San José, CA – Four years after the Great Recession of 2007-2009 officially ended, millions of working people are being left behind by the expansion of the economy. While the stock market and corporate profits reached new highs, there are still millions of fewer jobs than before the recession began, and the official unemployment rate is closer to its recession high than the low before the recession. Things are bad.

Many tax cuts for wealthy also kept

San José, CA – Early New Year’s Day, the U.S. Senate voted 89-8 to pass a compromise bill to put off the so-called ‘fiscal cliff.’ The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, where Republicans are likely to try to get even more tax breaks for the rich.

Trenton, NJ, – The people’s struggle against foreclosures took a new turn before the New Jersey Court of Appeals here, Dec. 19.

Tallahassee, FL – The afternoon clouds were dark, but even the threat of rain couldn't stop students, retirees, and union members from taking a stand against federal budget cuts. About 35 people rallied outside of Republican Congressman Steve Southerland’s office here, Dec.10, demanding no cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security.

On June 1, the Labor Department reported that only 69,000 net new jobs were created in May, less than half of what economists had expected and less than a third of the relatively strong job growth of the December through February period. Immediately the Republicans and the Romney campaign blamed President Obama and his policies, especially the health care reform act. The Democrats and the Obama administration quickly fired back, blaming the Republicans for blocking their economic stimulus proposals in Congress.

_Put a Tax on Wall Street! _

In September of 2008 the New York Federal Reserve gave the U.S. insurer American International Group (AIG) an $85 billion loan as part of the bailout of Wall Street. The NY Fed told AIG to pay big banks in full the $62 billion AIG owed for credit default swaps. In addition, the NY Fed told AIG not to tell the public how much they owed or who they were paying off. The government bailout of AIG has been increased three times since then and now totals more than $180 billion.

Berkeley, CA – Over 600 activists gathered on Oct. 24, for a conference to organize against the statewide education budget cuts.

Activists from the welfare rights, labor, immigrant rights and anti-war movements filled May Day books store here, for a forum called 'Capitalism in crisis; fighting back in hard times,' Oct. 25. Speakers included Steff Yorek of Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Linden Gawboy of the Welfare Rights Committee and the Minnesota Coalition for a People's Bailout, along with labor and student activists.

Comunidades pobres y de clase trabajadora, ya azotadas por los cesos y reducciones dehoras de trabajo que resultan de la recesión económica, están a punto de sufrir aun mas como los gobiernos estatales y municipales empiezan a cortar los servicios de salud, escuelas y gobierno local, cosas necesarias para nuestras familias.

San José, CA -Mientras que se amontonan los cesos y las ciudades reportan cada vez mas hambrientes y desamparados, Wall Street espera que la economía sea muy positiva en 2002. Esto ha producido el resultado de que los precios de las acciones en la bolsa de valores han ido subiendo desde el fin de Septiembre. Wall Street espera que los once recortes de intereses impuestos por el Banco Federal de Reserva produzcan una recuperación de ganancias, con la ayuda de los recortes de impuestos para las corporaciones y los ricos que los Republicanos Congreso pretenden otorgar.