St. Paul, MN – On July 13, members of the Welfare Rights Committee rolled out a huge banner on the steps of the Minnesota state capitol building. The Republicans have pushed the state into a shutdown, throwing more than 22,000 state employees out of work and causing dramatic cuts to state services. The banner reads, “Tax the rich! No cuts to poor and working people!”
On June 21, the Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, Ben Bernanke, gave a very downbeat report on the U.S. economy following a two day meeting of the Fed. Bernanke, who is also a professor of economics, admitted that he didn’t have a good explanation for why economic growth in the United States was so weak and the unemployment rate stuck at about 9%. But Marxist political economy does have an explanation: that economic stagnation is a natural outcome of a capitalist economy.
On June 19th the *Washington Post* published “With Executive Pay, Rich Pull Away from Rest of America” by Peter Whoriskey. This very informative article connected the rise in corporate executive’s pay with the growing economic inequality in the United States, using the example of a large U.S. dairy company combined with recent research by economists on high incomes. At the same time the article only offered very vague explanations for *why* the rich are winning out at the expense of almost everyone else.
Chicago, IL – Over 3000 teachers, healthcare workers, janitors and community activists descended on the corporate leaders meeting here, June 14 outside the Midwest CEO/CFO conference. The protesters demanded jobs, homes and schools.
San José, CA – In the first week of June, two important reports showed a sharp slowdown in the U.S. economy. On Friday, June 3, the Department of Labor said that unemployment in May rose to 9.1%, while only 54,000 new jobs were created, far less than what mainstream economists were predicting. Two days earlier, on June 1, a report on home prices showed another drop of 4.2% in the first three months of 2011, bringing home prices to a new low since the housing market began to tank in 2006.
Newark, NJ – The People's Organization for Progress held a protest at the busy Bergen Street and South Orange Avenue intersection, April 16. The call for the demo was “Gas Prices Are too Damn High!” It was a small rally but one of the noisiest ever. “If you think gas prices are too high,” said POP Chairman Lawrence Hamm over the bullhorn, “honk your horn!” Beep! Beep! Be-beep!
Madison, WI – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led a student contingent in the March 12 Madison, Wisconsin rally of 150,000. SDS chapters from Wisconsin, Illinois and Maryland marched in support of workers. Milwaukee students showed solidarity with their teachers and other campus workers, joining their buses to Madison and holding a giant banner demanding “No cuts to education!”
Lansing, MI – Taking their lead from Wisconsin, 1200 protesters rallied against attacks on unions and democracy at the Michigan State Capitol, Feb. 22. Union fire fighters were out in force and in uniform, carrying signs reading, “Support Act 312,” a 1969 law establishing binding arbitration. Binding arbitration requires towns and cities to work out their differences with the workers.
San José, CA – On Nov. 18, Republicans in the House of Representatives blocked an attempt by the House Democrats to extend funding for Federal Unemployment Insurance, which expires on Nov. 30. If funding is not extended, almost a million jobless workers will be cut off from their benefits immediately. Over a million more will lose their benefits by the end of December.
