By GERRY FOLEY Since China, unlike Russia and Eastern Europe, is still a predominately rural country, the effects of the ruling bureaucracy's turn toward restoring capitalism have not been so obvious. But for the industrial sector, they are basically the same. The first effect is massive layoffs of workers in the big industries built up … Continue reading Chinese Workers Protest Layoffs
Category: Economy
Three Million Workers Rally in Italy to Protest Anti-Labor Legislation
By GERRY FOLEY Three million workers and youth marched in Rome on Saturday, March 23, in response to an attempt by the recently elected reactionary government in Italy to give employers an unrestricted right to fire their workers. It was undoubtedly the largest demonstration in the history of the country. The march, called by Italy's … Continue reading Three Million Workers Rally in Italy to Protest Anti-Labor Legislation
Is the US Recession Really Over?
By JEFF MACKLER There is little agreement among the ruling rich as to the state of the U.S. economy. While some government officials tentatively assert that the recession is virtually over, a poll of Fortune 500 CEOs indicated that 75 percent disagree. The fact that Congress failed to pass President Bush's proposed $100 billion stimulus … Continue reading Is the US Recession Really Over?
Hundreds of Thousands Protest EU Meeting in Barcelona
Hundreds of thousands marched in Barcelona last month protesting the conference of the European Union (EU) summit. Some highlights of the week of activities were: Sunday, March 10, 400,000 people demonstrated against Spain's National Hydrological Plan. Thursday, March 14, 100,000 trade unionists answered the call of the European TUC, demonstrating for "More Europe with full … Continue reading Hundreds of Thousands Protest EU Meeting in Barcelona
Picket Line & Barricades: Let Enron Show You How!
By BLACKIE D. Hey, you see Enron? Is that ever a neat company or what? You wanna be rich, I mean hog rich, can't spend it all? Sure you do-it's the American way, right? Well, this outfit tells you how to do it-how they did it. The scams they laid down are right there in … Continue reading Picket Line & Barricades: Let Enron Show You How!
Thousands Protest World Economic Forum
By GERRY FIORI NEW YORK-Undaunted by freezing temperatures and attempted police intimidation, close to 10,000 people demonstrated here on Feb. 2 against the meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The demonstration, called by the Another World Is Possible Coalition, began at noon with a rally at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, just outside Central … Continue reading Thousands Protest World Economic Forum
Enron-Type Swindles are the Norm in Capitalist America
By JEFF MACKLER Enron, the nation's seventh largest corporation, with assets of $200 billion, had all the appearances of falling on hard times this past half decade-if its reported taxes are used as a measure of its lack of success. The world's leading energy broker paid no corporate taxes in four of the five past … Continue reading Enron-Type Swindles are the Norm in Capitalist America
Picket Line & Barricades: ‘Don’t Worry,’ they Tell Us!
By BLACKIE D. Have you lost your job? Laid off? The company collapsed? Not to worry, your friends say. They just read in the paper/saw on TV that the economy had "bottomed out" and was surely going to swing up. And look at the stock market! Climbing back up! Maybe you can get out of … Continue reading Picket Line & Barricades: ‘Don’t Worry,’ they Tell Us!
Capitalist Plunder and the World’s Economic Crisis
By JEFF MACKLER The simultaneous recessions unfolding in the three major components of the world capitalist system-the United States, Europe, and Japan-portend increasing misery not only for the workers of these bitterly competing nations and their associated trading blocs but for the workers and farmers of the entire planet. Not a day passes when one … Continue reading Capitalist Plunder and the World’s Economic Crisis
Terror Bombing Sharpens Economic Crisis
By JEFF MACKLER Only fools believed that the U.S. stock market would head in any direction but sharply downward when trading resumed six days after the horrific Sept. 11 terror bombings in New York and Washington, D.C. But fools there were! The Sept. 14 "Nightly Business Report" on television cited a "gentleman's agreement" between … Continue reading Terror Bombing Sharpens Economic Crisis
Patients’ Bill of Rights: Good Bill or Bill of Goods?
By JOE AUCIELLO The Patients' Bill of Rights currently under debate in Congress is deliberately misnamed. It is really a "Corporate Protection Act," intended to minimize employer liability when patients are improperly diagnosed, improperly treated, or denied treatment. Most Americans with health insurance are part of a so-called Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), which offers corporations … Continue reading Patients’ Bill of Rights: Good Bill or Bill of Goods?
Commentary by Mumia Abu-Jamal: The Real Meaning of Genoa
When one mentions the very name of Genoa these days, the historical significance of its Columbian roots mixes with its new-found renown as the site of the G-8 Meeting, and the state killing of a young, anti-globalist demonstrator, Carlo Guiliani. It is now an historical marker of another kind - one of the state's brutality. … Continue reading Commentary by Mumia Abu-Jamal: The Real Meaning of Genoa
Washington Demonstration to Protest Capitalist Globalization
By JEFF MACKLER Some 14,000 participants-including heads of state, finance ministers, and journalists-are expected to attend the Sept. 29-30 Washington, D.C., annual joint meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB). Estimates for the number of protesters range up to 100,000. The city of Washington has requested an additional $30 million in … Continue reading Washington Demonstration to Protest Capitalist Globalization
The Economy Reels!
By JEFF MACKLER When on June 27, Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan announced the sixth reduction in federal interest rates since Jan. 1, no government official felt confident to predict that the staggering U.S. economy would respond favorably. Greenspan was compelled to record a continuing decline in capital spending and productivity losses as U.S. corporations, … Continue reading The Economy Reels!
Editorials
There's more in the pantry for the generals While the Bush administration's sweeping tax program will devastate the federal government's minimal social programs, it is not going to take any skin off the nose of the military. In fact, the military budget this year will be increased by at least $5.6 billion, and possibly much … Continue reading Editorials
Power Companies Rake in $$$ from Energy Crisis
By BARRY SHEPPARD California's power "crisis" would be better named "The Great Rip-off." The power companies, with the connivance of the politicians, have raked in tens of billions as a result of this carefully engineered "crisis," and are demanding more. So blatant has the scam become that even a few state Democrats are making noises … Continue reading Power Companies Rake in $$$ from Energy Crisis
Firestone and Ford: Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Run over a nail and get a flat tire, and usually it's no big deal. But when you're tooling down the highway, and a tire's tread peals away from the casing, tragedy can and does happen. Case in point, the 101 traffic deaths and 400 injuries reported to date that are linked to Bridgestone/Firestone and … Continue reading Firestone and Ford: Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Paul Krugman: ‘Counting Chickens Before They Hatch’
The bulk of the accompanying article, "The 'budget surplus' and other misconceptions" was written in the month of July. Since then, the Republicans and Democrats had their national conventions and officially nominated their presidential slates. This has formally launched the political struggle between the two main factions of the capitalist class over which will become … Continue reading Paul Krugman: ‘Counting Chickens Before They Hatch’
Gore, Bush, the ‘Budget Surplus’ and Other Misconceptions
By NAT WEINSTEIN The Democratic and Republican candidates for president of the United States, Al Gore and George W. Bush, have focused their election campaign platforms on how much of an alleged $4.2 trillion budget surplus predicted over the next 10 years should be handed over to the country's richest capitalists. Bush promises the rich … Continue reading Gore, Bush, the ‘Budget Surplus’ and Other Misconceptions
Globalization, Human Needs & the Fight for Social Justice
By KEN WALDEN Tens of thousands took to the streets in Seattle and Washington, D.C., to protest the policies of the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank. Should the goal be to reform or to replace financial institutions that parasitically exploit working people around the world? The World Trade Organization (WTO), The … Continue reading Globalization, Human Needs & the Fight for Social Justice
Globalization… What it is and how to Fight it
By NAT WEINSTEIN "Globalization" is a word describing the process by which the entire world has been woven into a single marketplace, rigidly ruled by the economic laws of the profit system. Most of those who oppose the WTO, the IMF, and NAFTA know that these and other alphabetized institutions in charge of capitalist globalization … Continue reading Globalization… What it is and how to Fight it
HMOs and the Threat to Your Health
By MARK HARRIS "Making a Killing: HMOs and the Threat to Your Health," by Jamie Court and Francis Smith, 224 pages. Common Courage Press, 1999. Is market-driven capitalism good for your health care? That may depend on your vantage point. If your name is Leonard Abramson and you're the former CEO of U.S. Healthcare, yes. … Continue reading HMOs and the Threat to Your Health
Why AFL-CIO Lost the China Trade Vote
In 1993, the AFL-CIO banked on the Democratic Party to block the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It passed anyway. This year the AFL-CIO tops again turned to the Democrats to defeat the adoption of a bill giving China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR). Labor officials claimed that the proposed legislation … Continue reading Why AFL-CIO Lost the China Trade Vote
W-2 is Big Business
By ANALISA DREW MILWAUKEE-Last month, I wrote an article about the outcome of the implementation of welfare reform ("W-2") and the suffering it has wreaked throughout Wisconsin and particularly Milwaukee. This month I would like to attempt to unravel the tangled web that is W-2 and expose the big money forces behind it. It comes … Continue reading W-2 is Big Business
U.S. Unions Rail Against China Trade
By CHARLES WALKER Despite the current economic expansion, American workers have every right to fear the loss of their jobs. If the lingering memories of the wrenching deprivations of the catastrophic Great Depression no longer incite that fear, the mass layoffs of the past two decades in one industry after another are more than enough … Continue reading U.S. Unions Rail Against China Trade