News & Articles

You know what America needs? More jobs, that’s what. Not Walmart-style “jobettes,” but real jobs, stable ones with a good salary and benefits, union jobs so workers have a say in what goes on, jobs that have strong protections against discrimination. A job you could make a career, do useful work, take pride in it, earn promotions, and be respected for what you do.
Believe it or not, there is at least one place where such jobs still exist. But – and you really aren’t going to believe this – those in charge are pushing like hell to eliminate them, turning positions that ought to be a model for American job growth into just another bunch of jobettes. The place? Your local post office.
Right-wing government haters in Congress, along with the corporate executives now sitting atop the US Postal Service, claim that in order to “save” this icon of Americana, they must decimate it. These geniuses are privatizing the workforce, selling off the invaluable community facilities, and shrinking services. Hello – the workers, facilities and services are what make the post office iconic and give it such potential for even greater public use.
Their latest ploy is a “partnership” with Staples, the big-box office supply chain. In a pilot program, 82 Staples outlets have opened “postal units” to sell the most popular (and most profitable) mail products. Rather than being staffed by well-trained and knowledgeable postal workers, however, the mini-PO’s will have an ever-changing crew of Staples’ low-wage, temporary sales clerks with weak performance standards and no public accountability.
Cheapening postal work might be good for a few profiteers like Staples, but it will diminish postal service – and it’s exactly the wrong direction for America to be going. For info and action go to www.apwu.org.
“Staples Plucks Postal Jobs,” www.labornotes.org, January 27, 2014.

Perry struts his stuff in Davos

Were you invited to the big doing’s in Davos? You know, the annual, powwow of power elites held in that posh resort town in the Swiss Alps. The World Economic Forum, as it’s formally called, brings together a bunch of corporate chieftains, the heads of state from various countries, an A-list of entertainment sparklies, and a horde of economists, consultants, and lesser politicos trying to get noticed.
The theme of this year’s wine, dine & shine show was: “The Reshaping of the World.” How modest is that? But you can’t expect modesty from an event that’s been dubbed “a velvet rope club for the 1 percent of the 1 percent” – or, as the Mayor of London once put it: “A constellation of egos involved in massive mutual orgies of adulation.”
Maybe that’s why the big news from Davos this year was not who attended, but the Platinum-Level Biggies who spurned the invite, such as Warren Buffett, along with the head honchos of Apple, Facebook, and Google. It seems that many are put off by the declining level of speakers and panelists.
As if to emphasize that decline, the Forum organizers even brought in Gov. Rick “Oops” Perry of Texas to be on a health care panel. Now that’s industrial-strength chutzpah! After 14 years as governor, Perry’s state still has a fourth of its people with no health insurance, the ugliest performance of all 50 states. Indeed, if Davos attendees need an example of how a public official who enjoys government-paid health care can so crassly deny any coverage to millions of the less fortunate, Perry’s their man.
Adding to the Forum’s unintended satire of elites-without-a-clue, a major sub-theme this year was how to address economic inequality. One way would be to invite at least one person who’s on the receiving end of inequality – maybe one of Rick Perry’s uninsured constituents.
“Notable In Their Absence From Davos,” The New York Times, January 21, 2014.
“Gov. Perry, in Switzerland, praises Texas drug courts,” Austin American Statesman,” January 24, 2014.
“Mr. Perry Goes to Davos,” www.washingtonspectator.org, January 22, 2014.
“Gov. Rick Perry to speak at World Economic Forum in Switzerland,” www.statesman.com, January 17, 2014.

The California GOP’s fake health care website

In this wicked world of woe, there are hucksters, flimflammers, plain ol’ crooks… and Republican members of the California Assembly.
This last bunch of scoundrels went out of their way to monkeywrench the rollout of President Obama’s new health care law. Obama’s computer geniuses were making a hash of the initial rollout in October, but the sign-up was finally smoothing out – and with any Obama success, GOP lawmakers automatically start tossing monkeywrenchs.
This time, the tool they tossed is a fake website created by California Republican legislators in August to look like the state’s official health exchange site, where people can sign up to get coverage under the Affordable Care Act. When things finally got worked out on the national health care exchange in November, the Repubs mailed a pamphlet to their constituents, directing them to the decoy site, calling it a “resource guide” to “help” them navigate the ACA sign up process.
Far from help, however, the faux site is a trap. It’s filled with boilerplate Republican propaganda against the law, gimmicks to discourage viewers from even applying for the health care they need, and a rash of distortions and outright lies. There’s so much bunkum on the site that its fine print includes a disclaimer saying they don’t vouch for “the quality, content, accuracy, or completeness of the information” it provides.
The silliest thing about the lawmakers’ blatantly political ploy is that even if it convinces some people to forgo the ACA’s benefits, who does that hurt? Not Obama – but their own constituents! I know there’s no IQ requirement to be a state legislator, but what were they thinking?
We can laugh at their low comedy, but if you’re a California taxpayer, congratulations: You paid for the GOP’s bogus website and mailings.
“A bogus Health care website, courtesy of the GOP,” www.msnbc.com, December 4, 2013.
“California Republicans Defend Fake Obamacare Site,” www.abcnews.com, December 3, 2013.
“California GOP creates fake health care website to discourage constituents from obtaining insurance,” www.dailykos.com, December 2, 2013.
“Email from Ed H.” December 16, 2013.