The Spark

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

Real Change, Not a Bandaid

Aug 20, 2012

I want to talk about what we need and what it could be like. So I need for you to forget about all the propaganda we hear.

They say there’s no work? Baloney! Produce the things we need. Look at all the things we need.

Vacant houses? That’s an easy problem: Hire people to fix, clear and build new ones.

Can’t get to work? Buses not running? Fix them! Now how in the world are we supposed to get to jobs in the suburbs when the buses can’t get us there? Or waiting over an hour for a transfer. Add buses. But better than buses, add trains! Trains have been around in other countries for over a hundred years. Do you know where our train system is? In Mexico City because GM didn’t want trains here in the Motor City. Don’t we have workers here who need jobs and can build and operate trains?

Health care services: Employ workers to assist nurses and doctors in every neighborhood. We have a right to health care, free and we can have enough doctors and nurses to provide it.

Schools? Put all the teachers and more back to work: Make school through college free.

That would stop putting our children into debt they will never get out of.

Water getting rusty and backed-up sewers? Yet the Water board is talking about cutting 81% of workers at the water department. No, double the number that currently work there.

How can they go on about renewing the city and don’t even have streetlights in downtown Detroit? Does anybody here know an unemployed electrician? We know how to fix these problems.

And if all that doesn’t put people back to work, shorten the work hours and spread the work around with everyone earning a decent wage.

And let our wages keep up with prices. Gas prices 29 cents higher in one week–really? Then our wages should go up immediately, as soon as prices we pay go up. And every worker’s wage should provide a comfortable living.

Detroit and Michigan, stop paying the damn banks and start paying for services needed by the population! Now that is a workers’ program.

What? You say it will never happen? Yes, it can! There is money to make it happen–the billions upon trillions of dollars the capitalist class rolled up in profit–then squirreled away.

We’re going to have to fight to take those billions back.

Who is it that builds everything? Provides all services? Makes everything run? Workers do, we do!

We are going to have to fight, so when we fight, let’s doing it for what we really need!