Bernie Sanders calls his candidacy a “political revolution;” hundreds of people get arrested while demonstrating in Washington, DC, to get the money out of the electoral system and to make the election process more democratic.
Thousands of folks have hit the streets demanding a higher minimum wage, thousands demanded a public option or Medicare for All when Obama took office in 2009; thousands of students have demanded some relief from their crippling indebtedness; thousands of others have participated in marches and demonstrations against the continued reliance on fossil fuels despite the very real evidence that there is climate change and that it might lead to the extermination of life on this planet as we know it. etc.
All these efforts plus the many others not included in the above list are attempts to reform the system, make it more humane and friendly to the people (the bottom 90%).
But few are considering that over 18 million people die every year from poverty related causes, close to 900 million people go hungry every day, and here in the U.S. close to 80% of households are in debt.
When the Obama administration claims that unemployment is down to 5+%, it’s a purposefully misleading statistic. There are millions of people underemployed, working half-time or less, struggling to make ends meet, who are considered employed; there are millions of people who are discouraged and are no longer looking for employment and, therefore, are not considered in the unemployment statistics.
While the above data shows millions of people suffering, Mr. And Ms. Capitalist, whose only responsibility is to maximize profits, are earning millions of dollars every year, more money than he/she would ever need in a lifetime.
When running for president, John McCain was asked how many homes he had. He couldn’t answer the question because he couldn’t remember. Meanwhile, there are tens of thousands homeless people across this nation living on the streets. McCain is merely an example of how capitalism works, wealth and riches being accumulated by the few while the working people and the poor struggle.
It is time to consider that capitalism is structured to work for a small minority of people while the rest of us spend our lives trying to survive. Reforming the system would make capitalism temporarily more palatable but would not change the essence of the problem.
Why do I say temporarily? It is the rulers, the top 1%, who pull the strings and own the elected officials of both parties, lock, stock, and barrel. The thrust of capitalism is the ability of individuals to put their own well-being ahead of the community and pursue a life of accumulating of wealth and possessions. When the community benefits, it’s merely a by-product not the goal of the capitalist agenda.
These individuals are able to put themselves in a position where they control the production and distribution of goods and services. Occasionally, the public forces these capitalists to concede certain benefits to the rest of us. For example, here in the U.S., in the 1930s, with the passage of the Wagner Act, workers gained the right to unionize and negotiate with their employers through collective bargaining their salaries and working conditions. This did not come about through the largesse of the rulers but because workers were in the streets rioting. Capitalism was being threatened.
But, pro-business conservatives gained control of Congress in 1946, and in 1947 passed the Taft-Hartley Act. The law, which is still in effect, banned union contributions to political candidates, restricted the power of unions to call strikes that “threatened national security,” therefore, neutralizing the strength of the union movement.
The percentage of workers belonging to a union in the United States peaked in 1954 at almost 35% and the total number of union members peaked in 1979 at an estimated 21.0 million. Today, an overwhelming percentage of union workers come from the public sphere with private industry almost completely void of union workers in their establishments. This is not by accident or coincidence and has placed workers in private industries at the mercy of their employers.
The issues surrounding unions are just one of many where concessions by the rulers, which appear to be victories, result in a temporary state of bliss.
Upon taking office, Obama wanted to change the dynamics of the health insurance industry. Initially, he gave the impression that he favored a public option which would act as a vehicle to control the premiums of the private insurance companies. Yet, before the negotiations began with the private companies, the public option was taken off the table. Surveys showed that over 70% of the American people favored the public option.
What we got was the Affordable Care Act, a piece of legislation which was created primarily by the private insurance companies and did provide many consumer benefits, as well as making health insurance available to millions more.
But this act kept the control of this industry completely in the hands of the private sphere, provided these companies with millions of new customers, but also allowed millions more to remain uninsured. Eventually, the premiums increased to a level where many could no longer afford to buy insurance.
So, the elite will make their concessions in order to protect the very system that ensures they maintain their riches and their privileges. But these concessions are not long-lasting. The system of capitalism pulls in favor of the rich and powerful and the gains of the workers erode over time. This is why the people continue to fight the same fight over and over again. We are constantly swimming against the tide of capitalism.
We talk about a minimum wage but never mention a living wage. The federal minimum wage originated in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on June 25, 1938. The law established a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour for all employees who produced products shipped in interstate commerce. The states were able to establish their own minimum wage standards but even there, the minimum was not very different than the national standard. Minimum wages did not reach the current (2016) hourly rate of $7.25 until 2009.
If we were to take the time to look at the impact the minimum wage has on the working class, we can easily see that this level of income forces full-time working people into working multiple jobs and for many to seek public assistance like food stamps in order to survive.
People making minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) earn $290 per week or $15,080 per year. This is far from a wage that can sustain the well being of anyone living anywhere in the U.S. What it does accomplish is to allow corporations to employ their working staffs at negligible cost and to then allow them to help their workers secure public assistance like food stamps to supplement their salaries. In other words, you and I, the taxpayers, help these wealthy corporations pay the salaries of their workers.
Currently, everyone is excited about the demand that the minimum wage be set at $15 per hour. Although this is a significant increase in wages, it is hardly what we would call a livable wage. Young singles might be able to manage on that level of income but families would continue to be hard pressed to pay their bills.
How would the increase to $15 affect the situation? One of the problems is that the increase might make families ineligible for public assistance and negate the impact of the increase in wages. Also, our economy is driven by profit and it is inevitable that increased labor costs will further encourage corporations to seek their labor outside the U.S., which they are already doing. Thus, once again jobs will be lost in the U.S.
As long as we are driven by the profit motive, these problems, along with many more, will never be solved. That’s why I say that these so-called victories are temporary and do nothing more than maintain a corrupt and, in many cases, a criminal capitalist system.
Will electing Bernie Sanders make a difference? Bernie is not the answer and neither is any individual who is running or has run for public office. Bernie Sanders has made some very interesting statements which have stimulated the imagination of many voters. But, once in office, he will have to deal with Congress and his chances of successfully getting free public education through college, Medicare for All (which would put the private health insurance corporations out of business), enact a tax on Wall Street speculators, make it easier for workers to join unions, or breaking up the huge financial institutions, are nil.
We must also keep in mind that Bernie’s foreign policy record is far from progressive and, like Obama, his presence in the White House may neutralize organizing and demonstrating by the progressive element in the U.S.
Bernie does not nor has not challenged or questioned US imperialism.
He accepts the fact that more than half of the budget goes toward military spending. He has not yet referred to lowering the Pentagon budget in order to finance some of the programs he is advancing.
He supported the bombing of Serbia.
Although he voted against the invasion of Iraq, he subsequently voted in favor of financing the war.
He supported Israel and its slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza during the summer of 2014.
He supports the U.S. client state, Saudi Arabia.
He supported the building of the F35 because the base would be located in Vermont, his home state.
He projects the sense of the possibility of change and revolution. Therefore, if elected, his presence in the White House will keep the people off the streets with the hope that he will make something good happen. This is similar to the dynamics of Obama’s presidency which has effectively neutralized progressives in this country.
Bernie will project the sense that the electoral system can be an effective means by which the electorate can make change. The problem is, elections are more a deflection than a solution, taking our attention away from the real threat of capitalism as a system of greed and destruction. The process gives us a false sense of hope because the members of both parties belong to the elite class and elections provide us with no real alternatives or options. If you want to discourage the people from organizing to resist their exploitation, have an election.
We must keep in mind that it’s the system, not any one individual, and to change the system is the only meaningful way to change how we live our lives.
Socialism must become part of our vocabulary . . . not Bernie’s socialism but the socialism that takes the control of production and distribution of goods and services out of the hands of the few and places it in the hands of the public. Only then will decisions be based on what is good for the general world community rather than what is good and profitable for the select few.
GOD BLESS AMERIKA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMNESIA!!!
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.
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Is reform enough or do we need a revolution?
Posted on April 15, 2016 by Dave Alpert
Bernie Sanders calls his candidacy a “political revolution;” hundreds of people get arrested while demonstrating in Washington, DC, to get the money out of the electoral system and to make the election process more democratic.
Thousands of folks have hit the streets demanding a higher minimum wage, thousands demanded a public option or Medicare for All when Obama took office in 2009; thousands of students have demanded some relief from their crippling indebtedness; thousands of others have participated in marches and demonstrations against the continued reliance on fossil fuels despite the very real evidence that there is climate change and that it might lead to the extermination of life on this planet as we know it. etc.
All these efforts plus the many others not included in the above list are attempts to reform the system, make it more humane and friendly to the people (the bottom 90%).
But few are considering that over 18 million people die every year from poverty related causes, close to 900 million people go hungry every day, and here in the U.S. close to 80% of households are in debt.
When the Obama administration claims that unemployment is down to 5+%, it’s a purposefully misleading statistic. There are millions of people underemployed, working half-time or less, struggling to make ends meet, who are considered employed; there are millions of people who are discouraged and are no longer looking for employment and, therefore, are not considered in the unemployment statistics.
While the above data shows millions of people suffering, Mr. And Ms. Capitalist, whose only responsibility is to maximize profits, are earning millions of dollars every year, more money than he/she would ever need in a lifetime.
When running for president, John McCain was asked how many homes he had. He couldn’t answer the question because he couldn’t remember. Meanwhile, there are tens of thousands homeless people across this nation living on the streets. McCain is merely an example of how capitalism works, wealth and riches being accumulated by the few while the working people and the poor struggle.
It is time to consider that capitalism is structured to work for a small minority of people while the rest of us spend our lives trying to survive. Reforming the system would make capitalism temporarily more palatable but would not change the essence of the problem.
Why do I say temporarily? It is the rulers, the top 1%, who pull the strings and own the elected officials of both parties, lock, stock, and barrel. The thrust of capitalism is the ability of individuals to put their own well-being ahead of the community and pursue a life of accumulating of wealth and possessions. When the community benefits, it’s merely a by-product not the goal of the capitalist agenda.
These individuals are able to put themselves in a position where they control the production and distribution of goods and services. Occasionally, the public forces these capitalists to concede certain benefits to the rest of us. For example, here in the U.S., in the 1930s, with the passage of the Wagner Act, workers gained the right to unionize and negotiate with their employers through collective bargaining their salaries and working conditions. This did not come about through the largesse of the rulers but because workers were in the streets rioting. Capitalism was being threatened.
But, pro-business conservatives gained control of Congress in 1946, and in 1947 passed the Taft-Hartley Act. The law, which is still in effect, banned union contributions to political candidates, restricted the power of unions to call strikes that “threatened national security,” therefore, neutralizing the strength of the union movement.
The percentage of workers belonging to a union in the United States peaked in 1954 at almost 35% and the total number of union members peaked in 1979 at an estimated 21.0 million. Today, an overwhelming percentage of union workers come from the public sphere with private industry almost completely void of union workers in their establishments. This is not by accident or coincidence and has placed workers in private industries at the mercy of their employers.
The issues surrounding unions are just one of many where concessions by the rulers, which appear to be victories, result in a temporary state of bliss.
Upon taking office, Obama wanted to change the dynamics of the health insurance industry. Initially, he gave the impression that he favored a public option which would act as a vehicle to control the premiums of the private insurance companies. Yet, before the negotiations began with the private companies, the public option was taken off the table. Surveys showed that over 70% of the American people favored the public option.
What we got was the Affordable Care Act, a piece of legislation which was created primarily by the private insurance companies and did provide many consumer benefits, as well as making health insurance available to millions more.
But this act kept the control of this industry completely in the hands of the private sphere, provided these companies with millions of new customers, but also allowed millions more to remain uninsured. Eventually, the premiums increased to a level where many could no longer afford to buy insurance.
So, the elite will make their concessions in order to protect the very system that ensures they maintain their riches and their privileges. But these concessions are not long-lasting. The system of capitalism pulls in favor of the rich and powerful and the gains of the workers erode over time. This is why the people continue to fight the same fight over and over again. We are constantly swimming against the tide of capitalism.
We talk about a minimum wage but never mention a living wage. The federal minimum wage originated in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on June 25, 1938. The law established a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour for all employees who produced products shipped in interstate commerce. The states were able to establish their own minimum wage standards but even there, the minimum was not very different than the national standard. Minimum wages did not reach the current (2016) hourly rate of $7.25 until 2009.
If we were to take the time to look at the impact the minimum wage has on the working class, we can easily see that this level of income forces full-time working people into working multiple jobs and for many to seek public assistance like food stamps in order to survive.
People making minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) earn $290 per week or $15,080 per year. This is far from a wage that can sustain the well being of anyone living anywhere in the U.S. What it does accomplish is to allow corporations to employ their working staffs at negligible cost and to then allow them to help their workers secure public assistance like food stamps to supplement their salaries. In other words, you and I, the taxpayers, help these wealthy corporations pay the salaries of their workers.
Currently, everyone is excited about the demand that the minimum wage be set at $15 per hour. Although this is a significant increase in wages, it is hardly what we would call a livable wage. Young singles might be able to manage on that level of income but families would continue to be hard pressed to pay their bills.
How would the increase to $15 affect the situation? One of the problems is that the increase might make families ineligible for public assistance and negate the impact of the increase in wages. Also, our economy is driven by profit and it is inevitable that increased labor costs will further encourage corporations to seek their labor outside the U.S., which they are already doing. Thus, once again jobs will be lost in the U.S.
As long as we are driven by the profit motive, these problems, along with many more, will never be solved. That’s why I say that these so-called victories are temporary and do nothing more than maintain a corrupt and, in many cases, a criminal capitalist system.
Will electing Bernie Sanders make a difference? Bernie is not the answer and neither is any individual who is running or has run for public office. Bernie Sanders has made some very interesting statements which have stimulated the imagination of many voters. But, once in office, he will have to deal with Congress and his chances of successfully getting free public education through college, Medicare for All (which would put the private health insurance corporations out of business), enact a tax on Wall Street speculators, make it easier for workers to join unions, or breaking up the huge financial institutions, are nil.
We must also keep in mind that Bernie’s foreign policy record is far from progressive and, like Obama, his presence in the White House may neutralize organizing and demonstrating by the progressive element in the U.S.
Bernie does not nor has not challenged or questioned US imperialism.
He accepts the fact that more than half of the budget goes toward military spending. He has not yet referred to lowering the Pentagon budget in order to finance some of the programs he is advancing.
He supported the bombing of Serbia.
Although he voted against the invasion of Iraq, he subsequently voted in favor of financing the war.
He supported Israel and its slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza during the summer of 2014.
He supports the U.S. client state, Saudi Arabia.
He supported the building of the F35 because the base would be located in Vermont, his home state.
He projects the sense of the possibility of change and revolution. Therefore, if elected, his presence in the White House will keep the people off the streets with the hope that he will make something good happen. This is similar to the dynamics of Obama’s presidency which has effectively neutralized progressives in this country.
Bernie will project the sense that the electoral system can be an effective means by which the electorate can make change. The problem is, elections are more a deflection than a solution, taking our attention away from the real threat of capitalism as a system of greed and destruction. The process gives us a false sense of hope because the members of both parties belong to the elite class and elections provide us with no real alternatives or options. If you want to discourage the people from organizing to resist their exploitation, have an election.
We must keep in mind that it’s the system, not any one individual, and to change the system is the only meaningful way to change how we live our lives.
Socialism must become part of our vocabulary . . . not Bernie’s socialism but the socialism that takes the control of production and distribution of goods and services out of the hands of the few and places it in the hands of the public. Only then will decisions be based on what is good for the general world community rather than what is good and profitable for the select few.
GOD BLESS AMERIKA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMNESIA!!!
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.