States. She is buried at Waldheim Cemetery near the graves of Eugene Dennis, Bill Haywood and the Haymarket Martyrs. She wrote two autobiographical books, "The Rebel Girl" and "The Alderson Story: My Life As a Political Prisoner."

The first document we will look at is titled "Women in the War," published in 1942. Flynn starts her document by making very clear her stance in the struggle against fascism.

She writes, "We cannot live complacently in a world where homes are destroyed, children starved, women raped, religion violently suppressed, democracy stamped out, minority group's exterminated, human dignity degraded. There can be no peace and happiness for all people until Nazi-Fascism is destroyed.

"Our security, honor, self-respect, humanity, demand that we win this just war. There can be no compromise with savagery and slavery."

Flynn quickly connects the struggle for women's rights and African American equality, and demonstrates how both can lead to greater national unity on the war front. "The Negro people and women must have access to all jobs and professions. This is democracy. To deny it is to disrupt national unity and cripple production in a critical war period. Victory is at stake."

Flynn also makes the point that the fight for equality in war production will have a long-term impact on women and African American rights long-after the war is over. "Women's role in industry, like that of the Negro people, is not of a temporary nature...there were ten million women employed in 1930, two and a half million more than in 1920. Many more will remain in industry after this war..."

Additionally, Flynn writes, "Work is the right of all, regardless of sex, color, creed or language. A lack of clarity on this creates discord in families and shops, indifference in unions, and insecurity among women workers, just as discrimination causes the deepest resentment among Negro workers."

Flynn concludes the pamphlet with, "The voice of women must be heard in the highest councils of the trade union movement and the government. Let us overcome our past shortcomings now in the white heat of a war for human liberation."

The second document is titled "Stool-pigeon," and was written in 1949, just after the top leaders of the Communist Party were thrown in jail. Written in the heat of the moment, the document reflects the emotion and anger of the McCarthyite times.

Flynn starts the document by questioning the right of the government to indict the leaders of the Communist Party based on a warped notion of what they are supposed to think, rather than what they actually think.

"This is a trial of a political party's right to advocate its principles of socialism as it defines them, not as they are set forth falsely in the indictment...It is the first trial of a political party in our country, not for what it does, but for what it thinks.

"Here is an ideological frame-up, built on books, pamphlets, papers, school outlines, speeches, as a motley crew of stool pigeons interprets them."

Flynn them defines what a stool pigeon is. "Stool pigeons," she writes, " are usually private detectives hired by employers or company agents, despised as 'finks,' tools of the bosses, by all honest workers...Throughout human history there has been scorn and contempt for one who betrays what he pretends loyally to support, and by shamming sincerity gains the confidence of his fellows. Judas Iscariot is the best known example."

Flynn also put the trade union movement on notice and warns them that the stool pigeon will be used against them as well. "Some trade unionists, whose experience in the class struggle may be limited, say: 'Let the Communist worry! What does it got to do with me?' Well, brother, better take your head out of the sand...Any worker could be their [stool pigeon] victim...When they were spying against Communists they were doing it against the labor movement..."

Flynn concludes her impassioned plea with the following: "In this three-ringed circus a fair and impartial hearing is impossible. The contempt technique is used to jail men and women who refuse to be informers...Remember in Germany and all fascist countries - the Communists were outlawed, but so were all people's parties, the unions, the women's organizations. All democratic rights and institutions disappeared. Act now - before fascism is upon us."

Eventually Flynn was herself indicted under the infamous Smith Act and served two years in prison. Stool pigeon testimony was used to deny her constitutional rights.

The text of Flynn's opening statement to the court, where she acted as her own defense, was printed in July 1952 under the title "Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Speaks To The Court."

Flynn said, "Our ideas may be new and strange to you. Probably you have never seen or met a Communist before. We don't ask you to agree with us but to listen with an open mind and not to accept as gospel truth the sensational tales of stool-pigeons and planted agents who will be the government's chief, if not sole, witness."

Flynn took on the charge that the Communist Party intended to over-throw the U.S. government by force and violence. "I came to the conclusion that socialism could be achieved, not by one splurge of violence, but by the persistent political activities of the workers and the people. And so in order to participate in political activities in the effort to achieve socialism, I joined the Communist Party."

Flynn also outlines her life's work, her childhood and upbringing, as well as many of the struggles she and other communist led and participated in.

In closing she quotes Abraham Lincoln: "This country with its institutions belongs to the people who inhabit it."

And then she adds, "We are asking you [the court] to decide this case on the evidence, or, more correctly, may I say, on the lack of evidence which we are confident will be glaringly revealed long before this trial is over..."

Ultimately, the Smith Act was declared unconstitutional and Flynn and the other Communist Party leaders were freed.

Photos: CPUSA archives, Tamiment Library, NYU

Women's History Month event honors women in unions

John Rummel — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:29:00 -0400

DETROIT - In Recognition of Women's History Month, the Civil Rights Committee of the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO showed the film "Norma Rae."

Committee co-chair Michele Artt said a lot of thought went into picking this film. "The committee viewed a number of DVDs looking for the right one. First we wanted to honor women in unions and their struggle for equal pay. With so many people discouraged, we needed a movie having a positive outlook; one showing working people on the winning side. We really feel gains are possible when people unite and of course, the movie sends a great message to all women."

The film starring Sally Field, a winner of several academy awards, does just that.

It's based on the 1975 true story of Crystal Lee Sutton, a 33 year old mother of three, earning $2.65 an hour folding towels at the J.P. Stevens plant in Roanoke Rapids, N.C. Low pay and unsafe working conditions compelled her to take a leading role in efforts to unionize the plant. Who could ever forget the scene where Field stands on her workbench table holding a white sign with the black letters spelling UNION?

Sutton lost her battle with brain cancer on September 11, 2009.

April Smith, a retired teacher said, "It's hard to believe it took until the 70's to organize that plant - and now many of those jobs are gone.

"Due to the loss of manufacturing jobs, having decent jobs and decent wages is more of an issue today for women and families."

As I walked out, the words to the Dusty Springfield tune running through the movie were still in my head: "And maybe what's good gets a little bit better and maybe what's bad is gone."

Bush is gone and the possibilities for things to get better are there. It's going to take the same kind of unity and determination to move forward that it took to organize J.P. Stevens.

Photo: Michelle Artt connects union women and the struggle for pay equity to Women's History Month at a recent Detroit celebration. John Rummel/PW

No pat hands in politics

Sam Webb — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:13:00 -0400

No organization or institution can long exist in a condition of stasis. Organizations in general and political parties and social movements, in particular, have to adjust to new conditions.

And the reason is simple: change is constant and organizations and institutions must, if they want to remain relevant, change in the face of changing conditions.

For more than a decade, the Communist Party USA has been reconfiguring the way we work and develop our analysis.

Not everything has turned out as we hoped. There were mistakes, false starts, results that fell short of what we expected, and many things still have to be attended to.

On the whole, however, party members and leaders challenged conventional wisdom, gained experience, and adjusted our policies and style of work to new conditions of struggle.

Had the party been imprisoned by past experience, conventional wisdom and old methods, we would have been left in history's rear view mirror. A glance at the past reveals that the political landscape is littered with political and social formations that didn't adapt to new realities.

But, to our credit, the Communist Party chose change and innovation. We eagerly searched for new angles of looking at, thinking about, and reshaping the world.

Such an approach is, not only consistent with, but an imperative of Marxism. Otherwise, this science and art of social change and revolution loses its capacity to assist people in their desire to re-imagine and remake the world - not in some sort of utopian way, but in a way that meets the expanding requirements of a good life at the beginning of the 21st century.

Marx and Engels developed an analytical structure and methodology that enabled the working class to comprehend and change the world, but they never claimed the "last word" on any subject. Theory for them was modified by experience, not something to be memorized and repeated no matter what the circumstances and conditions.

Near the end of his life, Frederick Engels, in an effort to counter a dogmatic interpretation of historical materialism that was fashionable in the socialist movement of that time, wrote: "All history has to be studied afresh."

A decade or so later, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the leader of the Russian Revolution, wrote:

"A Marxist must take cognizance of real life, of the true facts of reality, and not cling to a theory of yesterday, which, like all theories, at best only outlines the main and the general, only comes near to embracing life in all its complexity."

In other words, Marxism should have no affinity for lifeless schemes and timeless slogans that squeeze the complexity and novelty out of the process of social change. Repetition of abstract formulas, which are disconnected from the historical process and the real dynamics of struggle, is of no value.

In recent decades, the world has changed in unexpected ways. The collapse of the Soviet Union signaled a historic defeat for the socialist project. The struggle for socialism continues, but in very different conditions.

Moreover, other seismic shifts of a political, economic, cultural and technological nature have created new fault lines across the globe, culminating in a world crisis of capitalism and the decline of U.S. imperialism.

One could say the world is leaving one era of development and entering a new era.

These new realities should turn Communists' theoretical eye, as well as practical activity, toward what is new; toward breaks, as well as continuities, in development; toward fresh forces and inescapable challenges, such global warming and deep poverty.

Keeping a pat hand in poker (that is, playing the cards you are dealt) sometimes makes good sense, but it is a poor strategy for any political party, and especially a party of socialism that aspires to be a leader of a broader movement in a changing world.

Lenin wrote:

"The Bolshevik slogans and ideas on the whole have been confirmed by history; but concretely things have worked out differently; they are more original, more peculiar, more variegated than anyone could have expected.

"To ignore or overlook this fact would mean taking after those 'old Bolsheviks' who more than once already have played so regrettable role in the history of our Party by reiterating formulas senselessly learned by rote instead of studying the specific features of the new and living reality."

In view of what has occurred over the decades of the 20th century and the first decade of this century, can we do any less than bring a fresh eye and practice, informed by a critical Marxism, to the contemporary world?

It's time to tax the wealth in Connecticut

Tom Connolly — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:42:00 -0400

HARTFORD. -- Speaking to an overflow crowd at the Legislative Office Building this week, representatives of Better Choices for Connecticut released a report outlining several options to stop Governor Rell's proposed budget cuts on vital needs and services.

The report indicates ways the Legislature could modernize Connecticut's revenue system while closing the state's massive budget deficit. It builds on a small millionaire's tax enacted last year after the legislature overrode a veto by the Governor. The outcome of the referendum in Oregon was cited as a good example: it raises personal income tax on higher income households in order to maintain the state's quality of life.

Representatives of the Better Choices coalition, which includes non-profit providers, labor unions, community, faith based and advocacy organizations, visited legislators after the press conference and pressed them to adopt measures to protect families. They called on the Legislature to find the way to maintain vital public services when families need them most including education, health, public safety, environmental protection, and transportation systems.

Increasing revenue, according to the Better Choices report, would align Connecticut with 30 other states including Oregon that have acted in the last year to increase state revenues to keep pace with the growing need for public services, and be in a position for future growth and sustainability in better economic conditions.

The revenue options advocated by Better Choices for Connecticut includes proposals to:

• Close corporate tax loopholes that benefit multi-state companies over local companies;

• Evaluate the $5 billion in tax breaks in state tax laws and reduce or eliminate unproductive tax breaks;

• Increase income taxes for those who can best afford it,;

• Delay reductions in the gift and estate tax, a tax that affects only a handful of the state's wealthiest residents;

• Tax excess profits of electricity generators to raise $ 400million a year. Connecticut has one of the highest electric rates in the country. The windfall profits accruing to for-profit electricity generators because of deregulation could be a significant source of state revenue and relief to rate payers. Company filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory commission were used to estimate that imposing an assessment on 50% of profits over 20% of the return on equity would generate over $400 million.

"We can balance the budget without relying solely on spending cuts that damage the state's economic future and harm families," said Jamey Bell, Executive Director of Connecticut Voices for Children. "There is a wide range of more balanced alternatives, such as evaluating and reducing the state's ‘hidden budget' of tax breaks and corporate tax loopholes."

William Cibes, chancellor emeritus of the Connecticut State University System and former secretary of the Office of Policy and Management under Gov. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. said, "It's not a question of IF revenues will be raised, but which revenues will be raised. Better Choices is performing an important public service by putting forward some very constructive suggestions about how to do that."

Maggie Adair, Deputy Director of Connecticut Association for Human Services noted, "During a recession as deep as this one, demand for public services dramatically escalates. Slashing vital state services would hurt the working poor and middle-income people who have lost their jobs and are running behind. Connecticut is the wealthiest state in the nation, but it is among the most unequal. We have the capacity to protect and invest in our people and our communities."

The report, "Revenue Solutions for FY 2011," is available on the Better Choices for Connecticut website at www.betterchoicesforCT.org.

The Rev. Steve Camp of Faith Congregational Chruch in Hartford announced a special meeting at his church of the faith-based community to address Connecticut's economic crisis. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 14 at 7 pm. He urged everyone to join this effort to move forward.

Photo: by Tom Conolly/Rev. Steve Camp

American Idol disappoints, so far

Pepe Lozano — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:20:00 -0400

I have to admit there is truly something missing on American Idol this year. Maybe Paula Abdul, who left after last season, really made the difference. I was never really a big fan of Abdul on the show, but the spirit, flavor and energy of Idol this year is lower than usual for me.

Adding comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres as a judge was not a bad move for the show. But sometimes I'm not sure she really knows how to be constructive. DeGeneres is definitely funny, and is usually positive in her remarks. But she has little going for her when it comes to giving good advice. I'm just saying.

Despite that missing element, and although Idol, in my opinion, is not as good as in the past, the show must go on, right?

Now, about those talented hopefuls this season. Well honestly, I'm disappointed in what they have to offer too. Don't get me wrong there definitely is some potential this year and there are some really talented singers in the running, but I kind of hope they pick up their game.

Here's a recap for this week.

The final 12 sang hit songs from the legendary rock group The Rolling Stones and unfortunately someone had to go.

Singers Tim Urban, Paige Miles and Lacey Brown were the bottom three this week.

Brown, who has a great look, unfortunately was voted off.

But I can't believe Tim Urban is still in the mix. He seems like a nice kid, but his singing abilities are extremely weak. He has little going for him vocally compared to the others. I don't see him lasting much longer unless he wows the audience big time, which doesn't seem likely.

I do have my favorites though.

Crystal Bowersox sang "You Can't Always Get What You Want" this week. It wasn't her strongest performance but it was still great vocally. Bowersox's bluesy vocals remind me of Janis Joplin. She has a soulful and earthy tone. She knows how to consistently nail each song she has chosen to perform. I can totally see her making it far. If she keeps up the good work she may even win it all.

Another fave of mine is Michael "Giant Mike" Lynche. This guy is a big man with incredible showmanship and really knows how to connect with his songs. He sang the Stone's hit track "Miss You" this week and pulled it off, using the stage and hitting every note. Last week, he made judge Kara DioGuardi cry when he sang Maxwell's "This Woman's Worth." Lynche has great potential and his story is very appealing. He missed the birth of his daughter while on Idol and says he knows his mother, who died from cancer when he was younger, would be very proud of him.

I'm also rooting for Andrew Garcia and Didi Benami. Garcia made a big impression during Hollywood week when he sang an awesome rendition of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up Now Tell Me." He killed it and stole the show. He did kind of peak early in the season and now he just can't seem to meet the high expectations since then.

Benami, too, is talented but needs to not let her nerves and emotions get the best of her. She shows her talent when she controls the moment while performing, but she is shy and sometimes over controls.

Lee DeWyze and Sioban Magnus also show potential. DeWyze has a raspy but pop voice and could really make it in the business as a rock artist. Magnus, well she's a bit odd and strange at times, but has a great voice. She owns the stage when she performs. She's a natural.

At the end of the day I expect more from the show this season. I hope the remaining 11 really make Idol their arena to shine, and blow us away. There is just something about live singing competitions on national television that continues to draw huge audiences. Given the hard economic times these days many of us just want to escape the reality of bills and financial stress, and see talented young people give it their all and make it big. In a way their success mirrors a piece of our dreams too.

Photo: Crystal Bowersox. americanidol.com

Krugman's attack on China

John Case — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:11:00 -0400

Reacting to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's remarks defending the current valuation of China's yuan relative to the U.S. dollar, economist Paul Krugman has called for a "temporary" 25 percent surcharge on Chinese imports to the U.S. Krugman discounts fears that this could result in a trade war where China dumps its large reserves of U.S. Treasury securities. He asserts that devaluation of the dollar would actually be a good thing for U.S. exports, giving us an advantage over our non-Chinese trading partners.

Of course the immediate impact of such a tariff would be a big price shock to those shopping at Wal-Mart and other discount chains - i.e., the U.S. working class.

I am not sure there is a definite point where one has declared a trade war, but a 25 percent surcharge on imports is a very powerful salvo.

Krugman argues that the U.S. imposed a similar temporary surcharge on German and Japanese goods in 1971 that worked. It's true that German and Japanese currencies appreciated (making their imported goods more expensive). But it also resulted in a huge deployment of their capital reserves in the U.S. as their manufacturers built many plants here. German and Japanese market share thus increased. China has been blocked from investing in U.S. firms many times, so it will not have the same options. In addition, trade wars do not always have such salutary consequences - witness the protectionism that arose between World Wars I and II.

It's hard to see how a large surcharge on Chinese imports will not depress overall global production and demand, adding more fuel to the fires threatening a double-dip recession.

In addition, workers expecting a boom in domestic manufacturing from the relief a surcharge may bring against Chinese competition will be sorely disappointed unless it is accompanied by a major shift in U.S. industrial policy.

Currently, except for military production, the U.S. has virtually no long- or medium-range industrial policy. It lags in green industries, and is losing ground in knowledge-based industries as well - the ultimate keys to maintaining and growing high-income occupations.

The huge debts accumulated in Iraq and Afghanistan even before Obama took office are making key steps in restructuring the U.S. economy ever more difficult. Alternatively, major public and public-private investments in the infrastructures and innovations needed to launch the rising tide that can lift all boats are tagged as "socialism" by Republicans who seem to see no farther than the tip of their nose. Well, if there is not a little more socialism in the picture, then a trade war with China will certainly backfire. Exports will rise a little, but investment will continue to head offshore, and rising prices will eat holes in workers' already empty pockets.

Further, how much would an appreciation of the Chinese yuan really affect the balance of trade? Is there not a larger issue in the new structure and saturation of the world market? Does not the shift in the relative balance of economic power globally, the new levels of competition, and the enormous increase in the productivity of East and South Asian workers play an important role? Professor Krugman's recipe seems to be put forward in a very narrow context.

Now, by all accounts China's currency IS undervalued, although the range of estimates is so wide that it is difficult to get a clear picture of exactly HOW much it is undervalued. China has proven that its unique mix of market--oriented socialism is capable of extraordinary and sustained growth. No country has done more to lift up the world's poor. It is clear that China will fight very hard to maintain that growth and remain fixed on its ambition to become a "first world" economy. And it is worth saying more than once that reducing global inequality, especially in the era of globalization, is a premier challenge whose consequences for peace and overall prosperity cannot be understated.

The surcharge is not sure bet either, as China is free to peg its currency at an even lower rate relative to the dollar in response. Underdeveloped nations have virtually no way to grow out of poverty except through exports. Pegging one's currency to the dollar is a way to curb speculation and thus inhibit the currency chaos that has plagued many emerging countries.

We must find the mix of policies that accommodates rising incomes for both Chinese and American workers. For the U.S., investing in the human and fixed capital that does not require Wal-Mart to survive - in public goods like knowledge, culture, education and health - is a surer road than a trade war with China.

Senate drug sentencing bill reduces disparities, not far enough

Joe Sims — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:56:00 -0400

The Senate, by voice vote March 17, passed legislation that would reduce the crack/cocaine sentencing disparity. Currently the differential is 100 to one. In other words, a person caught with crack will get a sentence 100 times harsher than a person convicted of cocaine possession. The Senate bill would reduce the ratio to 18 to one. The House of Representatives has passed a companion bill that eliminate the sentencing disparity making it one to one.

Patrick Leahy, Senate Judiciary Committee chair, said in a statement, "The racial imbalance that has resulted from the cocaine sentencing disparity disparages the Constitution's promise of equal treatment for all Americans."

The Senate vote was the product of a bipartisan deal and has been hailed by the White House and Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder said, "There is no law enforcement or sentencing rational for the current disparity between crack and cocaine powder offenses, and I have strongly supported eliminating it to ensure our sentencing laws are tough, predictable and fair."

Importantly the Senate backed measure eliminates mandatory minimums for crack possession.

Civil rights and drug advocacy groups, however, are critical of the Senate's stance. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights cited momentum, but took note of the bill's inadequacy. Wade Henderson said the vote "represents progress, but not the end of the fight."

The Drug Policy Alliance, a group that promotes policy alternatives to the drug war, pointedly criticized the Senate action. "Today is a bittersweet day," said Jasmine L. Tyler of the Drug Policy Alliance to the Associated Press. By not eliminating the disparity, Tyler said, the Senate "has proven how difficult it is to ensure racial justice, even in 2010."

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund also took aim at the continuing disparity. "Although the Senate passed legislation concerning the crack/powder sentencing disparity, it refused to completely eliminate that unjustified disparity. The Senate's failure is deeply troubling. If left uncorrected, the Senate's action would mean that racial discrimination will persist."

ColorofChange.org voiced similar concerns. "Last week, the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee had a chance to advance a bill to eliminate the disparity. Instead, they chose to reduce it-with no good reason other than to please 'moderate' Democrats and Republicans. And President Obama, who for years has championed ending the disparity, is supporting the bill - apparently because it's bipartisan," the Internet-based organization said in an e-mail.

They are asking President Obama and House Speaker Pelosi to support the House version of the bill. To support this effort click here.

The crack cocaine sentencing laws passed in the 1980s are a big reason why one in 15 African Americans are behind bars today. The crack/cocaine epidemic emerged partly out efforts by the Reagan administration to fund the Central American contra war against Nicaragua's Sandinista government. As reported over 20 years ago by the San Jose Mercury News, money from contra drug sales were used to purchase weapons. The cocaine then made its way to crack labs in Los Angeles and across the country.

The House and Senate bills will now have to be reconciled.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/los-angeles-bail-bonds/ / CC BY 2.0

Billy Bragg inspires hope and change at farmworker fest

Gabe Falsetta — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:57:00 -0400

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- The Harvest of Hope, an event to help migrant workers, was held here in St. Augustine, Fla., over the March 13 weekend. To those who ask, what are the youth doing today to change the world? This event should give us great hope!

My friend and I decided to attend the Saturday night event, because singer/songwriter Billy Bragg was performing. He is of a certain age that one would think young people would not even know who he is. But much to my pleasant surprise, I was wrong. Hundreds of the under-30 crowd received his songs with great enthusiasm.

He started his set with an antiwar song that resonated among the audience. He sang about the "poverty draft" and coming home in body bags.

Bragg was described by UK's The Times newspaper as a "national treasure."

"In the two and a half decades of his career Bragg has certainly made an indelible mark on the conscience of British music, becoming perhaps the most stalwart guardian of the radical dissenting tradition that stretches back over centuries of the country's political, cultural and social history," the newspaper said.

And he did deliver!

In between songs, he asked the audience to think about the future. He told them how much he appreciated their political will and implored them not to be discouraged because the Obama administration has not delivered on all the things they want to happen. He conveyed his own disappointment with Tony Blair and the Labour Party. He held up two hands in fists and said on the one hand, Blair took his country into an unjust war/occupation, but on the other, there is peace in Northern Ireland.

He made it clear to the audience that if this administration is defeated, it would be a tremendous set back for progress, and for them.
His songs demonstrated his class consciousness. He talked about and sang Woody Guthrie's "Deportee" to great applause and cheers! He finished with "I Keep Faith."

"And if your head may tell you/To run and hide/Listen to your heart and you'll find me/Right by your side."

The Harvest of Hope Foundation is a unique non-profit organization that has been providing migrant farmworkers and their families with emergency relief and financial assistance for over 15 years.

Photo: Billy Bragg performs at Harvest of Hope. http://www.flickr.com/photos/elawgrrl/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The guy who delivers your mail takes a labor history tour

John Dick — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:58:00 -0400

Straightening out the corners - you know, the hard edges in our lives. We all get ‘em; some do yoga, some get religion. Me, I ride. That's what helps me to straighten the corners, round out the edges. "When you straighten out the corners, you get a circle. The circle is a symbol of life: there is no beginning and there is no end." I read that once in a motorcycle book. "You straighten out the corners so you can see other people's points of view, and you can understand a little more about them .... ‘cause we're all Brothers and Sisters in this world." Biker philosophy at its finest.

I've been having a hard time lately trying to soften the hard edges in my life. My ol' man, Moses Dick, died this January. Nine days later, a pal of mine died as well. And a month later, my uncle passed away suddenly. Straightening out these corners has not been easy. Sometimes I laugh at these curve balls thrown down from Heaven as I swing my earthly aluminum bat, but most times I cry. But one thing remains certain: I need to draw inspiration and hope from the lives these men lived. They are a part of my history and I plan to pass it on down.

This is the 40th anniversary of the Great Postal Strike of 1970. Some of you reading this may have been participants in that eight days that changed the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). I want your stories to never be forgotten. Your courage and sacrifice has allowed me and my wife to do all the things that I've written about over the last eight years: namely travel the country via motorcycle to all 50 states and meet letter carriers all along the way. This has been a great honor and a humbling privilege. I know I am a result of two great parents, but also my economic privileges have been forged by the dedication and perseverance of those letter carriers who came before me. And not just the letter carriers; determined unionists and social activists have been laying my groundwork for many decades.

I have been involved in the Michigan Labor History Society for a couple of years now. I like going to the meetings because they call me "young man." It's quite a shame, actually, to be the youngest on the program committee at 50 years old. This group is responsible for the great monument, "Transcending," located in Hart Plaza, in downtown Detroit. To be in the midst of this group while they are discussing labor history is, to me, like a hummingbird sucking up sweet nectar. I believe more of us, those who labor for a living, need to understand our roots. We take way too many of our good working conditions and benefits for granted. I am not a big fan of sitting in a classroom chair (just ask my Mom), so my idea of teaching is to do a Detroit labor history field trip. Detroit is a UAW (United Auto Workers) town, but also a very historical town for NALC history as well. Let me grab a beer as I take you on a tour.

First stop: the Fort Street Bridge at Miller Road. This bridge, at the border of Dearborn and Detroit, crosses the Rouge River. Looking north, the ominous stacks of the Ford Rouge steel plant billow black clouds of stinky smoke. Tugboats hug the shore, waiting to steer barges to the Detroit River, and the Morton salt mines lie underneath the southeast side of the bridge. The historic marker on the bridge reads:

On March 7, 1932 in the midst of the Depression, unemployed auto workers, their families and union organizers braved the bitter cold temperatures and gathered at this bridge, intent on marching to the Ford Rouge plant and presenting a list of demands to Henry Ford. Some 3,000 "hunger marchers" paraded down Miller Road. At the city limit Dearborn police blocked their path and hurled tear gas; the marchers responded with rocks and frozen mud. Near Gate #3 the demonstrators were bombarded with water from fire hoses and a barrage of bullets. In the end, five marchers were killed, 19 wounded by gunfire, and numerous others by stones, bricks and clubs. Newspapers alleged that the marchers were Communists but they were in fact people of all political, racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Dave Moore, the last survivor of the Ford Hunger March, just died October 26, 2009. He was 97 years old and a union activist until his death. These are his words about that event:

"When you drive down Miller Road, your tires run over the blood of our martyrs. And when you walk along the street, the soles of your shoes are walking where the blood ran in 1932. We need to tell our young people the story of how people sacrificed their lives to build a movement."

Next stop: the Miller Road overpass leading to the main entrance of the Rouge plant. This was the catwalk workers used to go from the parking lot to the plant. On May 26, 1937, Walter Reuther and three union associates began to pass out leaflets to workers on the overpass during shift change. Ford was the last auto company to allow the UAW to organize its factories, and was not at all happy about union organizers giving leaflets to his workers.

Twenty-five cars filled with men in sunglasses arrived at the site and warned everyone, including newsmen and the Ladies Auxiliary Brigade, to get out of the area. Reuther and his partners were attacked brutally on that overpass by those thugs while Dearborn police did nothing to stop the violence. Women were beaten, as well, with one police officer pleading, "Stop beating her. You'll kill her ..." One union organizer was pushed off the bridge and fell 30 feet. Another was beaten so badly, he spent months in the hospital with a broken back. I saw the actual photos of the Ford Hunger March and the Battle of the Overpass victims as they lay in pools of blood. The images are horrific.

Next stop: Transcending, the Labor Legacy Project. This is the majestic steel circle reaching into the heavens in the forefront of Hart Plaza. Just across from the Joe Louis fist, this is labor's gift to the city of Detroit. Our Letter Carriers Branch was one of the first contributors to the building of this project. If you have not done so, please visit this 63-foot-tall glorious monument. It is an inspiring sculpture with a spiraling granite walkway through an artist's vision of labor history. Look for our Branch 3126 tribute plaque on the memorial wall.

Last stop; the Walter Reuther Library at Wayne State University. This is the resting place of all NALC official archives. It is also where the UAW places all of its archival history, as well as many other unions. Until June of this year there is a grand special exhibit of NALC history at the library. A group of us recently perused this fine display of letter carriers in action over the last 200 years and found it quite outstanding. There is quite a bit of 1970 strike history as part of this display. I highly recommend a family trip to the Reuther Library. Your kids need to know about labor history. Maybe they will even Twitter their friends about how much fun they're havin' in a library!

So let's connect the dots. I've been accused of being a ramblin' idiot so let's sharpen our pencils and put them to paper.

Ford Hunger March...U
Battle of the Overpass..N
Postal Strike of 1970.......I
Labor Legacy Project........O
NALC History Exhibit.........N

I see the connection between all these things. It's just working folks trying to fight for dignity and respect. It's plain and simple to me. I am glad that I wrote this article. It's helped me to straighten out the corners of my mind. Now I understand why the Labor Legacy Project is a circle. But look closely; there is a gap at its apex. There's still a lot of work to be done. The future is unwritten.

The arc of history bends towards justice. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

P.S. This article was inspired by a proud, retired UAW member, Robert "Moses" Dick, 1939 - 2010. Two of his favorite sayings were, "Work Sucks!" and "Thank God for the Union." You are gone, but never forgotten. Thanks, Pops!

John "Cementhead" Dick is an active member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 3126, Royal Oak, Mich.

Photo: Voices of Labor memorial in Detroit's Hart Plaza. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cletch/ / CC BY 2.0

Community clinics rally for health care reform

Marilyn Bechtel — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:20:00 -0400

OAKLAND, Calif. - As the health care reform debate came down to the wire this week, supporters of community health clinics rallied March 17 in California communities - Bakersfield, Stockton, Merced, Orange County and others - urging passage of legislation now before the U.S. House of Representatives.

In Oakland, demonstrators gathered for a lunch-hour rally in the heart of the Fruitvale, an area with many Mexican American and other Latino residents, many of whom depend on La Clinica de la Raza for their health care.

"By the end of this week we could have health care reform. But it's on us, because we're the ones who have to demand it," Jane Garcia, CEO of Clinica de la Raza, told the crowd. During Congressional "dillydallying" over reform in recent months, she said, 400,000 more California children have lost their health coverage, while the total number of uninsured Californians has risen from 6 million to 8 million.

Of opponents' claims that Americans don't want reform, Garcia added, "Last time I checked, Oakland, Alameda County and California were part of America. And guess what? We want health care reform and we want it now!"

Patrick Romano, California state campaign director for Health Care for America Now, pointed out that community clinics "are going to be instrumental in the transition with the health care reform, whether it's caring for the newly insured, whether it's taking care of those folks who won't get insurance right away" as reform proceeds toward full implementation in 2014. "We can't take anything for granted," he warned. "We've had numerous timelines going back to last August. Call your members of Congress, even if you're absolutely certain they will vote yes."

Under the measure before Congress, not only will 31 million uninsured people gain access to health coverage, but 15,000 new primary care providers will become available around the country, Carmela Castellano-Garcia, who heads the California Primary Care Association of community clinics, told the crowd. "It's time to put people over politics, people over health insurance companies."

In a conversation after the rally, Castellano-Garcia said billions of dollars are expected to become available under the reform, to expand community clinics throughout the country. Many of the over 1 million uninsured Californians now receiving care at community health centers will become insured, she said, with "wonderful" results both for them and for the clinics which will gain added income.

"In the last six months, the number of uninsured patients we see at La Clinica de la Raza has soared by 32 percent," said Jane Garcia. "Many people we see are newly uninsured - teachers, construction workers, a woman in her 36th week of pregnancy." Garcia said the community clinics' emphasis on wellness and prevention will also bring savings to a reformed health care system.

Also addressing the rally were Martin Waukazoo of the Native American Health Center, former state Assembly Majority Leader Wilma Chan, and Jeff Harry of Organizing for America.

Demonstrators held signs in Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Korean and other languages as well as English. Some signs urged covering new documented immigrants under the reform.

The California rallies were organized by Health Care for America Now, Organizing for America and the California Federation of Labor.

Photo: Marilyn Bechtel

Chile remains in need after earthquake

Brian McAfee — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:10:00 -0400

The massive earthquake that struck Chile February 27 continues to have a heavy impact on the Chilean people. The 8.8 magnitude earthquake and the subsequent tsunami killed at least 497 people while about 500 remain missing. Considering the numbers injured and rendered homeless from the initial earthquake and the numerous aftershocks, Chileans will continue to need assistance. Numerous countries and aid organizations have offered and given assistance.

Given the not-that-distant history of the Pinochet dictatorship, the aid and assistance that has come in from Cuba, Russia and Bolivia are particularly interesting. Cuba flew in a team of doctors and a field hospital. Russia flew in rescue workers and humanitarian aid. And from Bolivia, President Evo Morales and Vice President Alvaro Garcia are donating half their March salaries to earthquake victims in both Chile and Haiti. This in itself is not hugely significant but if other political leaders did the same they would be showing a degree of decency often in short supply among politicians.

Some aid organizations that are working with the ongoing relief effort in Chile are SOS Children's Village which has been active in Chile since 1965, www.childrensvillage.org, OXFAM has been helping with the earthquake relief since the quake struck February 27, www.oxfamamerica.org, and Red Cross, www.redcross.org. When contacting these agencies specify that it is for Chilean earthquake relief.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/grafixer/ / CC BY 2.0

March Madness comes with insane price

Pepe Lozano — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:04:00 -0400

Nationwide excitement among college basketball fans builds as the 2010 March Madness tournament is scheduled to begin Thursday, March 18. Sixty-four of the best National Collegiate Athletic Association men's and women's basketball teams will compete to make it to the Final Four next month.

Even President Obama has joined the "madness" predicting Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky and Villanova in the finals. He's predicting Connecticut, Notre Dame, Stanford and Tennessee in the women's tournament.

There's nothing more entertaining than healthy basketball rivalry and cheering for the nation's best collegiate teams.

However Derrick Z. Jackson, writing for the Boston Globe, says it's disturbing when the graduation success rates of players belonging to the best teams are worsening.

For example, top-power Kentucky made the Division 1 tournament with a graduation success rate of only 18 percent for its black athletes and 31 percent overall.

"This program single-handedly betrays the NCAA as toothless on the exploitation of athletes," Jackson says. Kentucky's graduation rate scorecard for its black players for the last six years is: 18, 17, 9, 17, 17, and zero. Over the last ten years, its black player graduation rate has never risen above 29 percent and its overall graduation rate passed 50 percent only once, in 2001.

"Yet, who do we see hawking March Madness on Direct TV? Why none other than Kentucky's $32 million coach, John Calipari."

Jackson says the NCAA should ban the likes of Maryland, Texas, Nevada Las Vegas, and Kentucky because the concept of "student-athlete" is beyond repair. "At these schools, the athletes are semi-pros who should be paid."

Maryland is in the tournament with a zero graduation rate for its black athletes, and 8 percent overall. Texas and Nevada Las Vegas are also in the tournament with both colleges not reaching over 22 percent when it comes to graduation rates among blacks. The University of California at Berkeley has a campus graduation rate of 85 percent, including 62 percent for black students. But the graduation success rate for both black and white players is zero, notes Jackson.

"Until the NCAA demands studies of another sort and starts banning programs that do not heed the demand, March Madness will remain a national indictment of how we let college sports drive us stark riving mad," writes Jackson.

Meanwhile an annual report by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida finds the disparity between graduation rates for white and black players on NCAA tournament-bound men's basketball teams grew this year. The report shows 45 teams graduated 70 percent or more of their white players, and only 20 teams graduated at least 70 percent of their black players.

Players on teams headed to the NCAA women's tournament however are graduating at a higher rate than the men. The graduation gap between white and black players is smaller for women than it is for men. There were 19 women's teams that had a 100 percent graduation rate compared to six men's teams. And 51 women's teams graduated at least 70 percent of their players compared to 29 men's teams.

The NCAA says 56 percent of black basketball players now graduate from Division 1 teams. White players have an 81 percent graduation rate.

Critics contend the NCAA is a multi-million dollar industry that can care less about the players or their academic success and instead cares more about the industry's increasing monster profits. Others argue the college players need an association similar to the professional leagues so that their rights are protected on and off the courts, especially when it comes to health care and compensation.

Kentucky guard Eric Bledsoe (24) scores against Mississippi State in the championship game at the NCAA college basketball Southeastern Conference tournament on March 14. Wade Payne/AP

Obama school plan has pluses but big minuses, teachers and others warn

Susan Webb — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:39:00 -0400

The Obama administration has sent Congress a "blueprint" for a new public education bill to replace the expiring 2002 No Child Left Behind law. It discards some of NCLB's much-criticized features, while retaining or adding others that teachers, their unions and other public school advocates oppose.

It projects federal support for educational equity, improving teaching and learning and making every student "college-ready." The devil, many say, is in the details.

Congressional hearings on the proposals opened yesterday with testimony by Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Leaders of the nation's two teachers unions will also testify.

The 41-page blueprint emphasizes eliminating disparities between schools in poorer and wealthier communities, and within schools.

Moving away from the NCLB focus on reading and math to the exclusion of other subjects, it calls for a "more complete" curriculum including science, history, the arts and other subjects. Addressing complaints that NCLB's standardized test focus has led states to "dumb down" their standards, the blueprint requires states to develop "college- and career-ready standards" for English language arts and math, with additional funding possible for groups of states to develop assessments in areas like science, history and foreign languages, and for English learners and students with disabilities.

Testing and other forms of assessment, Duncan insisted in a conference call with reporters on Monday, will focus "not just on absolute test scores but on growth and gain," measuring improvement over a period of time. The blueprint discards NCLB's widely criticized "adequate yearly progress" test-score standard, which led to labeling a third of the nation's 98,000 schools as "failing."

It talks of a new program to "support ambitious efforts to recruit, place, reward, retain, and promote effective teachers and principals and enhance the profession of teaching."

It requires states, "in collaboration with teachers, principals, and other stakeholders," to develop evaluation systems that identify "effective" and "highly effective" teachers and principals "based in significant part on student growth" along with other measures such as classroom observation.

Speaking of "fostering a race to the top," it uses what Duncan called a "carrots and sticks" approach that offers "rewards" for achieving "dramatic gains" in student achievement, and requires controversial "turnaround models" for lowest-performing schools. Three of the four "turnaround" models require closing the schools or mass firing the teachers and principal as happened recently in Central Falls, R.I. One of these involves turning the schools over to charter or other private operators.

Many public school reform advocates are up in arms over the green-lighting of privatization and mass teacher firings. In New York, the parent-community Alliance for Quality Education notes in its March newsletter that "there is little evidence that such practices work" and "charters do not have a track record of turning around low performing schools and have no transparency." The organization describes itself as "one of the lone and loudest voices for a long time advocating that the lowest performing schools need dramatic action to become successful," but says remedies must be based on "proven educational strategies."

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, in a March 13 statement, said an initial review of the blueprint suggested that it "places 100 percent of the responsibility on teachers and gives them zero percent authority. "

Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, said, "We were expecting to see a much broader effort to truly transform public education for kids. Instead, this blueprint's accountability system still relies on standardized tests to identify winners and losers. We were expecting more funding stability to enable states to meet higher expectations. Instead, this blueprint requires states to compete for critical resources, setting up another winners-and-losers scenario. We were expecting school turnaround efforts to be research-based and fully collaborative. Instead, we see too much top-down scapegoating of teachers and not enough collaboration."

Seeking to counter that criticism, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters Monday that unlike past practices, "there will be shared responsibility. Not just with teachers, but principals, school systems, and even states. Everyone's going to be accountable for driving better results."

In a CBS interview Monday, Van Roekel said, "We want to make sure the policy matches the rhetoric."

Although the blueprint speaks of measuring student "growth," he warned, it still appears to rely on high-stakes testing.

Reiterating his criticism of the winners and losers approach, Van Roekel raised concern that the blueprint is "moving more and more funds" away from formulas that provide equitable federal funding across states. "We need to make sure all schools get adequate funds, not just a few winners," he said.

He expressed "total support" for Obama's and Duncan's reform intentions, saying they are "absolutely motivated by the right thing," and the union's access to education officials has been "wonderful." But he emphasized that involving teachers in reform is "absolutely essential."

A longtime activist with New York's United Federation of Teachers said it is urgent for progressive teacher unionists and supporters to come forward with dialogue and solutions to the complex problems facing schools. Otherwise, he said, "blame the parents" or "blame the teachers" frames the debate, and public schools and unions will be the losers.

The administration's education blueprint and transcript of Duncan's Monday conference call can be found here.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/ / CC BY 2.0

With health care street heat, progressives blunt teabaggers

Bruce Bostick — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:57:00 -0400

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Hundreds showed up at what was supposed to be a right-wing attack on Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy's office here yesterday. The event, however, proved to be much different from what the "teabaggers" announced and had planned.

Dueling demonstrations, each with around 200-300 folks, lined Olentangy River Road, the "teabaggers" attacking Kilroy for her strong support of health care reform, and an equal or greater force of people there supporting her stand.

"We just had to come out and stand with Mary Jo," said Tim Ely, a business agent for the Pipefitter's Union. "She's stood up for us in the legislature, and I'm just sick and tired of these right-wing thugs lying about health care and going around intimidating people. That crap's going to stop, now!"

Chants of "Pass it Now," "People's Needs, not Corporate Greed" and "Health Care, not Warfare" echoed against the building that houses Rep. Kilroy's office, and cars honked, responding to signs reading, "Honk to support Health Care Reform!" Many of the signs were hand-printed, many carried by people who have had to fight insurance companies as well as diseases.

On the "teabagger" side, the mood was much different. Chants and signs called on Kilroy to "Kill the Bill," but the undercurrent was extreme levels of anger, paranoia and frustration.

Dave Hysell, who described himself as "a proud American," stated that he was there "because the government lies." "They made the swine flu virus," he said, "but didn't make enough vaccine for the seniors. They're trying to kill off the seniors."

Nearby, a woman named Mary volunteered that "they have secret committees in place to decide who they can kill off." Asked how she'd know about them if they're secret, she said, "Oh, we have ways, we can find out."

Chris Grant, with the right-wing group, said that he opposed the proposed reform for two reasons. ""First, he said," it's going raise taxes, and I'm against all taxes, and, second, the bill eliminates choice."

On the pro-reform side, there was more of a festive atmosphere. People seemed happy, and especially encouraged, at the big turnout to support Rep. Kilroy and oppose the "teabaggers."

Faith Van Horne, a local artist, spoke about her concerns. "I'm really happy to see all the people here," she said. "I'm just so sick of the lies they're telling about health care reform."

"I'd had a lump on my breast," she explained, "but I waited six months until my regular checkup to get it checked. The insurance wouldn't cover it and it would've cost me $1,500 that I didn't have, just to get it checked. We need to get rid of these insurance companies and get real health care coverage."

We were glad to hear that the exam had proved negative and she was here in good health.

While a police line separated the demonstrations, "teabaggers" yelled "Whore" and "Bitch" at women demonstrators and seemed anxious to create confrontations. A group of three "teabaggers" came across to the progressive side, standing behind folks, attempting to confront them. When Diane Smith approached the men, stating that she had M.S. and could not get insurance, one of the right-wingers just laughed at her, saying, "You've got health care, just go to the emergency room!"

"They are just disgusting," said Jeff St. Clair, who was there "because my wife has five incurable diseases and cannot get insurance coverage." He explained that his family was able to get some help from the MS Society, "But," he stated strongly, "we have a rich county. We should have health care coverage for everyone, with dignity! If every other nation can do it, we certainly can, as well!"

Norm Wernet, Ohio director for the Alliance of Retired Americans, was struck by how many "teabaggers" held signs about keeping Medicare free of "government control."

"It's such a shame that people aren't getting the facts, that these right-wingers put out so many lies," he said. "This health care reform bill will SAVE Medicare! Bush put private companies into Medicare and we are paying them 17 percent MORE than the norm. This bill will cut those funds and put Medicare on much stronger footing. We need this bill to save Medicare" (which, he noted with a grin, is, of course, a single-payer government-run program that runs pretty darn well!).

Leaving the rally, we heard that Rep. Kilroy said she would proudly continue to support health care reform.

Today, we learned that her fellow Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who'd previously stated his opposition to the present reform bill, announced he'd also vote YES!

"I have doubts about this bill. This is not the bill I wanted to support," the congressman said. "However, after careful discussions with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, my wife Elisabeth and close friends I have decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation. If my
vote is to be counted, let it count now."

To see a video of the Columbus demonstration, including tea party people yelling at a man who said he had Parkinson's disease - one man yelled, "If you're looking for a handout you're in the wrong end of town," one man yelled at him. "Nothing for free over here, you have to work for everything you get," another threw dollar bills at him - check out Raw Story.

Photos: Top, page shot from Raw Story; bottom is courtesy of Norm Wernet/ARA

Rich get richer; Working families feeling the pinch

Joel Wendland — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:34:00 -0400

The rich are getting richer, and they are paying fewer taxes. Despite constant whining from the richest Americans about high taxes and how the best solution to the economic crisis is lower taxes for themselves, the evidence, according to a recent paper by the Economic Policy Institute, shows that the very richest Americans saw their after tax incomes rise astronomically leading up to the Great Recession in 2007.

Analysis of federal tax data showed that the 400 richest Americans took in $344.8 million in 2007, up 31 percent over 2006. Between 1992 and 2007, that income grew by 409 percent. After tax income for this group grew by 476 percent.

Meanwhile, pre-tax median income for all Americans grew by just 13.2 percent in the same period. During the past ten years, however, federal data shows median incomes for working families have actually fallen.

In 2007, the richest Americans earned 6900 times more than the average household, while in 1992 they earned just 1124 times as much. That means the gap between the richest Americans and the average family is 6 times higher today than it was in 1992.

Such growing disparities in wealth have hit the working class hard in recent years. For example, a new study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation revealed this week that 2.4 million middle-income earners were added to the number of Americans who go without health insurance between 2000-2008.

A recent finding by the White House Middle Class Task Force also showed that "while incomes have risen, the prices for three large components of middle class expenses have increased faster than income: the cost of college, the cost of health care and the cost of a house. Thus, we conclude that it is harder to attain a middle class lifestyle now than it was in the recent past."

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ken_mayer/ / CC BY 2.0

Useless war: Afghanistan needs peace to develop

John Bachtell — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:13:00 -0400

In a potentially important development, exiled members of the former People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan are returning to the country to re-found the organization. They plan to hold a Congress in Kabul later this year and rename the organization the Democratic Party of Afghanistan.

The PDPA was the ruling party that led the country on a path of socialism before being ousted from power in 1992 by the U.S. government-backed Taliban. Thousands of PDPA members were slaughtered or driven into exile where they have functioned over the years as scattered groups.

Exiled members met recently in Germany to unite their ranks and agree on an approach to reestablishing a legal political party on Afghanistan soil.

"The main goal is to return to Afghanistan and bring a situation of peace and stability in the region," said Dr. Zalmay Gulzad, professor of Social Sciences at Harold Washington Community College in Chicago. Gulzad was born in Afghanistan and came to the U.S. as a student in 1971 and stayed. "Once peace is achieved the movement will evolve into different stages."

In an interview with the People's World, Gulzad said the new DPA would join the growing democratic movement in Afghanistan that includes a strong women's movement, intellectuals, students and even some members of the Parliament.

Media reports have noted nostalgia for the PDPA governing years. Many people say times were better then; there was more stability and security. The government built a lot of schools, provided education and health care, according to Gulzad. Many feel "that period was better than during the repression of the Mujahideen and today's American bombs."

"It's a different situation," he continued. "The conditions are good for unity to bring peace to Afghanistan. Even before Sept. 11, 2001, members of the PDPA returned and became members of Parliament and they've been working within the function of government."

Gulzad termed the Karzai government a corrupt "puppet regime" and said U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry is really running the country.

Gulzad said the main threat to the stability of the Afghan government comes from a resurgent Taliban. While the people don't want U.S. troops in the country, they fear a return of the Taliban to power, he said.

"The people will not accept a puppet regime. They will work with the Karzai government because of the situation with the Taliban. Once peace comes, people will bring a genuine people's government," he said.

The Taliban have their roots in the U.S. drive to destabilize the Soviet Union during the Carter administration. Known then as "freedom fighters" (Mujahideen) they were religious extremists assembled by the CIA to overthrow the government and kill Communists, democrats and Soviet "infidels." They were recruited from predominantly Muslim countries when they couldn't be found in Afghanistan.

Because they were trained in Pakistan, they were renamed Taliban, which means "religious students." These same elements, trained by the CIA, were responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center in September 11, 2001, including Osama Bin Laden.

After the attacks, said Gulzad, they were suddenly renamed "terrorists." Instead of going into Saudi Arabia where most were from, or Pakistan where they were trained, the Bush administration invaded Afghanistan. Gulzad says the reason is the strategic geopolitical importance of Afghanistan, its proximity to energy resources and Iran, Russian, China and the Persian Gulf.

"If the Taliban retook power they would be a very regressive force. The Afghan people wouldn't accept it. Remember there was a civil war - north versus south and within the south they were fighting the Taliban. And the region's countries would get involved in arming various factions - Pakistan, Iran, Russia and China."

The main source of support for the Taliban is still the military in Pakistan. Gulzad said this is related to Pakistan's desire for additional territory in its fight against India and for gaining hold of Kashmir. They want a weak government in Afghanistan and to rid it of Indian influence, which has invested heavily in Afghani infrastructure, education and hospitals.

Gulzad said during the arming of the "freedom fighters" against the Soviet Union everyone denied Pakistan was helping. And today everyone knows the Pakistani military and Inter-Service Intelligence are supporting and arming the Taliban, but it's still denied.

Today, there are now two separate Taliban, one in Afghanistan and one in Pakistan. The Pakistan Taliban is threatening to overthrow the Pakistani secular state. Gulzad said most of the recent terrorist attacks in other parts of the world have emanated from Pakistan including the deadly attack on Mumbai.

All the Obama administration needs to do is put pressure on Pakistan to stop arming the Afghani Taliban and protecting their sanctuaries from which they are launching attacks into Afghanistan, and the problem would be solved, said Gulzad.

"We are losing many Afghan and U.S. troops right now for no reason," he said. "Pakistan could arrest Osama Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda and terrorist leaders if it wanted to. Many believe the U.S. and Pakistan want to keep it going for their own purposes."

"The problem reflects the split in (U.S.) ruling circles, in the U.S. military and the Obama administration. Sections of the military and intelligence community see the importance of a long-term presence in Afghanistan for access to energy resources and geo-political purposes," he said.

Recently, Defense Secretary Gates, Secretary of State Clinton and General McCrytsal let it be known they oppose President Obama's suggestion of negotiation with the Taliban, who have suffered military defeats recently.

"The institutions of U.S. imperialism are highly developed. Pres. Obama can't change it alone. He has very good intentions but the people around him - e.g. the Pentagon, CIA, they are not really allowing him to move from that policy," said Gulzad

The American people have to demand a change in foreign policy to end U.S. involvement and close down the foreign military bases. he said.

"So long as the imperialist mentality exists - hostility to Iran, China, etc. the U.S. is in a good spot," he said. Which helps explain why they are rejecting offers from Russia and China to help, he said.

"Russia wanted to help Afghanistan, but were denied by the US. Russia has a long history with Afghanistan. Most of the highways and infrastructure were built by the Soviets. They have all the blueprints."

Gulzad said international help could come by training and educating personal to rebuild the country. They could be sent to Tajikistan and Iran, which both speak the same language and have the same culture as many Afghanis.

"It would require the U.S. to step back and allow the Afghan government to have its own sovereign relations. The American people have a big responsibility. Look, our government is broke and people are suffering. Yet the US has military bases all over the world and it costs a lot to maintain this. The mentality of imperialism is finished. People around the world don't accept it any longer," said Gulzad.

Photo: Dr. Zalmay Gulzad John Bachtell/PW

Mexican government on full-blast offensive against workers

Emile Schepers — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:34:00 -0400

Last week, Mexico's Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare Javier Lozano Alarcon announced a series of legislative proposals which, if approved, would constitute a major blow against Mexican workers and especially embattled independent unions.

The measures presented to a meeting of the Business Coordinating Council will be included in a major legislative vehicle shortly. The government proposes to:

• Give employers the right to government arbitration in strike situations, which only unions have at present. Lozano claims that this will put an end to "eternal strikes".

• Allow more leeway for employers to hire people part time, for short term periods and in other irregular ways. Lozano says this is merely recognizing the fact that Mexican workers are already being employed in these ways.

• Other measures intended to increase "labor flexibility" and worker productivity, and thus reassure both Mexico's business elite and foreign investors that the country's efforts to recover from the heavy blow it received from the world financial meltdown will be carried out at the expense of workers and the poor, and not the rich or foreign corporations.

The announcement comes after one of the worst years in recent Mexican economic history. During 2009, Mexico lost about 7 percent of its Gross Domestic Product. Both prices of food staples and the unemployment rate have been rising, 28 percent of the working population is in the informal sector, and the amount of money sent to Mexico by its citizens working in the United States has dropped drastically due to the recession here. A vicious drug war is frightening both tourists and business away, while oil production has been dropping due to the failure of the state owned petroleum company, PEMEX, to modernize its infrastructure.

Oil, tourism and remittances are Mexico's major sources of foreign exchange.

This disastrous situation is in part caused by the degree to which the Mexican and U.S. economies are intertwined. For example, the crisis in the U.S. auto industry hit workers in "big three" plants in Mexico especially hard. The integration of the two economies has been greatly intensified by the North American Free Trade Agreement and the right wing, free trade policies of the current government of President Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party (PAN). The attack on workers needs to be seen in this context.

The connection between the Mexican government's attack on workers and the drug-related violence is strong though indirect. NAFTA and the overall neo-liberal environment is widely seen as having stimulated the drug trade. For example, farmers who can't sell their crops anymore because of NAFTA are tempted to grow cannabis or poppies, or to allow their empty lands to be used by drug gangs. Unemployment for urban people increases crime. Calderon's plan to try to fight the drug trade with the army is also related to his and his officials' quasi-fascist mindset; to a man whose only tool is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail. Drugs, human trafficking and forced migration are closely related too. When all the SME workers were fired in October, among the retraining classes the government provided to those electrical workers willing to renounce their union were English classes. Many saw this more than a gentle hint.

After the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920, much of organized labor was incorporated into an arrangement comparable to the "corporate state" model of Mussolini's fascist Italy. Unions, employers, farmers and professionals were grouped into national federations whose interests were to be mediated by the government and the governing Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI). Union demands were tamped down in the name of stability and balanced growth: Theoretically, neither union members' wages nor employers' profits could so outstrip each other as to destabilize development.

But the corporativist unions soon expelled the left and degenerated into partners with employers and the government in suppressing the workers. Both rank and file dissidence and attempts to form unions outside the corporativist setup were countered by harsh government repression and sometimes gangster violence. In 1959 a strike by the militant railway workers union was crushed by troops and police, and a number of top left wing leaders of the union and of the Mexican Communist Party were given long jail sentences. More recently, attempts to form independent unions in the "maquiladora" operations have been met with violence from goons brought in by the corporativist labor leadership and the employers. First the PRI and now the PAN governments have abetted these practices, which violate the labor clause of the constitution.

Under the Calderon administration, intensified repression has been directed against a number of independent unions:

• The National Mine and Metal Workers Union (SNTMMRM) has been on strike against the operations the multinational corporation Grupo Mexico in Cananea, Sonora since July 2007. The government, which has strong ties to the Grupo Mexico management, has thrown everything it can at the union, and on February 11 the courts ruled that the union contract no longer exists and that Grupo Mexico can fire all 1,200 remaining union members. The SNTMMRM says it will not evacuate the Cananea mine, and a military confrontation may loom.

• Last October, the government seized by force power stations which belonged to the publicly owned Luz y Fuerza del Centro (Central Light and Power), ousting 44,000 members of the renowned independent Mexican Electrical Workers' Union (SME). The SME is one of the oldest unions in Mexico, having worked with the forces of Emiliano Zapata when that insurgent leader took over Mexico City briefly during the 1910-1920 Revolution. But the government has declared the union as well as Luz y Fuerza to be dissolved, in spite of continuing mass protests by the electrical workers and their allies.

• The latest is an attempt to crush the independent National Union of Petroleum Technicians and Profesionals (UNyTPP). This union was formed for employees of the national oil company, PEMEX, who were not included in the bargaining unit of the regular petroleum workers' union, under tight government control since the 1980s. No sooner did the 3,000 member UNyTPP get official recognition, than the PEMEX management began to call its members in one by one to force them to sign letters resigning from, and calling for the cancellation of the union's recognition. Those who will not sign are fired and removed by force.

Corporativist union leaders, instead of joining a united front against the PAN government's anti-worker policies, have hastened to attach themselves to it in the same way they were formerly attached to the PRI. This is why Secretary Lozano Alarcon calls them "serious, responsible and sensitive workers' organizations which have maintained labor peace" ("Acabar con huelgas eternas" La Jornada, March 15 2010; my translation).

Independent unions represent a danger because they make demands that threaten to destabilize the pacts on which the neo-liberal government is maintained. They are also organizing centers of political opposition to the right wing government, and to imperialism. The SME is central to coalitions which are fighting for changes in agricultural and trade policies that have led to the impoverishment of millions of Mexican grain farmers and others. One of their major demands is for a renegotiation of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement). The future of the Mexican left is linked to the survival and growth of the independent unions and their allies. Surviving independent unions, many grouped in progressive federations like the National Workers Union (UNT) and the Authentic Workers Front (FAT), assume that they are on the short list for extermination, and are girding for battle.

Secretary Lozano Alarcon's new proposals show that the attacks against the miners, electrical workers, oil workers and others are not just a reaction, as he claims, to "irregularities" within those individual unions, but part of a concerted plan to force all Mexican workers back into corporativist unions, whose leaders will continue to work hand in glove with the big business and that of international monopoly capital.

U.S. labor has been expressing strong solidarity with the Mexican independent unions. The U.S. Steelworkers, United Electrical and Machine Workers (UE) and others have organized solidarity campaigns. UE updates the situation on its International Solidarity website.

Fortunately, much as Calderon and Lozano may wish, the class struggle can't be abolished with the stroke of a pen.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmanuelrodriguez/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

World Notes: India, France, Paraguay, Palestine

W. T. Whitney Jr. — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:13:00 -0400

India: Unprecedented women's bill passes hurdle

After two days of intense debate, India's upper house overwhelmingly approved legislation on March 9 requiring women occupy one third of national assembly and state legislative seats. With that vote, the measure passed a significant hurdle on it way to becoming law, the first of its kind in the world. The Women's Reservation Bill had been stalled until the recent upper house action.

However, two regional parties threatened to derail future ruling-Congress Party legislation if the lower house follows suit. Detractors saw the reform as benefitting privileged women at the expense of Islamic and lower caste voters.

Women make up only 8 to 13 percent of all elected officials in India.

In 1991, the Communist-led government of Kerala introduced a 30 percent quota for women serving in the district legislature. In 1996, Geeta Mukherjee, a member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, chaired a joint parliamentary committee which submitted a report to the two houses recommending the "reservation" of one third of seats for women. Both CPI-M and the Communist Party of India are supporters of the measure.

France: Sarkozy loses in regional elections

In regional elections, March 14, President Nicolas Sarkozy's center right party secured 26 percent of the votes. The Socialist Party took almost 30 percent, and run-off elections March 21 will decide between the two. The Green Europe Ecologie party took third place with 13 percent of the votes followed by the right wing National Front Party at 12 percent. A record high 52 percent of voters abstained. The left coalition that included the French Communists won 6.2 percent of the votes. Regional election results made unaccustomed news this year as a forecast of possible presidential election results in 2012. Sarkozy's unpopular labor and pension reform proposals plus 10 percent unemployment and significant deficit spending worked against him, reported EUobserver.com.

Paraguay: President honors Communist leader

"Forgive us, Ananías, for so much death, so much injustice," asked President Fernando Lugo, who in ceremonies on March 10 awarded Paraguay's highest civilian award, the National Order of Merit, to Ananías Maidana. With government officials and left activists looking on, Lugo honored the former secretary general of Paraguay's Communist Party: "Comrade Maidana dedicated his entire life to Paraguayan democracy and for that he suffered persecution, torture, and jails during the Alfredo Stroessner dictatorship." The President, quoted by pcv-venezuela.org, noted that "his party and its circumstances reflected limitless belief, unparalleled in our history, that struggle against oppression and for human dignity must be considered in terms of one's own existence and its price."

Palestine: Iron fist accompanies Israel's land grab

On March 12, Israeli security forces sealed off the Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine, to all but women and older men. Soldiers blocked thousands of Palestinians from entering East Jerusalem. Clashes with protesters left 20 wounded. The West Bank remained closed as of March 15, except for humanitarian workers and commerce. The turmoil coincided with announcements that 1,600 new Israeli housing units were going up soon in East Jerusalem and 50,000 more within a few years. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to the visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden for the timing of the announcement, which is widely seen as an affront to the Obama administration who opposes new settlements. South of Bethlehem, Palestinians received land confiscation notices, reported Ma'an news. Meanwhile, settlers burned a six acre Palestinian-owned olive grove north of Hebron. The Palestinian Authority called off peace talks.

Photo: CPI member holds a poster in favor of a mandatory one-third women's representation in parliament and state bodies, Hyderabad, India, March 2008. Teresa Albano/PW

Tax the rich and create jobs now!

Tim Wheeler — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:59:00 -0400

SEATTLE-Union members picketed the downtown Chase Bank March 15 to demand that the Wall Street giant pay its share of state taxes and stop lobbying for extension of a $67 million tax giveaway while the people face drastic cutbacks in education and health care to balance the state budget.

Al Link, president of the Washington State Labor Council told the crowd, "The Wall Street banks turned their backs on us after they took $700 billion of our money in taxpayer bailouts. Now, here in Washington State, these big banks want even more of our money."

The protest came on the same day that Washington's state legislature went into a special session to try to come up with extra revenues or more deep cuts to eliminate a $2.7 billion deficit. This after already inflicting $6 billion or more in cutbacks to vital human needs programs. Yet the big out-of-state state banks are spending millions in the state capital, Olympia, lobbying to win extension of the $67 million tax giveaway.

On St. Patricks Day, the labor movement here is staging a "Jobs NOW" rally at Westlake Park in downtown Seattle to protest 35 percent unemployment in the building trades and to demand that the legislature approve a pending jobs bill that includes funds to replace the crumbling Alaskan Way Viaduct and the Highway 520 floating bridge.

Will Parry, a veteran union leader and past president of the Puget Sound Alliance of Retired Americans debunked the argument that there is no money to fund these lifeline programs. "There is literally billions of dollars available in special state tax exemptions granted to banks and corporations if the legislature has the courage to go after them," Parry told the World in a phone interview. "In the last couple of years, the legislature enacted another batch of these tax giveaways costing the state another $2 billion in lost revenues. There are over 300 special tax exemptions and privileges for banks and corporations in the Washington tax code."

Parry added, "The overall economic situation is increasingly desperate for workers. This is the worst possible time to slash the safety net." He greeted a bill introduced by Spokane's state Sen. Lisa Brown, a Democrat and Majority Leader of the Senate, to put on the November ballot a referendum to establish a 4.5 percent income tax on those earning $200,000 or more annual income. Her measure would also reduce by one cent the 6.5 percent sales tax. Washington has no state income tax and relies on a "soak the poor" sales tax and property taxes that have dwindled as the economic crisis worsens. The state legislature enacted a graduated income in 1933 but the State Supreme Court overturned it as unconstitutional.

"For decades, tax fairness advocates have advocated a progressive income tax in Washington State," Parry continued. "Our tax system is the most regressive in the nation. The enactment of a fair, progressive income tax, properly structured, would relieve low-income taxpayers of a tremendous tax burden," Parry continued. "The sales tax hits low income people hardest and does not generate the revenues needed especially during an economic recession like this one."

His views were echoed by veteran community activist, John Borah, who served as a city planner in Port Angeles and other cities across the nation. In a widely circulated email, he urged an outpouring of messages to State Rep. Lynn Kessler, majority leader of the Washington legislature, urging her to drop her opposition to a vote on Sen. Brown's income tax measure. "This progressive change in taxation is desperately needed to help counteract suffering and inadequate funding for education," Borah wrote.