Sunday, March 18, 2012
Fixing What Is Wrong With Our Economy
The AFL-CIO says what is wrong with the U.S. economy stems back 30 years.
On its face this is a blatantly and patently false statement.
If the real facts be told the problem goes back to when this land and its resources--- the wealth of an entire continent--- were stolen from First Nation Peoples. But, no one it seems ever wants to go back this far because we would have to right a lot of wrongs in moving forward with a real agenda for change.
This is when the most massive accumulation of wealth began with the most savage and bestial acts leading to indentured servants and slavery then the further massive accumulation of wealth from the brutal exploitation of the working class as industrialization began with further massive accumulation of wealth taking place during recessions, depressions and horrible wars.
Okay; forget the past like the AFL-CIO wants us to do. Don't even discuss the events of the late 1940's and early 1950's when labor had its head chopped off losing the ability to think with muddle-headed charlatans pretending to be labor leaders appointed by capital to head up the new "labor movement."
Let's just forget that the left-wing led unions organized the mines, mills and factories and since 1948 the "leaders" of organized labor haven't been able to organize their way out of cheap brown paper bags let alone flimsy card-board boxes manufactured in India and China in defending the gains of the past while limiting their "leadership" to closing their eyes to the never-ending assault on the living standards and rights of working people leading to the point where we now have labor "leaders" who have been "educated" at the leading universities attended by the likes of Barack Obama where they, like Obama, were trained to manage capitalism to Wall Street's benefit.
These are labor leaders who talk about a mythical "middle class" because their standard of living derived from betraying the working class puts them in league with the well-heeled over-paid middle class intellectuals in the universities and think tanks whose job it is to keep working people confused and disoriented--- which includes convincing working people Obama is on their side when he is on the other side.
Okay; forget past history. For a moment just pretend what these over-paid, well-heeled labor "leaders" with PhD's have to say: Our problems started thirty years ago.
Well, how come labor was unable to effectively respond to what was, and is, going down?
The fact is, these labor "leaders" comprising the leadership of 57 unions in this country all support this rotten capitalist system.
Richard Trumka and Leo Gerard will attack me but they don't have the courage to debate me. Leo Gerard even launched into a vicious public personal attack on me in his trade-mark red-baiting tradition. But, when Leo gerard sees me in person as he did at the NetRoots Nation Convention in Minneapolis he runs the other way. Just a bunch of big-mouth chicken shits cackling and scratching for scraps from the bosses is all these fraudsters are.
If these two-bit, half-assed, university degreed labor "leaders" were one bit concerned with the plight of working people and working class whose dues pay their big fat salaries they would have occupied, and held their winter meeting, in the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant demanding Obama bring forward policies that would keep the plant operating under public ownership and agreeing to do the same with the more than fifty-thousand closed and shuttered mines, mills and factories in this country where millions of workers have lost their jobs as Wall Street vultures sought out cheap labor markets overseas.
Where are the working people in this country clamoring to become "competitive" with Germany or China or competitive with workers anyplace in the world? I see no working people demanding the "right" to become "competitive" with their brothers and sisters in other lands. What I do see and hear are working people demanding an end to Wall Street's dirty imperialist wars so a big, huge peace dividend can be spent creating jobs for the unemployed solving the problems of the working class like free access to health care and child care befitting a civilized society. Yet we don't read one word from these worthless union bureaucrats about the adverse impact of militarization and wars on the economic well-being of this country; not one single word.
Just as there is not a mention of the racist impact of unemployment in communities of people of color requiring the enforcement of Affirmative Action. Not a mention of Affirmative Action during this winter meeting taking place at a luxurious hotel in Florida where just blocks away there is massive poverty created because so many people are either unemployed or forced to work for poverty wages.
These labor fakers talk about the need to "index the minimum wage" but they lack the moral or political courage to defy the employers represented so effectively by Barack Obama by calling for indexing the minimum wage to all cost of living factors collected by the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. These over-educated labor "leaders" are so damn dumb they don't understand workers paid poverty wages are going to be poor no matter how many poverty wages jobs the employers who own Obama create.
Their stupidity doesn't stop or end with failing to advance the demand for a real living--- non-poverty minimum wage indexed to inflation and all cost of living factors in order to achieve a decent standard of living for all working people.
No; their stupidity, their unanimous stupidity, extends to turning around and endorsing Obama for re-election without asking the workers they are supposed to be paid to represent the most basic and fundamental question which would need to be answered: How is Barack Obama's Wall Street war economy working for you?
Richard Trumka and Leo Gerard are so concerned about "covering Obama's backside" they don't even notice Obama and the Democrats working with the Republicans shoving the shaft up the working class' collective ass.
These degenerate morons like Richard Trumka and Leo Gerard who will remain silent as our fellow workers and their children are slaughtered in these unconstitutional, illegitimate, illegal and dirty imperialist wars around the world defending Wall Street's access to cheap resources including labor also turn their backs on our own working class now engaged in a daily struggle for survival which they don't understand because their style of lavish living which mirrors that of the rich and famous combined with the brainwashing they received at the hands of Wall Street's selected professors who in their ivory towers have no understanding beyond book-reading of what poverty, racism and war is. and even less understanding of just how rotten this capitalist system is which is the very "heart of the problem."
Here we have labor "leaders" pretending to represent millions of workers still apologizing for capitalism while ignoring its most barbaric and cannibalistic stage of imperialism supporting the this Wall Street charlatan, Barack Obama--- the epitome of everything in the world that is evil.
These phony labor leaders have the audacity and unmitigated gall to talk about correcting "our mistakes" when referencing this capitalist economy that is on the skids to oblivion even though working people had no part in any of the decision-making processes. But now these labor fakers take up the line pushed by Obama talking about "our mistakes." Mistakes my ass. There have been no "mistakes;" this has been Wall Street's agenda all along; an agenda pushed along by both Democrats and Republicans enabling Wall Street coupon clippers to stick their greedy fingers into every single aspect of our lives in quest of greater profits.
And here we go again--- it is election time--- with these labor "leaders" calling for "tax the rich" when they refused to mobilize their memberships to implement and enforce the needed legislation required.
Once again being election time, all problems are blamed on the Republicans as we are supposed to be led to the polls believing "Obama understands" our problems and what needs to be done. This statement is one big crock of shit completely devoid from the reality of the working and living conditions being imposed by Wall Street as these labor leaders try to lead us anywhere and everywhere except to a united struggle against our enemies--- Barack Obama, the Democrats and Republicans all nothing but puppets on strings manipulated Wall Street--- to defend and protect our rights, livelihoods and living standards.
This bunch of labor fakers must take us all for complete dumbies as they talk about outsourcing jobs. Obama's largest bundlers--- and biggest bunglers--- are the ones continuing to close down the mines, mills and factories in this country.
The Chinese never took one single job away from one single U.S. worker--- Wall Street shipped the jobs to China by design and intent in quest of maximum profits. This is the nature of parasitic imperialism.
There is only one solution beyond the needed reforms like a real living minimum wage indexed to the cost of living and inflation, real health care reform and a national public child care system required to help workers survive--- socialism; workers' control of the economy--- nationalization under public ownership of the mines, mills and factories.
Instead of working class leaders guiding us into struggle to defend our rights, livelihoods and standard of living we have 57 over-paid union bureaucrats paid for with the dues of union members who are working for our class enemy--- Wall Street.
Obama is part of the problem not part of the solution.
And with all the money these over-paid capitalist sooth-Sayers are paid to hoodwink working people into voting for Obama, the best reason they can come up with is that Obama isn't as bad as the Republicans even though Obama has been worse than Bush.
There isn't one specific step outlined in this statement that would lead towards solving any of the problems being experienced by working people and the working class--- not even a call for a moratorium on home foreclosures and evictions.
Furthermore, these fools parading around as labor "leaders" don't even have any promises from Obama in hand that would help working people before endorsing him for re-election.
Rank-and-file working class activists need their own think tanks and action centers which need to focus on the politics and economics of livelihood.
Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
AFL-CIO Says 30 Years of Policies for the 1% Caused
Crisis, Outlines Steps to Fix Economy
By Mike Hall
AFL-CIO Now
March 14, 2012
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Economy/Council-Says-30-Years-of-Policies-for-the-1-Caused-Crisis-Outlines-Steps-to-Fix-Economy
The crash of 2008 and the Great Recession were
inevitable consequences of three decades of economic
policies designed by and for Wall Street and the
wealthiest Americans. At the heart of the problem, says
the AFL-CIO Executive Council, was:
the hollowing out of American manufacturing, the
growing dysfunction of our financial sector and a rapid
increase in economic inequality, all of which crippled
the growth engine of the U.S. economy.
In a broad statement today at its annual winter meeting
in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on "How to Fix What Is Wrong
with Our Economy," the council details the step-by-step
policy decisions by business and government and the
rise of corporate power over the past decades that
brought the economy to its knees.
The council says President Obama has shown he
understands the problem.
He has said clearly that 'we are not going back to an
economy that's all about outsourcing and bad debt and
phony profits,' we cannot return to a 'bubble and bust'
economy propped up by 'fleeting bubbles and rampant
speculation.'
The statement outlines several significant steps that
need to be taken to build an economy that can compete
with world economic powers like Germany and China and
that works for all, including:
Significant investment over the next decade in
education and apprenticeship programs for young
people, infrastructure, energy, manufacturing,
transportation, skills training and new
technologies;
A fair share from Wall Street and the wealthiest
Americans, who have benefited most from the
economic policies of the past 30 years-pass a
financial speculation tax, let the Bush tax cuts
for the wealthy expire and tax capital gains at the
same rate as ordinary income;
Tackling the problems of wage stagnation and
economic inequality by reforming labor laws so that
all workers who want to form a union and bargain
collectively have a fair opportunity to do so,
making full employment the highest priority of our
economic policy, increasing and indexing the
minimum wage, shrinking the trade deficit and
eliminating incentives for offshoring;
Reviving U.S. manufacturing by bringing the trade
deficit under control, enhancing Buy America
safeguards, aggressively enforcing trade laws and
ending incentives for offshoring;
Once again regulating Wall Street, eliminating tax
advantages for leveraged buyouts and finding other
ways to favor strategic investment over short-term
speculation;
And working toward a global New Deal that
establishes minimum standards for the global
economy, prevents a race to the bottom, creates
vibrant consumer markets in the global South and
creates new markets for advanced U.S.
manufacturing.
In other jobs and economy action today, the council
urged Congress to reject the cynically named JOBS Act,
which aims to deregulate Wall Street, and a measure (S.
1747) that would strip overtime pay protection from
large numbers of high-tech workers. The Computer
Professionals Update Act would affect computer systems
analysts, computer programmers, software engineers and
other high-tech employees and, as the Congressional
Research Service says, "effectively eliminate[s]
overtime protection for all IT professionals." Instead,
the council said, Congress should "update and index the
overtime salary thresholds so workers do not lose
overtime protection as wages and salaries rise with
inflation."
_______________
AFL-CIO Executive Council Statement Text
Fixing What Is Wrong With Our Economy
March 14, 2012
http://www.aflcio.org/About/Exec-Council/EC-Statements/Fixing-What-Is-Wrong-With-Our-Economy
The economic policies that led to the financial crash
of 2008 and the subsequent Great Recession should have
been permanently discredited by their epic failure.
Instead, the Republican presidential candidates are now
resurrecting the same failed policies and pretending
the crash never happened.
America cannot afford to go down this path again. If we
want to fix what is wrong with our economy, we have to
learn from our mistakes and avoid repeating them.
The crash of 2008 and the Great Recession were
inevitable consequences of three decades of economic
policies designed by and for Wall Street and the
wealthiest Americans. At the heart of the problem was
the hollowing out of American manufacturing, the
growing dysfunction of our financial sector and a rapid
increase in economic inequality, all of which crippled
the growth engine of the U.S. economy.
Starting in the 1980s, corporate America decided to
boost profits by shipping U.S. jobs overseas. NAFTA and
the admission of China into the World Trade
Organization (WTO) accelerated the drive to relocate
production to "export platforms" in foreign countries
that would ship goods back to the U.S. market.
Corporations that sent jobs overseas became forceful
proponents of a "strong" (overvalued) dollar, which
enhanced the profitability of their overseas operations
but at the same time made much of the U.S.
manufacturing sector uncompetitive and led to perennial
U.S. trade deficits.
Also by the 1980s, the U.S. financial sector was
failing to perform its essential function of channeling
savings to productive investment in the real economy.
Financial firms on Wall Street focused instead on
making a quick buck by stripping assets from existing
businesses and downsizing their workforces, and on
various forms of complex financial engineering that had
little economic value. Financial firms also provided
critical support for a "strong dollar" policy that
diverted productive investment away from the U.S.
manufacturing sector toward overseas operations. By
the eve of the crash of 2008, the manufacturing sector
had shrunk to half its 1960 size, while the financial
sector had doubled in size and accounted for 40 percent
of corporate profits.
The deindustrialization of America and the substitution
of speculation for productive investment were not
accidents, they were not inevitable, and they were not
the outcome of natural forces. They were the
predictable results of mistaken policy choices made by
politicians of both parties for more than a generation.
These policy choices had victims with first and last
names: millions of displaced workers, shuttered
factories and hollowed-out communities across the
country hobbled by shrinking tax bases that no longer
could support vital public services.
Both deindustrialization and the dysfunction of finance
contributed to a remarkable rise in economic inequality
starting in the late 1970s. Trade deficits and
offshoring wiped out millions of well-paying, middle-
class jobs, and the threat of offshoring held down
wages for all workers. But a long list of other
deliberate policy choices also played key roles in the
rise of inequality. These included the abandonment of
full employment in favor of fighting inflation, the
prolonged attack on workers' right to organize and
bargain collectively with their employers, the erosion
of the minimum wage and other labor protections and
massive tax cuts for the wealthy. In the end, nearly
two-thirds of the pre-tax income gains after 1979 were
captured by the richest 10 percent and more than half
was captured by the richest 1 percent.
The experience of the past 30 years shows that rising
inequality is bad not only for workers, but also for
the economy as a whole. Less affluent households tend
to spend more of their income, generating more economic
activity, while more affluent households tend to
consume less. Wage stagnation undermines political
support for the levels of taxation necessary to support
public investment in things like roads and schools,
which underpins future economic productivity. And high
levels of inequality are associated with political
decision-making that leads to slower growth. In short,
the upward redistribution of income throws sand in the
gears of the economy.
The combination of all these policy mistakes caused the
growth engine of the U.S. economy to sputter. Starting
in the early 1980s, the economy's average annual growth
rate slowed considerably in comparison with the postwar
period. The expansion of the Bush years was the weakest
since World War II in terms of output growth,
investment growth, employment growth and wage growth.
In fact, the Bush expansion was the first since World
War II in which real income for the typical middle-
class family actually declined. There was clearly
something wrong with the U.S. economy long before the
crash.
The weakness of the economy was temporarily papered
over by a bubble in real estate prices at the turn of
the 21st century, which was made possible by the
deregulation of Wall Street. Instead of broad-based,
sustainable growth fueled by rising wages and
investment, the U.S. economy was artificially inflated
by complex financial engineering that made credit more
easily available and exposed the entire economy to
enormous risk. The bubble allowed working families to
maintain their standard of living, despite stagnant
wages, by borrowing against the value of their homes
and going deeper into debt. But of course households
could not keep increasing their debt loads forever.
When the real estate bubble finally burst, the house of
cards came crashing down and working people were once
again forced to pay for the sins of Wall Street with
their homes, their dreams and their children's futures.
We are still digging our way out from the rubble of the
crash. It typically takes years to repair the damage
from the collapse of speculative asset bubbles. When
the U.S. real estate bubble burst, households lost more
than $10 trillion in wealth from the plunge in housing
and stock prices, and they were heavily indebted to
begin with. Even today, households are still digging
their way out of debt, and it may take years for them
to see daylight. This helps explain why progress toward
closing our jobs deficit has been so difficult, and why
the economic recovery is still so fragile. Another
drag on the recovery has been the loss of 765,000 jobs
at the state and local levels between 2007 and 2011,
more than in any modern downturn.
The Republican presidential candidates not only failed
to learn anything from Wall Street's mistakes, they now
want to double down on more of the same. They propose
to deregulate the financial sector yet again, pass more
trade agreements that encourage the offshoring of U.S.
jobs, suppress wages by intensifying the assault on
unions, prioritize inflation-fighting over full
employment and perpetuate overvaluation of the dollar
and the U.S. trade deficit. We already tried this
approach, and it already failed spectacularly.
The Republican candidates pretend that tax cuts for
corporations and the wealthy are the answer to wage
stagnation and the economic crisis, but the Bush years
taught us that these obscenely wasteful tax cuts only
make the problem worse. They are the equivalent of
eating our seed corn, because they starve the kind of
public investment in education, infrastructure and
innovation that is indispensable for long-term economic
growth.
President Obama has shown that he understands the
problem. He has said clearly that "we are not going
back to an economy that's all about outsourcing and bad
debt and phony profits," we cannot return to a "bubble
and bust" economy propped up by "fleeting bubbles and
rampant speculation," and we "must make sure such a
crisis never happens again." He has called for
rebuilding an economy "built to last" through a
sustained program of public investment in
infrastructure, education and innovation. He has called
economic inequality the "defining issue of our time"
and sounded the alarm at the decline of the American
middle class over the past 30 years. He has opened a
national conversation about encouraging businesses to
bring jobs back to the U.S. instead of shipping jobs
overseas. He has acknowledged that America can no
longer "serve as the consumer engine for the entire
world," and called on trading partners that run trade
surpluses every year to rebalance their economies by
consuming more of what they produce.
What we need now is an economic program as serious and
far-reaching as the problem President Obama has
correctly diagnosed. We must start by shifting the
focus of U.S. economic policy from one of maximizing
the competitiveness and profitability of corporations
that happen to maintain headquarters somewhere on U.S.
territory to one of maximizing the competitiveness and
prosperity of the human beings who live and work in
America.
First, if we want to be competitive with Germany and
China in the 21st century, we will need trillions of
dollars in productive public investment over the next
10 years in affordable education and apprenticeship
programs for young people, who have suffered greater
income loss than any other demographic; infrastructure;
energy; manufacturing; transportation; skills training
and upgrades; and new technologies; all of which have
been starved by successive rounds of tax cuts for the
wealthy and inaction on long-term federal investment
initiatives. Wall Street and the wealthiest Americans,
who have benefitted most from the economic policies of
the past 30 years, will have to start paying their fair
share. We need to pass a financial speculation tax, let
the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire, tax capital
gains at the same rate as ordinary income and establish
a minimum effective tax rate of 30 percent for
households earning more than $1 million.
Second, to encourage domestic investment and lay a
stronger and more stable foundation for long-term
growth, it is essential that we tackle the problems of
wage stagnation and economic inequality. This will
require reforming our labor laws so that all workers
who want to form a union and bargain collectively have
a fair opportunity to do so, making full employment the
highest priority of our economic policy, increasing and
indexing the minimum wage, shrinking the trade deficit
and, again, eliminating incentives for offshoring.
Third, we need to start making things in America again.
We cannot hope to revive U.S. manufacturing without
bringing our trade deficit under control, which means
ending the overvaluation of the U.S. dollar and
combating currency manipulation by our trading
partners. We will also need to enhance Buy America
safeguards, aggressively enforce our trade laws and end
incentives for offshoring in the tax code and in our
trade agreements.
Fourth, we need to shrink our bloated financial sector
and make it serve the real economy once again. We can
no longer afford a financial sector that squanders
scarce resources on unproductive gambling and exposes
the entire economy to the intolerable risk of
speculative bubbles. This means reregulating Wall
Street, eliminating tax advantages for leveraged
buyouts and finding other ways to favor strategic
investment over short-term speculation.
Fifth, if we expect other countries to stop relying on
trade surpluses as their source of growth, we will have
to make it easier for them to rely on domestic incomes
as their source of growth. This will require a global
New Deal that establishes minimum standards for the
global economy, prevents a race to the bottom, creates
vibrant consumer markets in the global South and in the
process creates new markets for advanced U.S.
manufacturing.
We also have unfinished business in digging out from
the rubble of the crash. America wants to work, and
decisive action to close our jobs deficit must not be
delayed any further. An immediate multi-year program of
public investment in infrastructure and clean energy
would draw in business investment and buy time while
households dig their way out of debt. To stop the
foreclosure epidemic and stabilize housing prices,
broad-based reductions in mortgage principal will also
be needed. The U.S. economy cannot recover until the
housing market-the single largest market in the
country-is healthy again, and the banks must be held
accountable for their contribution to the crisis.
One thing is clear: We can no longer rely on household
debt, real estate bubbles, tech bubbles, stock bubbles
or any other kind of bubbles to fuel our economic
growth. We cannot go back to a low-wage, high-
consumption economy. We need bold leadership to draw
the right lessons from the mistakes of the past 30
years and forge a new model of economic growth in which
we make things in America again, workers can form a
union and bargain collectively if they want to, working
people can afford to buy the things they make, the U.S.
economy produces as much as it consumes, everybody who
wants to work can find a good job and prosperity is
broadly shared.
_____________
Economix
Labor's Take on the Economy
By Steven Greenhouse
New York Times
March 15, 2012
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/labors-take-on-the-economy/
ORLANDO, Fla.
When labor leaders talk publicly, it's often to make
angry, off-the-cuff statements to denounce a company
that is taking a tough line on wage increases or to
lambaste a lawmaker who is sponsoring anti-union
legislation.
But when the nation's union leaders gather each winter
at the A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s executive council meeting, the
statements they issue are usually far different. They
often approve carefully crafted resolutions that the
labor federation's staff members - some have Ph.D.'s -
have spent weeks preparing in close consultation with
union leaders. Clearly much work and thought went into
the resolution on the economy that the labor federation
approved on Wednesday, titled "Fixing What Is Wrong
With Our Economy."
The resolution is in part cri de coeur on behalf of
embattled workers, but it is mainly a full-throated
liberal-left take on what's ailing the American economy
and what caused those ailments. As one would suspect,
organized labor's analysis is not sympathetic to Wall
Street, deregulation and free trade.
The A.F.L.-C.I.O., representing 57 unions and with
considerable influence on the White House, said that
the recession and financial crisis that the nation
plunged into four years ago were three decades in the
making. The labor group's economic resolution asserted
that the North American Free Trade Agreement, admitting
China into the World Trade Organization and a long-
overvalued dollar had fueled the relocation of American
operations overseas.
Decrying "the hollowing out" of the economy, the
resolution added that by the 1980s the nation's
financial sector was failing to perform its "essential
function" of channeling savings to productive
investment in the real economy, focusing instead on
various forms of complex financial engineering and
"making a quick buck by stripping assets from existing
business and downsizing their work forces."
"The deindustrialization of America and the
substitution of speculation for productive investment
were not accidents, they were not inevitable, and they
were not the outcome of natural forces," the A.F.L.-
C.I.O. said. "They were the predictable results of
mistaken policy choices made by politicians of both
parties for more than a generation."
The labor federation asserted that many factors had
fueled America's growing inequality, including the loss
of well-paying manufacturing jobs, the rise of finance,
"the abandonment of full employment in favor of
fighting inflation," corporate attacks on the ability
of workers to unionize, "the erosion of the minimum
wage" and "massive tax cuts for the wealthy."
"In the end, nearly two-thirds of the pretax income
gains after 1979 were captured by the richest 10
percent and more than half was captured by the richest
1 percent," the resolution said.
The A.F.L.-C.I.O. argued that rising inequality was bad
for the economy as a whole, causing less affluent
households to spend more than their income and rely on
borrowing to an unhealthy degree.
"The weakness of the economy was temporarily papered
over by a bubble in real estate prices at the turn of
the 21st century, which was made possible by the
deregulation of Wall Street," the resolution said.
"Instead of broad-based, sustainable growth fueled by
rising wages and investment, the U.S. economy was
artificially inflated by complex financial engineering
that made credit more easily available and exposed the
entire economy to enormous risk."
To restore the economy to health, the labor federation
had several recommendations. First, it said, "if we
want to be competitive with Germany and China in the
21st century, we will need trillions of dollars in
productive public investment over the next 10 years" in
education, apprentice programs, retraining, and
infrastructure for the energy, manufacturing,and
transportation sectors. It added, "We need to start
making things in America again." To revive
manufacturing, it called for bringing the nation's
swollen trade under control and ending "the
overvaluation of the U.S. dollar" as well as "currency
manipulation by our trading partners."
"One thing is clear," the resolution concluded. "We can
no longer rely on household debt, real estate bubbles,
tech bubbles, stock bubbles or any other kind of
bubbles to fuel our economic growth. We cannot go back
to a low-wage, high-consumption economy. We need bold
leadership to draw the right lessons from the mistakes
of the past 30 years."
On its face this is a blatantly and patently false statement.
If the real facts be told the problem goes back to when this land and its resources--- the wealth of an entire continent--- were stolen from First Nation Peoples. But, no one it seems ever wants to go back this far because we would have to right a lot of wrongs in moving forward with a real agenda for change.
This is when the most massive accumulation of wealth began with the most savage and bestial acts leading to indentured servants and slavery then the further massive accumulation of wealth from the brutal exploitation of the working class as industrialization began with further massive accumulation of wealth taking place during recessions, depressions and horrible wars.
Okay; forget the past like the AFL-CIO wants us to do. Don't even discuss the events of the late 1940's and early 1950's when labor had its head chopped off losing the ability to think with muddle-headed charlatans pretending to be labor leaders appointed by capital to head up the new "labor movement."
Let's just forget that the left-wing led unions organized the mines, mills and factories and since 1948 the "leaders" of organized labor haven't been able to organize their way out of cheap brown paper bags let alone flimsy card-board boxes manufactured in India and China in defending the gains of the past while limiting their "leadership" to closing their eyes to the never-ending assault on the living standards and rights of working people leading to the point where we now have labor "leaders" who have been "educated" at the leading universities attended by the likes of Barack Obama where they, like Obama, were trained to manage capitalism to Wall Street's benefit.
These are labor leaders who talk about a mythical "middle class" because their standard of living derived from betraying the working class puts them in league with the well-heeled over-paid middle class intellectuals in the universities and think tanks whose job it is to keep working people confused and disoriented--- which includes convincing working people Obama is on their side when he is on the other side.
Okay; forget past history. For a moment just pretend what these over-paid, well-heeled labor "leaders" with PhD's have to say: Our problems started thirty years ago.
Well, how come labor was unable to effectively respond to what was, and is, going down?
The fact is, these labor "leaders" comprising the leadership of 57 unions in this country all support this rotten capitalist system.
Richard Trumka and Leo Gerard will attack me but they don't have the courage to debate me. Leo Gerard even launched into a vicious public personal attack on me in his trade-mark red-baiting tradition. But, when Leo gerard sees me in person as he did at the NetRoots Nation Convention in Minneapolis he runs the other way. Just a bunch of big-mouth chicken shits cackling and scratching for scraps from the bosses is all these fraudsters are.
If these two-bit, half-assed, university degreed labor "leaders" were one bit concerned with the plight of working people and working class whose dues pay their big fat salaries they would have occupied, and held their winter meeting, in the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant demanding Obama bring forward policies that would keep the plant operating under public ownership and agreeing to do the same with the more than fifty-thousand closed and shuttered mines, mills and factories in this country where millions of workers have lost their jobs as Wall Street vultures sought out cheap labor markets overseas.
Where are the working people in this country clamoring to become "competitive" with Germany or China or competitive with workers anyplace in the world? I see no working people demanding the "right" to become "competitive" with their brothers and sisters in other lands. What I do see and hear are working people demanding an end to Wall Street's dirty imperialist wars so a big, huge peace dividend can be spent creating jobs for the unemployed solving the problems of the working class like free access to health care and child care befitting a civilized society. Yet we don't read one word from these worthless union bureaucrats about the adverse impact of militarization and wars on the economic well-being of this country; not one single word.
Just as there is not a mention of the racist impact of unemployment in communities of people of color requiring the enforcement of Affirmative Action. Not a mention of Affirmative Action during this winter meeting taking place at a luxurious hotel in Florida where just blocks away there is massive poverty created because so many people are either unemployed or forced to work for poverty wages.
These labor fakers talk about the need to "index the minimum wage" but they lack the moral or political courage to defy the employers represented so effectively by Barack Obama by calling for indexing the minimum wage to all cost of living factors collected by the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. These over-educated labor "leaders" are so damn dumb they don't understand workers paid poverty wages are going to be poor no matter how many poverty wages jobs the employers who own Obama create.
Their stupidity doesn't stop or end with failing to advance the demand for a real living--- non-poverty minimum wage indexed to inflation and all cost of living factors in order to achieve a decent standard of living for all working people.
No; their stupidity, their unanimous stupidity, extends to turning around and endorsing Obama for re-election without asking the workers they are supposed to be paid to represent the most basic and fundamental question which would need to be answered: How is Barack Obama's Wall Street war economy working for you?
Richard Trumka and Leo Gerard are so concerned about "covering Obama's backside" they don't even notice Obama and the Democrats working with the Republicans shoving the shaft up the working class' collective ass.
These degenerate morons like Richard Trumka and Leo Gerard who will remain silent as our fellow workers and their children are slaughtered in these unconstitutional, illegitimate, illegal and dirty imperialist wars around the world defending Wall Street's access to cheap resources including labor also turn their backs on our own working class now engaged in a daily struggle for survival which they don't understand because their style of lavish living which mirrors that of the rich and famous combined with the brainwashing they received at the hands of Wall Street's selected professors who in their ivory towers have no understanding beyond book-reading of what poverty, racism and war is. and even less understanding of just how rotten this capitalist system is which is the very "heart of the problem."
Here we have labor "leaders" pretending to represent millions of workers still apologizing for capitalism while ignoring its most barbaric and cannibalistic stage of imperialism supporting the this Wall Street charlatan, Barack Obama--- the epitome of everything in the world that is evil.
These phony labor leaders have the audacity and unmitigated gall to talk about correcting "our mistakes" when referencing this capitalist economy that is on the skids to oblivion even though working people had no part in any of the decision-making processes. But now these labor fakers take up the line pushed by Obama talking about "our mistakes." Mistakes my ass. There have been no "mistakes;" this has been Wall Street's agenda all along; an agenda pushed along by both Democrats and Republicans enabling Wall Street coupon clippers to stick their greedy fingers into every single aspect of our lives in quest of greater profits.
And here we go again--- it is election time--- with these labor "leaders" calling for "tax the rich" when they refused to mobilize their memberships to implement and enforce the needed legislation required.
Once again being election time, all problems are blamed on the Republicans as we are supposed to be led to the polls believing "Obama understands" our problems and what needs to be done. This statement is one big crock of shit completely devoid from the reality of the working and living conditions being imposed by Wall Street as these labor leaders try to lead us anywhere and everywhere except to a united struggle against our enemies--- Barack Obama, the Democrats and Republicans all nothing but puppets on strings manipulated Wall Street--- to defend and protect our rights, livelihoods and living standards.
This bunch of labor fakers must take us all for complete dumbies as they talk about outsourcing jobs. Obama's largest bundlers--- and biggest bunglers--- are the ones continuing to close down the mines, mills and factories in this country.
The Chinese never took one single job away from one single U.S. worker--- Wall Street shipped the jobs to China by design and intent in quest of maximum profits. This is the nature of parasitic imperialism.
There is only one solution beyond the needed reforms like a real living minimum wage indexed to the cost of living and inflation, real health care reform and a national public child care system required to help workers survive--- socialism; workers' control of the economy--- nationalization under public ownership of the mines, mills and factories.
Instead of working class leaders guiding us into struggle to defend our rights, livelihoods and standard of living we have 57 over-paid union bureaucrats paid for with the dues of union members who are working for our class enemy--- Wall Street.
Obama is part of the problem not part of the solution.
And with all the money these over-paid capitalist sooth-Sayers are paid to hoodwink working people into voting for Obama, the best reason they can come up with is that Obama isn't as bad as the Republicans even though Obama has been worse than Bush.
There isn't one specific step outlined in this statement that would lead towards solving any of the problems being experienced by working people and the working class--- not even a call for a moratorium on home foreclosures and evictions.
Furthermore, these fools parading around as labor "leaders" don't even have any promises from Obama in hand that would help working people before endorsing him for re-election.
Rank-and-file working class activists need their own think tanks and action centers which need to focus on the politics and economics of livelihood.
Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
AFL-CIO Says 30 Years of Policies for the 1% Caused
Crisis, Outlines Steps to Fix Economy
By Mike Hall
AFL-CIO Now
March 14, 2012
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Economy/Council-Says-30-Years-of-Policies-for-the-1-Caused-Crisis-Outlines-Steps-to-Fix-Economy
The crash of 2008 and the Great Recession were
inevitable consequences of three decades of economic
policies designed by and for Wall Street and the
wealthiest Americans. At the heart of the problem, says
the AFL-CIO Executive Council, was:
the hollowing out of American manufacturing, the
growing dysfunction of our financial sector and a rapid
increase in economic inequality, all of which crippled
the growth engine of the U.S. economy.
In a broad statement today at its annual winter meeting
in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on "How to Fix What Is Wrong
with Our Economy," the council details the step-by-step
policy decisions by business and government and the
rise of corporate power over the past decades that
brought the economy to its knees.
The council says President Obama has shown he
understands the problem.
He has said clearly that 'we are not going back to an
economy that's all about outsourcing and bad debt and
phony profits,' we cannot return to a 'bubble and bust'
economy propped up by 'fleeting bubbles and rampant
speculation.'
The statement outlines several significant steps that
need to be taken to build an economy that can compete
with world economic powers like Germany and China and
that works for all, including:
Significant investment over the next decade in
education and apprenticeship programs for young
people, infrastructure, energy, manufacturing,
transportation, skills training and new
technologies;
A fair share from Wall Street and the wealthiest
Americans, who have benefited most from the
economic policies of the past 30 years-pass a
financial speculation tax, let the Bush tax cuts
for the wealthy expire and tax capital gains at the
same rate as ordinary income;
Tackling the problems of wage stagnation and
economic inequality by reforming labor laws so that
all workers who want to form a union and bargain
collectively have a fair opportunity to do so,
making full employment the highest priority of our
economic policy, increasing and indexing the
minimum wage, shrinking the trade deficit and
eliminating incentives for offshoring;
Reviving U.S. manufacturing by bringing the trade
deficit under control, enhancing Buy America
safeguards, aggressively enforcing trade laws and
ending incentives for offshoring;
Once again regulating Wall Street, eliminating tax
advantages for leveraged buyouts and finding other
ways to favor strategic investment over short-term
speculation;
And working toward a global New Deal that
establishes minimum standards for the global
economy, prevents a race to the bottom, creates
vibrant consumer markets in the global South and
creates new markets for advanced U.S.
manufacturing.
In other jobs and economy action today, the council
urged Congress to reject the cynically named JOBS Act,
which aims to deregulate Wall Street, and a measure (S.
1747) that would strip overtime pay protection from
large numbers of high-tech workers. The Computer
Professionals Update Act would affect computer systems
analysts, computer programmers, software engineers and
other high-tech employees and, as the Congressional
Research Service says, "effectively eliminate[s]
overtime protection for all IT professionals." Instead,
the council said, Congress should "update and index the
overtime salary thresholds so workers do not lose
overtime protection as wages and salaries rise with
inflation."
_______________
AFL-CIO Executive Council Statement Text
Fixing What Is Wrong With Our Economy
March 14, 2012
http://www.aflcio.org/About/Exec-Council/EC-Statements/Fixing-What-Is-Wrong-With-Our-Economy
The economic policies that led to the financial crash
of 2008 and the subsequent Great Recession should have
been permanently discredited by their epic failure.
Instead, the Republican presidential candidates are now
resurrecting the same failed policies and pretending
the crash never happened.
America cannot afford to go down this path again. If we
want to fix what is wrong with our economy, we have to
learn from our mistakes and avoid repeating them.
The crash of 2008 and the Great Recession were
inevitable consequences of three decades of economic
policies designed by and for Wall Street and the
wealthiest Americans. At the heart of the problem was
the hollowing out of American manufacturing, the
growing dysfunction of our financial sector and a rapid
increase in economic inequality, all of which crippled
the growth engine of the U.S. economy.
Starting in the 1980s, corporate America decided to
boost profits by shipping U.S. jobs overseas. NAFTA and
the admission of China into the World Trade
Organization (WTO) accelerated the drive to relocate
production to "export platforms" in foreign countries
that would ship goods back to the U.S. market.
Corporations that sent jobs overseas became forceful
proponents of a "strong" (overvalued) dollar, which
enhanced the profitability of their overseas operations
but at the same time made much of the U.S.
manufacturing sector uncompetitive and led to perennial
U.S. trade deficits.
Also by the 1980s, the U.S. financial sector was
failing to perform its essential function of channeling
savings to productive investment in the real economy.
Financial firms on Wall Street focused instead on
making a quick buck by stripping assets from existing
businesses and downsizing their workforces, and on
various forms of complex financial engineering that had
little economic value. Financial firms also provided
critical support for a "strong dollar" policy that
diverted productive investment away from the U.S.
manufacturing sector toward overseas operations. By
the eve of the crash of 2008, the manufacturing sector
had shrunk to half its 1960 size, while the financial
sector had doubled in size and accounted for 40 percent
of corporate profits.
The deindustrialization of America and the substitution
of speculation for productive investment were not
accidents, they were not inevitable, and they were not
the outcome of natural forces. They were the
predictable results of mistaken policy choices made by
politicians of both parties for more than a generation.
These policy choices had victims with first and last
names: millions of displaced workers, shuttered
factories and hollowed-out communities across the
country hobbled by shrinking tax bases that no longer
could support vital public services.
Both deindustrialization and the dysfunction of finance
contributed to a remarkable rise in economic inequality
starting in the late 1970s. Trade deficits and
offshoring wiped out millions of well-paying, middle-
class jobs, and the threat of offshoring held down
wages for all workers. But a long list of other
deliberate policy choices also played key roles in the
rise of inequality. These included the abandonment of
full employment in favor of fighting inflation, the
prolonged attack on workers' right to organize and
bargain collectively with their employers, the erosion
of the minimum wage and other labor protections and
massive tax cuts for the wealthy. In the end, nearly
two-thirds of the pre-tax income gains after 1979 were
captured by the richest 10 percent and more than half
was captured by the richest 1 percent.
The experience of the past 30 years shows that rising
inequality is bad not only for workers, but also for
the economy as a whole. Less affluent households tend
to spend more of their income, generating more economic
activity, while more affluent households tend to
consume less. Wage stagnation undermines political
support for the levels of taxation necessary to support
public investment in things like roads and schools,
which underpins future economic productivity. And high
levels of inequality are associated with political
decision-making that leads to slower growth. In short,
the upward redistribution of income throws sand in the
gears of the economy.
The combination of all these policy mistakes caused the
growth engine of the U.S. economy to sputter. Starting
in the early 1980s, the economy's average annual growth
rate slowed considerably in comparison with the postwar
period. The expansion of the Bush years was the weakest
since World War II in terms of output growth,
investment growth, employment growth and wage growth.
In fact, the Bush expansion was the first since World
War II in which real income for the typical middle-
class family actually declined. There was clearly
something wrong with the U.S. economy long before the
crash.
The weakness of the economy was temporarily papered
over by a bubble in real estate prices at the turn of
the 21st century, which was made possible by the
deregulation of Wall Street. Instead of broad-based,
sustainable growth fueled by rising wages and
investment, the U.S. economy was artificially inflated
by complex financial engineering that made credit more
easily available and exposed the entire economy to
enormous risk. The bubble allowed working families to
maintain their standard of living, despite stagnant
wages, by borrowing against the value of their homes
and going deeper into debt. But of course households
could not keep increasing their debt loads forever.
When the real estate bubble finally burst, the house of
cards came crashing down and working people were once
again forced to pay for the sins of Wall Street with
their homes, their dreams and their children's futures.
We are still digging our way out from the rubble of the
crash. It typically takes years to repair the damage
from the collapse of speculative asset bubbles. When
the U.S. real estate bubble burst, households lost more
than $10 trillion in wealth from the plunge in housing
and stock prices, and they were heavily indebted to
begin with. Even today, households are still digging
their way out of debt, and it may take years for them
to see daylight. This helps explain why progress toward
closing our jobs deficit has been so difficult, and why
the economic recovery is still so fragile. Another
drag on the recovery has been the loss of 765,000 jobs
at the state and local levels between 2007 and 2011,
more than in any modern downturn.
The Republican presidential candidates not only failed
to learn anything from Wall Street's mistakes, they now
want to double down on more of the same. They propose
to deregulate the financial sector yet again, pass more
trade agreements that encourage the offshoring of U.S.
jobs, suppress wages by intensifying the assault on
unions, prioritize inflation-fighting over full
employment and perpetuate overvaluation of the dollar
and the U.S. trade deficit. We already tried this
approach, and it already failed spectacularly.
The Republican candidates pretend that tax cuts for
corporations and the wealthy are the answer to wage
stagnation and the economic crisis, but the Bush years
taught us that these obscenely wasteful tax cuts only
make the problem worse. They are the equivalent of
eating our seed corn, because they starve the kind of
public investment in education, infrastructure and
innovation that is indispensable for long-term economic
growth.
President Obama has shown that he understands the
problem. He has said clearly that "we are not going
back to an economy that's all about outsourcing and bad
debt and phony profits," we cannot return to a "bubble
and bust" economy propped up by "fleeting bubbles and
rampant speculation," and we "must make sure such a
crisis never happens again." He has called for
rebuilding an economy "built to last" through a
sustained program of public investment in
infrastructure, education and innovation. He has called
economic inequality the "defining issue of our time"
and sounded the alarm at the decline of the American
middle class over the past 30 years. He has opened a
national conversation about encouraging businesses to
bring jobs back to the U.S. instead of shipping jobs
overseas. He has acknowledged that America can no
longer "serve as the consumer engine for the entire
world," and called on trading partners that run trade
surpluses every year to rebalance their economies by
consuming more of what they produce.
What we need now is an economic program as serious and
far-reaching as the problem President Obama has
correctly diagnosed. We must start by shifting the
focus of U.S. economic policy from one of maximizing
the competitiveness and profitability of corporations
that happen to maintain headquarters somewhere on U.S.
territory to one of maximizing the competitiveness and
prosperity of the human beings who live and work in
America.
First, if we want to be competitive with Germany and
China in the 21st century, we will need trillions of
dollars in productive public investment over the next
10 years in affordable education and apprenticeship
programs for young people, who have suffered greater
income loss than any other demographic; infrastructure;
energy; manufacturing; transportation; skills training
and upgrades; and new technologies; all of which have
been starved by successive rounds of tax cuts for the
wealthy and inaction on long-term federal investment
initiatives. Wall Street and the wealthiest Americans,
who have benefitted most from the economic policies of
the past 30 years, will have to start paying their fair
share. We need to pass a financial speculation tax, let
the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire, tax capital
gains at the same rate as ordinary income and establish
a minimum effective tax rate of 30 percent for
households earning more than $1 million.
Second, to encourage domestic investment and lay a
stronger and more stable foundation for long-term
growth, it is essential that we tackle the problems of
wage stagnation and economic inequality. This will
require reforming our labor laws so that all workers
who want to form a union and bargain collectively have
a fair opportunity to do so, making full employment the
highest priority of our economic policy, increasing and
indexing the minimum wage, shrinking the trade deficit
and, again, eliminating incentives for offshoring.
Third, we need to start making things in America again.
We cannot hope to revive U.S. manufacturing without
bringing our trade deficit under control, which means
ending the overvaluation of the U.S. dollar and
combating currency manipulation by our trading
partners. We will also need to enhance Buy America
safeguards, aggressively enforce our trade laws and end
incentives for offshoring in the tax code and in our
trade agreements.
Fourth, we need to shrink our bloated financial sector
and make it serve the real economy once again. We can
no longer afford a financial sector that squanders
scarce resources on unproductive gambling and exposes
the entire economy to the intolerable risk of
speculative bubbles. This means reregulating Wall
Street, eliminating tax advantages for leveraged
buyouts and finding other ways to favor strategic
investment over short-term speculation.
Fifth, if we expect other countries to stop relying on
trade surpluses as their source of growth, we will have
to make it easier for them to rely on domestic incomes
as their source of growth. This will require a global
New Deal that establishes minimum standards for the
global economy, prevents a race to the bottom, creates
vibrant consumer markets in the global South and in the
process creates new markets for advanced U.S.
manufacturing.
We also have unfinished business in digging out from
the rubble of the crash. America wants to work, and
decisive action to close our jobs deficit must not be
delayed any further. An immediate multi-year program of
public investment in infrastructure and clean energy
would draw in business investment and buy time while
households dig their way out of debt. To stop the
foreclosure epidemic and stabilize housing prices,
broad-based reductions in mortgage principal will also
be needed. The U.S. economy cannot recover until the
housing market-the single largest market in the
country-is healthy again, and the banks must be held
accountable for their contribution to the crisis.
One thing is clear: We can no longer rely on household
debt, real estate bubbles, tech bubbles, stock bubbles
or any other kind of bubbles to fuel our economic
growth. We cannot go back to a low-wage, high-
consumption economy. We need bold leadership to draw
the right lessons from the mistakes of the past 30
years and forge a new model of economic growth in which
we make things in America again, workers can form a
union and bargain collectively if they want to, working
people can afford to buy the things they make, the U.S.
economy produces as much as it consumes, everybody who
wants to work can find a good job and prosperity is
broadly shared.
_____________
Economix
Labor's Take on the Economy
By Steven Greenhouse
New York Times
March 15, 2012
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/labors-take-on-the-economy/
ORLANDO, Fla.
When labor leaders talk publicly, it's often to make
angry, off-the-cuff statements to denounce a company
that is taking a tough line on wage increases or to
lambaste a lawmaker who is sponsoring anti-union
legislation.
But when the nation's union leaders gather each winter
at the A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s executive council meeting, the
statements they issue are usually far different. They
often approve carefully crafted resolutions that the
labor federation's staff members - some have Ph.D.'s -
have spent weeks preparing in close consultation with
union leaders. Clearly much work and thought went into
the resolution on the economy that the labor federation
approved on Wednesday, titled "Fixing What Is Wrong
With Our Economy."
The resolution is in part cri de coeur on behalf of
embattled workers, but it is mainly a full-throated
liberal-left take on what's ailing the American economy
and what caused those ailments. As one would suspect,
organized labor's analysis is not sympathetic to Wall
Street, deregulation and free trade.
The A.F.L.-C.I.O., representing 57 unions and with
considerable influence on the White House, said that
the recession and financial crisis that the nation
plunged into four years ago were three decades in the
making. The labor group's economic resolution asserted
that the North American Free Trade Agreement, admitting
China into the World Trade Organization and a long-
overvalued dollar had fueled the relocation of American
operations overseas.
Decrying "the hollowing out" of the economy, the
resolution added that by the 1980s the nation's
financial sector was failing to perform its "essential
function" of channeling savings to productive
investment in the real economy, focusing instead on
various forms of complex financial engineering and
"making a quick buck by stripping assets from existing
business and downsizing their work forces."
"The deindustrialization of America and the
substitution of speculation for productive investment
were not accidents, they were not inevitable, and they
were not the outcome of natural forces," the A.F.L.-
C.I.O. said. "They were the predictable results of
mistaken policy choices made by politicians of both
parties for more than a generation."
The labor federation asserted that many factors had
fueled America's growing inequality, including the loss
of well-paying manufacturing jobs, the rise of finance,
"the abandonment of full employment in favor of
fighting inflation," corporate attacks on the ability
of workers to unionize, "the erosion of the minimum
wage" and "massive tax cuts for the wealthy."
"In the end, nearly two-thirds of the pretax income
gains after 1979 were captured by the richest 10
percent and more than half was captured by the richest
1 percent," the resolution said.
The A.F.L.-C.I.O. argued that rising inequality was bad
for the economy as a whole, causing less affluent
households to spend more than their income and rely on
borrowing to an unhealthy degree.
"The weakness of the economy was temporarily papered
over by a bubble in real estate prices at the turn of
the 21st century, which was made possible by the
deregulation of Wall Street," the resolution said.
"Instead of broad-based, sustainable growth fueled by
rising wages and investment, the U.S. economy was
artificially inflated by complex financial engineering
that made credit more easily available and exposed the
entire economy to enormous risk."
To restore the economy to health, the labor federation
had several recommendations. First, it said, "if we
want to be competitive with Germany and China in the
21st century, we will need trillions of dollars in
productive public investment over the next 10 years" in
education, apprentice programs, retraining, and
infrastructure for the energy, manufacturing,and
transportation sectors. It added, "We need to start
making things in America again." To revive
manufacturing, it called for bringing the nation's
swollen trade under control and ending "the
overvaluation of the U.S. dollar" as well as "currency
manipulation by our trading partners."
"One thing is clear," the resolution concluded. "We can
no longer rely on household debt, real estate bubbles,
tech bubbles, stock bubbles or any other kind of
bubbles to fuel our economic growth. We cannot go back
to a low-wage, high-consumption economy. We need bold
leadership to draw the right lessons from the mistakes
of the past 30 years."
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Listen to Cynthia McKinney interview Rocky Anderson
Fantastic interview. Cynthia McKinney interviews Rocky Anderson, Justice Party presidential candidate, on Cindy Sheehan's radio program. One has to wonder why the AFL-CIO big-shots didn't interview Rocky Anderson or Jill Stein before endorsing Obama. Listen and share widely:
http://sheehan.streamguys.org/SoapboxInternet03112012.mp3
http://sheehan.streamguys.org/SoapboxInternet03112012.mp3
Monday, March 12, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich.
John Nichols the confused self-professed "progressive" and Obama backer lamented the defeat of Dennis Kucinich in an opinion piece in the Nation--- see link at very bottom.
Talk about the bastardization of the word "progressive." At best Kucinich was a liberal populist with a lack of courage to struggle against racism and for women's rights as he capitulated and broke under pressure from Obama on health care reform.
One has to really stretch the imagination as John Nichols does here to consider Kucinich, the Ron Paul lover, opponent of abortion, opponent of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday, opponent of public school integration, opponent of the enforcement of Affirmative Action, opponent of ridding racist Parma of its racist covenants in deeds, opponent of integrated open housing and the one who broke down when his voice was required in support of single-payer universal health care as a "progressive."
As we have seen with Ron Paul who Kucinich just loves, it takes more than being for peace to be considered a "progressive."
And, let us not forget; Kucinich has vigorously backed Obama.
Instead of taking principled progressive stands on the issues, Kucinich waffled all over the place--- a summer soldier and sunshine patriot at best--- not the kind of people's politician this moment in history requires.
Dennis Kucinich is selfish and disgusting and that is why he was defeated. I guess there are those who like to view themselves as "progressives" who find solace in considering Dennis Kucinich a "progressive" because it is justification for their own non-struggle positions on issues they don't feel comfortable with--- like defending abortion when your constituency is reactionary on a particular issue and when those who are your biggest supporters happen to be rabid racists wanting to keep people of color out of Parma.
Isn't it possible to appreciate Dennis Kucinich for the good that he did while analyzing his racist and anti-woman stands on the issues which ultimately did him in?
Let's face it; Dennis Kucinich didn't lose this Election because of re-districting. Dennis Kucinich lost this Election because more working class people of color and more real progressive voters made up the new district and these voters were obviously not looking for a candidate they couldn't trust to defend their most basic and fundamental interests when it came to someone willing to stand up and fight it out when it came to civil and human rights, the most basic and fundamental rights of working people and the right of women to be free to choose.
It has to be said, Dennis Kucinich helped to give voice to, and build--- both ideologically and in action--- the present racist and anti-woman movements now sweeping this country.
I don't find it unusual that the same old phony liberals, progressives and leftists now mourning Dennis Kucinich's loss are the very same people who helped to sell Obama to the American people as some kind of "liberal," progressive" and even in their minds a closet "leftist" simply because Obama was "mentored" by Frank Marshall Davis.
Marcy Kaptur is no better nor no worse than Kucinich.
Quite frankly, I think the labor unions, Obama and the Democrats were getting ready to primary Kucinich, the gadfly; and none of these people now mourning his loss would have dared to complain.
Real progressives have the courage to step forward and lead, not retreat, in the face of racism and attacks on women.
I'm not gloating over Dennis Kucinich's loss; but, neither am I mourning his defeat. Nothing has changed; everything has stayed the same. Dennis Kucinich reaped the fruits from the political establishment he refused to break free from--- this two-party trap Wall Street is so fond of selling us as a democracy.
I surmise what I have written here will find people in disagreement. I welcome their thoughts as a way to move discussion forward on how we free ourselves from this Wall Street tyranny.
As a matter of fact, some of the most corrupt racist politicians like former Minnesota Congressman James Oberstar backed Dennis Kucinich. That should tell everyone everything there is to know.
Plus; Dennis Kucinich has been the darling of Cleveland mobsters who have their racist, greedy fingers in the Indian Gaming Industry. Kucinich chose to ignore the plight of casino workers forced to work in these loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos without any rights as he continued to vote to approve every single "Compact" giving birth to one more of these hideous casinos from which he and other politicians giving these racist, anti-labor "Compacts" their stamp of approval knowing that which each "Compact" approval they were denying another couple thousand workers their rights and dooming one more Indian Nation to deeper poverty the result of enormous debt. But, then again; this is classic selfish Dennis Kucinich--- and in the end, his opponent ended up with the support of the Indian Gaming Industry. Talk about "just rewards."
John Nichols the confused self-professed "progressive" and Obama backer lamented the defeat of Dennis Kucinich in an opinion piece in the Nation--- see link at very bottom.
Talk about the bastardization of the word "progressive." At best Kucinich was a liberal populist with a lack of courage to struggle against racism and for women's rights as he capitulated and broke under pressure from Obama on health care reform.
One has to really stretch the imagination as John Nichols does here to consider Kucinich, the Ron Paul lover, opponent of abortion, opponent of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday, opponent of public school integration, opponent of the enforcement of Affirmative Action, opponent of ridding racist Parma of its racist covenants in deeds, opponent of integrated open housing and the one who broke down when his voice was required in support of single-payer universal health care as a "progressive."
As we have seen with Ron Paul who Kucinich just loves, it takes more than being for peace to be considered a "progressive."
And, let us not forget; Kucinich has vigorously backed Obama.
Instead of taking principled progressive stands on the issues, Kucinich waffled all over the place--- a summer soldier and sunshine patriot at best--- not the kind of people's politician this moment in history requires.
Dennis Kucinich is selfish and disgusting and that is why he was defeated. I guess there are those who like to view themselves as "progressives" who find solace in considering Dennis Kucinich a "progressive" because it is justification for their own non-struggle positions on issues they don't feel comfortable with--- like defending abortion when your constituency is reactionary on a particular issue and when those who are your biggest supporters happen to be rabid racists wanting to keep people of color out of Parma.
Isn't it possible to appreciate Dennis Kucinich for the good that he did while analyzing his racist and anti-woman stands on the issues which ultimately did him in?
Let's face it; Dennis Kucinich didn't lose this Election because of re-districting. Dennis Kucinich lost this Election because more working class people of color and more real progressive voters made up the new district and these voters were obviously not looking for a candidate they couldn't trust to defend their most basic and fundamental interests when it came to someone willing to stand up and fight it out when it came to civil and human rights, the most basic and fundamental rights of working people and the right of women to be free to choose.
It has to be said, Dennis Kucinich helped to give voice to, and build--- both ideologically and in action--- the present racist and anti-woman movements now sweeping this country.
I don't find it unusual that the same old phony liberals, progressives and leftists now mourning Dennis Kucinich's loss are the very same people who helped to sell Obama to the American people as some kind of "liberal," progressive" and even in their minds a closet "leftist" simply because Obama was "mentored" by Frank Marshall Davis.
Marcy Kaptur is no better nor no worse than Kucinich.
Quite frankly, I think the labor unions, Obama and the Democrats were getting ready to primary Kucinich, the gadfly; and none of these people now mourning his loss would have dared to complain.
Real progressives have the courage to step forward and lead, not retreat, in the face of racism and attacks on women.
I'm not gloating over Dennis Kucinich's loss; but, neither am I mourning his defeat. Nothing has changed; everything has stayed the same. Dennis Kucinich reaped the fruits from the political establishment he refused to break free from--- this two-party trap Wall Street is so fond of selling us as a democracy.
I surmise what I have written here will find people in disagreement. I welcome their thoughts as a way to move discussion forward on how we free ourselves from this Wall Street tyranny.
As a matter of fact, some of the most corrupt racist politicians like former Minnesota Congressman James Oberstar backed Dennis Kucinich. That should tell everyone everything there is to know.
Plus; Dennis Kucinich has been the darling of Cleveland mobsters who have their racist, greedy fingers in the Indian Gaming Industry. Kucinich chose to ignore the plight of casino workers forced to work in these loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos without any rights as he continued to vote to approve every single "Compact" giving birth to one more of these hideous casinos from which he and other politicians giving these racist, anti-labor "Compacts" their stamp of approval knowing that which each "Compact" approval they were denying another couple thousand workers their rights and dooming one more Indian Nation to deeper poverty the result of enormous debt. But, then again; this is classic selfish Dennis Kucinich--- and in the end, his opponent ended up with the support of the Indian Gaming Industry. Talk about "just rewards."
Yours in the struggle,
Alan L. Maki
Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
58891 County Road 13
Warroad, Minnnesota, 56763
Warroad, Minnnesota, 56763
E-mail: alan.maki1951mn@gmail.com
alternate E-Mail: amaki000@centurytel.net
alternate E-Mail: amaki000@centurytel.net
phone: (218) 386-2432
Make the "United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights" a living reality for all working people!
Please check out my daily blog:
Thursday, March 8, 2012
I will be interviewed about the minimum wage today
NOTICE: I made a mistake in the time I will be interviewed today; here is the correct time--- sorry about this mistake in time:
I will be interviewed about the minimum wage for half an hour on Thursday at noon, March 8, at 12 P.M. Central Time, (8 A.M. Hawaii time; 1 P.M. Eastern Time) about the minimum wage and poverty. The name of the program will be "Just Rewards." The program will be archived so you can listen at any time:
www.blogtalkradio.com/justicepartyusa
I will be interviewed about the minimum wage for half an hour on Thursday at noon, March 8, at 12 P.M. Central Time, (8 A.M. Hawaii time; 1 P.M. Eastern Time) about the minimum wage and poverty. The name of the program will be "Just Rewards." The program will be archived so you can listen at any time:
www.blogtalkradio.com/justicepartyusa
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
First Nations go on offensive in Canada; will lobby foreign embassies for help in ending racism
Ottawa Embassies to be lobbiedFebruary 24th, 2012
A group of indigenous people will travel to Ottawa to visit 120 Embassies located in the nation’s capital. For four days in mid March, indigenous people will be in Ottawa visiting 30 Embassies per day with information on violations of indigenous human rights. Former Chief Terrance Nelson of Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation is one of the main organizers along with Dakota Chief Frank Brown and they have support from some Mohawks,
“We will carry over 200 packages of information, targeting the Canadian Indian Act, Housing, the over 600 Murdered and Missing Women, the theft of our children under CFS, but the big issue is getting international action on a share of our own wealth, the Natural Resources which has been stolen from the indigenous peoples of these lands”.
“No one should dismiss us, in the National Day of Action four years ago, we warned that a confrontation between indigenous peoples and the government would have dire economic consequences for all of Canada.”
A caravan of seven vehicles will start out from Winnipeg on Friday March 9th, stopping three nights in various First Nation communities along the way before reaching Ottawa on Monday March 12th 2012.
At ten a.m. on Tuesday March 13th 2012, the group intends to demonstrate outside the Iranian Embassy and as stated in Nelson’s letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the group will deliver a package of detailed information requesting specific help from the Iranians. In the following three days, demonstrations will take place at the Chinese Embassy, the German Embassy and on Friday, the American Embassy, 30 Embassies in total will be visited each of the four days.
For Further information
Contact Terrance Nelson 204-451-0740
-30-
* * * *
To All Chiefs and Councils
First Nation people
February 28th 2012
Re: Lobbying the Embassies in Ottawa
Please find attached the letter I wrote to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and the list of embassies we will visit March 13 to 16, 2012, in Ottawa. This will cost us around $50,000 to carry out because we are driving out to Ottawa starting March 9th from Winnipeg.
On Friday March 9th, we will at the Manitoba Legislature from 11 a.m. to Noon, for a rally. Come out and see what we plan to deliver to the Embassies. If nothing else, hear from the people who are going to Ottawa. We are deliberately avoiding going to the government of Canada, they already have as much studies and documents from us to do something about the problems. They don’t need more paper from us.
We need access to foreign banks for mortgages and investment for business development. We have a chance to get something done, we are going to get access to OPEC nations. Mohawks are going to put in half the costs of this event but if the documents on First Nations isn’t done right, or the banners etc aren’t done right, we lose a chance of making the impact we need. Just the Child Welfare issue alone is reason to make this trip. Ten thousand children in care in Manitoba, the Residential School era is happening right now and some of those children in care today will become a statistic of the murdered and missing women of the future.
There is no money to be made in activism; we are not doing this for money. We are doing this to change the system that we have lived under for so long. If we are doing it for the kids like we always heard from the speeches given at the meetings, why would we be so scared to go to an embassy? If you are tired of being ignored in Canada, why not send a document on your situation with us?
Terrance Nelson
204-451-840, terrancenelson74@gmail.com
* * * * *
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
C/O Embassy of I.R. of Iran Telephone # 613-235-4726
245 Metcalfe St. Ottawa, Ontario, Fax # 613-232-5712
Canada K2P 2K2 executive@iranembassy.ca
February 23rd 2012
Mr. Terrance Nelson
Box 346
Letellier, Manitoba,
Canada R0G-1C0
Your Excellency!
Re: Indigenous Peoples of Canada
I wish to thank the Iranian people for their continued interest and support for the indigenous peoples of North America. When I wrote the book “Genocide in Canada” (1997), the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa requested more copies. Iranian interest in First Nations in Canada has been longstanding. Years ago, eight of us indigenous people demonstrated in front of the Iranian Embassy. Sixteen police cars, including Ontario Provincial Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Secret Service and Ottawa city police did not allow us to deliver our information. We will attend to your Ottawa embassy on March 13, 2012 to try again.
Ramin Mehmanparast, (Iranian Foreign Ministry) responded February 15th 2012 to Canadian Foreign Minister Baird’s comments on Human Rights in Iran by referring to the appalling conditions of indigenous people in Canada. Mehmanparast urged indigenous peoples to take Canada to international forums for meaningful remedies. We are taking his advice.
As an indigenous person and a former Chief of my community, I take the position that economic sanctions against Iran is genocide. I support the right of the Iranian people to defend themselves against undue aggression and financial extortion.
Canada currently sends 2.5 million barrels of oil per day to the United States. Twenty miles from my home community of Roseau River, Enbridge operates a pipeline depot that pumps over a million barrels of oil a day to the United States. Canada has not fulfilled its legal obligations pursuant to Treaty with our people and endangers its right of access to our Treaty historical lands including the lands upon which the pumping depot sits.
Canada has purchased over 2 trillion dollars of American exports in the last ten years. For 22 years I have been trying to get the United States to pressure Canada into rectifying the dismal human rights record that has devastated the indigenous peoples of Canada. Iran has already highlighted the human rights record in Canada, while the United States government continues to remain silent.
Officially, the United States government sees the issues facing indigenous peoples in Canada as an internal domestic matter. The sixty different metals and minerals mined in Canada benefits the American economy but not the indigenous people in Canada. Unlike the American Bill of Rights, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms contains no Right to Property. Canadian politicians feared“Americanizing” the Canadian Court system and thus excluded the right to property to ensure that indigenous people could not use the courts to uphold their rightful ownership of all the natural resource wealth.
Originally, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and United States voted against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, there is security of energy exports for the United States, but NAFTA does not recognize the rights of indigenous people in Canada to property or payment for natural resources extraction.
Canada has consistently been in the top level of the United Nations Living Index while indigenous peoples in Canada are at the 72nd level of that same index. At one point, for seven straight years, Canada was ranked first place in the United Nations assessment as the “best country in the world to live in”.
British legislation, the Indian Act, first enacted in 1876, is today not simply a violation of human rights but creates living conditions that fits the 1948 United Nation’s Genocide Act.
Genocide is defined under article II of the 1948 United Nations Genocide Act as:
a. Killing members of the group;
b. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to the members of the group;
c. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
d. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
e. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
The Indian Act is archaic colonial legislation. The act creates a system of undeclared economic sanctions that remain in effect 136 years later. In a book written in 1963 by W.H. Jennings on Canadian Business Law, the impact of Section 89 of the Indian Act is explained in law as;
IndiansWhen living on a government reservation, an Indian is a ward of the Crown and is protected in the following manner;
According to the World Economic Forum, Geneva, survey of 133 countries, Canada has the strongest banking system in the world, ranked first in the world. We as indigenous people living on a reservation, however, are denied access to Canada’s banking system. The Indian Act ensures that all indigenous adults living on reserve are legally in the same category as children and alien enemies. The Indian Act has created economically devastated indigenous communities.
As a result of the undeclared economic sanctions enforced by Canadian law, there are now over 600 murdered and missing indigenous women in Canada. Over 10,000 indigenous children in the province of Manitoba are in foster care. United Nation defines Genocide as Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. This same system happened previously in the Residential School era where over 125,000 children were taken deliberately from their homes on reserve. They were forcefully indoctrinated into non indigenous belief systems.
The current system that restricts individuals from acquiring personal mortgages and therefore personal ownership of homes on reserve becomes an excuse to house indigenous children in the homes of immigrants, immigrants who don’t face the same restrictions as indigenous people.
The Assembly of First Nations, the national indigenous political organization in Canada has concluded that 80,000 new houses are required in our 633 reservations. Canada has set aside $400 million per year to finance the public housing needs of First Nations. At a minimum cost of $150,000 per new house in northern Canada, it will require $120 billion to finance First Nation housing needs. Denying indigenous people individual mortgages and access to banks means it will take 300 years for Canada to finance our current housing shortage.
In order to break the system of undeclared economic sanctions against our people, we must look to other nations who are willing to give us access to their banks and financial institutions. We are the real owners of all the natural resource wealth in Canada but we are denied a share of our property. We need other nations to condemn the theft of our lands and resources. We should be the wealthiest people in the world if we had even a small share of our own natural resource wealth.
United States and western nations have declared economic sanctions against Iran and perhaps even an all out war against the Iranian people. Economic sanctions are however a double edged sword now that the United States is in such deep financial crisis. In the 2007 National Day of Action we warned Canada that a confrontation between indigenous people and the immigrants would have dire financial implications not just for Canada but also the United States. This is even more so following the economic meltdown in 2008.
I accepted an invitation from the Saddam Hussein Government in April 1998 to visit their country and see the effects of economic sanctions. I organized a fact finding mission with 7 indigenous people from Canada. During our 11 day visit, we took 25 hours of video footage. The Iraqi dinar which was worth 3 and half American dollars prior to 1990 faced hyper inflation under economic sanctions and in 1998, it took 1,450 Iraqi dinars to buy one American dollar.
The United Nations concluded in December 1995, that 567,000 Iraqi children had died in the first five years of economic sanctions. To my knowledge no nation has ever raised the issue of the U.S. military using depleted uranium against targets in Iraq. A four-fold rise in cancer in Iraqi people after 1990 is documented. How the military use of depleted uranium was authorized within American law remains an outstanding question. Will Iran’s nuclear sites be bombed with the same impunity?
I live within sixty minutes ride from one of the largest concentrations of nuclear weapons in the world. I do not support the use or proliferation of more nuclear weapons but I believe all people have a right to defend themselves against aggression. There are over 22,000 active nuclear warheads in the world. Weapons of mass destruction is of concern for all people in the world and we have every right to voice our concerns even against our own military.
The American people have a right to question their government and their military. The “Occupy Movement” in the United States is similar to the movement against the Vietnam War. The average American is held hostage to $4 a gallon for gasoline and are questioning their government. Many Americans question any declaration of war against Iran. The internet has given people an ability to look beyond stereotyping by western media. There are people in North America who are willing to listen to the Iranian position.
I remember clearly in the 70s that students from Iran came to the United States trying to protest the violations of Human Rights under the Shah. The United States government took no action against the Shah. When our rights are ignored or violated, we all have a right to take action.
I seek an opportunity to present information to the Iranian people. Specifically I ask for your help to break the undeclared economic sanctions that have devastated our First Nations in Canada. We understand that because of the economic sanctions Canada will never allow us to have financial support from your government.
Despite 22 years of trying to get the United States government to respond to the violations of indigenous human rights in Canada, going outside of American sphere of influence will have consequences for us.
We seek your government’s support to help us open the doors to OPEC nations that may be willing to do business with the indigenous people of Canada. We have lands that if developed can provide food security for OPEC nations. We can do business that is mutually beneficial. We ask that the OPEC nations help us to acquire a share of our own natural resource wealth. Like the OPEC nations, if we can finally get a share of our own natural resource wealth, we will be able to support ourselves. Until that day comes, we need your help.
Dakota people and our group will be demonstrating in front of your Iranian Embassy in Ottawa mid March and it is not a protest against Iran, it is a call for help. I will personally deliver a package of information to your Embassy that will be much more detailed and specific. I believe that this package of information can be sent by Diplomatic Pouch to your attention.
I wish to thank you once again for the people of Iran who are interested and supportive of our fight for human rights in Canada. In my Ojibway language, I say Mii-gwetch, (Thank You) for your attention to this letter and attachments.
Sincerely
Terrance Nelson
204-451-0740
Email terrancenelson74@gmail.com
‘Canada’s remarks on Iranian nuclear program laughable’ TEHRAN, Feb. 15 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ramin Mehmanparast said on Wednesday that Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird’s recent remarks about Tehran’s nuclear program are not worth responding to.
Baird, in an interview with the Jerusalem Post in early February, said, “What we know is that this (Iran) is a regime that is enriching uranium and that has a clear nuclear arms program underway. That is undisputable.”
Mehmanparast said, “Those remarks do not meet the lowest diplomatic standards, so they are not worth responding to.”
“Mr. Baird should fully clarify why he strongly made the laughable claim that Iran is producing nuclear weapons while the International Atomic Energy Agency has officially announced dozens of times that Iran’s nuclear program is under the full supervision of this international body and no evidence of diversion has ever been found,” he added.
In response to Baird’s comments on the human rights situation in Iran, in which he had said that the Islamic Republic has a “disgraceful human rights record,” Mehmanparast advised the Canadian government to make efforts to improve the appalling conditions that the indigenous people of Canada are experiencing.
A group of indigenous people will travel to Ottawa to visit 120 Embassies located in the nation’s capital. For four days in mid March, indigenous people will be in Ottawa visiting 30 Embassies per day with information on violations of indigenous human rights. Former Chief Terrance Nelson of Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation is one of the main organizers along with Dakota Chief Frank Brown and they have support from some Mohawks,
“We will carry over 200 packages of information, targeting the Canadian Indian Act, Housing, the over 600 Murdered and Missing Women, the theft of our children under CFS, but the big issue is getting international action on a share of our own wealth, the Natural Resources which has been stolen from the indigenous peoples of these lands”.
“No one should dismiss us, in the National Day of Action four years ago, we warned that a confrontation between indigenous peoples and the government would have dire economic consequences for all of Canada.”
A caravan of seven vehicles will start out from Winnipeg on Friday March 9th, stopping three nights in various First Nation communities along the way before reaching Ottawa on Monday March 12th 2012.
At ten a.m. on Tuesday March 13th 2012, the group intends to demonstrate outside the Iranian Embassy and as stated in Nelson’s letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the group will deliver a package of detailed information requesting specific help from the Iranians. In the following three days, demonstrations will take place at the Chinese Embassy, the German Embassy and on Friday, the American Embassy, 30 Embassies in total will be visited each of the four days.
For Further information
Contact Terrance Nelson 204-451-0740
-30-
* * * *
To All Chiefs and Councils
First Nation people
February 28th 2012
Re: Lobbying the Embassies in Ottawa
Please find attached the letter I wrote to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and the list of embassies we will visit March 13 to 16, 2012, in Ottawa. This will cost us around $50,000 to carry out because we are driving out to Ottawa starting March 9th from Winnipeg.
On Friday March 9th, we will at the Manitoba Legislature from 11 a.m. to Noon, for a rally. Come out and see what we plan to deliver to the Embassies. If nothing else, hear from the people who are going to Ottawa. We are deliberately avoiding going to the government of Canada, they already have as much studies and documents from us to do something about the problems. They don’t need more paper from us.
We need access to foreign banks for mortgages and investment for business development. We have a chance to get something done, we are going to get access to OPEC nations. Mohawks are going to put in half the costs of this event but if the documents on First Nations isn’t done right, or the banners etc aren’t done right, we lose a chance of making the impact we need. Just the Child Welfare issue alone is reason to make this trip. Ten thousand children in care in Manitoba, the Residential School era is happening right now and some of those children in care today will become a statistic of the murdered and missing women of the future.
There is no money to be made in activism; we are not doing this for money. We are doing this to change the system that we have lived under for so long. If we are doing it for the kids like we always heard from the speeches given at the meetings, why would we be so scared to go to an embassy? If you are tired of being ignored in Canada, why not send a document on your situation with us?
Terrance Nelson
204-451-840, terrancenelson74@gmail.com
* * * * *
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
C/O Embassy of I.R. of Iran Telephone # 613-235-4726
245 Metcalfe St. Ottawa, Ontario, Fax # 613-232-5712
Canada K2P 2K2 executive@iranembassy.ca
February 23rd 2012
Mr. Terrance Nelson
Box 346
Letellier, Manitoba,
Canada R0G-1C0
Your Excellency!
Re: Indigenous Peoples of Canada
I wish to thank the Iranian people for their continued interest and support for the indigenous peoples of North America. When I wrote the book “Genocide in Canada” (1997), the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa requested more copies. Iranian interest in First Nations in Canada has been longstanding. Years ago, eight of us indigenous people demonstrated in front of the Iranian Embassy. Sixteen police cars, including Ontario Provincial Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Secret Service and Ottawa city police did not allow us to deliver our information. We will attend to your Ottawa embassy on March 13, 2012 to try again.
Ramin Mehmanparast, (Iranian Foreign Ministry) responded February 15th 2012 to Canadian Foreign Minister Baird’s comments on Human Rights in Iran by referring to the appalling conditions of indigenous people in Canada. Mehmanparast urged indigenous peoples to take Canada to international forums for meaningful remedies. We are taking his advice.
As an indigenous person and a former Chief of my community, I take the position that economic sanctions against Iran is genocide. I support the right of the Iranian people to defend themselves against undue aggression and financial extortion.
Canada currently sends 2.5 million barrels of oil per day to the United States. Twenty miles from my home community of Roseau River, Enbridge operates a pipeline depot that pumps over a million barrels of oil a day to the United States. Canada has not fulfilled its legal obligations pursuant to Treaty with our people and endangers its right of access to our Treaty historical lands including the lands upon which the pumping depot sits.
Canada has purchased over 2 trillion dollars of American exports in the last ten years. For 22 years I have been trying to get the United States to pressure Canada into rectifying the dismal human rights record that has devastated the indigenous peoples of Canada. Iran has already highlighted the human rights record in Canada, while the United States government continues to remain silent.
Officially, the United States government sees the issues facing indigenous peoples in Canada as an internal domestic matter. The sixty different metals and minerals mined in Canada benefits the American economy but not the indigenous people in Canada. Unlike the American Bill of Rights, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms contains no Right to Property. Canadian politicians feared“Americanizing” the Canadian Court system and thus excluded the right to property to ensure that indigenous people could not use the courts to uphold their rightful ownership of all the natural resource wealth.
Originally, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and United States voted against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, there is security of energy exports for the United States, but NAFTA does not recognize the rights of indigenous people in Canada to property or payment for natural resources extraction.
Canada has consistently been in the top level of the United Nations Living Index while indigenous peoples in Canada are at the 72nd level of that same index. At one point, for seven straight years, Canada was ranked first place in the United Nations assessment as the “best country in the world to live in”.
British legislation, the Indian Act, first enacted in 1876, is today not simply a violation of human rights but creates living conditions that fits the 1948 United Nation’s Genocide Act.
Genocide is defined under article II of the 1948 United Nations Genocide Act as:
a. Killing members of the group;
b. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to the members of the group;
c. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
d. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
e. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
The Indian Act is archaic colonial legislation. The act creates a system of undeclared economic sanctions that remain in effect 136 years later. In a book written in 1963 by W.H. Jennings on Canadian Business Law, the impact of Section 89 of the Indian Act is explained in law as;
IndiansWhen living on a government reservation, an Indian is a ward of the Crown and is protected in the following manner;
- 1) He is not legally bound in a contract-not even for necessaries.
- 2) As in the case of a minor, such Indian may hold the other party to the contract.
- 3) No contract to dispose of or to place a mortgage against the property of an Indian is binding.
- 4) All personal property of an Indian is free from seizure for debt, but the unpaid seller may take security on any article purchased for any part of the price which is unpaid.
- OTHER PARTIES HAVING LIMITED POWERS
- In addition to minors, insane persons, intoxicated persons and Indians, two other classes have limited power to contract.
- They are:
- 1) Limited companies
- 2) Alien enemies
According to the World Economic Forum, Geneva, survey of 133 countries, Canada has the strongest banking system in the world, ranked first in the world. We as indigenous people living on a reservation, however, are denied access to Canada’s banking system. The Indian Act ensures that all indigenous adults living on reserve are legally in the same category as children and alien enemies. The Indian Act has created economically devastated indigenous communities.
As a result of the undeclared economic sanctions enforced by Canadian law, there are now over 600 murdered and missing indigenous women in Canada. Over 10,000 indigenous children in the province of Manitoba are in foster care. United Nation defines Genocide as Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. This same system happened previously in the Residential School era where over 125,000 children were taken deliberately from their homes on reserve. They were forcefully indoctrinated into non indigenous belief systems.
The current system that restricts individuals from acquiring personal mortgages and therefore personal ownership of homes on reserve becomes an excuse to house indigenous children in the homes of immigrants, immigrants who don’t face the same restrictions as indigenous people.
The Assembly of First Nations, the national indigenous political organization in Canada has concluded that 80,000 new houses are required in our 633 reservations. Canada has set aside $400 million per year to finance the public housing needs of First Nations. At a minimum cost of $150,000 per new house in northern Canada, it will require $120 billion to finance First Nation housing needs. Denying indigenous people individual mortgages and access to banks means it will take 300 years for Canada to finance our current housing shortage.
In order to break the system of undeclared economic sanctions against our people, we must look to other nations who are willing to give us access to their banks and financial institutions. We are the real owners of all the natural resource wealth in Canada but we are denied a share of our property. We need other nations to condemn the theft of our lands and resources. We should be the wealthiest people in the world if we had even a small share of our own natural resource wealth.
United States and western nations have declared economic sanctions against Iran and perhaps even an all out war against the Iranian people. Economic sanctions are however a double edged sword now that the United States is in such deep financial crisis. In the 2007 National Day of Action we warned Canada that a confrontation between indigenous people and the immigrants would have dire financial implications not just for Canada but also the United States. This is even more so following the economic meltdown in 2008.
I accepted an invitation from the Saddam Hussein Government in April 1998 to visit their country and see the effects of economic sanctions. I organized a fact finding mission with 7 indigenous people from Canada. During our 11 day visit, we took 25 hours of video footage. The Iraqi dinar which was worth 3 and half American dollars prior to 1990 faced hyper inflation under economic sanctions and in 1998, it took 1,450 Iraqi dinars to buy one American dollar.
The United Nations concluded in December 1995, that 567,000 Iraqi children had died in the first five years of economic sanctions. To my knowledge no nation has ever raised the issue of the U.S. military using depleted uranium against targets in Iraq. A four-fold rise in cancer in Iraqi people after 1990 is documented. How the military use of depleted uranium was authorized within American law remains an outstanding question. Will Iran’s nuclear sites be bombed with the same impunity?
I live within sixty minutes ride from one of the largest concentrations of nuclear weapons in the world. I do not support the use or proliferation of more nuclear weapons but I believe all people have a right to defend themselves against aggression. There are over 22,000 active nuclear warheads in the world. Weapons of mass destruction is of concern for all people in the world and we have every right to voice our concerns even against our own military.
The American people have a right to question their government and their military. The “Occupy Movement” in the United States is similar to the movement against the Vietnam War. The average American is held hostage to $4 a gallon for gasoline and are questioning their government. Many Americans question any declaration of war against Iran. The internet has given people an ability to look beyond stereotyping by western media. There are people in North America who are willing to listen to the Iranian position.
I remember clearly in the 70s that students from Iran came to the United States trying to protest the violations of Human Rights under the Shah. The United States government took no action against the Shah. When our rights are ignored or violated, we all have a right to take action.
I seek an opportunity to present information to the Iranian people. Specifically I ask for your help to break the undeclared economic sanctions that have devastated our First Nations in Canada. We understand that because of the economic sanctions Canada will never allow us to have financial support from your government.
Despite 22 years of trying to get the United States government to respond to the violations of indigenous human rights in Canada, going outside of American sphere of influence will have consequences for us.
We seek your government’s support to help us open the doors to OPEC nations that may be willing to do business with the indigenous people of Canada. We have lands that if developed can provide food security for OPEC nations. We can do business that is mutually beneficial. We ask that the OPEC nations help us to acquire a share of our own natural resource wealth. Like the OPEC nations, if we can finally get a share of our own natural resource wealth, we will be able to support ourselves. Until that day comes, we need your help.
Dakota people and our group will be demonstrating in front of your Iranian Embassy in Ottawa mid March and it is not a protest against Iran, it is a call for help. I will personally deliver a package of information to your Embassy that will be much more detailed and specific. I believe that this package of information can be sent by Diplomatic Pouch to your attention.
I wish to thank you once again for the people of Iran who are interested and supportive of our fight for human rights in Canada. In my Ojibway language, I say Mii-gwetch, (Thank You) for your attention to this letter and attachments.
Sincerely
Terrance Nelson
204-451-0740
Email terrancenelson74@gmail.com
‘Canada’s remarks on Iranian nuclear program laughable’ TEHRAN, Feb. 15 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ramin Mehmanparast said on Wednesday that Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird’s recent remarks about Tehran’s nuclear program are not worth responding to.
Baird, in an interview with the Jerusalem Post in early February, said, “What we know is that this (Iran) is a regime that is enriching uranium and that has a clear nuclear arms program underway. That is undisputable.”
Mehmanparast said, “Those remarks do not meet the lowest diplomatic standards, so they are not worth responding to.”
“Mr. Baird should fully clarify why he strongly made the laughable claim that Iran is producing nuclear weapons while the International Atomic Energy Agency has officially announced dozens of times that Iran’s nuclear program is under the full supervision of this international body and no evidence of diversion has ever been found,” he added.
In response to Baird’s comments on the human rights situation in Iran, in which he had said that the Islamic Republic has a “disgraceful human rights record,” Mehmanparast advised the Canadian government to make efforts to improve the appalling conditions that the indigenous people of Canada are experiencing.
Day One Tuesday March 13th 2012
Iranian Embassy
245 Metcalfe St. Ottawa
Drum Group Begins Singing at 10 A.M. and the Demonstration and speeches ends at 11:30 A.M.
Speakers, Terrance Nelson, Chief Frank Brown, Ernest Cobiness, others TBA
Breaking the Undeclared Economic Sanctions against Indigenous peoples in Canada
11 am, five individuals approach the Embassy to deliver information
Noon
Eight groups will deliver packages of information to the following Embassies, all at the same time
1. Group one Afghanistan C/O Pakistan, Burnside Building, 151 Slater St. Ste. 608
2. Group two, Embassy of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, 435 Daly Ave,
3. Group three, Embassy of Argentina Republic, RBC Center, 90 Sparks Street, Ste. 910
4. Group four, High Commission of Republic of Bangladesh, 275 Bank St, Ste 302
5. Group five, Belarus Embassy, 285 Charlotte St,
6. Group six, Republic of Brazil, 450 Wilbord St,
7. Group seven, Embassy of the Republic of Colombia, 360 Albert Street, Ste 1002
8. Group eight, High Commission for the Republic of Cameroon, 170 Clemow Ave,
9. Group one, Antiqua and Barbuda, 112 Kent St. Ste. 1610, Place de Ville, Tower B,
10. Group two, Republic of Armenia, 130 Albert St. Ste 1006,
Two P.M.
1. Group one, Republic of Bolivia 130 Albert St. Ste 504
2. Group two, Embassy of the Republic of Ivory Coast 9 Marlborough Ave,
3. Group three, Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark, 47 Clarence St. Ste 450
4. Group four, Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, 454 Laurier Ave E,
5. Group five, Republic of Ghana, 1 Clemow Ave
6. Group six, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 151 Slater St. Ste 210,
7. Group seven, Embassy of the Republic of Hungary, 299 Waverly St.
8. Group eight, Embassy of Ireland, 130 Albert St. Ste 1105,
9. Group three, Embassy of the Republic of Austria, 445 Wilbrod St.
10. Group four, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, 360 Albert St. Ste. 1020,
Four P.M.
1. Group one Embassy of the State of Kuwait, 80 Elgin St.
2. Group two, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, 249 McLeod St,
3. Group three, Australian High Commission, 50 O'Connor St. Ste 710,
4. Group four, Embassy of the Italian Republic, 275 Slater St. 21st Floor,
5. Group five, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Burnside Bldg. 151 Slater St. Ste 608
6. Group six, Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, 99 Bank St. Ste 901,
7. Group seven, Embassy of the Republic of Senegal, 57 Marlborough Ave.
8. Group eight, The Royal Thai Embassy, 180 Island Park Dr.
9. Group five, High Commission for Barbados, 130 Albert St, Ste 600,
Day Two, Wednesday March 14th 2012
People's Republic of China Embassy
515 St. Patrick St,
Drum Group Begins Singing at 10 A.M. and the Demonstration and speeches ends at 11:30 A.M.
Speakers, Terrance Nelson, Speakers TBA
Gateway Pipeline, Indigenous People’s Property Rights, Trade, WMDs
11 a.m. five individuals approach the Embassy to deliver information
Noon
Eight groups will deliver packages of information to the following Embassies, all at the same time
1. Group one Kingdom of Belgium 80 Elgin Street, 4th Floor,
2. Group two, Republic of Benin 58 Glebe Ave,
3. Group three, High Commission for Brunei Les Suites Hotel, Room 2207, 130 Besserer St,
4. Group four, Republic of Bulgaria, 325 Stewart St,
5. Group five, Embassy of Burkina, Faso, 48 Range Rd,
6. Group six, Republic of Burundi, 50 Kaymar St. Rothwell Heights, Gloucester,
7. Group seven, Cayman Islands c/o British High Commission, 80 Elgin St,
8. Group eight, Embassy of the Republic of Costa Rica, 135 York Street, Ste 208
9. Group six, Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, 130 Albert Street, Ste 1700,
10. Group seven, Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, 388 Main Street,
Two P.M.
1. Group one, Embassy of the Czech Republic, 541 Sussex Dr.
2. Group two, Representative of Dominica, 112 Kent St, Ste. 1610, Place de Ville, Tower B,
3. Group three, Embassy of the Republic of Ecuador, O'Connor St, Ste 1311
4. Group four, Embassy of the Republic of El Salvador, 209 Kent St, Ste 504,
5. Group five, Embassy of Equatorial Guinea, C/O 4 Range Road,
6. Group six, Embassy of Finland, 55 Metcalfe St. Ste 850,
7. Group seven, Embassy of France, 42 Sussex Drive,
8. Group eight, Embassy of Gabonese Republic, 4 Range Road
9. Group eight, Embassy of the Hellenic Republic, 76-80 MacLaren St.
10. Group one, Embassy of Greenland c/o Royal Danish Embassy, 47 Clarence St. Ste 450,
Four P.M.
1. Group one, Embassy of Grenada, 112 Kent St. Ste 1610, Place de Ville, Tower B
2. Group two, Embassy of the Republic of Guatemala, 130 Albert St. Ste 1010,
3. Group three, Embassy of the Republic of Guinea, 483 Wilbrod St,
4. Group four, Republic of Guyana, Burnside Bldg. 151 Slater St. Ste 309,
5. Group five, Republic of Haiti, 112 Kent St. Ste 205, Place de Ville Tower B
6. Group six, Embassy of the Republic of Honduras, 151 Slater St. Ste 908,
7. Group seven, Republic of India, 10 Springfield Rd.
8. Group eight, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, 287 MacLaren St,
9. Group two, Embassy of the Republic of Iraq, 215 McLeod St.
Day Three Thursday March 15th 2012
Federal Republic of Germany Embassy
1 Waverly St.
Drum Group Begins Singing at 10 A.M. and the Demonstration and speeches ends at 11:30 A.M.
Speakers to be announced TBA
Over Six Hundred Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women in Canada
11 am, five individuals approach the Embassy to deliver information
Noon
Eight groups will deliver packages of information to the following Embassies, all at the same time
1. Group one, Embassy of Israel, 50 O'Connor St. Ste 1005,
2. Group two, Jamaican High Commission, 275 Slater St. Ste 800,
3. Group three, Embassy of Japan, 255 Sussex Dr. Ottawa
4. Group four, Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 100 Bronson Ave. Ste 701,
5. Group five, High Commission for the Republic of Kenya, 415 Laurier Ave E,
6. Group six, Embassy of the Republic of Korea (south), 151 Slater St. Floor 5,
7. Group seven, Republic of Latvia, 112 Kent St. Ste 208, Place de Ville Tower B
8. Group eight, Embassy of the Lebanese Republic, 640 Lyon St S,
9. Group three, High Commission for the Kingdom of Lesotho, 202 Clemow Ave.
10. Group four, Embassy of the Republic of Madagascar, 282 Somerset St W
Two P.M.
1. Group one, High Commission of the Republic of Malawi, 7 Clemow Ave.
2. Group two, High Commission for Malaysia, 60 Boteler St,
3. Group three, Embassy, Maldives, High Commission for Sri Lanka 333 Laurier Ave W, Ste 1204,
4. Group four, Embassy of the Republic of Mali, 50 Goulburn Ave.
5. Group five, Embassy of the United Mexican States, 45 O'Connor St, Ste 1500,
6. Group six, Representative for Montserrat, 112 Kent St, Ste. 1610, Place de Ville, Tower B,
7. Group seven, Embassy of the Union of Myanmar, 85 Range Rd, Ste 902,
8. Group eight, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 350 Albert St. Ste 2020,
9. Group five, New Zealand High Commission, Metropolitan House, 90 Bank St. Ste 727,
10. Group six, Embassy of the Republic of Nicaragua, 130 Albert St. Ste 407,
Four P.M.
1. Group one Embassy of the Republic of Niger, 38 Blackburn Ave,
2. Group two, Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway, RBC Center, 90 Sparks St. Ste 532,
3. Group three, Embassy of the Republic of Panama, 130 Albert St. Ste 300
4. Group four, Embassy of the Republic of Paraguay, 151 Slater St. Ste 401,
5. Group five, Embassy of the Republic of Peru, 130 Albert St. Ste 1901,
6. Group six, Embassy of the Republic of Philippines, 130 Albert St. Ste 606-608,
7. Group seven, Embassy of the Republic of Poland, 443 Daly Ave.
8. Group eight, Embassy of Romania, 655 Rideau St.
9. Group seven, Embassy of Russian Federation, 285 Charlotte St.
Day Four, Friday March 16th 2012
Embassy of the United States of America
100 Wellington St.
Drum Group Begins Singing at 10 A.M. and the Demonstration and speeches ends at 11:30 A.M.
Speakers to be announced TBA
Tar Sands, North American Free Trade Agreement, Dakota People
11 am, five individuals approach the Embassy to deliver information
Noon
Eight groups will deliver packages of information to the following Embassies, all at the same time
1. Group one Embassy of Portugal, 645 Island Park Dr.
2. Group two, Embassy of the Rwandese Republic, 121 Sherwood Dr.
3. Group three, Embassy of Saint Kitts and Nevis, 112 Kent St. Ste 1610, Place de Ville Tower B
4. Group four, Embassy of Saint Lucia, 112 Kent St. Ste 1610, Place de Ville Tower B,
5. Group five, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 112 Kent St. Ste 1610, Place de Ville Tower B,
6. Group six, Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro, 17 Blackburn Ave.
7. Group seven, Embassy of Slovak Republic, 50 Rideau Terrace,
8. Group eight, Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, 150 Metcalfe St. Ste 2101,
9. Group eight, Embassy of the Republic of South Africa, 15 Sussex Dr.
10. Group one, Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, 350 Sparks St. Ste 802,
Two P.M.
1. Group one, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, 333 Laurier Ave W, Ste 1204,
2. Group two, Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan, 85 Range Rd. Ste 507-510,
3. Group three, High Commission for the Kingdom of Swaziland, 130 Albert St. Ste 1204,
4. Group four, Embassy of Sweden, Mercury Court, 377 Dalhousie St.
5. Group five, Embassy of Switzerland, 5 Marlborough Ave,
6. Group six, High Commission for the Republic of Tanzania, 50 Range Rd.
7. Group seven, Embassy of the Republic of Togo, 12 Range Rd.
8. Group eight, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, 75 Albert St. Ste 508,
9. Group two, Embassy of the Republic of Tunisia, 515 O'Connor St.
10. Group three, Embassy of the Republic of Turkey, 197 Wurtemburg St.
Four P.M.
1. Group one Vatican Embassy, The Apostolic Nunciature, 724 Manor Ave. Rockcliffe Park,
2. Group two, High Commission for the Republic of Uganda, 231 Cobourg St,
3. Group three, Embassy of Ukraine, 310 Somerset St. W,
4. Group four, British High Commission, 80 Elgin St,
5. Group five, Embassy of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, 130 Albert St. Ste 1905,
6. Group six, Embassy of Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 266 MacLaren St.
7. Group seven, Embassy of the Republic of Yemen, 350 Sparks St. Ste 1100,
8. Group eight, Embassy of the Republic of Zaire, 18 Range Rd.
9. Group four, High Commission for the Republic of Zimbabwe, 332 Somerset St W,
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