Miriam:
In my opinion there are very, very few people who have the correct
stamina and perseverance to initiate, carry on and perpetuate change.
Richard
On 10/28/2016 12:25 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Unfortunately, the Left is fragmented with many different socialist groups and
not the amount of money that the Right had when it captured the country. Bill
Ayers' latest book, Demand The Impossible, on Bookshare, is very inspirational,
and it talks about what we could accomplish if masses of people could imagine a
different way of doing things and then, just take over and do them. But when he
talks about our accomplishments, they are the movements that flare up, reframe
the discussion, and then sort of disappear, at least to the majority of people,
like Occupy. There are things going on all over the country, all over the
world. He says, someday, one of these will light a spark for a world rebellion.
But just look at what the State has done to Standing Rock. Police and military
power are demolishing that protest, even as more celebrities become involved.
They cut off a new encampment, closed the roads, set up a no fly zone except
for police drones, shut down their internet access.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2016 12:49 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: A socialist joins the 2016 presidential debates,
Part I
"...like the Democrats and Republicans, Bernie Sanders, the Greens and the
Libertarians all support capitalism in one form or another. To truly get at the heart of
the problems we face today, a revolutionary, anti-capitalist perspective needs to be
weighed alongside the other voices."
Weighed, yes. But then the next step is to organize a peaceful take over of
the American Empire...just as the Pentagon/War Profiteers has done.
If we can pull that off, we will then be ready to click our heels together and chant,
"There's no place like home".
Carl Jarvis
On 10/28/16, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
https://socialistaction.org/2016/10/25/a-socialist-joins-the-2016-pres
idential-debates-part-i/
A socialist joins the 2016 presidential debates, Part I
/ 3 days ago
By BRUCE LESNICK
Usually the U.S. presidential debates are more about personalities
than politics. The phony Commission on Presidential Debates, deeply in
the pocket of Democratic and Republican parties, serves as a fig leaf
to mask the shamefully narrow discussion that passes for democracy in
“The Greatest Country On Earth”™. But living in the 21st century, we
do not have to accept the limitations that those in charge would use
to hem us in. With technology at our service, we can present a real, broader
debate.
According to imperial decree, we are only allowed to hear from the two
candidates that represent Wall Street and corporate America. Both the
Democrats and Republicans have a long history of supporting
pro-corporate, anti-labor policies, with initiatives that promote
racism, sexism, exploitation, and environmental destruction. How do we
know? Because together those two parties have been running the country
for hundreds of years and the proof is in what we see all around us.
All serious candidates—including Jill Stein of the Green Party and
Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party—should be included in the debates.
Doing so could only broaden the discussion. But like the Democrats and
Republicans, Bernie Sanders, the Greens and the Libertarians all
support capitalism in one form or another. To truly get at the heart
of the problems we face today, a revolutionary, anti-capitalist
perspective needs to be weighed alongside the other voices. To that
end we bring you an expanded debate, where socialist “Sydney
Solidarity” squares off against the twin candidates of the ruling rich.
The first presidential debate of the 2016 campaign took place Sept.
26, moderated by Lester Holt. Below are Solidarity’s responses to each
of the debate questions. In this segment, we deal with basic questions
of the economy. A later segment will highlight Solidarity’s response
to questions concerning climate change, Black Lives Matter, and war.
Lester Holt’s comments are edited for flow. A transcript of the
actual, limited debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton can be found
here.
* * *
Lester Holt: We’re calling this opening segment “Achieving Prosperity.”
And central to that is jobs. There are two economic realities in
America today. There’s been a record six straight years of job growth,
and new census numbers show incomes have increased at a record rate
after years of stagnation. However, income inequality remains
significant, and nearly half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.
Why are you a better choice than your opponents to create the kinds of
jobs that will put more money into the pockets of American workers?
Sydney Solidarity: Thank you. The primary difference between
socialists and the parties represented by Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton,
is that socialists tell the truth about the class divisions in our
society and all that these imply. Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton would have
you believe that there is one America, one team, with everyone in the
same boat and everyone pulling toward the same goal. This is a conscious
deception.
As socialists, we recognize that the 99% and the 1%—those who produce
all of the nation’s wealth, versus those who, through various schemes,
collect, control and oversee the disposition of that great mountain of
wealth—have opposing and conflicting interests. The interests of Wall
St, the giant insurance companies and corporate conglomerates are
different from those of working people.
Socialists argue that our current economic system is fundamentally
undemocratic because those who produce all of the wealth have no say
in how it is put to use, and those who control most of the wealth had
nothing to do with creating it. As such, socialist solutions to
current problems take into account the injustice of the current setup
and we are not bound by the artificial constraints adhered to by the
pro-capitalist candidates.
Socialists say a job is a right that should be guaranteed to all, at
union wages. There is plenty of work that needs to be done and plenty
of money to pay for it. To immediately put everyone back to work, we
would launch a massive public works program to build and repair
infrastructure, schools, parks and neighborhood health clinics;
construct fast, cheap, efficient mass transit within and between each
of our cities. We would invest heavily in research, development and
construction of safe, renewable energy technologies like solar, wind,
geothermal, tidal and more.
To pay for all of this, we would eliminate the more than $600 billion
war budget, which is used by the 1% to defend their interests and
impose their will on the 99% at home and abroad. Finally, we would
institute a steeply graduated income tax, with working people paying
no tax, those earning more than $200,000 taxed at an increasing rate
for each additional $10,000 of income, up to a top tax rate of 100%
for any income over a million dollars. All types of income, including
interest and capital gains, would be treated the same. This may sound
radical, but we should remember that the top US tax rate from 1954 to 1963 was
91%.
Solidarity now responds to the comments by the other candidates.
In her remarks, Ms. Clinton paid lip service to clean energy, equal
pay for equal work, a fair minimum wage, affordable childcare and
debt-free college education. This sounds enticing, until you remember
that the political parties that Ms. Clinton and Mr. Trump represent
have been in power for generations, during which time the record on
all of these issues has been abysmal. Democrat Barak Obama has bragged
about his “all of the above” energy policy, off-shore drilling and
building enough “new oil and gas pipeline to circle the Earth and then
some.” In the first two years of Obama’s presidency, with a Democratic
majority in both houses of Congress, absolutely nothing was done to
advance the cause of equal pay, affordable childcare or the rest.
Socialists, on the other hand, don’t just talk. We are active every
day in movements in the streets to stop environmental destruction,
halt the murders of African Americans and other minorities by racist
cops, provide free childcare for all, guarantee abortion on demand,
guarantee equal rights for all, fight for $15 and a union, halt the
imperial war machine and bring all US troops home now.
In his remarks, Mr. Trump promised to halt the flight of U.S.
companies overseas by cutting corporate taxes. This while his own
business has extensive offshore operations. With unemployment up and
real wages down, working people are indeed suffering. But in proposing
to create jobs by cutting corporate taxes, Mr. Trump forces the rest
of us to either pay more or get by with less. It’s highway robbery and
the choice is a familiar one: “Your money or your life!”
Holt: Let me follow up with Mr. Trump, if you can. You’ve talked about
creating 25 million jobs, and you’ve promised to bring back millions
of jobs for Americans. How are you going to bring back the industries
that have left this country for cheaper labor overseas? How,
specifically, are you going to tell American manufacturers that you have to
come back?
Solidarity: Socialists say that a job is a universal right. No one
should ever have to go without a job—a good job, at union wages. Mr.
Trump and Ms. Clinton say that they’re for jobs too, but it’s not true.
In fact, they’ve got a big problem. The so-called free enterprise
system, which they both worship, which Ms. Clinton says “built the
greatest middle class in history,” absolutely depends on having
millions of unemployed, underemployed and super exploited workers.
Under capitalism, full employment is impossible. Why? Because if
everyone had a job, the balance of power between workers and employers
would be significantly altered. Workers could demand higher pay and
the boss would have no choice but to agree. Workers could go out on
strike, and there would be no one to use as strikebreakers.
In a rational system, if any public need was not being fulfilled,
people would be put to work fulfilling it. And if putting everybody to
work full time would result in too much being produced—if full
employment at 40 hours per week would produce more than what society
needs—then the sensible thing to do would be to reduce the work week
with no reduction in pay, dividing the necessary work among everyone.
If you put human needs before profits, it’s easy to have jobs for all.
But if your first loyalty is to profits, as is the case for Democrats
and Republicans, then these simple, rational solutions can’t be
considered. Democrats and Republicans are for creating jobs only if
it’s profitable to do so. That’s why their proposals always involve
giving money to corporations and the rich.
Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton point to the current economic downturn to
explain why unemployment is so high. But what they don’t tell you is
that regular, periodic crises, such as the one we are currently
suffering through, are themselves a direct result of putting profits
before human needs. The way our economy is organized, there’s a
recession or depression every five or ten years. No Democratic or
Republican proposal has ever changed that.
From an early age, we’re taught—and Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton will
try to tell you—that these economic downturns just kind of happen,
like thunderstorms. But that’s not true either. These crises occur
when the economy produces more than can be sold at a profit. It’s then
that businesses cut back, close down, lay off workers, and wait until
profit potential improves. No consideration whatsoever is given to
whether there are unmet needs; whether people are hungry, or homeless,
or jobless, or poor. But the most outrageous part of all is that, with
the current profit-driven system, the system President Obama has
called “the greatest engine of prosperity the world’s ever known,”
crises and high unemployment occur not when there’s a scarcity of
productive capacity or goods that everybody needs, but when there’s too much!
To guarantee jobs for all, we would immediately reduce the workweek
with no reduction in pay. Can we afford this? Absolutely. While most
of us are suffering from the current recession, those at the top are
doing quite well. U.S. corporate profits are near an all-time high.
Profits for the five most profitable Fortune 500 corporations were up
an average of 30% in 2015. Jobs for all is possible and practical, but
only if we reject the narrow framework of the Democrats and
Republicans and instead put people before profits.
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October 25, 2016 in Economy, Elections, Vote Socialist Action.
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