Here is the renowned linguist, MIT professor, world’s leading intellectual and the most cited person living Noam Chomsky discussing various topics with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now.
This is a very informative discussion where Chomsky chimes in on subjects ranging from Tunisia and Egypt, the union strikes in Wisconsin, President Obama (his backing and true political nature), Haiti and a host of other topics.
Any book, article, speech, interview or talk by Noam Chomsky is ABSOLUTELY worth checking out due to his clear analysis, undisputed facts and impeccable references.
With the demonization of public workers (teachers, firemen, police and other unionized workers) ramping up, understanding the facts of the current state budget dilemmas is critically important. To this end, here are two articles that clearly present the background and solutions to the state budget shortfalls and as usual, the facts bear NO resemblance to the recent “sky is falling” rhetoric of various right wing actors.
To summarize, state budgets are indeed experiencing shortfalls in meeting thier pension obligatons. But, contrary to what is being repeated in the media by almost everyone, excessive salaries, benefits and pensions of public workers ARE NOT the source (in fact, as various studies have shown, they’re not even “excessive”). The main cause of the shortfalls is the collapse of the housing bubbled in 2007 which triggered our current recession. As most pensions are invested in stocks, this negatively impacted state pension funds nationwide. This point, that the reckless and speculative decisions of Wall Street and the inability of professional money managers to recognize the subsequent collapse, is NEVER discussed as the source of these shortfalls. The blame is continually heaped on public workers and union members. A second major cause of the deficit is that states, since 2007, have not made their contractually obligated payments to the pension funds. This too is completely left out of the discussions.
The study below from economist Dean Baker and the article from The Nation continue to paint a clear picture of the cause (Wall Street) but they also point out that the shortfalls are VERY manageable by the states. Given the total income to be taken in by states in the upcoming years, all of the pensions, salaries and benefits would be more than able to be paid out without states collapsing.
But I guess it’s far easier to use a recession to drum up fear in order to get rid of what’s left of workers’ rights than to deal with the facts.
On the centennial of the birth of Ronald Reagan it was almost assured that right wingers and conservatives would fall over themselves trying to heap undeserved praise on the former president.
Though volumes could be written (and have been) on the failed economic policies, the covert wars, the gun and drug running, the war on Black America and the senility of Reagan, he is still venerated by some as a patron saint of American politics.
Below are two really good pieces by the Real New Network that cut through the spin and highlight the true legacy of Reagan; an economic and social legacy that we are still feeling the effects of today.
The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt have rightfully dominated the news cycles for the last few weeks. They both represent unthinkable change that is sweping the Muslim world. The people who have been repressed for so long by thier dictators (w/ the material support of the U.S.) are making history by rising up and forcing change.
Here is a piece by Al Jazeera that compares and contrasts the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. The clip focuses on the differences between the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and how these differences might shape the future of both countries.
The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt have rightfully dominated the news cycles for the last few weeks. True to form, the mainstream U.S. media continues to dwell on the surface of the issues involved. In addition, speculation and fear mongering on the role of “islamic radicals” in the Egyptian revolution obscures the true labor and grassroots sources of the uprisings.
Here is a piece by Al Jazeera that gives much needed insight into how the Egyptian people got to the point they’re at now. Specifically the piece discusses the background of dictator Mubarek, his brutal repression of the people of Egypt and the backing of the U.S. and Israel during his reign of terror.
Here is the 60 Minutes video of New Jersey Governor Christie spreading the propaganda surrounding pensions and the shorfalls in state budgets. In my opinion, this interview represents one of the most overt and mainstream attempts to sell the propaganda about the “austerity” measures that need to be taken at the expense of the American public worker.
This is one of several posts dedicated to weeding through the propaganda that scapegoats American workers for the mistakes of Wall Street investors. The right wing wing nut Governor is in rare form as he peddles the mistaken view that states are in trouble due to excessive pensions and, as a result, the pensions and benefits of average workers needs to be done away with.
This post features both the corporate hack governor spreading his corporate talking points and his co-consipirator, 60 Minutes, who offer no rebuttals or challenges to his false assertions. (A previous post in this series details the TRUE sources of the pension shortfalls from one of the most respected economists around.)
Here again is the corporate hack governor of New Jersey doing his best to scapegoat public employees. In this case, he’s unloading on teachers with more cliche` arguments denouncing teachers’ tenure.
The attack on teachers nationwide is tied to the bogus notion of “education reform”. Simply put, “education reform” is a mask for the corporate take over of the American educational system. By implementing a corporate model on public schools, private funders and school CEOs hope to maximze profits by eradicating teacher pensions, thier earned levels of pay and tenure which guarantees the previous two.
No Child Left Behind, the “Waiting for Superman” documentary, the charter school movement and the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top are all geared toward underming teacher’s unions in order to get rid of tenured teachers and replace them with younger, less experienced teachers who work longer hours, for less pay, without the protections of tenure or unions! This is a model that has already been implemented in New Orleans (immediately after Katrina), Chicago (by current Sec. of Education Duncan when he was the head of schools in Chicago), Washinton, DC (by Mayor Fenty and Chancellor Michelle Rhee) and a host of other cities throughout the country.
The article below is another in the series of articles displaying the siege that public workers are under by big business and their minions in government. Understanding the WHOs and the WHYs of this process is critical to recognizing “game” when you see it.
We always hear about the “immigration problem” but did you ever wonder why there are so many immigrants making their way to the U.S. in the first place? Here’s a really good interview with Timothy Wise, the Director of the Research and Policy program at the Global Development and Environment Institute that directly answers that question.
In short, the reason for the mass influx of immigrants from south of the border is largely due to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed under President Clinton. Sixteen years after its passing the result has been the closing of factories and the outsourcing of jobs in the U.S. and major job losses in Mexico (with the resulting tide of unemployed immigrants heading north for better wages).
NAFTA has proven to be a disaster for the American economy but a windfall for U.S. corporations who relocate to Canada and Mexico for access to cheaper labor. Ironically, one of the campaign promises of President Obama was to “renegotiate” NAFTA due to its inherent “shortcomings”.
To date, that promise has yet to be remembered, let alone fulfilled!
In recent months there has been an orchestrated attack on workers and thier pensions. Thier supposedly “excessive” pensions have been blamed for everything from the failure of the auto industry to the budget shortfalls experienced in states across the nation.
There are two arguments that make up this scapegoating of workers. First, we are told that the pensions of public workers are too extravagent (as can be seen by the affluent lifestyles of policemen, teachers and firefighters!) Second, we’re suppossed to believe that those “excessive” pensions are the cause of the budget shortfalls many states are undergoing. Both of these assertions are false as public workers receive total compensation (salary and benefits) that is less than similar private workers, and the primary cause of pension shortfalls is that they were victims of the financial bubbles (much like regular Americans) that the so-called “expert” economists championed for years.
In the articles below, economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research sheds light on the truth behind why pensions are in the red and points the finger of blame squarely where it needs to be….on Wall Street!
In the wake of the deadly shooting in Arizona pundits and reporters have tripped over themselves to paint the terrorist Jared Loughner as a “lone nut” and someone motivated by sheer lunacy rather then any political motivations.
Interestingly enough, this argument can only be made if you ignore the overall context for these types of violent actions in the last three years. This timeline below of violent, deadly and politically motivated “insurrections” against what is seen as a “tyrannical” government by right wing extremists is proof that the shooting in Arizona is yet another in a long chain of politically motivated, terrorist acts that are consuming this nation.
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