One in six Americans is unemployed or underemployed, but– except for a few politicians like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca)– Congress doesn’t care. In fact, the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives wants to increase unemployment and underemployment by laying off more federal employees and forcing others into furlough days. In fact, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) flippantly said if the budget cuts result in job losses “so be it!”

Back here in Arizona– the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature is following in their federal cronies’ footsteps and proposing draconian budget cuts– particularly in education and healthcare– which will result on more layoffs.

In a recent New York Times editorial, Paul Krugman writes that the US is “well on the way to creating a permanent underclass of the jobless. According to Krugman, Americans want jobs… period… but the Republican-controlled state and federal governments are obsessed with cutting budgets and jobs– not creating them.

In addition, US businesses– who had record profits in 2010– are sitting on their cash and trying to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of scared employees who don’t want to be laid off. According to Ed Schultz, 50,000 factories closed or moved abroad since George Bush took office; 75 percent of these factories employed more than 500 people– a loss of more than 18 million jobs. Adding insult to injury, many US corporations added jobs in their overseas factories than in the US, and they are starting new factories abroad.

From The Forgotten Millions…

So one-sixth of America’s workers — all those who can’t find any job or are stuck with part-time work when they want a full-time job — have, in effect, been abandoned.

It might not be so bad if the jobless could expect to find new employment fairly soon. But unemployment has become a trap, one that’s very difficult to escape. There are almost five times as many unemployed workers as there are job openings; the average unemployed worker has been jobless for 37 weeks, a post-World War II record.

In short, we’re well on the way to creating a permanent underclass of the jobless. Why doesn’t Washington care?

Part of the answer may be that while those who are unemployed tend to stay unemployed, those who still have jobs are feeling more secure than they did a couple of years ago. Layoffs and discharges spiked during the crisis of 2008-2009 but have fallen sharply since then, perhaps reducing the sense of urgency. Put it this way: At this point, the U.S. economy is suffering from low hiring, not high firing, so things don’t look so bad — as long as you’re willing to write off the unemployed.

Yet polls indicate that voters still care much more about jobs than they do about the budget deficit. So it’s quite remarkable that inside the Beltway, it’s just the opposite.

What makes this even more remarkable is the fact that the economic arguments used to justify the D.C. deficit obsession have been repeatedly refuted by experience. [For the rest of this article, click here.]

When will this assault on American workers end?

Old Glory (Photo Credit: Pamela Powers)

March 19 is the 8th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. To commemorate the invasion, groups around the country will be marching for Peace and Jobs this Saturday.

Information about the Tucson March for Peace and Jobs– from the Tucson Peace Center website:

Hundreds of billions of dollars spent on these wars have left hundreds of thousands of lives lost, and our country and people mired in debt. We call on our government to end the wars and bring our tax money home for jobs, education, health care, environmental protection and other human needs.

Saturday, Mar 19, 2011
Gather 10:00am at Armory Park (220 S 5th Ave)
March to DeAnza Park (Speedway & Stone)
For Rally at 12:00 noon

For info or to help, contact Alan Gilbert at awgtucson@msn.com

Sponsors: End the Wars Coalition, Tucson Veterans for Peace, Jobs with Justice, The Nuclear Resister, Coalicion de Derechos Humanos, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Progressive Democrats of America, Tucson Club CPUSA, Indigenous Alliance without Borders, Salt of the Earth Labor College, Code Pink, Women in Black, Arizona Peace Council, Alliance for Global Justice, Pan Left Productions, International Action Center of Tucson, Committee to Stop FBI Repression, Revolutionary Grounds Books and Coffee, Green Party of Pima County, Tucson Peace Center.

A protest sign from a recent MoveOn.org rally. (Photo Credit: Pamela Powers)

The world is in crisis. Hunger, poverty, homelessness, environmental devastation…

Last week at the Salt of the Earth Labor College in Tucson, Sam Webb, chair of the US Communist Party, addressed these worldwide crises, the role of capitalism, and the growing push-back from the people.

Using the pro-union, anti-right-wing government demonstrations in Wisconsin as a jumping off point, Webb said there is a growing “spirit of struggle” in the US. According to Webb, the current movement is “qualitatively different” because recent demonstrations against the extremist Republican agenda have drawn tens of thousands of people to rallies nationwide.

Most of Webb’s talk focused on capitalism in crisis.

“The capitalist class declared a strike action,” Webb quipped. “They have about $2 trillion in hand… and they’re investing nearly nothing of their $2 trillion or if they invest, they are investing it abroad or in speculative ventures, so it’s hard to think the employment rate is going to go down too much.”

Although the current demonstrations in the US have focused on jobs, pensions, and unions, the US and the world are facing several multi-level crises. Beyond widespread unemployment, there are crises in hunger, poverty, equality, education, public health, housing, and the environment.

Webb addressed a packed house of about 50 activists. According to a Labor College representative, about half of the audience was newcomers. The video below includes highlights from his talk. For an schedule of other upcoming classes, check this link.

In the wake of the horrific devastation in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami earlier this week, it’s ironic that the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives has America’s natural disaster early warning systems on the small government chopping block. Check out this video link from the Ed Schultz Show on MSNBC.

The OpEd: What happens if tragedy hits here?

Why cut effective programs that save lives and don’t cost much?

Arizona’s Teapublican Legislature has been in session for nearly three full months and has done practically nothing about balancing the state’s budget, which has been illegally unbalanced for years now.

In recent days, the Arizona House started thinking about revenue generation; unfortunately, their latest proposal will increase taxes on the middle class and the poor. The House (which is generally a bit less wacky than the Senate, led by the infamous Russell Pearce) recently voted 40-18 to eliminate personal exemptions and standard deductions from the state income tax system. (Income tax deductions [ie, home mortgage interest, charitable contributions, college tuition, etc.] are used by most Americans to reduce their tax burden.) In addition, the measure would eliminate the state’s graduated income tax– which ranges from 2.59 to 4.54 percent– will be replaced by a flat tax of 2.08 percent.

I agree that Arizona’s tax system needs reform, but the Teapublicans– led by Rep. Steve Court (R-Mesa)– are going in the wrong direction.

If you’re bad at math, you may think that going from a range of 2.59 to 4.54 percent to a flat 2.08 percent is a good deal. After all, 2.08 percent is less than 2.59 percent. But, trust me, flat taxes are only a good deal for the wealthy. Graduated taxes are fairer because the percentage increases with the income. If anything, Arizona’s graduated income tax should have a few more upper income brackets, and instead of lowering corporate taxes (as the Legislature did a month ago) the corporate tax also should be graduated.

As Court points out in a Capitol Media Service article, this allows people living in poverty to pay no taxes. (Oh, the horror!) And Court thinks the poor should pay their fair share. Quoting the Arizona Daily Star, “Court said having everyone pay taxes also is good from a public-policy standpoint.”

Since Arizona’s recent corporate welfare legislation was a Republican rubber stamp, I’m sure Court voted with the right-wing majority to cut corporate taxes. Corporations use more services and resources than a family of four scraping by on $15,000 per year! Why do the Republicans pontificate about workers and the poor “paying their fair share” while letting corporations pay no taxes?

For more details on the flat tax, check out the Capitol Media story in the Arizona Daily Star.

Court’s proposal eliminates the personal exemptions and standard deductions, which together have, until now, resulted in some people owing no state taxes at all. Generally speaking, a couple with at least one dependent with a federal adjusted gross income of about $15,000 a year have been able to reduce their state tax liability to zero.

No more. And Court said that is by design, even though the federal poverty level for a family of three is $18,310 a year.

“They’re using state services,” he said. “And it’s a nominal amount.”

At $15,000, that 2.08 percent tax rate would compute to about $312 a year.

Court said having everyone pay taxes also is good from a public-policy standpoint.

“They would have greater interest in votes in the future that somebody’s proposing to raise taxes and now they’ll be affected,” he said.

Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, said there is evidence that people across the income scale will be hit.

He cited a report prepared by Walter Dudley, a certified public accountant, who took the taxes of six different families and compared what they pay now versus what they would pay in the future. The incomes ranged from $17,784 to $248,456.

“What he discovered was every single one of those households saw their taxes increase under these rules,” Farley said, ranging from $370 more a year for the family at the lowest end to $5,274 in extra taxes for the family at the top.

“So if you’re voting for this bill, you’re voting for a massive tax increase on every household in the state of Arizona according to calculations,” Farley told other legislators.

Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said he dismissed Dudley’s conclusion as something that would be expected from accountants who figure to lose business with the change.

Ultimately, Court said, it comes down to a question of philosophy. He said there is no reason for those who are doing better to pay a higher percentage of their income to support government.

“With a flat tax, if you make 10 times more than I do, you’ll pay 10 times as much tax,” he said. “I’m just trying to get everybody back down to a level playing field.”

The measure now goes to the Senate.

Cold beer on a hot day. (Photo Credit: Green Living Network)

Tucson’s weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately, but we all know what’s coming in a few short months… summer!

One of the hallmarks of springtime in Tucson is the 4th Avenue Street Fair. Life is good when you can take a lazy stroll down 4th Ave. with a cold brewski in your hand.

Now a group of whiny bar-owners on 4th Ave. want to take that cold brewski from your sweaty hand, and they have solicited the help of “business friendly” Councilman Steve Kozachik to do it.

According an article in this week’s Tucson Weekly, some 4th Ave. bar owners– led by Scott Cummings who owns O’Malley’s on Fourth– want the Fourth Avenue Merchants’ Association (FAMA) to restrict or stop beer sales at the Street Fair.

As a small businessman, Cummings is a capitalist. Capitalists believe in the free market– right? Wrong. They only believe in competition on the free market when they’re making money. When there is a threat to their profits, they want government intervention or laws that restrict others from making profits.

Cummings, Jill Brammer (from Che’s), and the other whiny bar owners should man up like real capitalists and see the beer booths as a marketing opportunity– rather than competition that should be squashed by regulations.

What marketing advantages do the bars have over the beer booths? Here are some hints…

1. The beer booths generally sell crappy beer and have no variety. Most of the 4th Ave. bars go way beyond Budweiser and offer dozens of beers.
2. The beer booths sell only beer– leaving the wine and alcohol drinkers high and dry– or not high but definitely dry. (Of course, not all 4th Ave. bars have discovered wine yet; some have seriously poor wine selections.)
3. When you’re walking around the spring Street Fair, you can get hot, tired, and hungry. The bars have seats and air conditioning, and a few of them actually sell real food.
4. The music at the Street Fair can be spotty at best. Bars can hire some of Tucson’s best bands to attract customers inside. (A few years ago, Che’s had legendary Tucson bluesman Tom Whalbank playing there during the Street Fair. The place was packed.)

So, 4th Ave. bar owners, rather than look to government intervention or ask FAMA to change a Street Fair model that has been working for years– use a little marketing know-how to set your product apart. The question for Koz is: Which group of businesses are you going to be friendly to? Or what about if everyone involved decided to be consumer friendly? Consumers want choice, quality products, and a good price.

The March issue of the American Journal of Medicine features new research and commentaries on healthcare reform.

Ignoring the real problem of skyrocketing medical costs– Republicans at the federal level want to cripple or kill the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare), and Republicans at the state level want to end the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid program for the poor.

The Republicans spin is that people should have “more choice” than Obamacare allows (although Obamacare allows you to keep your current doctor and your current plan, if you like it) and that people should not be forced to buy insurance (although requiring insurance is a key element to ridding the system of the dreaded pre-existing conditions, which are universally despised by everyone but insurance companies). My question has always been: What do they think these poor people are going to do with no coverage? Medical care is not affordable in the US.

The federal Affordable Care Act was based upon the Massachusetts reform model (developed under former Governor Mitt Romney, who wants to be the next Republican president of the US). The Massachusetts model requires everyone to buy health insurance. (Yes, a Republican came up with that idea!)

“Does the Massachusetts model work?” is the research question a group of Harvard public health scientists asked. (Those darn Harvard scientists always asking questions. What do they know anyway?)

New research released this week in the American Journal of Medicine shows that although the Massachusetts system has worked in increasing coverage, it has not significantly reduced the rate of people going bankrupt trying to pay their medical bills. Even with this health insurance system, people can’t afford medical care.

In Medical Bankruptcy in Massachusetts: Has Health Reform Made a Difference? the Harvard group reported that although 89% of debtors had health insurance coverage, underinsurance– not having adequate coverage to pay one’s medical costs– was widespread. From the Journal’s blog…

Health insurance coverage rates for Massachusetts debtors were higher in 2009 than in 2007 (89.0% vs 84.1%) and significantly higher than the national average in 2007 (89.0% vs 69.7%). Despite broad insurance coverage in Massachusetts after reform, bankruptcy filings due to medical costs did not decrease significantly between 2007 and 2009. There is a web of causality behind this finding. Although only 11% of Massachusetts debtors remained uninsured, there was widespread underinsurance, leaving people with high out-of-pocket costs in deductibles, co-pays, and uncovered services. In addition, many debtors lost their jobs due to illness or experienced reduced income due to illness. In cascading events, loss of income led to loss of housing in many cases.

The article provides a very clear example of how someone with insurance can still go broke if they get really sick.

What accounts for the seemingly paradoxical trends of increasing coverage yet stable, or even increasing (on a per capita basis), medical bankruptcy rates? Health costs in the state have increased sharply since reform was enacted.(9) Even before the changes in health care laws, most medical bankruptcies in Massachusetts, as in other states, affected middle-class families with health insurance. High premium costs and gaps in coverage—copayments, deductibles, and uncovered services—often left insured families liable for substantial out-of-pocket costs. None of that changed. For example, under Massachusetts’ reform, the least expensive individual coverage available to a 56-year-old Bostonian carries a premium of $5256 and a deductible of $2000, and covers only 80% of the next $15,000 in costs for covered services.(10) Thus, an insured couple with medical problems and an income greater than $44,000 (ie, >300% of poverty, the eligibility threshold for insurance subsidies) might pay $20,512 in annual medical expenses, a figure that far exceeds the financial capacities of the average American family.(11) Uncovered services, such as physical therapy, drugs, or home care, might push out-of-pocket costs even higher.

Progressives, who don’t like the Affordable Care Act because they believe doesn’t go far enough to protect Americans, have latched onto this new research and are using to to renew the rallying cry for single payer system (like Canada and many other countries worldwide).

So, although Republicans want to end healthcare reform and toss the middle class out to the free market (where they will really get … er… socked), the reality is that the current healthcare reform model may not be enough to protect working Americans from rising medical costs and financial ruin.

This issue of the Journal also includes three commentaries about the US healthcare system and healthcare reform.

On the Critical List: The US Institution of Medicine– a very good overview about the “rules of the game” and why US medical care is so expensive compared to other countries.

The 800-Pound Gorilla in the Healthcare Living Room– an editorial about unnecessary testing and tort reform.

The Affordable Care Act: Facing Up to the Power of the Pen and the Purse– a commentary on the attacks on reform.

Communist! Fascist! Socialist! Nazi! Liberal! Teapublican! Capitalist!

Often political labels are tossed about in the US will little understanding of what they mean. This coming weekend Arizonans will have a rare opportunity to learn more about communism, socialism, and, most likely, capitalism from Sam Webb, national chair of the Communist Party USA.

There are a lot of misconceptions about far left-wing politics, so I hope people will view these events with an open mind and forget the scare-tactic propaganda from the Cold War Era.

“Socialism won’t be on the agenda [in the US] until the American people put it there. They have to come to the conclusion through their own experiences that capitalism doesn’t work, that it is a dysfunctional system, and that socialism would better meet their needs,” Webb said in a recent interview on The Lou Show. 

With secret campaign financing and the corporate oligarchy’sdramatically increased governmental power (thanks to Citizens United), the shift of wealth to the richest 1% and away from the rest of us, and the all-out assault on workers by Teapublicans in Wisconsin, Arizona, and other Republican-controlled states, I wonder how many Americans already realize that capitalism isn’t working for anyone who makes less than $1 million per year. To learn more about Webb and his philosophies, check out a recent essay.

Webb will give two talks in Arizona– one in Tucson and the second in Phoenix. Here are the details.

Tucson Event
In Tucson, the Salt of the Earth Labor College will host Today’s Struggles and the Socialist Future, a presentation and discussion with Webb on Saturday, March 12, 2011, beginning at 2 p.m. Seating is limited; come a bit early. A reception for Webb will follow the discussion.

Salt of the Earth labor College is located at 1902 East Irene Vista, on the southeast corner of Campbell Ave. and Irene Vista just east of Kino Parkway and about a half mile south of 36th Street. For more information or better directions: SELC@webtv.net or (520)235-0694. For a full Spring 2011 Salt of the Earth Labor College schedule click here.

Phoenix Event
The Phoenix Chapter of the Communist Party USA will host a picnic on March 13 in honor of Webb, who will present on the same topic– Today’s Struggles and the Socialist Future.

The picnic will begin at 1 p.m. at Kiwanis Park in Tempe, Ramada #5. For $5, you’ll get picnic food, cold beer, progressive politics, music, poetry, and Webb’s talk. The donation will benefit PeoplesWorld.org, the Communist Party’s online newspaper. Kids can attend for free.

For the full Lou Show interview, click here.

Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) surprised Massachusetts and the rest of the US when he won the Senatorial seat formerly held by the Liberal Lion– Senator Edward Kennedy. Recently, Brown was caught on video thanking right-wing billionaire David Koch for his financial support in the last election and asking for more help when he runs for re-election in 2012. In the above video, Koch beams as Brown, who ran as a “different kind of politician” (AKA, not a beltway insider), grovels.

Gabriel Thompson (Photo Credit: UA College of Public Health)

Gabriel Thompson, investigative journalist, community organizer, and author of Working in the Shadows, There’s No José Here, and Calling All Radicals will be the keynote speaker at the University of Arizona College of Public Health’s 5th Annual Social Justice Symposium on Friday, April 1, 2011.

Lisa Hopper, founder of World Care, a Tucson-based organization dedicated to recycling and redistributing education, health, and emergency relief supplies locally and globally, will be the closing speaker.

The event also will include Social Justice in Everyday Life, Women Advocating for Change, Giving Voice to Vulnerable Populations, and Systems Approaches to Harvesting Change

The Social Justice Symposium is designed to engage students, faculty, health professionals, and community members in dialogue to cultivate awareness and encourage action in the pursuit of equal justice for all people in every aspect of our society.

The symposium will be 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health Drachman Building at the Arizona Health Sciences Center. It is FREE and open to the public! Lunch will be provided. Registration is required. Register here.

Pre-event Free Movie Screening

A free screening of the documentary film 389 Miles: “Living the Border” will kick-off the Social Justice Symposium on Thursday, March 31st in Drachman Hall, Room A114 at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7 p.m.). Free pizza will be served.

389 Miles “Living the Border” is a documentary film that addresses the current immigration debate taking place on the Arizona-Mexico border. This film is a human journey, a story documented by director/producer Luis Carlos Davis who grew up in the shadow of the Arizona-Mexico border. It presents the raw, daily life of human beings who come from different backgrounds and ideologies when it comes to immigration

Davis, a UA alumnus, and Gail Emerick, Executive Director of the South East Arizona Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC), will conduct a discussion after the film.

The screening was organized by the Global Health Alliance and the Social Justice Symposium Planning Committee.

For more information on Social Justice Symposium, contact 2011socialjustice@gmail.com.