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
Aug 21, 2023
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, roughly the past three years, Detroit had a moratorium on water shut-offs. That moratorium expired in January 2023, and now the Water and Sewerage Department is saying around 750 households in the city are at risk of having their water shut off starting this week, and that number is just part of the nearly 60,000 people who are behind on their water bill.
There are programs to attempt to alleviate the burden, including the “Lifeline” plan for low-income workers which can allow for 90% of eligible workers to have their debt completely paid off via state relief funds. Of course, there are always barriers to these kinds of means-tested programs. And besides, the State knows what your income is from your tax returns.
Why shouldn’t your bill just be adjusted from that automatically? And why is there even a water bill?! We need water to live! If there are costs involved, let that come from the taxes we pay, or maybe let’s have the rich pay their share instead of giving them more tax-free handouts.