Why should workers pay for the crisis?
IN ORDER to balance the budget, our government--and the corporations that own and run it--have declared open season on workers' benefits, claiming that they are too expensive to maintain.
Labor unions must stand at the nexus of resistance against this heartless assault on the hard-won benefits of American labor.
The economic problem to be solved involves a mismatch between current expenses and revenue, and is seen as another opportunity for our government to dismantle unions and take many of labor's hard-earned benefits away under the guise of balancing the budget. The root causes of budgetary imbalances are not difficult to fathom, however, and should not be difficult to fix.
Government expenses continue to be too high, not because of workers' benefits, but because of things like the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, ensuring that the rich won't be inconvenienced by their misdeeds. This has left a huge hole in the treasury that needs to be filled.
In addition, the expense picture continues to deteriorate even further due to our needless and endless war costs--which make up over half of the federal discretionary budget. These wars have nothing to do with defense of our country and are only necessary for the wealthy war profiteers to maintain their lifestyles.
The list of retired military servicemen who have warned us about profiting from war continues to grow and includes General Smedley Butler (War Is a Racket, 1935), General Dwight D. Eisenhower ("Farewell Speech," 1961) and Colonel Andrew Bacevich (Washington Rules, 2010). It is time we heed their message.
As for revenue shortfalls, the middle class is being squeezed like an empty tube of toothpaste and can no longer sustain the tax burden. The workers of America must fight back and resist further taxation and contractual concessions and get the tax burden shared more equitably by those most able to contribute.
It should be very clear at this point that American laborers did not cause any of these budgetary difficulties and have tried very hard to keep them from happening. They should not be required to make even more sacrifices to ensure the comfort of those in this country who created the problem. American workers should stand justifiably proud of their contributions to our society and should not be ashamed to reap the rewards of their efforts.
Unfortunately, we will need to fight with renewed vigor to hold the ground we've won so far. Union solidarity will help keep America from becoming the land of the freeloaders and the home of the broken dream.
George Damasevitz, from the Internet
