Carl,
I can get the podcast, The Sensible Socialist on my Victor Stream. There must
be a way for you to get it on the computer. The person who does it, is part of
Wolff's organization and along with going into detail about his theories, he
also has him on the podcast sometimes. Also, Richard Wolff has a new book out
called, Understanding Socialism. I don't know how difficult or easy it is to
read and I didn't see it on BARD or even on Bookshare, last time I looked. But
I heard him say that having the state as an employer, is no better than having
a corporation as an employer. I don't know what they think about small
businesses, I mean really small like one that has 10 or 15 employees.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, May 3, 2020 4:30 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Small Independent Business; an endangered
species?
Total government ownership makes me nervous, considering the sort of "leaders"
who crawl out of the woodpile and run for office. I would like to talk more
about Richard D. Wolff's concept of Co-ops.
Carl Jarvis
On 5/3/20, Frank Ventura <frank.ventura@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
None of this would be a problem if all business (be it large or small)
was nationalized and owned and run entirely by the government.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of
miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, May 2, 2020 9:05 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Small Independent Business; an
endangered species?
The problem is that this plan, along with most others, is temporary.
They're going to help small businesses, (supposedly), until the danger
from the virus is past. But small businesses have been endangered for
50 years because of changes in our laws that favor big corporations.
Our whole financial system, food production system, and the places
where products are produced, have been completely changed. Maybe some
people didn't notice all of this until the current crisis brought on
by this pandemic, but if the virus disappeared tomorrow, all the other
problems would remain.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, May 2, 2020 8:58 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Small Independent Business; an endangered
species?
In all the government's smoke and mirrors and passing of snake oil,
little is being done to protect the small, independent businesses.
Small business has long been the backbone of this nation. But in
recent times...especially the past 40 years, independent small
businesses are becoming an endangered species.
Here is an interesting article.
Carl Jarvis
The coronavirus has created a cash-flow crisis for small businesses
across the country. Many are at extreme risk of being gobbled up by
massive, monopolistic corporations. If we don’t act fast, one sad
result of the pandemic could be a future of gigantic corporate chains
like Walgreens, Appleby’s, and McDonald’s
-- and not much else.
Now, NBC reports: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, are teaming up on a proposal....The 'Pandemic
Anti-Monopoly Act'
would impose a moratorium on mergers and acquisitions involving large
companies until the Federal Trade Commission 'determines that small
businesses, workers, and consumers are no longer under severe
financial distress.'"
Our communities are stronger because of the care, personal attention,
and millions of non-corporate jobs that small businesses provide.
Let’s not allow
the big corporations to exploit the coronavirus to take them from us.
Will you support Elizabeth Warren’s bill which protects small
businesses that want to come back stronger? Will you fight big
corporations using the pandemic to exploit them? Click to sign the petition.
Many small business owners are longtime members of the Progressive
Change Campaign Committee, and many have reached out to share their
fears and challenges as they struggle to keep employees on the payroll
and fend off big corporate chains.
A PCCC member who co-owns two independent pharmacies in Kansas says,
"Even before the coronavirus hit, there were offers from the big
corporate chain pharmacies to buy us out -- and they are always trying
to lure away our customers. I’m not that worried about our customers deciding
to leave.
But I do worry that,
without protection, the coronavirus could force us to sell to the big
corporations due to temporary dips in our cash flow."
A PCCC member who is a dentist in Michigan writes, “I do not want to
merge or sell out to big corporations. The quality of dental work
suffers and ultimately it's not good for the patients.”
A PCCC member in Montana shares this: “I have an Art Gallery, I make
wedding gowns, and we have a hot air balloon company. All 3 of the
businesses I manage had to close but the bills keep coming. I have
been volunteering to make masks for first responders. The government
has done nothing to help me or self-employed people like me.”
And a PCCC member who owns a jewelry store in Indiana says, “If the
quarantine had been implemented earlier, our tourist town on Lake
Michigan would likely not have been forced to cancel our spring &
summer events. I own a small business & we may not make it through this.”
Across the country, there are everyday people like these who are
struggling to keep their small and independent businesses
community-based. We all will lose out if, as with so much else, this
virus decimates small businesses, leaving us with a future even more dictated
by big corporations.
Sign the petition in support of Elizabeth Warren’s bill if you agree:
Congress must protect small businesses that want to come back
stronger. We must ensure the pandemic doesn’t mean they are forced to
sell to giant corporations.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- The PCCC Team
