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[Via Communist Internet... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] [Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ] . . ----- Original Message ----- From: mart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2001 2:21 AM Subject: [C-I] Fw: US: recession and hunger ----- Original Message ----- From: New Worker Online To: Recipient list suppressed Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2001 3:52 PM Subject: US: recession and hunger International story - 30/11/2001. US: recession and hunger. by Steve Lawton VISIBLE enough now is the effect of the economic crisis on workers in the United States, toauthenticatethelatestexpert wisdom: that the country has been in a recession for the last six months. Turkey's aren't coming in for America's version of 'Crisis at Christmas', but food queues for the hungry are growing; many workers are losing their homes, while across the board, thousands of jobs are rapidly disappearing. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), November 26, the United States has been in a recession since March -- the 1Oth since the end of the Second World War. It's the closest yet to an official statement by the US Administration. That may well be made early next week. The NBER analysis takes several indicators of economic activity into account, chief among them: employment, industrial production, real personal income and sales. The NBER identifies, without particular comment, that since industrial production hit a peak in September 2000, it declined "over the next 12 months by close to six per cent, surpassing the average decline in the [past six] recessions of 4.6 per cent." Industrial output -- especially equipment, electronics and vehicles -- has declined 10 per cent this year. Manufacturing, after a two decades-plus decline, lost six per cent of its workforce in the past year alone. Even among white-collar professionals, the jobless stand at 1.2 million, an increase of 63 per cent over the past year. The unemployment level overall has risen, in the same period, officially from 3.9 to 5.4 per cent (figures which have been through many 'adjustments' to narrow the definition of unemployed). Over the past year, in all, 2.2 million have been made newly unemployed, Business Week (November 19), pointed out. It also noted that job ads in September were at the lowest for 18 years. Significant numbers of job losses began in March last year, which meant September 11 this year had an impact which still remained within the recessionary pattern. The social effects are clear. The Christian Science Monitor explained, on the same day as the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee's report was made available, that "With a failing economy and lengthening lines at food pantries, traditional relief charities such as soup kitchens and shelters will be highly visible this holiday season." An example of this concern was revealed by the San Fransisco Chronicle (November 21), which said that as Christmas looms, food storage for those in need at this time of year is dramatically down in the Bay Area. San Francisco Food Bank chief, Paul Ash, said: "We give away about 3,000 turkeys between Thanksgiving and Christmas and should have 1,000 by now." He's got 80 so far for a giant walk-in freezer in its Potrero Hill warehouse. The Bank's donors have almost dried up; it cannot finance the giveaways. As the Chronicle explained: "The turkey shortage is just one manifestation of what social service agencies fear could become a crisis: Between the economic downturn and the channeling of support to September 11 relief efforts, donations to local community-based organisations have plunged. At the same time, the number of people seeking help with food and housing has soared." The relief organisation, America's Second Harvest, is the biggest nationwide safetynet against widespread hunger. It calculated in October that, of its 214 food banks scattered across the country, 40 per cent reported a drop in donations. A year ago they reported a surge of 80 per cent. The surge was based on the growing impoverishment of American's, so the reverse of it is obviously going to be especially serious. But there is no sign that a department for 'Homeland Hunger' is about to be set up. Social services told the Chronicle that the low paid are increasingly seeking help. But job losses are hitting many sectors: "The people coming to us now are often people who never expected to be standing in a food line", said Barbara Zahner, Sacred Heart Community Service director in San Jose. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a workers' research organisation, revealed back in July that 29 per cent ofworking families "with one to three children under the age of 12 do not earn enough income to afford basic necessities like food, housing, health care, and child care, even during a period of national prosperity." Food insufficiency, of all hardships, is the most prevalent, EPI said. But the bosses are sure not to go without. Abraham Lincoln noted back in 1837 that "capitalists generally act, harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people." Organised workers will, in time, fleece capitalism. ======================================================================= New Communist Party of Britain Homepage http://www.newcommunistparty.org.uk A news service for the Working Class! 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