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May 22, 2014
from truthdig:
Why the Left Should Look to Jackson, Mississippi
Posted on May 21, 2014
By Michael Siegel
A new political and economic model is emerging, and it is not appearing where we might suspect it would. In the heart of the South, in a city named after one of the most racist presidents in United States history, in a landscape that resembles parts of Detroit and other decaying industrial centers, an impressive intergenerational collection of community organizers and activists have launched a bold program to empower a black working-class community that 21st -century capitalism has left behind.
In the last two months, I have traveled twice to Jackson, Miss., first for the memorial of Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, and most recently, between May 2 and 4, for the Jackson Rising: New Economies Conference held at Jackson State University. On both occasions, I have been struck by the amazing individuals and families who have dedicated themselves to developing economic democracy in Jackson.
A Black Revolutionary Mayor in the Heart of the South
Jackson Rising is the brainchild of a coalition of local and national political forces, including the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM), the Jackson People’s Assembly and Lumumba’s office. Part of the initial vision was for the conference to catalyze some of the mayor’s economic initiatives, including the goal of helping local workers win government contracts. Unfortunately Lumumba, who won election by an overwhelming majority in June, held office for only a brief period before dying Feb. 25 of unexplained causes.
That Lumumba won the election at all is a testament to his sustained radical human rights work and to the group of community organizers he worked with over many years. Even during his campaign for mayor, Lumumba made no apologies for his revolutionary background, including his commitment to the New Afrikan Peoples Organization (NAPO) and its claim to a homeland in the predominantly black regions of the South (described as the “Kush”), including broad swaths of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Lumumba’s history also included decades of experience as a civil rights and criminal defense attorney, with past clients including freedom fighters and political prisoners such as Mutulu Shakur, Geronimo Pratt and Assata Shakur. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/why_the_left_should_look_to_jackson_mississippi_20140521
Why the Left Should Look to Jackson, Mississippi
from truthdig:
Why the Left Should Look to Jackson, Mississippi
Posted on May 21, 2014
By Michael Siegel
A new political and economic model is emerging, and it is not appearing where we might suspect it would. In the heart of the South, in a city named after one of the most racist presidents in United States history, in a landscape that resembles parts of Detroit and other decaying industrial centers, an impressive intergenerational collection of community organizers and activists have launched a bold program to empower a black working-class community that 21st -century capitalism has left behind.
In the last two months, I have traveled twice to Jackson, Miss., first for the memorial of Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, and most recently, between May 2 and 4, for the Jackson Rising: New Economies Conference held at Jackson State University. On both occasions, I have been struck by the amazing individuals and families who have dedicated themselves to developing economic democracy in Jackson.
A Black Revolutionary Mayor in the Heart of the South
Jackson Rising is the brainchild of a coalition of local and national political forces, including the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM), the Jackson People’s Assembly and Lumumba’s office. Part of the initial vision was for the conference to catalyze some of the mayor’s economic initiatives, including the goal of helping local workers win government contracts. Unfortunately Lumumba, who won election by an overwhelming majority in June, held office for only a brief period before dying Feb. 25 of unexplained causes.
That Lumumba won the election at all is a testament to his sustained radical human rights work and to the group of community organizers he worked with over many years. Even during his campaign for mayor, Lumumba made no apologies for his revolutionary background, including his commitment to the New Afrikan Peoples Organization (NAPO) and its claim to a homeland in the predominantly black regions of the South (described as the “Kush”), including broad swaths of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Lumumba’s history also included decades of experience as a civil rights and criminal defense attorney, with past clients including freedom fighters and political prisoners such as Mutulu Shakur, Geronimo Pratt and Assata Shakur. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/why_the_left_should_look_to_jackson_mississippi_20140521
May 21, 2014
http://www.leftforum.org/
Left Forum provides a context for the critical dialogue that is essential for a stronger Left and a more just society.
Each spring Left Forum convenes the largest gathering in North America of the US and international Left. Continuing a tradition begun in the 1960s, we bring together intellectuals and organizers to share perspectives, strategies, experience and vision. For the US and the world, revitalizing an American Left has never been more urgent; Left Forum has a critical role to play in that undertaking.
Our work parallels and cross-fertilizes with the renewal of left, progressive, radical and social movement strength elsewhere—from indigenous movements in Bolivia to the South Korean farmers to the electoral gains of European and Latin American left parties. Like many movements abroad, Left Forum seeks to link the critique of neo-liberalism to anti-capitalism, and to foster radical alternatives to the established order. Left Forum provides a context for critical engagement by people of different persuasions who, nevertheless, seek common ground. Please join with us for the 2014 Left Forum conference, taking place on May 30- June 1st at John Jay College in New York City. Details for submitting proposals will be posted soon.
The members of the Left Forum board of directors are listed elsewhere on this site. Suffice to say we are all committed to a broad, ecumenical, and non-sectarian discussion. We come together for the purpose of hosting this annual event. The Left Forum enables others to discuss, debate, and engage their political stands with each other, but it does not take such political stands itself. Instead, it facilitates networking and other vital tasks among leftists. We do not share our mailing list with anyone. We are committed to holding admission fees well below the cost of our conference, and to continue to offer student, unemployed, and low-income fee categories and scholarships. To do this we depend upon larger and smaller contributions from people who find this conference an important event. We also appreciate people who are financially able to pay the higher-income fee for the conference.
This conference is expensive and we really do need your help. If you would like to send us a contribution now, please go to the "support" link (in the left margin on this page) and press the donate button or make out a check to: Left Forum, c/o Sociology/CUNY Graduate Center, and send it to: 365 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10016-4309 Thank you and see you at the 2014 Left Forum, perhaps the most important of our conferences given the times we are living through and what we are called upon to do.
2014 participants include: Chris Hedges, Angela Davis, Cornell West, Amy Goodman, Richard Wolff, Harry Belafonte, Laura Flanders............
Time for Left Forum 2014 !
http://www.leftforum.org/
Left Forum provides a context for the critical dialogue that is essential for a stronger Left and a more just society.
Each spring Left Forum convenes the largest gathering in North America of the US and international Left. Continuing a tradition begun in the 1960s, we bring together intellectuals and organizers to share perspectives, strategies, experience and vision. For the US and the world, revitalizing an American Left has never been more urgent; Left Forum has a critical role to play in that undertaking.
Our work parallels and cross-fertilizes with the renewal of left, progressive, radical and social movement strength elsewhere—from indigenous movements in Bolivia to the South Korean farmers to the electoral gains of European and Latin American left parties. Like many movements abroad, Left Forum seeks to link the critique of neo-liberalism to anti-capitalism, and to foster radical alternatives to the established order. Left Forum provides a context for critical engagement by people of different persuasions who, nevertheless, seek common ground. Please join with us for the 2014 Left Forum conference, taking place on May 30- June 1st at John Jay College in New York City. Details for submitting proposals will be posted soon.
The members of the Left Forum board of directors are listed elsewhere on this site. Suffice to say we are all committed to a broad, ecumenical, and non-sectarian discussion. We come together for the purpose of hosting this annual event. The Left Forum enables others to discuss, debate, and engage their political stands with each other, but it does not take such political stands itself. Instead, it facilitates networking and other vital tasks among leftists. We do not share our mailing list with anyone. We are committed to holding admission fees well below the cost of our conference, and to continue to offer student, unemployed, and low-income fee categories and scholarships. To do this we depend upon larger and smaller contributions from people who find this conference an important event. We also appreciate people who are financially able to pay the higher-income fee for the conference.
This conference is expensive and we really do need your help. If you would like to send us a contribution now, please go to the "support" link (in the left margin on this page) and press the donate button or make out a check to: Left Forum, c/o Sociology/CUNY Graduate Center, and send it to: 365 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10016-4309 Thank you and see you at the 2014 Left Forum, perhaps the most important of our conferences given the times we are living through and what we are called upon to do.
2014 participants include: Chris Hedges, Angela Davis, Cornell West, Amy Goodman, Richard Wolff, Harry Belafonte, Laura Flanders............
May 21, 2014
http://www.leftforum.org/
Left Forum provides a context for the critical dialogue that is essential for a stronger Left and a more just society.
Each spring Left Forum convenes the largest gathering in North America of the US and international Left. Continuing a tradition begun in the 1960s, we bring together intellectuals and organizers to share perspectives, strategies, experience and vision. For the US and the world, revitalizing an American Left has never been more urgent; Left Forum has a critical role to play in that undertaking.
Our work parallels and cross-fertilizes with the renewal of left, progressive, radical and social movement strength elsewhere—from indigenous movements in Bolivia to the South Korean farmers to the electoral gains of European and Latin American left parties. Like many movements abroad, Left Forum seeks to link the critique of neo-liberalism to anti-capitalism, and to foster radical alternatives to the established order. Left Forum provides a context for critical engagement by people of different persuasions who, nevertheless, seek common ground. Please join with us for the 2014 Left Forum conference, taking place on May 30- June 1st at John Jay College in New York City. Details for submitting proposals will be posted soon.
The members of the Left Forum board of directors are listed elsewhere on this site. Suffice to say we are all committed to a broad, ecumenical, and non-sectarian discussion. We come together for the purpose of hosting this annual event. The Left Forum enables others to discuss, debate, and engage their political stands with each other, but it does not take such political stands itself. Instead, it facilitates networking and other vital tasks among leftists. We do not share our mailing list with anyone. We are committed to holding admission fees well below the cost of our conference, and to continue to offer student, unemployed, and low-income fee categories and scholarships. To do this we depend upon larger and smaller contributions from people who find this conference an important event. We also appreciate people who are financially able to pay the higher-income fee for the conference.
This conference is expensive and we really do need your help. If you would like to send us a contribution now, please go to the "support" link (in the left margin on this page) and press the donate button or make out a check to: Left Forum, c/o Sociology/CUNY Graduate Center, and send it to: 365 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10016-4309 Thank you and see you at the 2014 Left Forum, perhaps the most important of our conferences given the times we are living through and what we are called upon to do.
2014 participants include: Chris Hedges, Angela Davis, Cornell West, Amy Goodman, Richard Wolff, Harry Belafonte, Laura Flanders............
It's Left Forum Time !!!!
http://www.leftforum.org/
Left Forum provides a context for the critical dialogue that is essential for a stronger Left and a more just society.
Each spring Left Forum convenes the largest gathering in North America of the US and international Left. Continuing a tradition begun in the 1960s, we bring together intellectuals and organizers to share perspectives, strategies, experience and vision. For the US and the world, revitalizing an American Left has never been more urgent; Left Forum has a critical role to play in that undertaking.
Our work parallels and cross-fertilizes with the renewal of left, progressive, radical and social movement strength elsewhere—from indigenous movements in Bolivia to the South Korean farmers to the electoral gains of European and Latin American left parties. Like many movements abroad, Left Forum seeks to link the critique of neo-liberalism to anti-capitalism, and to foster radical alternatives to the established order. Left Forum provides a context for critical engagement by people of different persuasions who, nevertheless, seek common ground. Please join with us for the 2014 Left Forum conference, taking place on May 30- June 1st at John Jay College in New York City. Details for submitting proposals will be posted soon.
The members of the Left Forum board of directors are listed elsewhere on this site. Suffice to say we are all committed to a broad, ecumenical, and non-sectarian discussion. We come together for the purpose of hosting this annual event. The Left Forum enables others to discuss, debate, and engage their political stands with each other, but it does not take such political stands itself. Instead, it facilitates networking and other vital tasks among leftists. We do not share our mailing list with anyone. We are committed to holding admission fees well below the cost of our conference, and to continue to offer student, unemployed, and low-income fee categories and scholarships. To do this we depend upon larger and smaller contributions from people who find this conference an important event. We also appreciate people who are financially able to pay the higher-income fee for the conference.
This conference is expensive and we really do need your help. If you would like to send us a contribution now, please go to the "support" link (in the left margin on this page) and press the donate button or make out a check to: Left Forum, c/o Sociology/CUNY Graduate Center, and send it to: 365 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10016-4309 Thank you and see you at the 2014 Left Forum, perhaps the most important of our conferences given the times we are living through and what we are called upon to do.
2014 participants include: Chris Hedges, Angela Davis, Cornell West, Amy Goodman, Richard Wolff, Harry Belafonte, Laura Flanders............
May 21, 2014
from the Detroit News:
The M-1 Rail project is inching closer to reality, organizers say, with a groundbreaking planned this summer that will rebuild a portion of Woodward Avenue and add sleek streetcars.
Officials won’t reveal when construction will begin — the road will be completely rebuilt from Adams past West Grand Boulevard. But they say they are down to a couple of vendors to build the streetcars and are close to securing the $140 million of mostly philanthropic money needed for the public-private project.
After six years of debate, delays and changes, M-1 Rail officials and others say the 3.3-mile route that once was considered to extend to Eight Mile and connect to other rail lines could be the catalyst to jump-start alternative modes of mass transit and convince a dubious public these types of projects can get done.
“Once it’s up and running, it will be over the top,” said Paul Childs, chief operating officer of the project, which will have 12 stops and 20 stations (at four stops, trains in both directions will share a station). “We’re confident about that.” .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140520/METRO01/305200020#ixzz32JMeRTYZ
M-1 Rail on track for groundbreaking in Detroit
from the Detroit News:
The M-1 Rail project is inching closer to reality, organizers say, with a groundbreaking planned this summer that will rebuild a portion of Woodward Avenue and add sleek streetcars.
Officials won’t reveal when construction will begin — the road will be completely rebuilt from Adams past West Grand Boulevard. But they say they are down to a couple of vendors to build the streetcars and are close to securing the $140 million of mostly philanthropic money needed for the public-private project.
After six years of debate, delays and changes, M-1 Rail officials and others say the 3.3-mile route that once was considered to extend to Eight Mile and connect to other rail lines could be the catalyst to jump-start alternative modes of mass transit and convince a dubious public these types of projects can get done.
“Once it’s up and running, it will be over the top,” said Paul Childs, chief operating officer of the project, which will have 12 stops and 20 stations (at four stops, trains in both directions will share a station). “We’re confident about that.” .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140520/METRO01/305200020#ixzz32JMeRTYZ
May 21, 2014
For D.C. Residents, Streetcar Return Will Pose Practical Challenges
Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - 03:01 PM
By MARTIN DICARO : WAMU
If you stand on a corner in the H Street NE commercial district your ears will ring with a cacophony of city activity: cars and buses revving engines and honking horns, deliverymen unloading box trucks outside storefronts, the clatter and chatter of pedestrians and shoppers.
It would seem your ears would have no room for anything else.
To this urban mix will be added the electric whir of streetcars shifting from curb to median along 2.5 miles of tracks on H Street and Benning Road in Northeast D.C. It is the first section of a planned 22-mile priority streetcar network. The initial line is expected to open this year; the larger system will take years to complete.
A Change for All Parties on H Street
Before a single passenger can board a D.C. streetcar again, the system must pass all safety testing, an ongoing process that already has taken months. Once the streetcars start moving people, the District Department of Transportation will face the challenge of operating them safely and on time in a dense commercial corridor. .......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.wnyc.org/story/dc-residents-streetcar-return-will-pose-practical-challenges/
For D.C. Residents, Streetcar Return Will Pose Practical Challenges
For D.C. Residents, Streetcar Return Will Pose Practical Challenges
Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - 03:01 PM
By MARTIN DICARO : WAMU
If you stand on a corner in the H Street NE commercial district your ears will ring with a cacophony of city activity: cars and buses revving engines and honking horns, deliverymen unloading box trucks outside storefronts, the clatter and chatter of pedestrians and shoppers.
It would seem your ears would have no room for anything else.
To this urban mix will be added the electric whir of streetcars shifting from curb to median along 2.5 miles of tracks on H Street and Benning Road in Northeast D.C. It is the first section of a planned 22-mile priority streetcar network. The initial line is expected to open this year; the larger system will take years to complete.
A Change for All Parties on H Street
Before a single passenger can board a D.C. streetcar again, the system must pass all safety testing, an ongoing process that already has taken months. Once the streetcars start moving people, the District Department of Transportation will face the challenge of operating them safely and on time in a dense commercial corridor. .......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.wnyc.org/story/dc-residents-streetcar-return-will-pose-practical-challenges/
May 21, 2014
from Dissent magazine:
Why Democrats Need Bernie Sanders to Run for President
By Michael Kazin - May 20, 2014
Bernie Sanders may actually run for president. The feisty Senator from Vermont is giving dinner speeches in Iowa, telling journalists he’s “prepared” to campaign, and is deciding whether he wants to compete for the Democratic nomination or take the “radical” step of heading an independent ticket. Assuming he rejects the Naderish option, which would upset many of his admirers who recall the 2000 debacle, a Sanders run could be excellent news for Democrats—in the next presidential race and beyond.
At a minimum, it would make the Democratic primary about more than the deeds and personality of Hillary the inevitable. Sanders, as eloquent a voice of left-wing populism as exists in the land, would press Clinton to support doubling the current minimum wage, imposing higher taxes on the wealthy, and increasing entitlement payments instead of reducing them in a “grand bargain” with Republicans. He would also push her to explain how she would end the dominion of big money in politics, long one of his signature issues. Sanders has introduced a constitutional amendment that would overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case. According to multiple polls, these are all popular positions—among independents as well as Democrats. But without a shove from the left, Clinton is likely to stick to a mushy moderation, hoping a lengthy battle inside the GOP will result in a nominee too right-wing for the majority of the electorate to stomach.
A Sanders campaign could also excite and mobilize some of the young people who have grown disenchanted with Obama’s achievements, yet still hold strongly progressive views. Many who supported the president in 2012 in order to defeat Mitt Romney are now cynical and disengaged. Since Occupy faded away, progressive activists have lacked a big, unified cause to fight for; they would probably flock to the white-haired senator who has been known to call himself a democratic socialist. So might other millennials, and their younger siblings who, after Obama was elected in 2008, mistook him for a movement leader rather than a new president who faced the dual challenges of a deep recession and an opposition party determined for him to fail.
Since his days as a civil rights organizer half a century ago, Sanders has always been the antithesis of a deal-making, ideologically fickle politician. In December 2010, he held the Senate floor for eight-and-a-half hours with a speech denouncing the bipartisan tax bill that Obama had just signed, which kept in place cuts for top earners passed while George W. Bush was in the White House. Sanders blasted “the crooks on Wall Street whose actions resulted in the severe recession we are in right now; the people whose illegal, reckless actions have resulted in millions of Americans losing their jobs, their homes, (and) their savings.” ............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.dissentmagazine.org/blog/why-democrats-need-bernie-sanders-to-run-for-president
Why Democrats Need Bernie Sanders to Run for President
from Dissent magazine:
Why Democrats Need Bernie Sanders to Run for President
By Michael Kazin - May 20, 2014
Bernie Sanders may actually run for president. The feisty Senator from Vermont is giving dinner speeches in Iowa, telling journalists he’s “prepared” to campaign, and is deciding whether he wants to compete for the Democratic nomination or take the “radical” step of heading an independent ticket. Assuming he rejects the Naderish option, which would upset many of his admirers who recall the 2000 debacle, a Sanders run could be excellent news for Democrats—in the next presidential race and beyond.
At a minimum, it would make the Democratic primary about more than the deeds and personality of Hillary the inevitable. Sanders, as eloquent a voice of left-wing populism as exists in the land, would press Clinton to support doubling the current minimum wage, imposing higher taxes on the wealthy, and increasing entitlement payments instead of reducing them in a “grand bargain” with Republicans. He would also push her to explain how she would end the dominion of big money in politics, long one of his signature issues. Sanders has introduced a constitutional amendment that would overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case. According to multiple polls, these are all popular positions—among independents as well as Democrats. But without a shove from the left, Clinton is likely to stick to a mushy moderation, hoping a lengthy battle inside the GOP will result in a nominee too right-wing for the majority of the electorate to stomach.
A Sanders campaign could also excite and mobilize some of the young people who have grown disenchanted with Obama’s achievements, yet still hold strongly progressive views. Many who supported the president in 2012 in order to defeat Mitt Romney are now cynical and disengaged. Since Occupy faded away, progressive activists have lacked a big, unified cause to fight for; they would probably flock to the white-haired senator who has been known to call himself a democratic socialist. So might other millennials, and their younger siblings who, after Obama was elected in 2008, mistook him for a movement leader rather than a new president who faced the dual challenges of a deep recession and an opposition party determined for him to fail.
Since his days as a civil rights organizer half a century ago, Sanders has always been the antithesis of a deal-making, ideologically fickle politician. In December 2010, he held the Senate floor for eight-and-a-half hours with a speech denouncing the bipartisan tax bill that Obama had just signed, which kept in place cuts for top earners passed while George W. Bush was in the White House. Sanders blasted “the crooks on Wall Street whose actions resulted in the severe recession we are in right now; the people whose illegal, reckless actions have resulted in millions of Americans losing their jobs, their homes, (and) their savings.” ............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.dissentmagazine.org/blog/why-democrats-need-bernie-sanders-to-run-for-president
May 21, 2014
By Mark Engler and Paul Engler - May 14, 2014
Social movements can be fast, and they can be slow.
Mostly, the work of social change is a slow process. It involves patiently building movement institutions, cultivating leadership, organizing campaigns, and leveraging power to secure small gains. If you want to see your efforts produce results, it helps to have a long-term commitment.
And yet sometimes things move more quickly. Every once in a while we see outbreaks of mass protest, periods of peak activity when the accepted rules of political affairs seem to be suspended. As one sociologist writes, these are extraordinary moments when ordinary people “rise up in anger and hope, defy the rules that ordinarily govern their lives, and, by doing so, disrupt the workings of the institutions in which they are enmeshed.” The impact of these uprisings can be profound. “The drama of such events, combined with the disorder that results, propels new issues to the center of political debate” and drives forward reforms as panicked “political leaders try to restore order.”
These are the words of Frances Fox Piven, the eighty-one-year-old Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center. As co-author, with Richard Cloward, of the classic 1977 treatise Poor People’s Movements, Piven has made landmark contributions to the study of how people who lack both financial resources and influence in conventional politics can nevertheless create momentous revolts. Few scholars have done as much to describe how widespread disruptive action can change history, and few have offered more provocative suggestions about the times when movements—instead of crawling forward with incremental demands—can break into full sprint. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.dissentmagazine.org/blog/can-frances-fox-pivens-theory-of-disruptive-power-create-the-next-occupy
Can Frances Fox Piven’s Theory of Disruptive Power Create the Next Occupy?
By Mark Engler and Paul Engler - May 14, 2014
Cross-posted from Waging Nonviolence.
Social movements can be fast, and they can be slow.
Mostly, the work of social change is a slow process. It involves patiently building movement institutions, cultivating leadership, organizing campaigns, and leveraging power to secure small gains. If you want to see your efforts produce results, it helps to have a long-term commitment.
And yet sometimes things move more quickly. Every once in a while we see outbreaks of mass protest, periods of peak activity when the accepted rules of political affairs seem to be suspended. As one sociologist writes, these are extraordinary moments when ordinary people “rise up in anger and hope, defy the rules that ordinarily govern their lives, and, by doing so, disrupt the workings of the institutions in which they are enmeshed.” The impact of these uprisings can be profound. “The drama of such events, combined with the disorder that results, propels new issues to the center of political debate” and drives forward reforms as panicked “political leaders try to restore order.”
These are the words of Frances Fox Piven, the eighty-one-year-old Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center. As co-author, with Richard Cloward, of the classic 1977 treatise Poor People’s Movements, Piven has made landmark contributions to the study of how people who lack both financial resources and influence in conventional politics can nevertheless create momentous revolts. Few scholars have done as much to describe how widespread disruptive action can change history, and few have offered more provocative suggestions about the times when movements—instead of crawling forward with incremental demands—can break into full sprint. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.dissentmagazine.org/blog/can-frances-fox-pivens-theory-of-disruptive-power-create-the-next-occupy
May 21, 2014
from the Working Life blog:
This Trade Deal Will Make You Sick, Maybe Give You Mad Cow Disease…Or Kill You Fast
Posted on 20 May 2014
The president just keeps spending our money, his time and a chunk of political capital on the putrid Trans Pacific Partnership, one of the newest corporate-backed trade deal–”newest” because every trade deal since NAFTA has been all about protecting corporate interests. Nothing seems to move this president to understand that this is a horrendous deal. And, while a lot of focus has been paid to the TPP, another very bad deal is in the works between the U.S. and Europe–and it will potentially make millions of people sick. Or kill them.
The president does not seem to understand, or care, that trade deals like TPP will drive inequality (though, after he held up Wal-Mart as an upstanding citizen, in utter rhetorical political stupidity given the party’s focus on raising the minimum wage, it’s less astounding). And despite his rhetoric about climate change, he doesn’t seem to understand, or care, that trade deals like the TPP will undo environmental protections.
So, maybe this will work. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a deal being negotiated between the U.S. and the European Union. And it’s a big deal as the two account for roughly half of the entire global domestic product, and one-third of the total trade in goods and services.
And it’s the usual corporate love fest. Corporate lobbyists get to see the text of draft provisions. We don’t. Nor do our elected representatives. And as usual, if a deal is reached, the president will try to ram it through Congress using the undemocratic procedure of “fast track” (which doesn’t allow for any amendments or changes by the people YOU elect to represent YOU), though, happily, it doesn’t look like “fast track” power will be renewed by Congress. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/2014/05/20/this-trade-deal-will-make-you-sick-maybe-give-you-mad-cow-disease-or-kill-you-fast/#sthash.CbOSQSFf.dpuf
This Trade Deal Will Make You Sick, Maybe Give You Mad Cow Disease…Or Kill You Fast
from the Working Life blog:
This Trade Deal Will Make You Sick, Maybe Give You Mad Cow Disease…Or Kill You Fast
Posted on 20 May 2014
The president just keeps spending our money, his time and a chunk of political capital on the putrid Trans Pacific Partnership, one of the newest corporate-backed trade deal–”newest” because every trade deal since NAFTA has been all about protecting corporate interests. Nothing seems to move this president to understand that this is a horrendous deal. And, while a lot of focus has been paid to the TPP, another very bad deal is in the works between the U.S. and Europe–and it will potentially make millions of people sick. Or kill them.
The president does not seem to understand, or care, that trade deals like TPP will drive inequality (though, after he held up Wal-Mart as an upstanding citizen, in utter rhetorical political stupidity given the party’s focus on raising the minimum wage, it’s less astounding). And despite his rhetoric about climate change, he doesn’t seem to understand, or care, that trade deals like the TPP will undo environmental protections.
So, maybe this will work. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a deal being negotiated between the U.S. and the European Union. And it’s a big deal as the two account for roughly half of the entire global domestic product, and one-third of the total trade in goods and services.
And it’s the usual corporate love fest. Corporate lobbyists get to see the text of draft provisions. We don’t. Nor do our elected representatives. And as usual, if a deal is reached, the president will try to ram it through Congress using the undemocratic procedure of “fast track” (which doesn’t allow for any amendments or changes by the people YOU elect to represent YOU), though, happily, it doesn’t look like “fast track” power will be renewed by Congress. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/2014/05/20/this-trade-deal-will-make-you-sick-maybe-give-you-mad-cow-disease-or-kill-you-fast/#sthash.CbOSQSFf.dpuf
May 21, 2014
from the Working Life blog:
Fortune 500 Stashing $2 TRILLION Overseas, Dodging $550 Billion In Taxes, The People Pay The Tab
Posted on 20 May 2014
Big money. Two trillion dollars. If you could touch it, it would reach…oh, I dunno, I’m not going to tell you how high that stack would go and, actually, the point is, you can’t touch it: it’s stashed overseas. In corporate bank accounts. But, here’s the beauty: if you want to know what it feels when the Fortune 500 fleece the country to the tune of $550 billion in dodged taxes on that $2 trillion hiding in foreign bank accounts, just pull out your billfold…empty…well, that’s cuz the tab for that fleecing is on YOU.
So, first, the thievery, courtesy of Citizens for Tax Justice:
Staggering:
And:
The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/2014/05/20/fortune-500-stashing-2-trillion-overseas-dodging-550-billion-in-taxes-the-people-pay-the-tab/#sthash.QzrH1EyO.dpuf
Fortune 500 Stashing $2 TRILLION Overseas, Dodging $550 Billion In Taxes, The People Pay The Tab
from the Working Life blog:
Fortune 500 Stashing $2 TRILLION Overseas, Dodging $550 Billion In Taxes, The People Pay The Tab
Posted on 20 May 2014
Big money. Two trillion dollars. If you could touch it, it would reach…oh, I dunno, I’m not going to tell you how high that stack would go and, actually, the point is, you can’t touch it: it’s stashed overseas. In corporate bank accounts. But, here’s the beauty: if you want to know what it feels when the Fortune 500 fleece the country to the tune of $550 billion in dodged taxes on that $2 trillion hiding in foreign bank accounts, just pull out your billfold…empty…well, that’s cuz the tab for that fleecing is on YOU.
So, first, the thievery, courtesy of Citizens for Tax Justice:
American Fortune 500 corporations are likely saving about $550 billion by holding nearly $2 trillion of “permanently reinvested” profits offshore. Twenty-eight of these corporations reveal that they have paid an income tax rate of 10 percent or less to the governments of the countries where these profits are officially held, indicating that most of these profits are likely in offshore tax havens.While congressional hearings over the past few years have focused attention on the tax avoidance strategies of technology corporations like Apple and Microsoft, this report shows that a diverse array of companies are using offshore tax havens, including U.S. Steel, the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, the apparel manufacturer Nike, the supermarket chain Safeway, the financial firm American Express, and banking giants Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
Staggering:
These 28 companies are not alone in shifting their profits to low-tax havens—they’re only alone in disclosing it. A total of 301 Fortune 500 corporations have disclosed, in their most recent financial reports, holding some of their income as “permanently reinvested” offshore profits. At the end of 2013, these permanently reinvested earnings totaled a whopping $1.95 trillion. (A full list of these 301 corporations is published as an appendix to this paper.) Yet the vast majority of these companies — 243 out of 301 —decline to disclose the U.S. tax rate they would pay if these offshore profits were repatriated. (58 corporations, including the 28 companies shown on this page, disclose this information. A full list of the 58 companies is published as an appendix to this paper.) The non-disclosing companies collectively hold $1.4 trillion in unrepatriated offshore profits at the end of 2013.
And:
......................(more)It’s impossible to know precisely how much income tax would be paid, under current tax rates, upon repatriation by the 243 Fortune 500 companies that have disclosed holding profits overseas but have failed to disclose how much U.S. tax would be due if the profits were repatriated. But if these companies paid the same 28 percent average tax rate as the 58 disclosing companies, the resulting one-time tax would total $403 billion for these 243 companies. Added to the $148 billion tax bill estimated by the 58 companies who did disclose, this means that taxing all “permanently reinvested” foreign income of the 301 companies at the current federal tax rate could result in more than $550 billion in added corporate tax revenue.
The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/2014/05/20/fortune-500-stashing-2-trillion-overseas-dodging-550-billion-in-taxes-the-people-pay-the-tab/#sthash.QzrH1EyO.dpuf
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