------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Jan. 16, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
BUSH'S "ECONOMIC STIMULUS" PLAN: GUNS FOR THE WORKERS, BUTTER FOR THE RICH By Leslie Feinberg Ask people cobbling together a living today what economic stimulus means and their first answer would most likely be: A decent job. Health insurance that doesn't compete with the ability to pay for groceries. Retirement savings that don't evaporate like a mirage. A secure nest egg for unexpected emergencies. And a little left over for exciting recreation and a relaxing vacation. Neither President George W. Bush's ballyhooed Jan. 7 economic "stimulus" program nor the timorous counter-proposal by the Democrats will bring this modest goal within fingertip reach for millions living from paycheck to paycheck, fretting anxiously over unpaid bills. And what about the millions who don't even have a job, who are mired in poverty in this, the richest country on the planet? If the extent of this economic distress sounds hyperbolic, consider these statistics that represent flesh and blood lives. Appeals for emergency food aid--an often arduous and tedious process for those with growling bellies--increased an average of 19 percent in 2002, according to a 25-city survey released by the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Dec. 18. Almost half the urgent pleas for food came from members of families with children. And 38 percent of the adults needing meals were employed. Even with a job, they don't earn enough to put food on the table. As housing costs outstripped incomes, requests for emergency shelter by those without a roof over their heads also rose by 19 percent in 2002, the sharpest rise in a decade. Twenty-two percent of homeless people in the surveyed cities were employed. The steep increase in numbers of people shivering on cardboard boxes or taking refuge from rain under bridges was attributed in this poll to a dearth of affordable housing, lack of needed services for mental disabilities and addictions, and low-paying jobs. And the services to support so many lives of quiet desperation are disappearing. Cash-poor states are bogged down in a morass of major budget deficits caused by economic stagnation and tax cuts for the rich and virtually bottomless spending. Now add to that the cost of the impending Pentagon invasion of Iraq and "Homeland Security." California alone is facing a $35-billion budget shortfall. (AP, Jan. 5) As a result, in states from coast to coast, social service programs that could affect the quality of lives are on the chopping block. Last year, resources to meet the need for emergency food aid plummeted 52 percent in the cities where hunger was gnawing so deeply. State, federal and municipal employees, who once hoped their jobs would be secure for a lifetime after having won unions and benefits like health care, are staring a major attack in the face. In the private economy as well, more mass layoffs are looming. The latest shocker came from AT&T, whose bosses just announced that 3,500 workers are about to get the axe. These workers face an "economic draft" into the already large army of the unemployed. Even though they knew they'd eventually have to extend them, the House of Representatives allowed unemployment benefits to lapse for more than 750,000 workers on Dec. 28. Jobless workers' gooses were cooked when the politicians adjourned for holiday meals without legislating an emergency extension. A BOON FOR BILLIONAIRES What's the solution? There's President George W. Bush's "bold" approach, unveiled on Jan. 7. The price tag on his economic package--an estimated $674 billion over 10 years--could go a long way if invested in the lives and working conditions of the class hardest hit by economic dislocation. Instead, Bush sent his chief economic advisor, Stephen Friedman, and other top aides to Wall Street and Capitol Hill hawking the administration's own brand of snake oil: They claim that windfalls for the already wealthy are the antidote for what ails the economy. Bush wants to rapidly relieve the richest from the burden of taxes. Of course, the average tax rate on the profits of the barons of big business has already plunged to a nearly six-decade low. (New York Times, Jan. 7) The Bush administration had reportedly considered slowing down already- passed income tax cuts for the highest-income echelons "in order to deflect criticism" over new tax cuts on stock dividends he wants to give the rich. (Daily Southtown, Jan. 3) However, reported The Cincinnati Enquirer, the idea of delaying this belated holiday gift to the affluent "prompted a storm of objections from conservative groups," and the White House caved. A centerpiece of Bush's proposal is completely eliminating taxes on stock dividend income. In late December the White House floated the idea of a 50-percent cut in dividend taxes. But the rich and powerful squealed like pigs, so Bush agreed to abolish the tax altogether. The donation to Wall Street of no more dividend taxes is aimed at boosting stock prices. It's a boon to the stock market--the central nervous system of the U.S. capitalist economy--in its third year of stomach-churning descent. But the money will go into already deep pockets. The Tax Policy Center tabulates that about 64 percent of the benefits from abolishing tax dividends will go to the wealthiest 5 percent of taxpayers. And merely giving big investors more cream off the top doesn't add up to capital investment or job creation. Businesses slashed production so deeply in 2001 because they had unsold goods, not because they had no funds to invest with. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve Bank has lowered interest rates so much that it's practically paying businesses to borrow money and expand. But they're not doing it--because they know there are already more goods on the market than there are buyers. "The animal spirits of business have been depressed," observed Jerry Jasin ow ski, president of the National Association of Manufacturers. But there's nothing in the Republican or Democratic economic packages that will medicate this malaise. GUNS AND A PAT OF BUTTER After the GOP gavel opened the 108th session of Congress on Jan. 7, the Senate finally approved a five-month extension of unemployment benefits. It demonstrated their worries about the duration of the recession and their concerns about popular anger as the government goes to war. The measure was also put forward "in order to quiet critics and improve the [budget] proposal's chances of congressional passage," noted several major news sources. (post-gazette.com) The Democrats, with all eyes on the election horizon, claim to be fighting the Republican proposal tooth and nail. They're standing up for the "little guy," these politicians say. Their "bailout" package for this year is timid--it offers only chump change to working people, like tax rebates of $300 per individual and $600 per couple. It includes $31 billion aid to states, but much of that is earmarked for "homeland security projects" that mean more police powers and more surveillance. (cnn.com, Jan. 7) A couple hundred bucks, or a couple of thousand, would be a welcome temporary relief for many people scrambling to pay their bills. But in the overall game of mega-monopoly, it won't last long. There's been a $5 trillion drop in household net worth in the three years since the economic slowdown began, according to Mickey D. Levy, chief economist for Bank of America. (Washington Post, Jan. 3) That comes to an average of about $75,000 per household. No wonder so many credit cards are maxed out and people are struggling with second mortgages. ELEPHANTS, DONKEYS & AN 800-LB. GORILLA The Republicans and Democrats are hurling demagogic accusations of "class warfare" at each other about their economic proposals. "There is no question," intoned Daniel Mitchell, an economist at the right-wing, pro-Republican Heritage Foundation, "that the left will try to drag out the pagan god of class warfare and say this is just a sop to the president's rich friends." (enquirer.com, Jan. 6) That's how far to the right the pendulum of the establishment is swinging--Mitchell is referring to the Democrats as "the left"! But the Democrats aren't going to filibuster for workers' rights, militate for a general strike that could flex the muscle of organized labor, rally the millions to surround Capitol Hill or call for mass encampments of the jobless and homeless on the White House lawn. The Democrats claim to be the party fighting on behalf of "just plain folks." However, this society is divided into workers and bosses whose class interests are diametrically opposed to each other. The Democratic Party pretends it can resolve this irresolvable contradiction of capitalism. But the Republicans are right--this is a class war. And you can't be on the side of the workers and be beholden to big business at the same time. A relatively few ruling families hold in their hands ownership of the entire collectively built apparatus of production, by which all social wealth is created--from Microsoft to General Motors. The race for profits drives production at the speed of an Indy 500, resulting in periodic traffic jams of over-production. This abundance of commodities-- this over-production--is the paradox at the root of the current unemployment, homelessness and hunger. There is a class war raging, but it is still pretty one-sided. With more layoffs and budget cuts, more attacks on Medicaid and Social Security coming down the pike, the struggle will heat up. Both political parties are conscious of the potential for massive resistance by the working class and oppressed. The problems of workers and the most downtrodden will be enormously exacerbated by the war. However, the Democrats fell right into line on the war vote for military aggression. They can't lead the fight for better conditions at home when they are shackled by their support of imperialist wars that are bleeding the treasury. Bush can't rely on war spending to pull this economy out of its recession. His father learned that the hard way when he failed to win a second term after the first Pentagon onslaught on Iraq, the 1990-91 Gulf War. That war created a wave of debt to the banks and helped pull the economy down in its undertow. Today the terrible tank of Pax Pentagona is running roughshod over any obstacles to capitalist globalization. But its own internal contradictions are becoming more apparent. This intensifying crisis has within it the seeds of reanimating furious class struggle. Who is carrying the brunt of the economic crisis in this country today? Oppressed communities, working and unemployed people, immigrants, students, women, youth, elders, disabled and so many others vulnerable to the downturn in income and social programs. They have a right to call for emergency grassroots meetings in towns and cities, reservations and communities and campuses across this country to discuss measures that will really help the people through this crisis. They have a right to demand that the government turn over all necessary resources to hold these meetings--with no strings attached. Every armory, auditorium and other mass meeting place should be made available to the people free of charge to deal with this emergency. First and foremost on the agenda of such meetings: the $100-$200 billion that the government intends to squander on the slaughter of the people of Iraq. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe wwnews- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
