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Tonight: PBS Highlights AFL-CIO Proposals to Address Economic Mess |
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This evening, the show “NOW” on PBS will highlight the role of working people and their unions in making sure the solution to the nation’s economic collapse works for everyone, not just rich bankers.
The cameras at “NOW” follow Damon Silvers, an associate general counsel at the AFL-CIO, as he seeks to ensure working people, not just financial firms, get the economic aid they need. Silvers is one of the architects of the major provisions congressional Democrats are pushing for in the bill. (See video).
Yesterday, near the New York Stock Exchange, more than 1,000 union members and other activists rallied against giving Wall Street a blank check in a financial bailout that leaves Main Street taxpayers deserted. The AFL-CIO says an economic recovery package for working families is critical to the success of any financial bailout. The bailout must:
- Be governed by an independent board with transparency and effective public and congressional oversight.
- Use the full array of financial and legal tools available to the government to stop foreclosures and restructure home mortgage loans for working families.
- Address the causes of the crisis on Main Street in addition to the symptoms on Wall Street. Congress should pass a second economic recovery package in its entirety.
- Work to address the weaknesses in our financial regulatory system and corporate governance system that allowed this disaster to happen.
As AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says:
The bailout will not work unless we provide a boost for the real economy to create jobs and help working families. And that means Congress must extend unemployment benefits, send new financial aid to cities and states, and create good jobs by rebuilding our schools, airports, highways, bridges and water systems.
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I am watching PBS NOW as I write. Mr. Silvers points are well taken, yet I wonder why no one has so far forwarded the idea to put the $700billion into the economy at the grass roots with a $10,000 endowment to each and everyone of our nation’s 1.5million ‘hard working’ families, so that those who have lost a home can reinvest (thus stimulating the housing market), pay off some bills (thus easing the credit crunch) or maybe take a real vacation (pumping up tourism and invigorating all the services that go with it).
Same $700billion… vastly different result.
As more and more of the union jobs go overseas to China and Mexico, it would seem that the unions would be interested in finding new members to add to their ranks.
You are already set up for organization. I suggest you start unionizing the entire working class to stop the thieving politicians from raping the American public any further.
Now, you can’t charge much money for membership if anything at all. but you will have citizen backed clout that would be worth much more than mere money…you will have POWER.
On another forum some members were talking demonstration revolt to stop the madness with the $700 gov bailout scam.
Well, you don’t need to revolt…you need to strike!
For instance, if the citizens are dissatisfied with this bailout decision, you would group up at your National Citizens Oversight Union. The Union would put it to a nationwide citizens vote. They would tell the gov to rescind whatever Citizens Oversight Union voted down. And if the gov did nothing within a short time the Citizens Oversight Union would call for a strike and stay on strike as long as it took to change.
The citizens would have to be prepared with the usual survival type of supplies. But even if a small portion of citizens strike, the county would have major problems. Just airline pilots striking could do it. Or poop plants workers. Or even the lowly consumer…if they STOP spending. Lets just hope the electric power guys don’t get pissed and strike!
A snip from my earlier post goes into some detail on this subject.
“…we must be careful about what we are revolting against, as what we replace it with may be worse than what we have destroyed, so keep that in mind.
If and when America is ready for a revolt over the travesty of American political system, all you have to do is to follow the lead of our politicians and DO NOTHING.
America can be shut down by the citizens - just by doing nothing and go on strike.
When it comes down to it, we are dependent on strong government to keep the invading armies at bay. But everyday life is NOT dependent on the politicians flapping their jaws and blowing hot air out their ass.
What we are dependent on is each other and our cooperation at making life livable from the lowest shit shoveler and up the ladder to the highest doctor or airline pilot.
But coming back to reality the citizens of the US of A are…IMPOTENT and COWARDS. They will do nothing but keep taking it in the rear from their beloved political deities.”
So, I have given you a surefire recipe for change…but as I mentioned above there is no guarantee that the change you seek will always be for the good.
So any Union must be ‘able to accept that they are not omnipotent and perfect’ and they may have to backslide into what they were fighting against as the lesser of two evils.
I agree with allenwrench on everything!!
This line from allen say everything:
“America can be shut down by the citizens - just by doing nothing and go on strike”.
If we don’t want this bail out of Wall Street, his hawks including the the whole government even the ones campaigning…all we have to do, all of us, each citizen of USA is to go on a STRIKE…but like allen says we also have to be very careful what are we fighting for and expect that the outcome might not necessarily be as pretty as we want to, but in the long run would be worthy because this government failed, drained, ruined us completely as a nation…if this bail out passes we are in for a long ride of misery for a couple of decades to come…ask top economists and they will tell you.
Wall Street & the government will take the money of the bail out and run away with it…we will be left empty pockets!!
Right on Allen
Nowadays, most of the high-level Union Leadership has forgotten what the inside of a jail cell looks like. The least experienced of which may have never seen the inside of one. In the old days, our Leaders were regularly arrested for all sorts of various things, including strikes. Civil disobedience on the size and scope that you are advocating would, with absolute certainty, require many to face long stretches in prison; some even death. You can count on Executive Orders blocking such an effort coming from a republican President; it would be iffy from a Democratic one.
While folks like you and I may be ready to meet such a challenge, most American Citizens are too afraid to even sign a Union Card. You don’t seriously think they would participate in a national work stoppage, do you? It’s a great and ambitious idea that would serve a most good and noble cause. Your outline of a plan can be drawn perfectly on paper, but I’m afraid the field implementation of such an undertaking would not go according to it. Things haven’t gotten bad enough, yet, for a National Worker Strike/Revolt to succeed, in my estimation…but we’re close.
I would also suggest stocking up on a least 1-2 months worth of food supplies, not to mention savings (in cash on hand) for your monthly bills, prior to taking on the “Money Powers” of this Nation. Once people walk off the job in a right-to-work (for less & without rights) State, they may not be allowed to immediately return to it; if at all. The same would apply to Union members under a written contract with specified term dates. Failure to report for duty, after receiving a 48 hr notice to do so, could result in termination for job abandonment when under contract.
Should our Leadership ever make the call for such action; have yourselves prepared with food and money, to maximize its impact. If you’re not prepared…GET PREPARED!
When a government wishes to deprive its citizens of freedom, and reduce them to slavery, it generally makes use of a standing army.
- Luther Martin
Because something like this:
http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.cb6e7818b34088d18a278110501010a0/?vgnextoid=da6e9e2f1b091010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=4b18f074f0d9ff00VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD
Can wind-up turning into something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6Z1tevub9I
or this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAjVHtSO_As&feature=related
…and you wouldn’t want that.
You’ve got to give Bush credit, though. He was right about ONE thing: “FREEDOM IS UNDER ATTACK!” Perhaps he should consider the military oaths containing, “…I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC…” more subjectively.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/oathofenlist.htm
Last night debate’d first question by Jim Lehrer was not answered by neither candidate: How would they handle the economic crisis we Americans are in as soon as either of them get to the White House? I watch PBS and the majority of reporters agreed that neither Barack Obama or John McCain answered the question. They said (reporters) and I agree that neither of them will be able to put forward their agendas as they are promising in their campaigns now. With or without a bail out there won’t be any money for them to be able to spend on their agendas.
I oppose the bail out on Wall Street. If approved Wall Street is going to run out with our money once and for all because they know we won’t allow a second bail out; the economy will keep getting worst because people don’t have any money to spend in our economy and we keep losing our jobs as a consequence of that and as a consequence of Wall Street being greedy, taking our money and the government have allowed it, our Congress, our President Bush and Co., and ours Barack Obama and John McCain now.
No one right now as we speak is defending us in this bail out, no one, not even our Democratic Congress or even our Obama. I am a Democrat, but I am starting to doubt on that. I will never be a Republican and ii seems that we only have ONE party in this country, the party of self-indulgence with the money of hard working Americans, us.
I wanted to vote for Obama and leave the Democrats in Congress again, but if the bail out passes, I don’t think I am going to vote…we lost this battle against our government, they really don’t care for us, they have left us in the ruins!!
I have lost all TRUST in all the people in government and even the running candidates.
HOPE is the last thing you lose, but this time I think I lost it!!
Dear Fernado,do not stay home on election day you as I are very disillusioned with our government.Go cast your ballot but vote against every incumbent,write in a candidate if you have to but vote.Get registerd as an Independent and try to get everyone you know to do the same.Change will only come in this country when we stop sending the same people back to Washington over and over again.