Some of them are frightened.

There are different wings in the ruling class. Some like the Cheyney's and co. believe they can get through this difficult period by continuing to rule through their monopoly of politics, their state repression and their massive propaganda machine which divides the working class. But another, so far less influential wing, believes that concessions should be made in case the anger in the working class explodes and threatens the whole system. This latter was the approach of FDR in the 1930's. And it can be seen regularly in the pages of the New York Times today. There is an example of it on Saturday 28th, 2009 where journalist Bob Herbert attempts to warn the more right wing section of the ruling class that they can go too far in attacking working people and filling their own pockets.

Amongst other things Herbert makes these points writes: "The American economy is broken, ruined by the greed and irresponsibility of fabulously wealthy corporate chieftains and their shabby acolytes and enablers in government. While Wall street is handing out billions in bonuses, American families are struggling with joblessness, home foreclosures and rampant debt. The economic woes are exacting a fierce toll on family life, and children are taking a big hit - emotionally, psychologically and otherwise."

He goes on: "there has been a big jump in the number of runaway children, many of them living in dangerous conditions on the street.....more than one third of all black children in America are poor. That more attention is not being paid to this growing disaster is criminal."

He then goes on to write about "the system" today, he means the situation after the Obama regime's hand out to the banks and Wall Street. "We remain stuck in an economic model that not only permits but encourages the continued existence of financial institutions that are too big to fail, which means that when one or more of them fail - as will surely happen at some point - we'll again be rushing to 'save the system' by bailing them out at taxpayers expense."

"The system remains grotesquely unfair, with the deck stacked against working people, even as we're desperate to have them sustain the economy with non stop consumer purchases. Keep in mind that at the start of the recession the collective wealth of the richest 1% of Americans was greater than that of the bottom 90% combined. The economic and political clout of that bottom 90% has only weakened since then.

We still have a hideously dysfunctional public education system, one that has mastered the art of manufacturing drop-outs and functional illiterates. We have not even begun to turn that around.

We keep on fighting tragic, futile, stupid wars, squandering lives and resources and creative energies that could be put to use right here at home, where the need for nation building is beyond critical."

Herbert is trying to convince his own class that they are in danger of going too far and provoking the working class into rising up, that they must take some measures to steady and improve their own system and to alleviate the pressure on the working class. The main importance of this article is that Herbert sees the anger that is developing below the surface in society and is in danger of exploding. The Cal students struggle is part of this anger and some of the first storm lighting of the great hurricane to come.

Where Herbert is wrong is that he poses the issue as if it was just a question of some mistakes made by the ruling class or sections of the ruling class. This is not the case. The ills that Herbert points to and which we see around us are the inevitable crisis of the profit addicted capitalist system. You cannot have capitalism without great economic bubbles and bursts, you cannot have capitalism without mass poverty and suffering even in the richest country in the world never mind the former colonial world, you cannot have capitalism without the capitalist politicians and state being in the pockets of the capitalists, you cannot have capitalism without wars and occupations and mass slaughter. Herbert is trying to get capitalism to make adjustments in the way it rules and make concessions in order that it will be more secure. However capitalism is inevitably a system of crisis and conflict. This will not change, it cannot be changed.

There is a jobs summit coming up. Obama is calling it. A more accurate title would be a cover his ass summit. There will be a number of labor and other organizations present. These will include the Economic Policy Unit, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the N.A.A.C.P., the National Council of La Raza and the Center for Community Change. They are urging the Obama regime to provide additional aid to economically distressed state and local governments, to invest in much more widespread infrastructure improvements, and to engage in some direct government creation of jobs.

We would not disagree with any of these. But even the pro-capitalist Bob Herbert himself says that these would "amount to just a first step."

Herbert talks about the big financial institutions and as we point out has this to say: "when one or more of them fail as will surely happen at some point - we'll be rushing to 'save the system' by bailing them out at taxpayers' expense." Herbert, because he supports capitalism, accepts that this is inevitable. We do not. We are against any bailout of the major financial institutions and Wall Street. We stand for Wall Street and all the major financial institutions in the country to be taken into public ownership and run by representatives of the workers in those institutions, representatives of the consumers who use the services of these institutions, and by elected representatives of working class people as a whole. There would have to be a cut off point in terms of the wealth of individuals who could be representatives and how much anybody could spend on trying to get elected which would prevent the rich and from using their wealth to bribe and campaign to get themselves elected.

So what we are saying is no bail out at taxpayers expense. But public ownership of all these institutions. Do not bail them out, take them over. Compensation would be only on the basis of proven need. The elected representatives would elect a separate body to deal with claims of compensation. Folks who had all their savings and lived on these and could not work would be compensated, those who could work and swindlers and speculators would be sent out to get a job like working people are sent out every day. It would only be good for them.

Such action would have one other extremely important result. It would take the mountains of wealth which are at present in the hands of Wall Street and the speculators and put them in a central fund which would be controlled and used by the elected representatives as explained above to invest in education, health care, infrastructure and all other needs of the working class. No bail outs of Wall Street or the major financial institutions take them over. Use our wealth to invest in the needs of the working people. Take this step and immediately we would have more than sufficient funds to invest in education and avoid fee increases, cuts, and at the same time increase investment.

What we are talking about here is a step towards a democratic socialist society. This is the alternative that has to be put forward. As long as the financial institutions are left in the private hands of the speculators and swindlers then they will always blackmail society claiming that if they are not bailed out they will pull the whole system down. This is what they did in the last crisis, this is what they will try and do again. The only way to stop them is to take the wealth off them. Then they cannot blackmail society.

On a final point about the so-called jobs summit. The leadership of the union movement must not come out of this with a press statement about how they "urged" Obama to help etc. They have to come out of this with a plan to hold mass workplace meetings, state and city wide one day general strikes and days of action, all building towards a national one day general strike and day of action to halt the bosses offensive and to begin a new period in US history when the working class will begin to shape events, begin to lead the great movement for change, begin to set down a blueprint for a new society, a democratic socialist society in the US and worldwide.

Part of this is the need to break with the bosses party the Democrats. Launching the campaign for a program that would solve working peoples needs and a one day general strike and day of action to launch this would also lay the basis for the launching of a new mass Working Peoples Party which would be an alternative to the Democrats.

#No bail outs for Wall St. and the Banks. Take them into public ownership, nationalize them, under democratic control. .

#For a $15.00 minimum wage or $5.00 an hour increase whichever is the greater.

#No layoffs, no cuts in wages or benefits. Build Hands of our jobs,wages and benefits Committees in the workplaces.

#Not a single family or person to be evicted. For a house building program to build affordable high quality housing for all. Build Hands off our Homes Committees in the neighborhoods.

#For free education to the highest level and free health care for all at the point of use.

#End all foreign wars and occupations, bring home all troops.

# Use the wealth spent on the military and use the country's resources to build a society which provides for the needs of all in a sustainable fashion.

#Build a democratic socialist society.

Sean.