Ireland. "Free Market" bailed out. US. Another Crunch Time Coming.

US Capitalism. Soon it will be asking for another bailout.

When US capitalism teetered on the edge in 2008 the US taxpayers, that is mostly US workers, had to rescue it, had to bail it out. The so called free market was shown to have failed again. Now we have the Irish capitalist economy failing and being bailed out. The Celtic tiger is dead and gone, it is with the gombeen men and women in the grave. The so called free market is shown to have failed again. As we say capitalism does not work. But on from Ireland to the world's big economy.

There is an upcoming date in the US economic calendar which will have a powerful affect on the US economy and also on the consciousness of the US working class. There is a legal limit in the US in relation to how much debt the Federal government can run up. This will be reached next spring and so new legislation will be needed to increase the debt limit. If this is not done massive major cuts in government spending will have to be carried out. The Republicans are determined to make Obama's presidency his only one and so are prepared to thwart all his initiatives. It is likely therefore that there will be a major struggle over extending this debt limit with the Republicans opposing it or making it as unpopular as possible.

There is a debt commission to look into this question. It was appointed by Obama. It has two co-chairs. And in line with his wimpish pro capitalist line Obama has appointed two unapologetic bootlickers of capitalism to fill these positions. One is the ex republican Senator Alan Simpson. We need to remember that this will be a major source of struggle, that is if the debt limit is to be extended there will be many voices calling for something else to give and many voices saying how it should be extended. The Tea Baggers will be in the middle of it with their calls to cut the deficit.

The two capitalist parties will do their usual dance. The Republicans will say for example that the whole pound of flesh should be taken from the working class to avoid extending the debt limit. The Democrats will scream about how bad this is and propose their alternative which will be a fraction of an ounce less than the full pound to come from the working class. But one way or another the two capitalist parties will propose the working class pay, that the flesh come from the body of the working class and not the rich.

Listen to what the Republican Simpson has to say about the coming deadline beyond which a debt extension has to be approved. He refers here to April as this is when it has to happen. The New York Times November 22nd, explains that Simpson says: "I can't wait for the blood bath in April....When debt limit time comes, they're going to look around and say, 'What in the hell do we do now?' We've got guys who will not approve the debt limit extension unless we give them a real piece of meat." He means spending cuts. "And boy the blood bath will be extraordinary."

This statement reflects two things. One is the lack of concern of US capitalism for working peoples lives and two is the stupidity of the representatives of US capitalism as they cannot see the explosive events that will flow from the major cuts in living standards that they are contemplating.

We have raised repeatedly that US capitalism is living above its limits. We have also raised that debt can allow capitalism to temporarily go beyond its own limits but that inevitably at some stage this cannot be sustained and the system will be snapped back inside those limits again. We have also raised that the consciousness of the US working class is seriously affected by the ability so far of US capitalism to handle and contain its debt crisis. This situation is coming to an end. Whether it happens in April or in a few months later or a year or two later US capitalism can not for much longer maintain the debts it has run up never mind run up more. As well as confront the world's debt markets attacking the dollar it will be forced to confront its own working class.

If not before this is when consciousness will change in the US and the US working class will come to the conclusion that it has to organize and to fight. We will see a step closer to this situation being taken in April. It is a sign of the backwardness of the US capitalist politicians as represented by Simpson that rather than looking forward to this with trepidation they are actually looking forward to it with something almost akin to glee.

If the union leaders were not even more obtuse than these capitalist politicians, and not equally wedded to capitalism, a massive movement for change would already be on the march in the US. It the left and radical movement were not so fragmented by left sectarianism and ultra leftism it could play a role in getting a new movement on the road. Unfortunately it will probably take things to get worse before sufficient numbers of the working class decide to take action to an extent that will begin to change things. This may not be so long now. The responsibility for it taking longer and working people having to suffer more lies with the union leaders and their refusal to take on capitalism and organize a movement to fight it.

Organize the Unorganized. Build a mass working peoples party. End capitalism. For a democratic socialist society.

Sean.