Making the US Economy "Scream"

Friday 10 June 2011
Making the US Economy "Scream"
Robert Parry, Consortium News: "Obviously, given the wealth of the American elites, the relative proportion of the propaganda funding is derived more domestically in the United States than it would be in a place like Chile (or some other unfortunate Third World country that has gotten on Washington's bad side). But the concept remains the same: Control as much as possible what the population gets to see and hear; create chaos for your opponent's government, economically and politically; blame if for the mess; and establish in the minds of the voters that they're only way out is to submit, that the pain will stop once your side is back in power. Today's Republicans have fully embraced this concept of political warfare, whereas the Democrats generally have tried to play by the old rules, acquiescing when Republicans are in office with the goal of 'making government work,' even if the Republicans are setting the agenda. Unlike the Democrats and the Left, the Republicans and the Right have prepared themselves for this battle, almost as if they are following a CIA training manual."
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Alabama Enacts Possibly Strictest Immigration Enforcement Bill in Nation
Richard Fausset, The Los Angeles Times: "Alabama set a new national standard for get-tough immigration policy Thursday with Gov. Robert J. Bentley's signing of a law that surpasses Arizona's SB 1070, with provisions affecting law enforcement, transportation, apartment rentals, employment and education. The new law, combined with legislation passed in May by neighboring Georgia, has arguably made this swath of the Deep South the nation's hottest immigration battleground, with the region's troubled racial history fueling the fire. Opponents here, perhaps predictably, often refer to that history in denouncing new laws they deem to be not only unconstitutional but motivated by bigotry."
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FCC Report Finds Local Journalism in Severe Decline
Nadia Prupis, Truthout: "Local journalism has not been able to keep up with a changing media landscape, leading to a significant drop in quality in-depth reporting, a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) study found. The long-awaited 'Future of the Media' report, in the works since 2009 and now titled 'Information Needs of Communities,' was released Thursday after its authors investigated for 18 months the sweeping changes affecting the traditional media industry, particularly the widespread decline in newspaper production. As advertisers move to cheaper outlets on the Internet and the country's weakened economy forces daily newsrooms to downsize, staffing levels continue to drop, having fallen by more than 25 percent since 2001."
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News in Brief: National Security Agency Whistleblower Thomas Drake Reaches Plea Deal, and More ...
Thomas Drake has reached a plea deal that will put an end to his highly criticized and public prosecution for leaking information about waste and mismanagement at the National Security Agency; the cost of the war in Libya has soared to now 50 percent more than originally projected; a new report by the Center for American Progress calculates that raising the minimum wage by 50 cents on the hour could create 50,000 jobs by encouraging spending, investment and economic growth; Syrian refugees in Turkey have fled fighting on the border near Turkey and Syria as the battles between protesters and government forces continue to escalate; the peace caravan led by poet Javier Sicilia and other victims of the Mexican drug war is nearing its final stop in the violent border town of Ciudad Juarez.
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United, Not Divided - Marchers Take On History and Mountaintop Removal
James Russell, Truthout: "Deep in coal country, a revolution is brewing. In rural West Virginia, nearly 500 people have been marching since Monday, June 6, to fight against mountaintop removal, for a new clean economy and to remember the battle at Blair Mountain, the largest armed labor battle in United States history that was fought at its base more than 90 years ago. Dubbed Appalachia Rising: The March on Blair Mountain, the marchers are retracing the steps of the original march that preceded the 1921 battle that pitted union organizers against mercenaries hired by coal companies to fight unionization in southern West Virginia counties. Setting the stage for the American labor movement, the battle left what one expert estimates to be hundreds dead from nearly one millions rounds of ammunition. But, now, the unprotected battle site is under threat by coal companies using the dangerous excavation tactic known as mountaintop removal."
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On War and Peace, the Senate Starts to Move
Robert Naiman, Truthout: "Senators are often much harder to move than House members on peace issues, and sometimes people get demoralized. 'No, No!' cries the Greek chorus. 'Please don't ask us to call our senators!' In general, your average senator is much more attached to the Empire than your average member of the House, because senators are much more insulated from public opinion. They only have to run every six years, and senators rarely seem to show their faces in Yourtown, USA, to answer your questions about why they are supporting endless war. But when the Senate starts to move - now you got something. This week, the Senate started to move. Fifteen senators - so far - have signed a bipartisan letter to the president initiated by Sens Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), urging 'strong support for a shift in strategy and the beginning of a sizable and sustained reduction of US military forces in Afghanistan, beginning in July 2011.'"
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Robert Gates Warns NATO of "Dim" Future
Thom Shanker, The New York Times News Service: "Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates bluntly criticized NATO nations on Friday for what he said were shortages in military spending and political will, warning of 'a dim if not dismal future' unless more member nations scaled up their participation in the alliance's activities. NATO has struggled for a generation to define its place in a post-cold war world, and its member nations have frequently quarreled about the scope of the alliance's commitments and their individual responsibilities. With little indication of any change in policy among the more reluctant member nations - notably Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Turkey - Mr. Gates's harsh words seemed likely to increase pressure on an alliance already deeply strained by differences over sharing the burden in Libya and Afghanistan."
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George Soros | A French Cure for the Resource Curse
George Soros, Project Syndicate: "The campaign to ensure that companies engaged in extractive activities disclose all of their payments in their host countries is gaining momentum - and France is leading the effort. President Nicolas Sarkozy should be applauded for supporting a new initiative promoting strict transparency standards for petroleum, gas, and mining companies listed on European stock exchanges. France, at the heart of the European Union and President of both the G-8 and G-20 this year, is in an exceptional position to encourage such a regulatory move. With French leadership, 2011 offers a golden opportunity for the most important capital markets to adopt clear, precise rules requiring full financial disclosure by extractive-industry companies to governmental authorities."
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Peru Turns Left
Carrie Burggraf and Mark Loyka, Council on Hemispheric Affairs: "On June 5, 2011, Peruvians home and abroad turned out for the much-anticipated run-off election between Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori. Almost 84 percent of registered voters came out to cast their ballots for the next president of Peru. According to two electoral polling firms, Ipsos-Apoyo and Datum International, Humala received just over 51 percent of the vote, compared to Keiko's nearly 49 percent (as of Sunday evening). This is a historic election in Peruvian history, as Humala is the first democratically-elected leftist candidate to win the presidency. This election also marks a pivotal moment in US-Latin American foreign policy; whether the US plans to re-focus its policy in regards to the elections results remains to be seen. Famous author and politician, Mario Vargas Llosa, now claims that Humala's victory 'saved democracy' in Peru. Humala will assume office on July 28, 2011. The Peruvian presidential election run-off featured two polarizing candidates: right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori and left-wing nationalist Ollanta Humala."
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Angry Pakistani Army Says It Does Not Want US Aid
Saeed Shah, McClatchy Newspapers: "Pakistan's army lashed out Thursday at its critics at home as well as in the United States in an angry statement that underscored just how deep a crisis the country's armed forces are suffering. The statement rejected all American financial aid for the military, saying the money should go instead to the government to be spent on 'the common man.' It warned that it intended to 'put an end' to domestic criticism of its actions. It also tried to distance the military from the United States, saying that it had stopped U.S. training of the country's border guards and ordered the U.S. to 'drastically' reduce the number of its troops in Pakistan. Analysts here said the unusually detailed statement - at 1,032 words, it even provided an accounting of how U.S. aid had been spent - appeared to be an effort to garner flagging public support. Much of the statement was highlighted with bold lettering to emphasize its points."
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Youth in Revolt
Costas Panayotakis, The Indypendent: "One great irony of the youth-led revolt in the Arab world is that the two shining successes, Tunisia and Egypt, were previously stellar examples of neoliberal policy. But the inability of an economic model based on privatization, deregulation and liberalization of capital to provide for youth and the population in general has only been magnified by the global economic crisis. Neoliberalism thus created the very agents of social revolution that toppled Western-backed dictators in Tunisia and Egypt. So while the Arab Spring of peaceful mass protests has given way to a bloody summer, youth protest is not likely to subside any time soon or remain confined to the Arab world. That's because global capitalism today cannot provide young people with the kind of bright future they want and deserve. Adding to the pain is the lack of even a semblance of democratic institutions in most countries."
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Vocalo Feature: Inside the Arizona Ethnic Studies Battle (Audio)
Once a month, Truthout collaborates with the Chicago-based radio station, Vocalo. In this segment of "Inside the Arizona Ethnic Studies Battle," Vocalo's Sarah Lu conducts an interview with Truthout fellow, Mike Ludwig. Keep an eye, and an ear, out for more of these exciting collaborations.... Here's Elisa Meza (with U.N.I.D.O.S) and Mike Ludwig (who's been covering the ethnic studies debate in Arizona for Truth-out.org) on the battle to preserve Mexican American Studies in Tucson public schools, how the ethnic studies debate tends to get misrepresented and why that's wrong.
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BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES

In another indication that cutting corporate taxes and providing corporate financial incentives are not helping to resolve the unemployment problem, The New York Times reports that businesses are spending their extra dollars on software and equipment (more automation) - and hardly any on increased hiring.
Add that to a large number of corporations sitting on record profits and the continued outsourcing of jobs overseas, and it becomes clearer that the economy needs increased consumer buying power through a high-octane jobs stimulus program.
The opening paragraphs of The New York Times article speak for themselves:
Companies that are looking for a good deal aren't seeing one in new workers.
Workers are getting more expensive while equipment is getting cheaper, and the combination is encouraging companies to spend on machines rather than people.
"I want to have as few people touching our products as possible," said Dan Mishek, managing director of Vista Technologies in Vadnais Heights, Minn "Everything should be as automated as it can be. We just can't afford to compete with countries like China on labor costs, especially when workers are getting even more expensive."
Vista, which makes plastic products for equipment manufacturers, spent $450,000 on new technology last year. During the same period, it hired just two new workers, whose combined annual salary and benefits are $160,000.
Two years into the recovery, hiring is still painfully slow. The economy is producing as much as it was before the downturn, but with seven million fewer jobs. Since the recovery began, businesses' spending on employees has grown 2 percent as equipment and software spending has swelled 26 percent, according to the Commerce Department. A capital rebound that sharp and a labor rebound that slow have been recorded only once before - after the 1982 recession.
As BuzzFlash noted the other day, US corporations are poised to make America a secondary consumer market, because there will not be sufficient numbers of citizens with significant mass buying power for their products.
"Deficit reduction" plans that increase corporate tax breaks and financial incentives are just a way of rewarding big business for automating, expanding overseas and reducing hiring here in the United States.
Mark Karlin
Editor, BuzzFlash at Truthout
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