the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Apr 29, 2002
The U.S. government reported that the overall economy or, as they call it, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), grew by 5.8% in the first three months of the year.
Commentators and officials took this report as the cue to declare that the recession was officially over, and that the economy is now recovering. The report, they said, indicated how “fast” and “powerful” the economic recovery was. President Bush even got in on the act by claiming that this “is a good sign that we’re on the path to long-term recovery.”
Of course, if this were a recovery for working people, we would have seen “strong and powerful” growth in jobs, wages and benefits. The “long term recovery” that President Bush pronounced from his 5,000 acre ranch in Crawford, Texas during one of his frequent vacations, would have meant more affordable housing, transportation, medical care, education–not to mention the time and money so we too could take vacations!
But, in fact, ordinary people are seeing the exact opposite. Over the last year, the bosses cut two million jobs. And the average time that workers stay unemployed continues to get longer and longer. Just last month, when the economy was supposedly “recovering,” the unemployment rate rose by another two-tenths of a%.
The wage picture looks just as bleak. Real inflation continues to eat away at any meager wage increases that workers have been getting, while the basics such as housing and insurance costs go through the roof. As for benefits, over the last year, the bosses cut the number of people covered by health insurance by over one million. Those of us who still have health benefits are paying out much more from our own pockets.
The only way that most ordinary people can stay afloat is by going deeper and deeper into debt. But that has just meant that debt from credit cards, mortgages, car loans, etc. is at record highs. The interest on that debt is eating up more and more of our income. This might mean record profits for the banks and finance companies. But it is nothing but debt slavery for workers.
No, this is not a recovery for workers. It is just more of the same economic crisis.
Over the past 30 years, the government has claimed that we have gone through several cycles of recessions and recoveries. But running like a red thread through this whole period has been that constant refrain from the bosses that they must cut costs, that workers must sacrifice. During periods of recession, they told us we had to accept sacrifices because business was down. During periods of recovery, they said that the workers had to be patient, that we had to wait, and accept more sacrifices so that “we” could become more “competitive.” But the results were the same: a constant speed up at the work place, fewer workers doing more work, lower wages and less benefits. Meanwhile all the social services that we need when we’re unemployed, sick or retired have been cut.
This will continue if the capitalists have their way. They are doing what they always do, increasing their profits at the workers’ expense, by increasing our exploitation.
If the working class is going to enjoy an economic recovery, we will have to take it from the trillions in profits that the corporations make every year, or from the executive salaries, bonuses and stock options that have made a lot of executives billionaires. So be it.
Apr 29, 2002
More than 100 workers were arrested last week, 10 at Baltimore- Washington Airport, 24 at Reagan National and 69 at Dulles International. These arrests come after months of investigation of thousands and thousands of airport workers in several states done by the Immigration Service, the FBI and the Transportation Department.
And for all these efforts, what did these officials find? Some food service workers lied about having a felony on their records in order to get a job at Burger King! Very few of these workers actually worked for airports, only a few touched the baggage. Among those arrested who had been born in other countries, a few had visa violations. Not one worker arrested is accused of any contact with terrorists. These are not even the workers doing security checks in airport terminals.
Said a consultant in national aviation security, “To increase security, these are not the people you’re looking for. These are just people trying to make a living .... This is just a distraction.”
None of this elaborate screening by three different federal agencies actually increases the security of the flying public.
Behind all this talk about security lurks only another attack on workers–and in this case, some of the poorest.
Disgusting!
Apr 29, 2002
An explosion in a basement in downtown New York on April 25 caused instant headlines and media notice: Was there another terror attack in Manhattan? No.
There wasn’t any “terrorist” attack. There was a “boss” attack–of the usual kind–and it injured at least 42 people. The cause of the blast was a leak involving chemicals used by a small sign manufacturing company. Twelve of the injuries were considered critical and still could cause the death of a worker at this company.
State, federal and fire officials say they are investigating. The fire department said the owner of the company did not have the proper permit to store more than 1,000 gallons of dangerous chemicals and these chemicals were not stored properly. But, in fact, the State of New York had exempted manufacturers like this one from having state permits to store hazardous materials when the chemicals were stored less than 90 days.
So manufacturers can risk the lives and certainly the health and safety of their work forces and not break any state regulations. In other words, business can go on like it usually does.
This might not have been a terrorist attack. But the bosses who made the decision to store these chemicals did so knowing the risk to human life, just as did the state authorities who exempted them. If you’re killed by a boss who despises human life, you’re just as dead as if you’re killed by a terrorist. And, in this country, it happens much more frequently that we are killed by a cold blooded boss.
Apr 29, 2002
After five months of voting down three take-away contracts, toll collectors at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel were locked out of their jobs. Their boss is the Detroit and Canada Tunnel Corporation, a subsidiary owned by an Australian banking conglomerate, which says it will collect tolls with managers and scabs.
The company wants to take away wages and benefits, instituting a two-tier wage system with new hires starting at $7 less per hour than current union members receive. The company’s excuse is that business is down since September 11th. And excuse it is!
Supposedly the Canadian border is a threat to people in the United States. We are told that terrorists could enter through this border. In this situation, more workers should be hired; they should get better wages and have a less intense work schedule. Instead September 11th is used only to justify an attack on workers.
This government does not impose on the tunnel bosses what would be imposed on them if security were a concern. It shows that all Bush’s talk about September 11th is only talk. Here, as elsewhere, it’s a ploy to extract concessions from the workers.
The workers are right to refuse.
Apr 29, 2002
CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) raised its rate on retiree health benefits by almost 25% this April. CalPERS is an enormous pension fund and the second largest purchaser of health care insurance in the U.S. after the federal government. Its trustees are appointed by California state officials.
Of course, employers and institutions put the blame for health care increases on increases from health care providers. And it’s true these increases are outrageous.
But there’s another side to the CalPERS story. Why is it claiming to have less funds than it needs? What was CalPERS doing with its money?
Two years ago, when the State of California was claiming that Enron, as well as other energy suppliers, were ruining it with electricity overcharges, the state’s pension fund was buying Enron stock, hoping to make a killing from the very scam that Enron was pulling on the people of California. In fact, CalPERS was the second biggest institutional holder of Enron stock!
Enron’s bankruptcy cost California’s retirees’ fund hundreds of millions of dollars. But only because the fund managers wanted to cash in on the Enron game–a game they knew was crooked.
So let them pay, today, not the retirees. Let all the crooks at Enron who took the money and ran cough it up. Let the Bush administration, which not only profited from but protected these crooks, pay.
Apr 29, 2002
With all the evidence of wrong-doing against children by some Catholic priests, you would think the Boston police and prosecutors should have been paying some attention.
After all, the statements made by Cardinal Law show he knew what was going on, yet nonetheless continued to shift pedophile priests to other situations where they could rape still more young children.
This raises a curious question: Did police and prosecutors consider charging Cardinal Law as an “accessory”? Knowing about a crime and enabling the criminal to continue would cause anyone else to be charged.
The upholders of law and order–those so ready to execute the poor–have not come forward in these terrible cases of the rape of children. Why are all the pillars of bourgeois society so silent in this case?
Apr 29, 2002
White-collar retirees of Ford Motor Company retired with a promise of full medical coverage. Ford has reneged. On June 1, 50,000 white-collar retirees must start paying anywhere from $20 to $75 a month for their health care. They will also have to pay from $7 to $15 per prescription.
Ford says they must do this because they are in bad financial shape. Ha! They are doing it because the courts have okayed it. GM reneged on their white-collar retirees in 1988, and Chrysler did in 1991. Retirees sued and won their case, but GM pushed it through the courts. And the Supreme Court recently ruled in the companies’ favor.
Ford isn’t hurting. They are just falling in line at the feeding trough.
And so are other companies. A consulting firm, Hewitt Associates, did a survey showing that most big employers intend to demand that their workers start paying up to 30% of their health care costs. That’s around $8.90 more per week, or $463 more a year.
We have seen these tactics all too often. A company claims it is doing bad. It claims it can’t compete with other companies because it doesn’t have a level playing field. It claims it will have to close down some operations, eliminating many jobs–unless the workers sacrifice.
But the companies don’t have only white-collar retirees in their sights. Nor only retirees! Going after a target that looks easier is just a way to get the wedge in against all the workers.
They may soon decide to attack the pension plans in union contracts. And when they decide, they have a convenient pretext: under the law, unions cannot legally bargain for retirees.
Workers did not gain pension plans, nor Social Security either, by getting laws passed. Millions of workers on strike were the power that won those rights. It’s the same power that can protect them.
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Apr 29, 2002
The Saturday April 20 Call to Action in Washington D.C. started mid-morning and continued all day, with gatherings, rallies, and speeches, culminating in a march from the Washington Monument to the Capitol. As the hours went by, it appeared to gather at least 50,000 people. Similar smaller demonstrations took place in the weeks before and after, like the ones in Dearborn, Michigan and in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California.
The protests were aimed against Israel’s role in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the recent stepped up brutality in the Occupied Territories. They also focused on the U.S. government’s unqualified support for Israel and U.S. aid that goes into making Israel’s military machine one of the world’s most modern and lethal. There were also many banners and speeches which supported the rights of Palestinians to have their own nation.
The largest contingent by far was people of Middle Eastern background, especially Palestinians. They were joined by other demonstrators as well.
It may not have been the largest demonstration in Washington, but it demonstrated that a significant number are ready to be counted, to make a statement that there are people in this country who oppose the U.S. government’s policies in the Middle East and support the struggle of the Palestinian people against the daily repression which is their lot.
Apr 29, 2002
The recent French election produced an apparent surprise, because one of the two front runners, Lionel Jospin, the Socialist Party candidate and current Prime Minister, did not make it into the second round, having been replaced Jean-Marie LePen, a candidate of the extreme right, who campaigned against immigrants. The Communist Party, which is also in the current government, had a big drop in its vote to 3.37%. The other party in the government, the Greens, received 5.25%.
The very high rate of abstentions, 28%, reflected the real disgust with the traditional politicians.
On the other hand, Lutte Ouvrière (Workers Struggle), with whom we are in political solidarity, received 5.72%, and the Revolutionary Communist League, also on the extreme left, received 4.25%, adding up to just under 10% of the vote, expressing the disgust of many workers and young people with the government of the Plural Left, which has carried out a pro-boss policy.
The following is a translation of an editorial appearing in the workplace newsletters put out by Lutte Ouvrière (Workers’ Struggle) on April 22, 2002 immediately after the first round.
The choice between cholera and the plague
Never has this popular expression corresponded more to reality!
LePen is a confirmed enemy of the workers and, moreover, he carries a reactionary ideology of the worst sort which it’s absolutely necessary to combat.
Chirac is a man of the right, openly in the camp of the big bosses. But, depending on the circumstances, he is capable of behaving exactly like LePen and Mégret [the other candidate of the far right].
The result of the first round of the presidential elections means that they are going to ask us to choose between the two.
All the press and all the political parties present the ousting of Jospin from the second round as a political earthquake, an unspeakable catastrophe, indeed a situation never seen before.
The presence of LePen on the second round isn’t due to a real rise of the extreme right, contrary to what all the press seems to say. In fact, it isn’t necessary to be demoralized because of this result.
In the presidential election of 1995, which resulted in Chirac’s election, the extreme right was constituted by LePen and DeVilliers. Between the two, they obtained 19.74% of the vote. Today, on this first round, LePen and Mégret together obtained 19.45%, that is to say, a lower score for the far right today than in 1995.
Moreover, Chirac alone did better than LePen. And LePen beat Jospin by only one% of the vote.
In fact, the entire problem is that the parties of the plural left who together governed for five years, were too confident in themselves and their popular support, and so they presented themselves separately in this election.
If the French Communist Party and the Greens had been in solidarity with their boss Jospin, they wouldn’t have presented themselves against him and Jospin would have easily beat LePen by more than 6%. But they wanted to cast too wide a net by presenting separate candidates and that came down on their heads.
Today they dare to accuse the far left–Lutte Ouvrière (Workers’ Struggle) and Ligue Communiste Revolutionaire (Revolutionary Communist League)–of causing Jospin to fall. But it wasn’t the far left. The far left hasn’t been in the government. It owes Jospin no solidarity. Those who cry today should have thought sooner about the risks they created for his candidacy.
Not one worker’s vote should go to LePen. Even those workers who voted for him on the first round must become aware that they are braiding the rope, not only to hang themselves, but to hang all the workers, if they vote for him again on the second round.
It would be surprising if Chirac doesn’t beat LePen. Chirac will very certainly be elected with an enormous majority, to such an extent that it will pass for a true mandate for him personally. It will let him appear as the savior of democracy against fascism, as the savior of republican values and as the man who has protected the republic. He will even pass for the man who has protected the workers, the unions, the militants.
In fact–and this is the worst of all–this will give him an entirely free hand. He will make use of his score, which perhaps will recall the best scores of DeGaulle, to pose as the man of the hour–letting him push through all the reactionary measures he intends to take.
The workers mustn’t vote for LePen, but on the other hand, the fewer votes of the workers that Chirac can boast of, the better that will be for the world of labor.
Of course, everyone should choose what he or she feels most justified, but everyone must think about what this choice could lead to in the future.
Arlette Laguiller, Lutte Ouvrière presidential candidate
Apr 29, 2002
On April 12, the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, was overthrown by a military coup organized by a group of high-ranking officers and the head of the chamber of commerce, Pedro Carmona, and put under arrest. Carmona stepped in as head of the new government.
But Sunday, April 14 Chavez was brought back as head of state. Throughout the day before, there had been a mobilization of the poorest layers in the capital, coming from the “ranchitos,” that is, the shanty towns of Caracas, some of which are close to the presidential palace. These demonstrators, who protested under the windows of the media hostile to Chavez, showed by their presence that the president still had support in the popular layers of the population. But it was especially that part of the army which remained faithful to him, notably the parachutist regiment which he belonged to in the past, which made the difference. They returned Chavez to power, this time sending Carmona to prison, along with his ministers and the military leaders who supported him.
Venezuela is said to be an “emerging” country. That means it’s not one of the poorest among the underdeveloped countries of Latin America and Africa. It’s the fourth largest oil producer in the world. Its per capita GNP is one of the highest among the underdeveloped countries. It’s a country with decent roads, airports, infrastructure of all kinds–all inherited from the era of high oil prices. It’s also a country that has diversified its industries and produces a large part of the consumer goods it uses.
But despite its oil income Venezuela has a large debt, the interest payments on which are equal to 23% of the country’s export income. It is also plagued by rampant corruption and massive social inequalities. The country is ruled by a small minority of profiteers in the cities and countryside, who enrich themselves inside and outside of the country from oil, aluminum, big farms, public projects, etc. Workers’ wages in the major industries such as oil, textile and aluminum are very low. The rates of unemployment and violent crime are very high.
The national currency, the Bolivar, has literally collapsed against the U.S. dollar. Today the dollar, without being the official currency, is the reference in all transactions, small and large.
During the 1980s, the poor neighborhoods became increasingly restive in the face of the widespread unemployment and misery and rising inflation. In February, 1989, a new “structural adjustment,” that is, austerity plan, demanded by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) turned out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. A massive popular revolt broke out in the hills surrounding Caracas, where the majority of the poor live. Tens of thousands of demonstrators invaded the wealthy center of Caracas and looted the stores. When the police proved incapable of stopping the riots, the army intervened and brutally crushed the revolt by killing more than 4000 people!
In the next three years, the discontent over the political and social situation in the country spread into the army itself. After 1982, younger officers created the “Bolivarian Revolutionary Movement-200." This, no doubt, encouraged Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chavez to attempt a military coup against the government of President Carlos Andres-Perez on February 4, 1992. But the situation was not ripe enough for Chavez to take power; his coup attempt failed.
Nonetheless, Chavez gained enormous popularity in the poorest neighborhoods. In house after house, Chavez’s picture was on the wall. After two years in prison, Chavez was pardoned and released. Transforming himself into a civilian politician, Chavez ran for president in 1998 against the two major mainstream parties, Adei (Accion Democratica) and Copei (Christian Democrat), which had been completely discredited. Chavez won by a landslide with 56% of the vote. Then he organized a referendum for changing the constitution, which also passed, this time with a vote of 61%. Chavez supporters won 92% of the seats in the constituent assembly. The new, “Bolivarian” constitution was approved by 71% of the voters. Finally, last July, Chavez was reelected with 57% of the vote.
From his arrival in power, Chavez, like many other political leaders of Latin America before him, found himself in a position to arbitrate the political game, between the corruption of the political representatives and the avidity of the rich on the one hand, and the aspirations of the poor masses for a better life on the other hand. He led by basing himself on a part of the army which is faithful to him and by maintaining a populist stance toward the poor classes, not hesitating to show up after a natural disaster which engulfed the poor neighborhoods under torrents of mud and by responding directly to questions through a live broadcast. It’s on this basis that he launched himself into his institutional guerilla war against the political parties.
Nonetheless, Chavez hadn’t ever really sought to take on the wealthy classes. The only way he found to finance his policies was to attack the middle classes, who were heavily taxed. And this began to provoke a reaction among these somewhat privileged layers.
While Chavez’ regime is not the expression of a true movement of the workers and poor, it certainly is regarded very unfavorably by Washington.
Chavez made a reputation for not attaching himself to the U.S. and for displaying his admiration for Fidel Castro. Venezuela sells oil to Cuba at preferential rates, in defiance of a U.S.-led embargo against Cuba. Chavez also paid a visit to Saddam Hussein and criticized the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan.
The speed with which the Bush administration congratulated the ouster of Chavez says a lot about what the U.S. wishes for Venezuela. In fact, U.S. officials have admitted to have met several times in recent months with top Venezuelan generals as well as Carmona. (U.S. officials even acknowledged “discussing” the possibility of a coup during these meetings, but claimed to have discouraged it.) It’s likely that the CIA had a hand in the coup attempt orchestrated by the big bosses, PDVSA managers and certain army brass such as Admiral Tamayo, who readily displayed himself next to Carmona during the botched coup.
Unless the ruling oligarchy’s hold on the economy is broken, the lot of the workers and poor cannot be improved. But Chavez deliberately avoids attacking them. That doesn’t mean he won’t face another coup attempt by certain officers of the army, with or without the help of the CIA. But Chavez will also face, at one point or another, the anger of the masses tired of waiting for a real change in their lives.
After Chavez returned to power, demonstrations and looting continued in many cities. How long will it be before the poor masses take to the streets again? How long will they patiently accept not seeing an improvement in their situation?
For the workers and poor, of course, the best way to change their situation is for them to take matters in their own hands. Then they’ll see who Chavez really is. In any event, the independent struggle of the workers and poor is the only path that can bring them a better future. And it is also the only real means to counter and discourage future coup attempts. In case a coup d’etat by the heads of the military and big bosses succeeds, the workers and poor will be the main victims of the repression which will follow.
Apr 29, 2002
On April 24, Cook County Judge Paul Biebel appointed a special prosecutor to examine whether the police conspired to cover up the use of torture to extract false confessions. The special prosecutor will review more than 60 cases of men who charge they were tortured by Police Commander Jon Burge or more than a dozen cops under him. There are a dozen men now on death row who were convicted by these forced confessions.
Men were suffocated, given electrical shocks, beaten with baseball bats and a telephone book, savagely kicked in the groin, hanged by their wrists, or had their testicles squeezed. All these men were convicted on the basis of confessions–many of them false–made under torture.
Burge was fired by the Chicago Police Department in 1993, following a report by the Police Office of Professional Standards, which found that torture and abuse under Burge was common. It cited 50 cases of tortured people who made forced confessions. But Burge was never charged with any crime, and has moved to Florida, where he continues to receive a police pension.
By contrast, dozens of men who may have confessed to something they didn’t do because of torture are still rotting in prison. Most of the torture occurred when Mayor Daley was State’s Attorney. His office knew full well that these confessions were extracted through torture, but they presented the false evidence and sent men to prison and death row on that basis.
Justice can never be done in these cases. But at the very least, all the cops involved should be sent to prison–as should those in the State’s Attorney’s office, starting with the mayor, who presented false evidence. All the men in prison due to forced confessions need to be released and compensated for the years stolen from their lives. We’ll see if the special prosecutor’s office–which has promised justice–delivers it.
Apr 29, 2002
On April 20, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley gave unions representing 14,050 city workers a choice of accepting one of three different attacks. They can accept either five unpaid layoff days, put off their negotiated raises for six months or accept 425 layoffs. The police and firefighters are asked to accept one unpaid vacation day. The mayor says the city has a 15-million-dollar shortage.
Just four days later, the Daley administration had the nerve to brag about how much money it has given to corporations in recent years: 788 million dollars–52 times as much as the current shortage. This is through a scheme that funnels property taxes into the hands of the corporations. The mayor has no shame asking workers to give up money in the face of these massive giveaways.
Why should city workers, the vast majority of whom are modestly paid, give up anything? Eliminate some of the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars to the corporations, who sup so lavishly at the city’s trough!
Apr 29, 2002
Recently a 24-year-old man was arrested and charged with raping and stabbing an 8-year-old girl in her own bed after breaking into the home of the girl’s father. The crimes this man is charged with are horrifying.
And so is the background to this case. The man charged with the attack has a history of mental disease. While he was able to receive some brief treatment for his condition, he was never able to get the sustained treatment he sought because he had no medical insurance.
The politicians claim there isn’t enough money to provide medical care for everyone in this country. At the same time, they go on spending billions in various government subsidies to businesses, while continually reducing the taxes of the rich. In recent years, they have closed state mental hospitals in Maryland and other states because they said they cost too much.
As a result, millions of former residents of mental hospitals are roaming the streets, as are millions of other people who have never gotten any help in dealing with psychiatric problems.
If this man had been able to get real help with his psychiatric problems, this would not have guaranteed that he would not have committed this horrible rape and stabbing. But maybe he wouldn’t have. His victim deserved that chance. So did he.
Apr 29, 2002
In mid-April a blue-ribbon commission appointed by Illinois Governor George Ryan recommended what it said were 85 ways to prevent “unwarranted” executions. The Governor then said that he would study the report, as did representatives from the other 39 states that have the death penalty.
This commission was formed after Governor Ryan became the first governor to issue a moratorium on all death penalties in his state. He was facing a growing public outcry over the fact that 13 death row inmates in his state had been found to be not guilty of the crimes that they had convicted of, some within only days of their scheduled execution. These prisoners were not found innocent through the ordinary workings of the criminal justice system. On the contrary, their convictions were upheld at every level of the appeals process. If it had just been up to the courts, the prosecutors and the police, these innocent people would have been executed. Only when private citizens–lawyers working pro bono with law school and journalism classes–took it upon themselves, investigated the cases, and dug up the proof were these innocent people spared death.
Ryan did what every politician does when confronted with this kind of “tricky” problem, he appointed a blue-ribbon commission, that is, he played for time.
This commission, made up of a former U.S. senator, former federal prosecutors, judges, and even a former head of the FBI and CIA, examined all the death penalty cases in Illinois. And what they report is what every reasonable person knows: that time and again, detectives and prosecutors coerced false confessions, suborned false eyewitness testimony and fiddled around with evidence to make the facts appear different than they really were, all with the complete consent and cooperation of the judiciary.
But what conclusion did the commission draw? It only called these practices “flaws” and recommended ways to “fix” them. As if these “flaws” are not crimes, serious crimes being committed at all levels of the entire criminal justice system, starting with the people in charge! Every day this criminal justice system literally crushes and ruins the lives of countless people, including not just all those unjustly thrown into prison, but the lives of their loved ones, entire families, as well. For this judicial system, innocent or guilty, it hardly matters–not so long as the accused come from the laboring classes or the poor.
With the death penalty, this systematic violence is taken to its ultimate level: cold blooded, officially sanctioned murder.
Of course, the politicians don’t say that. They say that the death penalty is simply a means to stop crime. But no other industrialized country has the death penalty. All those countries got rid of it a long time ago. Yet they have a much lower crime rate than this country.
The reason for this is simple. What stops crime is not harsher punishment, warehousing millions in prison and throwing away the key, or strapping people to a gurney and running poison through their veins. No, what brings crime down is less poverty, providing economic and social living conditions worthy of human beings. The fact that this country has the biggest gap between rich and poor among the industrial countries is the reason why it has the much higher crime rate. And the fact that this poverty is growing, as corporations and politicians cut jobs and social programs, means that they are creating an even bigger criminal class, guaranteeing that crime will get worse.
This country may be powerful and rich, with the most advanced science and the highest technology. But those resources are not used for the betterment of the living conditions of the population. On the contrary, the ruling class uses it against the population, for the ruling class’s own enrichment.
The death penalty, which came from the darkest of the dark ages, is just one more form of power and violence that the ruling class uses against the population. George W. Bush ran for president on his record as the governor who executed more prisoners than any other governor in the country. Instead of that being denounced as a record of shame, it was presented as being exemplary! He brags about it, just as his brother Jeb in charge of Florida brags about it! Hitler once bragged of sending people to death camps, too. The scale might have been different. But not the sentiment.
The very same ruling class–which commits economic and social violence against the working class, depriving it of work, cutting wages–is the very same ruling class that commits murder with the death penalty.
The “blue ribbon” Illinois panel had nothing to say about that. Not a word! Not a peep!
Apr 29, 2002
Two people were killed and over 200 injured in the April 23 crash between a commuter train and a freight train near Los Angeles. The mile-long freight train, pulled by three huge locomotives, slammed into a small commuter train.
Apparently, the signals were working properly. The freight train passed a yellow warning signal without slowing. The engineer said he didn’t see the yellow signal because of the sun in his eyes. In any case, the train did not begin to brake until it came to a red stop signal. By that time, it was too late to avoid the collision.
The freight train had only an engineer and a conductor aboard–only two crewman for a 67-car train about a mile long! And both had been working a ridiculous schedule. Leading up to the crash, the conductor had worked 20 out of the last 39 hours. The engineer had worked 17 out of the last 34 hours. Their current shift had started at 2:30 in the morning. The train itself had left 5 hours late because of a “scheduling problem,” which pushed the crew to make up the time.
This almost non-existent crew and impossible schedule are normal on most freight trains today–the result of repeated cutbacks in crew sizes that were carried out over the years under the guise of eliminating “feather-bedding.”
The elimination of so-called “feather-bedding” was in fact an elimination of safety precautions. We see one result of that in today’s crash. Another result was the gobbling up of additional profits by the railroads over the years.