"When things will improve is anyone's guess" so we Californians were told tonight after hearing the political report on the local news. Don Perata, the Democratic president of the state Senate says he's never seen anything like this in his life time.
The state university system is cutting enrollment by some 13000 students due to cuts that will be forced on working people by the Democrats and Republicans in order to pay for the crisis of the system they manage. They didn't go in to a lot of detail in order not to rile us up too much, but they want to cut education by $2.2 billion (no bail out for education) cut $300 million from state employment which will mean big layoffs in the public sector and cut $230 from what is already a dismal transit system.
Along with this they are suggesting increasing the sales tax by 1.5% and income tax by 5% It is what we have stated all along, they will pay for this crisis which includes the bail out of the private sector with public funds through a combination of cuts in services and tax increases.
Naturally, anti-tax Republicans will get the ear of some workers with their opposition to raising taxes and with what will be a divisive alternative which will include cutting one section of the working class, the less organized among us, in order to alleviate some of the attacks on others.
This will work to an extent initially as the heads of organized Labor will offer no independent alternative that can unite working people; they will raise only what is acceptable to the Democrats which is a strategy aimed and dividing and weakening us.
As the next period as layoffs and cuts increase, we will be facing a lethal combination of cuts in social services as increased need for them grow. Raising taxes in a recession or possible slump will also exacerbate the problem as it will further cut in to consumption.
Earlier on on CNN they were also discussing the issue of the US auto industry and the bail out being discussed in Congress.
There is no reason to raise taxes on workers and the middle class or for education and other social necessities to be eliminated for thousands of people. One thing this crisis has shown us point blank is that the resources to provide such basics as education, health care, transportation and other social needs is there; the problem is that within the present economic system we call capitalism, they own these resources and that means they can do with them what they like; they have chosen as they always do to allow people to starve, die, do without health care and work, and line the pockets of their friends with our resources instead.
What is missing in all this is the only alternative that will work, taking in to public ownership the dominant or commanding heights as we sometimes say, of the economy under workers control an management. (see previous posts) This does not only apply to an industry that provides transportation like auto but also the taking in to public ownership the vast wealth that our Labor has created and is stored in their banks and private assets.
This is the alternative that we fight for. We should not be dismayed by the fact that this alternative is not on the evening news; we recognize they control the media, the universities and therefore the manufacture of ideas as well as cars. The present crisis has ushered in a new period where the sanctity of the market has been seriously undermined and it is not over yet.
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