Tax the Rich! No Cuts for Working People!

The following statement, released on December 3rd by the Emergency Labor Network, is of critical importance now, as we veer closer to the edge of the so-called "fiscal cliff." The position of resisting cuts to all safety net programs applies locally as well as nationally. We must, then, defend these programs against all cuts in fighting for equitable budgets in Dutchess, Ulster, and Orange counties.

 

 

Let's Keep Our Eye on the Ball---No Cuts to Safety Net Programs!

As the December 31, 2012 deadline fast approaches for decisions on what to do with trillions of dollars in federal programs set to expire on that date, speculation is rife as to whether a “Grand Bargain” will be struck. Politicians of both parties are posturing for position as headlines and pundits warn of “falling over the fiscal cliff.” The debates between the principal spokespersons of the Democratic and Republican parties are going off in many different directions, creating a maze of confusion and uncertainty.

The fact of the matter is that much of the hullabaloo is a sideshow to what is most at stake in the coming weeks. In the first place, under the “sequestration” — which unless changed by Congress will take effect January 1, 2013 — there will be an automatic across the board 10% cut in domestic programs, including education, food safety, child care, home heating, environment, and much more, as well as a 2% cut in payments to Medicare providers. This will be extremely damaging to hundreds of urgently needed human services programs. In addition, federal aid to the states and cities will be sharply curtailed.

At the same time, if cuts are enacted to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, this will jeopardize the health, welfare, and retirement security of the 90 million people who depend on these programs for their very existence.

A special target of the benefit-cutters is Medicare, with the emphasis on extending the eligibility date for coverage. Polls show that 71% of Democratic and 68% of Republican voters oppose any extension. Yet in a front page article in the December 1–2, 2012 Wall Street Journal titled “GOP Takes Aim at Entitlements,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell calls for such an extension, along with a number of other cuts. President Obama has in the past indicated a willingness to support legislation delaying the age for seniors to be eligible for Medicare coverage. In his “Grand Bargain” talks with Boehner in the summer of 2011, he also proposed $700 billion in Medicare cuts and
additional cuts to Medicaid.

There is plenty of money available to deal with the debt and deficit without resorting to Draconian cuts in safety net programs: for starters, increase taxes on the wealthy; levy the payroll tax on all forms of income, including dividends, interest, rental and capital gains; levy a tax on stock transactions; levy a special financial tax on the big banks, corporations and investment houses which received trillions in stimulus funds and are now sitting on $2.5 trillion in cash as a result, which they’re not using to create jobs; eliminate the cap on Social Security earnings; slash the military/war budget; close corporate loopholes; and eliminate corporate welfare.

Note: If the Bush tax cuts were continued for another decade intact, it would mean $4.7 trillion more in deficits. So the big problem is on the tax side when it comes to the fiscal cliff, not the spending side.

We need to keep our eye on the ball and focus our energy and attention on the fight to preserve the safety net programs. For this reason, we in the Emergency Labor Network applaud the resolution adopted unanimously by the San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO, on November 26, 2012, which we believe places the focus on what is most importantly at stake. Here is that resolution:


No Grand Bargain: Protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
Whereas, the real national deficit was caused by wars, tax cuts for the richest, reckless financial speculation, and bank bailouts; and

Whereas, both Democrats’ and Republicans’ proposals would cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other vital safety net programs; and

Whereas, the proposed program cuts would hit women, people of color, and children hardest, the very populations that have most suffered unemployment, wage discrimination and stagnation, homelessness, food insecurity, and lack of medical care and education over the last 40 years of wealth transfer to the top; and

Whereas, focusing on the “middle class” hides the problem of expanding poverty; and

Whereas, even though Social Security has not contributed a cent to the deficit, and the Social Security Trust Fund is entirely solvent through 2038, the “Grand Bargainers” have discussed lowering benefits by raising the retirement age, changing the COLA formula using CPI, which increases at an even slower rate than the current inflation adjustment, and would cut benefits for current and future retirees affecting younger beneficiaries, veterans and women;

Whereas, there are 29 U.S. Senators, including Sen. Boxer but not Sen. Feinstein, who have signed a letter initiated by Sen. Bernie Sanders demanding no cuts to Social Security, explaining that Social Security cannot contribute to the deficit, and that it is fully funded by workers and their employers; and

Whereas, Democrats and Republicans have used the “Fiscal Cliff” as a guise of “shared sacrifice” when our real need is stable, well-paying jobs for the tens of millions of un- or under-employed workers, and rebuilding the nation’s debilitated infrastructure, education, housing, and distorted medical system; and

Whereas, health insurance corporations continually escalate health care costs and cause workers to carry more of the cost burden.

Therefore, be it resolved, the San Francisco Labor Council endorse and support the following:
No Cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or Other Social Programs. No cuts in eligibility range, benefit amounts, or cost-of-living increases, no means testing of benefits, no out-of-pocket cost increases, and no cuts to providers. Scrap the cap on payroll taxes (FICA) and require those earning more than $110,100 to pay FICA on all their income.

Make Corporations and the Rich Pay for What They Have Withheld for Decades. Restore the pre-Bush tax rates on the top 2%. No compromises such as eliminating classes of deductions or caps on total deductions that could ease the burden on the 2% and/or penalize low- and middle-income people. No decrease in corporate tax rates. More revenue through additional tax brackets on million- billionaires, tax investment and inheritance income as regular income.

Be it further resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council circulates this resolution among union membership urging them to support actions on this Resolution.

Be it finally resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council send a letter to both Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sen. Harry Reid based on this Resolution.
Submitted by SFLC Executive Committee members Conny Ford (OPEIU Local 3), Maria Guillen (SEIU Local 1021) and Alan Benjamin (OPEIU Local 3) and adopted unanimously by the San Francisco Labor Council on November 26, 2012.

Respectfully,
Tim Paulson
Executive Director
San Francisco Labor Council

---

We urge that similar resolutions be adopted by labor organizations across the country, with copies to the national AFL-CIO and Change to Win, as well as to members of Congress and the president.
We also urge that the demand for continuation of unemployment insurance, due to expire December 31 of this year, be included in such resolutions.

Such resolutions are critically needed at this time. So are mobilizations that help give voice to the overwhelming majority, which opposes cuts to the safety net.

Surely we have learned enough by now not to rely on assurances by politicians of either major party, whose positions change from day to day, that the safety net benefits will be protected. Here is one notable example: the Obama administration had been saying since its November 6 election victory that the tax issue had to be settled first before cuts in “entitlements” would be addressed. But now they have proposed $400 billion in cuts for Medicare and other social programs (New York Times, 11/30/2012). And that’s just an opening bargaining position. It sets a floor for cuts while opening wide the door for more substantial cuts as bargaining with the Republicans proceeds.

We believe that the labor movement and our community allies must bring our great power and resources to bear at this fateful moment by taking to the streets in massive numbers to demand “No Cuts to Safety Net Programs! Medicare for All! Extend Unemployment Insurance! Expand Medicaid Coverage in Every State!” Emergency mass demonstrations should be mounted in every state of the union to protest any cuts either to the safety net programs or to the social programs under the automatic trigger. Preparations for a giant march on Washington to demand “NO CUTS!” should also begin without delay. It’s time to pull out all the stops!

---

About the Emergency Labor Network

Who We Are

The Emergency Labor Network (ELN) is a network of labor organizations and individuals united in support of a program calling upon labor to wage a more militant and robust fightback against the many assaults targeting working people. We say “NO!” to cuts and concessions for workers in both the private and public sectors, as well as for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. We are guided by the 15 principles adopted at our founding meeting held in Cleveland March 4–5, 2011. We not only seek to protect the gains and achievements won by labor over centuries of struggle but we also urge the labor movement to break new ground in winning jobs for all; health care for all; quality education for our youth; full rights for all working people in the U.S., regardless of country of origin; organizing the South; independent labor political action; and redirecting war spending to meet human needs, including modernizing the crumbling infrastructure.

 

 

Why We Are

The ELN provides a meeting ground for trade unionists and other supporters of the working class who reject the idea that working people must sacrifice wages and benefits so that the nation, states, cities, school districts and corporations can resolve the current economic crisis. We educate to show that the country is awash with money as shown by the bailout given Wall Street and the banks, and the trillions spent on unjust wars and military adventures. Moreover, if companies like General Electric were not exempt from paying taxes on their multi-billions of annual profits, if the tax loopholes were closed, if taxes on the rich were increased, and if corporate executives were not enjoying record high salaries and bonuses while demanding that workers take cuts, people would no longer take seriously talk of the need for “shared sacrifices.”

Low-Wage Workers Rise

On Thursday, November 30^th, fast food workers in New York staged the largest ever strike against the behemoth industry, demanding a minimum wage of $15 an hour and the right to form an independent union. The strike was bold and courageous but should come as no surprise. In These Times reports on the extensive organizing campaigns undertaken by low-wage workers in the past year:

“Before Thanksgiving, fast food and retail workers in the posh North Michigan Avenue shopping district in Chicago launched a new union with protest marches. This year, warehouse workers, mainly for Walmart, have expanded organizing and conducted successful strikes. On Black Friday, roughly 500 Walmart workers nationwide refused to report for work and protested alongside tens of thousands of supporters. Retail workers in New York have launched a fight for "sustainable scheduling," and car washers from Los Angeles to New York have joined or launched unions.”

Who said the labor movement was dead?

The Wal-Mart Walkout

This Thanksgiving, the Waltons had less to be thankful for than in years past. Black Friday, the single biggest shopping day of the year, saw hundreds of Wal-Mart workers walk-out nationwide. 1,000+ Wal-Mart stores nationwide saw rallies in solidarity with the Wal-Mart workers strike, including large rallies at Wal-Mart stores in Fishkill and Kingston, NY. This follows an October 1st strike which shut down Wal-Mart’s largest distribution center in North America and won major concessions.

The actions were undoubtedly a success in raising consciousness and gaining popular support for the demands of Wal-Mart workers. However, it is unclear whether or not the strike had a major impact on Wal-Mart’s Black Friday sales. Many workers sympathetic with the strike found it impossible to overlook Wal-Mart’s Black Friday discounts as they were themselves grossly underpaid.

Nevertheless, the popular sentiment in favor of the striking workers was, well, striking. As I stood along the side of the road with a small group of fellow supporters we heard almost non-stop honking and were given numerous raised fists and thumbs-ups (of course, there were the few indignant drivers who told us to “get a job”).

Some of America’s most exploited workers have gained broad support among the American public. We must continue to stand in solidarity with these striking workers with whatever means possible. Let’s make sure Wal-Mart executives are the first to blink.

Local Solidarity
The Hudson Valley Radical will keep our readers up to date should the fast-food actions spread to our area, or if any more Wal-Mart actions take place locally. When workers strike, may it be our instinct to walk the picket line with them. Solidarity!

 

Get involved with the fast food workers' campaign by visiting their website at FastFoodForward.org

Solidarity with Palestine!

On Wednesday, November 14th, Israel assassinated Mohammad Jabari, a Hamas military chief, sparking the latest round of bloodshed only one day after a tentative cease-fire was reached. Although Israel murdered 6 Palestinians (3 of whom were civilians) in the week leading up to Jabari's assassination, Egypt had been able to reach a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Palestine on Nov. 13th. Ahmed Jabari honored this cease-fire, only to be murdered the following day.

The Israeli attack on Gaza also comes only hours after Jabari was handed the draft of a permanent truce agreement between Israel and Palestine. To Israel, the greatest threat of all is a Palestinian formulating a legitimate plan for peace. 

Since Wednesday, the death toll in this conflict has reached 40. 

-Alternative Information Center: Israeli Premeditated Offensive Against Gaza
-Israeli Occupation Archive: Hamas Leader Jabari Killed Amid Talks on Long-Term Truce

The Meaning of Israel's Attack on Gaza

Noam Chomsky on the Israeli attack on Gaza (Salem News)

"The incursion and bombardment of Gaza is not about destroying Hamas. It is not about stopping rocket fire into Israel, it is not about achieving peace.

The Israeli decision to rain death and destruction on Gaza, to use lethal weapons of the modern battlefield on a largely defenseless civilian population, is the final phase in a decades-long campaign to ethnically-cleanse Palestinians.

Israel uses sophisticated attack jets and naval vessels to bomb densely-crowded refugee camps, schools, apartment blocks, mosques, and slums to attack a population that has no air force, no air defense, no navy, no heavy weapons, no artillery units, no mechanized armor, no command in control, no army… and calls it a war. It is not a war, it is murder.

“When Israelis in the occupied territories now claim that they have to defend themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing. You can't defend yourself when you're militarily occupying someone else's land. That's not defense. Call it what you like, it's not defense.”

Palestinian Solidarity in Poughkeepsie 

Long before Israel's latest attack on Gaza, the End the New Jim Crow Action Network (ENJAN) planned two film screenings of "Hip Hop is Bigger than the Occupation," a film documenting the experiences of black American hip-hop artists performing in Palestine and standing in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. On Thursday, over 80 people turned out for a screening at Vassar College, while Friday saw a more modestly attended screening at the Family Partnership Center in Poughkeepsie.

The film exposed the inhumane conditions under which Palestinians are forced to live. One populous refugee camp fit every house, business, street, and even the cemetery within one square kilometer. The conditions of occupied Palestine recall both the horrors of Native American reservations and police-occupied inner-cities. These connections were lost to nobody watching the film. All were also acutely aware that Israel would not last for one day without the complete and unwavering support of the United States. 

The Palestinian Struggle is Our Struggle

As socialists, we must remember that Israel is nothing more than a puppet state of the U.S. We must remember that Zionism was never intended to empower Jews but was instead intended to give imperialists a stronghold in the Arab world. Finally, we must remember that a free Palestine is essential for the creation of a world free of imperialism. Every day that Palestine is occupied is another victory for capitalism, and another defeat for humanity. 

Just as white workers will never rise while their black sisters and brothers are oppressed, American (or Israeli) workers will never establish a successful workers' state while Palestinian land remains stolen. 

The liberation of one is essential to the liberation of all.

No Occupation! 

No Exploitation! 

FREE PALESTINE! 

For background on the history of Zionism and Left Anti-Zionism, this article posted by Ran Greenstein on the Israeli Occupation Archive is much recommended 

Stand in Solidarity with Socialists in Russia!

Russian socialists appeal for solidarity

(Reposted from AntiCapitalist Initiative)
An appeal from the Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), Autonomous Action, Left Front

Today we, the representatives of Russian leftist organisations, turn to our comrades all over the world with an appeal for solidarity. This call and your response to it are very important to us. Right now we are facing not just another instance of dubious sentencing by the Russian “justice” system or another case of a human life broken by the encounter with the state’s repressive apparatus. Today the authorities have launched against us a repressive campaign without precedent in the recent history of Russia, a campaign whose goal it is to extinguish the left as an organised political force. The recent arrests, threats, beatings, aggressive media attacks and moves towards declaring leftist groups illegal all point to the new general strategy on the part of the authorities, much more cruel and much less predictable than that of recent years.

The massive protest movement that began in December 2011 radically changed the atmosphere of political and social passivity established during the Putin years. Tens of thousands of young and middle-aged people, office workers and state employees, began to appear on the streets and to demand change. On December 10th and 24th 2011, and then on February 4th 2012, Moscow, Petersburg and other large cities became the sites of massive rallies, demonstrating a new level of politicisation of a significant part of society. The “managed democracy” model crafted by the ruling elite over many years went bankrupt in a matter of days. Political manipulations ceased working in the face of real politics, born from below. The movement, whose demands were initially limited to “honest elections,” quickly grew into a protest against the whole political system.

After the elections of March 4th 2012, at which Vladimir Putin, using a combination of massive administrative pressure on voters, massive falsifications and mendacious populist rhetoric, assured himself of another term, many thought that the potential for protest mobilisation had been exhausted. The naïve hopes of the thousands of opposition volunteers, taking on the role of election observers in the hope of putting an end to voter fraud, were crushed.

The next demonstration, in the success of which few believed, was scheduled for the centre of Moscow on May 6th, the day before Putin’s inauguration. And on this day, despite the skeptical predictions, more than 60,000 people showed up. When the march approached the square where the rally was to take place, the police organised a massive provocation, blocking the marchers’ path to the square. All those who attempted to circumvent the police cordon were subjected to beatings and arrests. The unprecedented police violence produced resistance on the part of some of the protestors who resisted arrests and refused to leave the square until everyone had been freed. The confrontation on May 6th lasted a few hours. In the end, over 650 people were arrested, some of whom spent the night in jail.

The next day, Putin’s motorised procession headed for his inauguration through an empty Moscow. Along with the protesters, the police had cleared the city of all pedestrians. The new protest movement had demonstrated its power and a new degree of radicalisation. The events of May 6th gave rise to the Occupy movement, which brought thousands of young people to the centre of Moscow and held strong until the end of May. Leftist groups, until then peripheral to the established liberal spokesman of the protest movement, were progressively playing a larger role.

Those events were a signal to the authorities: the movement had gone beyond what was permitted, elections were over, and it was time to show teeth. Almost immediately, a criminal investigation was launched into the “mass disturbances,” and on May 27th, the first arrest took place. 18-year-old anarchist Alexandra Dukhanina was accused of participating in the disturbances and for the use of violence against the police. The arrests continued over the next few days. The accused were drawn both from the ranks of seasoned political activists (mainly leftists) as well as from ordinary people, for whom the May 6th demonstrations were their first experience of street politics.

So far, nineteen people have been accused of participating in those “disturbances”; twelve of them are in jail in pre-trial confinement. Here are some of their stories:

• Vladimir Akimenkov, 25, communist and activist of the Left Front. Arrested on June 10th, 2012, he will be in detention until March 6th 2013. Vladimir was born with poor eyesight. In jail, it is getting even worse. In the last examination, he had 10% vision in one eye, and 20% in the other. This, however, was not a sufficient cause for the court to replace detention with house arrest. At the last court session of the court, the judge cynically commented that only total blindness would make him reconsider his decision.
• Michael Kosenko, 36, no political affiliation, arrested on June 8th. Kosenko, who suffers from psychological disorders, also asked for his stay in jail be replaced with house arrest. However, the court declared him “dangerous to society” and plans to send him for forced treatment.
• Stepan Zimin, 20, anarchist and antifascist, arrested on June 8th and placed under detention until March 6th 2013, after which date his arrest can be extended. Stepan supports his single mother, yet once again the court did not consider this sufficient cause to set him free under the obligation to remain with city limits.
• Nikolai Kavkazskii, 26, socialist, human rights activist and LGBT-activist. Detained on the 25th of July.

Investigators have no clear evidence proving the guilt of any one of these detainees. Nevertheless, they remain in jail and new suspects steadily join their ranks. Thus the last of the players in the “events of May 6th,” the 51-year-old liberal activist and scholar Sergei Krivov, was arrested quite recently, on October 18th. There is every indication that he will not be the last.

If the arrests of already nearly twenty ordinary demonstration participants were intended to inspire fear in the protest movement, then the hunt for the “organisers of massive disturbances” is meant to strike at its acknowledged leaders. According to the investigation, said “disturbances” were the result of a conspiracy, and all the arrested were receiving special assignments. This shows that we are dealing not only with a series of arrests, but with preparations for a large scale political process against the opposition.

On October 5th, NTV, one of the leading Russian television channels, aired a film in the genre of an “investigative documentary,” which leveled fantastical charges against the opposition and in particular, against the most famous representative of the left, Sergei Udaltsov. This mash-up, made in the tradition of Goebbels’ propaganda, informs of Udaltsov’s ties with foreign intelligence, and the activities of the “Left Front” that he heads are declared plots by foreign enemies of the state. By way of decisive proof, the film includes a recorded meeting between Sergei Udaltsov, Left Front activist Leonid Razvozhaev, Russian Socialist Movement member Konstantin Lebedev, and one of the closer advisors of the president of Georgia, Givi Targamadze. In particular, the conversation includes talk of money delivered by the Georgians for the “destabilisation” of Russia.

Despite the fact that the faces on the recording are practically indiscernible and that the sound is clearly edited and added separately to the video, within just two days the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General’s Office (the agency today playing the leading role in organizing repression) used it to launch a criminal case. On October 17th, Konstantin Lebedev was arrested and Sergei Udaltsov released after interrogation, after having signed an oath to remain within the limits of Moscow. On October 19th, a third participant in the new “affair,” Left Front activist Leonid Razvozhaev, tried to petition for refugee status with the Ukrainian delegation of the UN. As soon as he stepped outside of the delegation building, unknown parties violently forced him into a vehicle and illegally transported him across the Ukrainian border onto Russian territory. Once in an undisclosed location in Russia, he was subjected to torture and threats (including regarding the safety of his family) and compelled to sign a “voluntary submission of confession” and “statements of confession.” In these “statements,” Razvozhaev confessed to ties with foreign intelligence and to preparations for an armed insurgency, in which Konstantin Lebedev and Sergei Udaltsov were also involved. Afterwards, Razvozhaev was delivered to Moscow and placed in jail as a criminal defendant. At present, Razvozhaev has asserted in meetings with human rights activists that he disavows these confessions obtained under duress. However, he could not disavow their consequences. “Razvozhaev’s list,” beaten out of him by torture, has become notorious: it contains the names of people who will before long also become objects of persecution.

The scope of repression is spreading steadily. Quite recently the Investigative Committee announced the start of an inquiry into Sergei Udaltsov’s organization, the Left Front, the result of which may well be its prohibition as “extremist.” Pressure against the anti-fascist movement is likewise building. The well-known activists Aleksei Sutug, Aleksei Olesinov, Igor Harchenko, Irina Lipskaya, Alen Volikov have been detained on invented charges and are being held under guard in Moscow. Socialist and anti-fascist Filipp Dolbunov has been forced to undergo interrogation and threats on multiple occasions.

It is hardly accidental that the majority of the victims of this unprecedented wave of repression are involved in the leftist movement. At a threshold moment of preparations for austerity measures in Russia, for curtailment of labor rights and pension reforms, the Putin-Medvedev administration is more afraid than anything of an alliance between the existing general democratic movement and possible social protest. Today’s wave of repressions is the most important test for Russia’s new protest movement: either we hold strong or a new period of mass apathy and fear awaits us. It is precisely for this reason, in the face of unprecedented political pressure, that solidarity of our comrades in struggle in Europe, and in the entire world, is so crucial.

We turn to you with a plea to organize Days of Solidarity Against Political Repression on the 29 of November – 2 of December in front of the Russian Federation embassy or any other representative of the Russian government in your countries, demanding the immediate release of the illegally arrested and the termination of the shameful criminal actions and preparations for new “Moscow trials” based on torture and forgeries. We also ask that you use the most concrete information in your protests and demands, with the specific names and details that we provide in this appeal. This is crucial for every person behind bars today.

Please, send your reports on solidarity action and any other information or questions on this email: solidarityaction2012@gmail.com.Solidarity is our only weapon! United, we will never be defeated!

Nov. 6: Write-in Durham-López 2012!

The Hudson Valley Radical Election Special

VOTE SOCIALIST: Write in Stephen Durham for President and Christina López for Vice-President!

1. Intro
2. Thoughts on the Rally for Fair Elections and Workers' Power
3. Electoral Roulette: The One Percent Can't Lose
4. FSP Recommendations for the November 6th, 2012 General Election
5. Maloney's Nightmare
6. After 4 Years of Heartbreak, a Reason to Hope

Months ago, we began a collaboration with the Freedom Socialist Party's un-millionaire campaign of Stephen Durham for President and Christina López for Vice-President. Throughout the election cycle the candidates and their supporters have been criss-crossing the country, running an energetic write-in campaign. They have encouraged working people in all 50 states to break with the parties of the 1% and use their vote to protest the oppressive capitalist system. We have been proud to have played a role in this campaign and in building a stronger socialist force in this country. Tomorrow, we urge all working people to Vote Socialist and write-in Stephen Durham for President and Christina López for Vice-President. Onward!

Thoughts on the Rally for Fair Elections and Workers' Power
Schuyler Kempton

On Sunday, November 4th The Hudson Valley Radical, in collaboration with Occupy Poughkeepsie, Occupy Northern Dutchess, and the New Progressive Majority, organized a Rally for Fair Elections and Workers' Power at Hulme Park in Poughkeepsie. The rally was 20 strong, a good turnout for a chilly day in early November. Yet, support did not pour in from all quarters of the Hudson Valley activist community. Some community activists too tied into Two-Party politics failed to acknowledge the rally, instead devoting their energies toward electing "the lesser of two evils." The Occupiers, fracktivists, students, and workers gathered at Hulme Park were not impressed by this lack of solidarity.

We were pleased to welcome Stephen Durham, write-in candidate for President of the United States back to Poughkeepsie for the rally. He delivered the second speech of the afternoon on his campaign and the socialist alternative the capitalism. Below is the introductory speech I read that articulated the 5 main reasons why this rally was nessesary:

1. The right to vote in this election is being dramatically rolled back by a slew of voter ID laws that disproportionately affect blacks, Hispanics, the elderly, and young voters. For those who still can vote, your influence over this election is fading fast as Big Money takes every more control over the electoral process since the disastrous Citizens United decision.

2. Third Parties have been shut out of the political process yet again, while the two corporate candidates agree to disagree, papering over their clear consensus on keeping capitalism, imperialism, and discrimination in place.

3. Barack Obama, who won the presidency 4 years to this day amongst high hopes and record voter turnout has performed more like his predecessor than like anything we had all hoped for. While Obama promised a departure from the policies of trickle-down economics, for every dollar of growth in the U.S. economy during the Recession, 93 cents went into the pockets of the richest 1% while the rest of us lost our homes, our jobs, our healthcare, and our dignity.

4. As was asserted in “The Progressive Case Against Obama,” elections are like practice for times of crisis. During the financial meltdown 4 years ago, the economic and political elites essentially put a gun to the head of working people and asked us to give them unprecedented power. They told us that they would bailout the banks, re-enrich the rich, and hopefully help us out sometime down the road. Too afraid to say otherwise, we accepted that the powers that be would act in our interests and here we are today, still reeling from an economic recession caused by the capitalists and a recovery suited to their needs.

5. We must begin the process of building a strong, independent workers’ party to fight for our class in the political arena and both guide and support the struggle of workers in the industries and workplaces. We must build a party of, by, and for, the workers, seniors, and students. A party where everybody is free to contribute their input and participate in the democratic process within the organization. Finally, we must build a party where the injuries of one are treated as the injuries of all, and where all members stand in solidarity with each other in the struggle for a democratic and equitable world.

 

It is important to know that we do not blame any worker that votes for Barack Obama on November 6th out of fear. As someone with a mother who is uninsured, I understand that a Romney/Ryan White House would be disastrous.

However, I believe that it is our basic right as human beings to participate in our democratic process not out of fear but rather out of conviction. And it is because of my conviction that capitalism is inherently unjust, and because of my conviction that Barack Obama's term has also been, on the whole, disastrous for working people worldwide, that I urge you to cast a protest vote this election. Protest Obama. Protest war. Protest capitalism. And protest a system that survives because we continue to fear.

 

Electoral roulette: The 1 percent can’t lose

by Linda Averill              

Originally published in the October-November 2012 issue of the Freedom Socialist

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Jenn on VoteSocialism.com

While Mitt Romney and Barack Obama joust for the White House, the U.S. economy limps along, teetering between “recovery” and another downturn.

With competition for global markets and resources at a white heat, CEOs are watching the 2012 election impatiently. As Fortune magazine’s Sept. 3 cover blared, “Hey, Washington: Enough already!” The authors say neither candidate is talking about needed “hard choices” — like “fixing” Medicare by restricting end-of-life care and levying surcharges on “smokers and the ultra-fat.”

So each contender is working hard to convince Corporate America that he is the turnaround guy, while using fear to appeal to ordinary voters. For Romney, it’s fear of those who are poor and need society’s help; for Obama, fear of Romney; for both, fear of foreign threats.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 are hedging their bets, throwing money to both parties, as they usually do — and for good reason. Bipartisanship delivers the goods for the ruling class.

For example, by the time George W. Bush left office, he had signed 460 laws passed by a Democratic Congress, including the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. In 2009, when Obama took over, he defended the bailout against public furor and extended Bush’s tax cuts for the rich. Busy saving capitalism, his promises to labor withered on the vine, including the Employee Free Choice Act to reduce management sabotage of union drives.

With either Romney or Obama, the basic agenda of the bosses is safe. And what they are after this time around is austerity on steroids.

What bosses want. Four years of wage cuts, bank bailouts, and stimulus funding have transferred millions in wealth from the working class to the already rich. But as the Great Recession lingers, the 1 percent can’t stop now.

Everything working people have won is fair game, though methods of attack vary. To take one case, Republican Paul Ryan is a fan of privatizing Medicare by forcing it to compete in a health insurance “marketplace.” Democrat Obama’s preference, to starve Medicare through “efficiencies” of $716 billion, would lead less directly to a similar result. Funding cuts would force service cutbacks and fee hikes, opening the door for private industry to profit by filling gaps in care.

Mail delivery, schools, mass transit, garbage pickup: privatizers want it all.

Other goals are outlined by the Business Roundtable, a kind of Fortune 500 executive committee. Its policy aims include more free trade, rollback of government regulations for everything from clean water to consumer safety, and energy development — drilling on public lands and fracking. To keep world markets open to U.S. businesses, they push for more carrot (foreign aid) and more stick (war spending). They want foreign “guest workers” and a U.S. labor force with lower wages, fewer benefits, and scarcer pensions.

From Wall Street, pressure is mounting to balance the federal budget. The chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, Mark Zandi, is one of many who warn of a “catastrophic fiscal crisis” if action isn’t taken.

The blueprint for reducing the deficit and freeing up tax dollars for lucrative contracts and debt interest payments is provided by Obama’s bipartisan Simpson-Bowles committee. Cuts of $4 trillion in 10 years would be achieved primarily by slashing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Other proposals would raise the retirement age, hike Medicare premiums, and shrink the federal labor force by 10 percent.

In 2011, a firestorm of protest forced Congress to blink, and the Simpson-Bowles plans went on hold. But, as Obama pal, teachers’ union foe, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says, the two parties will “work it out because they have to.” The bosses see only one way to save their bottom lines: empty the pockets of the masses.

Implementing super-austerity will require political carnage as well — stripping away more civil liberties and attempting to make unions a historical footnote.

Spending money to make money. To advance this anti-working-class program, the corporate elite pays for the electoral shell game, ensuring that their interests are covered no matter which of the two parties wins.

This election, as of July, Obama led in contributions from individuals, with $348 million, mostly from large donors. Romney had taken in $192 million. The big contributors include Boeing, which wants lucrative Pentagon and Homeland Security contracts, and American Crystal Sugar, which has locked out its unionized workforce since May.

Walmart, Exxon, and Goldman Sachs favor Republicans and their shameless defense of Big Oil, union-busters, and banksters. Microsoft likes Obama’s ability to open new markets in Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Labor-hater William Koch loves Romney. Tax-evader George Kaiser is betting on Obama.

But neither party has the working class sewn up. And so Super PACs, bankrolled by crooks like Dick Cheney, are flooding the airwaves with propaganda. TV ads and media talking heads are working overtime to persuade unconvinced voters that deficit reduction is the burning issue and that shredding the safety net is the only solution. The PACs are a pre-emptive strike aimed at the bosses’ worst nightmare — a militant mass movement challenging their rule. Heaven help the ruling class should Wisconsin meet Occupy and birth a movement that fights for anti-capitalist solutions to the economic crisis.

What bosses fear. The wild card is not who wins at the ballot box, but whether a radical movement develops in the streets and workplaces. This is what Greece has taught the world.

Glimmerings of such a movement are surfacing more often, from Chicago, where teachers struck to defend public education, to Washington state, where longshore workers threatened to blockade scab ships in a fight against a union-busting grain consortium.

As attacks on workers and the poor intensify, so will resistance. What’s urgent is the cultivation of leaders and organizations to give direction to protest and sustain it. And that’s what the Durham-López write-in campaign is all about: raising working-class solutions in the sprint for the White House while helping to develop working-class muscles in the marathon for fundamental change.

Contact Linda Averill at AvLinda587@gmail.com.

By Linda Averill

Freedom Socialist, October-November 2012, Volume 33, No. 5

FSP recommendations for the November 6, 2012 New York State General Election

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Jenn on VoteSocialism.com

If you’ve been watching the presidential debates, you know that media pundits are riveted by the contrasts between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney—their lapel pins, tone of voice and body language are studied to see who comes across more “presidential.” There’s been lots of squabbling over whose statistics are true, but little clarification of substantive political difference between the two—because frankly, there isn’t much. After all, it took a bipartisan effort to bail out Wall Street, deregulate banks, create the housing crisis, and make going to college a quick trip to the poor house.

It’s time to try something different. Millions have quit going to the polls because voting for the “lesser evil” is a dead end. But there is an alternative to sitting out the election.

Vote for the greater good—Write in Freedom Socialist candidates Stephen Durham and Christina
López for U.S. President and Vice President

When people encounter the Freedom Socialist Party campaign, they are energized by the candidates’ concrete solutions, happy to find a way to protest sham elections, and interested in understanding an anti-capitalist perspective. From anti-NATO protests and teacher picket lines in Chicago, to Washington state farm towns and Occupy Poughkeepsie, socialist feminist candidates Stephen Durham and Christina López have met great interest and a desire to discuss issues.

For five years, workers and the poor have been paying for an economic crisis they did not cause. The Durham-López platform calls for dismantling the Pentagon and taxing big business in order to provide adequate funds for education, medical care, and other human needs. It stands for ending unemployment with a massive program of public jobs; nationalizing banks and key industries under the management of workers’ committees; canceling student and consumer debt; establishing authoritative, elected civilian review boards over the police; ensuring reproductive rights; providing free mass transit for the good of people and the planet; and much more to improve the lives of those who survive paycheck to paycheck.

• Presidential candidate Stephen Durham is a lifelong fighter to end discrimination; he’s been a rank-and-file strike leader and a radical envoy to Latin American unionists and feminists. A gay rights pioneer, today he heads the Freedom Socialist Party branch in Harlem. Durham knows how to build bridges across the divides of race, gender, sexual orientation, and nationality.

• Vice-presidential candidate Christina López is a grassroots organizer for women’s rights, who co-founded Sisters Organize for Survival to fight social services cuts in Washington state. An Arizona native, she is passionate about immigrant rights and racial equality. López knows what it’s like to grow up poor in a barrio and is a strong advocate for quality public education for all.

It was clear from the outset that ballot obstacles precluded a traditional campaign at the national level. Thus, the unorthodox, un-millionaire campaign was born: a write-in effort to provide a voice for the working class and to protest the anti-democratic nature of the electoral process. Rather than spend time and resources jumping through bureaucratic hoops to qualify for each state’s ballot, the Durham-López team has prioritized hitting the streets and visiting campuses, neighborhoods and picketlines. This campaign is about building a movement for fundamental change. Visit www.VoteSocialism.com to find out how you can get involved in the remaining weeks. And on November 6, stop by Freedom Hall for the election night party!

The best option among third party presidential candidates

Writing in Stephen Durham and Christina López for President and Vice President is hands down the best choice. But when you open your ballot, you’ll find one other socialist option for president and vice president: Peta Lindsay/Yari Osorio, Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). FSP gave critical support to PSL candidates in past elections, despite their lackluster approach to feminism and our differences over international issues. We drew the line this year after their opportunistic maneuvering at the Peace and Freedom Party Convention in California, giving their support to Roseanne Barr, which resulted in not a single socialist appearing on that state’s presidential ballot.

Also on the NY ballot are the Green Party’s Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala for president/vice president, and several candidates for local offices. However, the Green Party is not anti-capitalist. They pledge only incremental change, instead of tackling the profit system head on.

The NJ senate race includes a clearly anti-capitalist alternative—Greg Pason, Socialist Party USA—and we urge NJ voters to cast their ballots for him.

Let’s get busy

Between now and November 6, join the Durham-López team in campaigning for real change and exposing the rigged electoral system and bipartisan austerity plans. Visit www.VoteSocialism.com or stop by campaign headquarters at Freedom Hall to find out how you can help get the word out, whether by canvassing, making phone calls, researching the issues, or making a donation—funds are still needed! Everyone’s skills and ideas are welcome!

In solidarity,
Susan Williams
NY FSP Organizer

How to write in your vote: New Yorkers will receive a paper ballot. At the end of the list of candidates for president, there is a space for write-in candidates. Fill in the oval next to the words “Write-In” and print:STEPHEN DURHAM for president and CHRISTINA LÓPEZ for vice president.


Maloney's Nightmare

Among the "progressive" candidates that are being promoted this November is Sean Patrick Maloney, who, as local activist Celeste Tesoriero points out, doesn't even meet the low standards of today's Democratic Party

 

Sean Patrick Maloney is a three-named, smooth talking lawyer with a killer smile, and a wardrobe of expensive tailored suits.  He’s Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, and we’re the hooker.  And just like Gere on the Boulevard, he’d rather be somewhere else.

Maloney grew up in a New Hampshire town where the median income is $100,000, and was educated at typical rich-kid schools like Georgetown and the University of Virginia.  He has gone from various token staffing positions to the corporate law world, and back again, each time trading political favors for a higher paycheck.  And now, this son of considerable privilege, through mischance and various political disappointments, finds himself relegated to running for Congress in a district with towns where the median income is $30,000.  Maloney can relate to a lot of people, and none of them are in the Hudson Valley. 

Most of Maloney’s resume hinges on the fact that he was White House Staff Secretary for one year, back in 1998.  And while Maloney’s campaign would have you believe that as Staff Secretary he was Bill Clinton’s right hand man, in reality he was more like Monica Lewinsky than Rahm Emmanuel.  After Staff Secretary, Maloney took a spin on the revolving door of corrupt wannabe politicians and corporate swindlers and ended up working as a high-paid compliance lawyer, until his delusional sense of self-importance landed him in the middle of a New York Attorney General race.  Fortunately for us, New Yorkers weren’t as easy a mark as Maloney had thought.  He came in a distant third to Andrew Cuomo, coming only four points ahead of a man who had dropped out weeks before.

He was able to parlay his embarrassing failure of a campaign into another low level staffing job, this time in the Spitzer office.  He was an assistant to an assistant to the Governor, or as he puts it, “I was number two in the Governor’s office.”  No, no that’s not true at all, Sean.  His only contribution of note was drafting an executive order creating a committee for privatization of New York.  

His efforts were well rewarded, and his lowly staffing position was parlayed into a high-paid job in infrastructure investment law.  Infrastructure investment is a fancy word for what is basically a con man.  It works like this: a company goes to a town’s mayor and council, usually when they’re having a hard time of it budget-wise and the public is starting to turn against them.  It says, hey, I’ll give $100 right now, and all you have to do is sign over something like the city’s parking meters, which only brings in $10 every year.  The mayor and council say, ‘hey, we’re not even gonna be in office in ten years when this deal starts to be incredibly bad for the town’, so they sign on.  The local politicians win.  The corporations win even bigger.  And you’re the schmuck living in the town 10 years later, stuffing old newspapers between the windows and screens of the courthouses trying to keep the cold out. 

The safeguard against this type of thievery is of course that it would take a really corrupt politician to sell their town like that.  Or, as the Pittsburgh city council put it, in response to a two-year privatization deal that Maloney was lead council on,  “A vote in favor of this bill is a vote to sell our soul.”  They defeated the bill, but I’m sure they’d be shocked to know the architect of that hateful bill is now running for congress in our fine district. 

Of course Maloney didn’t know that privatization of Medicare was going to be one of the “it” issues in the 2012 election.  Nor did he know that the Democratic Party was going to come out on the complete opposite side of his career experience.  Being a pro-privatization candidate on the Democratic ticket in this race has put Maloney in the compromising position of having to ask the electorate to ignore everything he’s done for the past 14 years and focus on a position he held for 1 year in 1998.  Not a good place for anyone to be. 

So if there’s any word of comfort I can offer Sean Maloney, it’s this; you running for Congress on the Democratic ticket in the Hudson Valley isn’t just a nightmare for you, it’s a nightmare for us too. 

 

 

After 4 Years of Heartbreak, a Reason to Hope

 

This election may seem pretty grim, but we musn't be depressed. Do not despair, Protest! In elections to come, we hope and work for a united workers' movement that can mount a real challenge at the ballot box, in the streets, and at the workplaces. Until this is the case, the most effective vote is one that challenges the capitalist system, and a write-in for Stephen Durham and Christina López is the ultimate protest vote.

Join the movement. Vote Durham-López!

Visit VoteSocialism.com for complete information about the Un-Millionaire Durham-López write-in campaign

Special Issue: Ending the New Jim Crow

The Hudson Valley Radical Special Issue
Ending the New Jim Crow in the Hudson Valley

Contents
1. A Personal Note
2. End Mass Incarceration: Restructure the Criminal Justice System
3. The People Fight Back: Comments Against Jail Expansion from Poughkeepsie Middle Schoolers, Janet Bosco, Sam Busselle, and Mark Marinoff

A Personal Note

by Schuyler Kempton (10-23-12)

When I went to my first meeting of the End the New Jim Crow Action Network, I had essentially no connection with the issues that I was dealing with. As a white "middle class" kid, I couldn't say that I had any connection to the issues of mass incarceration aside from an academic understanding that it was wrong, and a revolutionary perspective that led me to understand that this fight was part of a larger struggle for total liberation.

However, the effects of the prison industrial system have recently hit home to some extent. A friend of my mother's who I have spent time with in the past was accused last month of a crime and was subsequently thrown into the Dutchess County Jail. I do not know whether he is guilty or innocent. However, I do know that he was locked up for a month without trial because he couldn't post a $5,000 bail and had no place to stay regardless. Furthermore, I know that he suffers from bi-polar disorder and that at some point during his stay in jail, he attempted to commit suicide out of desperation, or perhaps, due to a chemical imbalance left untreated while in jail.

Yesterday, all charges against him were dropped and he was transfered today to Rockland County Psychiatric Center. While his transfer to a mental health center is long overdue, he has expressed disdain at the facilities overall, claiming that it's "worse than jail." When asked whether he is getting the treatment he needs, he responded by saying that his medications have been completely altered from his usual routine.

I don't include this as a sob story or as an attempt to justify my opposition to the criminal justice system. The man I mentioned is white, and was not imprisoned for anything related to a drug crime. However, this one example has highlighted for me the brutal nature of the jail system, and I understand that what is brutal for whites must be murderous for people of color.

Throughout this issue are statements writen by the people of our area opposing the jail proposal presented by the Criminal Justice Council. A common thread throughout these indictments, whether they are from Poughkeepsie Middle Schoolers or ex-members of the Criminal Justice Council, is the complete and utter bankruptcy of priorities that leads our lawmakers to, among other obsenities, kick the homeless out of shelters in the name of discouraging government reliance while we imprison hundreds on a daily basis rather than providing job training and social services.

In the following article, in which we reprint End the New Jim Crow Action Network (ENAJN)'s statement at the public hearing on jail expansion, we outline our fundemental opposition to the jail proposal.

This opposition is complete and non-negotiable. Recently our County Executive has unveiled a plan to construct 200 "Pods," or cells, as an extension of the current jail facility. This is also is a plan which we absolutely and unequivicolly oppose. It is now up to us to organize against it.

I hope that this publication will inspire those who read it to take a stand against our racist, inhumane criminal justice system and all proposals for jail expansion.

We say, loud and clear: End Mass Incarceration! End the War on Drugs!
and
END THE NEW JIM CROW!

END MASS INCARCERATION: Restructure Our Criminal Justice System

This statement was read at the October 15th public hearing on the Criminal Justice Council's Criminal Justice System Needs Assessment, which called for the creation of a new, 500-650 cell jail in Dutchess County.

The statement was written by the End the New Jim Crow Action Network (ENJAN), an organization founded to fight the racist criminal justice system in America and the mass incarceration of people of color.

ENJAN meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at the Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Library, 29 North Hamilton Street, Poughkeepsie NY. 
Visit Endthenewjimcrow.blogspot.com to learn more about ENJAN

This photo, of Pam Krimsky reading the final section of ENJAN's statement at the public hearing on jail expansion, appeared on the front page of the Poughkeepsie Journal above the heading "Jail Plan Gets Dissent." The article,  plus the full video of the public hearing can be found here

The End the New Jim Crow Action Network (ENJAN) fundamentally opposes Dutchess County’s plans to construct a 500-650 bed jail (at a cost of from $150-200 million not including interest on the bonds).

Our opposition stems from our study of the system of mass incarceration in this country, which over the last 30 years has used the criminal justice system to re-establish a racial caste system along the lines of the notorious Old Jim Crow laws. In a county where African Americans make up 12% of the population, we take issue with the fact that over 50% of the local jail population is African American. The absolute failure of the “War on Drugs” has caused a disproportionate increase of poor people and people of color in its jails and prisons.

Moreover, we oppose county priorities that devote more resources to incarcerating its residents than in providing them with decent education, affordable health care, and safe housing. Many of the people in jails and prisons are individuals with high needs who suffer from drug and alcohol addictions or other mental health issues, lack education, face a cycle of homelessness and poverty. We thus oppose policies that value incarcerating people over healing them.

A recent report “Dutchess County Criminal Justice Council – Criminal Justice System Assessment” to be presented to the County at a public forum on October 15th states the following:

• A “substantial restructuring of our local criminal justice system is required”
• We must “use more incentives (carrots) than sanctions (sticks)”; and,
• We must “deliver services in natural environments whenever possible.”

Unfortunately, the report makes no attempt to estimate how substantial restructuring will reduce the need for jail cells. Even more regrettably, the lawmakers in our county have shown no willingness to seriously address an ‘evidence-based’ restructuring initiative that tackles larger issues of injustice, such as putting an end to racial disparities in arrest, arraignment and sentencing policies that criminalize behaviors—all of which treat our neighbors as disposable human beings.

Lawmakers in our county have failed to address the fundamental flaw of the criminal justice system in our county and in our country: that a few wealthy, white individuals profit off of the incarceration of the working black masses. We, the End the New Jim Crow Action Network, have agreed upon a 10-Point Program to dismantle the racist criminal justice system as it is currently constituted and replace it with a system built on the philosophy of healing rather than punishing so that the imprisoned may one day be free:

-Alternative Housing for women, youth, and those with mental illness

-Alternative housing for the 80% inmates who have not gone to trial

-The immediate hiring of additional workers to handle processing

-Effective rehabilitation for all non-violent substance abusers. Treat substance abuse as an illness, not a crime!

-Alternative housing for all individuals serving time for a drug charge connected with a violent offense to ensure that their drug addiction is dealt with

-The immediate creation of a 24-hour mental health crisis center and increased funding for existing mental health clinics and programs

-The elimination of all charges resulting from the legal process to ensure that all of those accused of crimes are able to defend themselves in court rather than simply serving

their sentence in jail

-End the racist War on Drugs, the system which has resulted in the mass incarceration of Black, Latino, and low-income people

-Finally, we call on the county to fully fund all existing social programs and introduce new programs to enable our community to grow and break the cycle of poverty, drug-addiction, and incarceration:

*Introduce a ‘housing-first’ strategy for the chronically mentally ill, homeless, alcoholics and drug addicts to prevent recidivism

*Implement a comprehensive system of re-entry programs for men and women to prevent recidivism similar to the Brooklyn ‘Com Alert program

*Provide jobs, job training, employment counseling and housing for individuals returning to the community who want to work

*Implement programs similar to Father Young’s program in Albany to cut recidivism.

*Introduce and reintroduce prevention programs for youth:

-Embrace “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Coalition”

-Restore BOCES GED program in DC Jail

-Restore Project Return to keep youth with families

-Restore Mediation center programs for juvenile delinquency prevention for troubled teens

-Restore Cornell 4H & greenteen programs

-Restore Youth Mentoring/Job Training/Placement at the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce

-Youth programs at DC Arts Council, Mill Street Loft, Literacy Connections

*Implement all the recommendations from the Justice Policy Institute

The End the New Jim Crow Action Network represents the emergence of a new, militant movement in our area to confront mass incarceration head on. We are a coalition with a diverse representation in our community that is prepared to fight for the demands we have presented tonight. We will no longer tolerate lies and misinformation. We will no longer be silenced as people make profits off of the imprisonment of their fellow humans. We are not afraid to enter this struggle and we are most certainly not afraid to win it. Our people are rising. We are awake.

The People Fight Back: Poughkeepsie Middle Schoolers Against Jail Expansion

These comments were written by children in Mary Ellen Iatropoulos' Media Literacy class at Poughkeepsie Middle School and send via e-mail to the Dutchess Criminal Justice Council and members of the Dutchess County Legislature.

Dear members of the Dutchess Criminal Justice Council and Dutchess County Legislators,

My name is Mary Ellen Iatropoulos, and as part of my job I teach media literacy to middle-school age students at Poughkeepsie Day School. On Tuesday, October 16th, we inspected the front page of the Poughkeepsie Journal to analyze the state of our community based on what constituted front page news. Recall the front page stories that day regarded: dissent about the proposed jail expansion, Mayor Tkazik's proposed privatization of city sanitation services, and the MTA's proposed fair hike.

What follows are typed versions of written responses from impassioned and engaged young minds. They may not be old enough to vote, but they are old enough to be affected by decisions their governments make, and they are old enough to have strong opinion about what they read in the paper. I know they felt empowered by the idea that the Council and county legislators would read what they have to say. Thank you for being open to receiving their comments.

Here are the typed versions of the youth comments:

Instead of building a new prison that will cost more then 100 million dollars in taxpayer money, I believe you should lower the recidivism by instituting a "parent behind bars" to discourage people from going back to jail and costing more money. The crime rate will not change because of a new jail. Don't build something when you are cutting sanitation programs. - Milo

They should save up for the jail and make the jail like in 2014 when they balanced their budget. They should pay for the trash and open up good things like the YMCA that would probably put down crime rates -- Xavier

I think that to make jail be 2 million dollars is a bad idea because that'll make the people in Poughkeepsie broke. Making people become broke isn't going to help Poughkeepsie in any way. Making jail bigger is like saying there are a lot of people - Maddie

Why would you buy a big new jail when you can't pay for garbage pickup? Spend your money wisely. Spend it on important stuff - Hannah

I think that we should spend money on preventing crime instead of building a new building full of criminals -- Anonymous

Why do you really want a jail? Why do you want to put these people in jail here? A jail is unnecessary. Are you sure you want all of our trash piling up on our streets. The criminals can go somewhere else for now. You don't have that much money. Think! Think about the environment. Some people can't afford it and you can't either. If you build it, your going to arrest more people, then your going to want another. So no jail please. We don't like our trash. From Adrienne

Dear Marc Molinaro,
I think that it is not right to spend money on jail when we can't even pay for the trash. The jail we may need to have but we can still have one but not that much money. The trash for the people who don't have enough money for paying for it will have to just let it sit there which that will be just gross. So please take some consideration to my opinion. - Claire

I think it is stupid because if we can't afford trash pickup. -- Anonymous

Dear Marc Molinaro,
I have a question for you. Why would we want to pay $200 million for a new jail, rather than have the town pick up trash? If the city is so "broke" why are you paying for this? Okay, so I may not live in Dutchess County, but that doesn't mean your citizens should suffer! This is unfair and you should reconsider where you're putting your money! ---- Anonymous

Absolutely ridiculous. Why should I pay for a jail by paying for my trash to be picked up? $200,000,000 jail? Wow, I thought we were broke, but I guess we have $200 million on deck. We need to think of something else. - Yosef

Why would Dutchess County want to make a 200 million dollar jail when, one, we're broke, and two, your making us pay for trash, three, if you make a bigger jail what if its not making it worth the money. Then we would have paid over rated taxes for nothing. So my complaint is, don't take away our money to make something for your benefit to make money that's only for you and we will only get like 5% of that back - by Alexander

USE THE JAIL MONEY FOR GARBAGE PICKUP! It is a terrible idea, if you need a jail don't build the most expensive jail you can. We need trash pickup as well! - Grace

Since Rhinebeck has the same crime amount. We should spend the money on smarter cops since Poughkeepsie has more arrests that are sometimes false ones, less arrests would mean we would need less jail space and then we could use some of that $200 million to take out trash as well as get better cops - Anonymous

Hi. Here are my thoughts about the new jail. If we're saying that we're pour, why are we paying for a $200 million for a jail? Your saying, no more free trashman drivers to pick up your trash, and you need to pay more to ride a train, and were going to spend $200 MILLION?!?!?!?!?!?!

Not right. - Anonymous

I don't understand why if we don't have enough money to have our garbage then why are we building a $200 million dollar jail?
- Anonymous

Why do we need to cater to bad people? I know criminals are people but still. We need to help the people that work hard like commuters, not the people that caused. Anyway a lot of times people get arrested when it is not their fault. So that is your reason of overcrowding. - Anonymous

If you have so much money, why not use it for picking up trash? Take more money, from more people, that's JANK! - Anonymous

Hello Mark,
I don't think it's a good idea to make a jail. Mainly because it costs 200 million $$$$. Also we have to pay for our trash? What's up with that? I say we spend 200 million dollars on something else. - Anonymous

You should pick up all the trash before you make anything. They should buy a $200 million robot that can pick up trash AND scan to see if the guy is the person they need. - Anonymous

Why do we use our money to build a jail when it could go towards our trash? - Anonymous

Don't build the jail. It's really bad idea. Clean up the trash. Don't build a bigger jail. You don't need it. I thought we were poor. - Anonymous

If we are so poor that we can't afford trash pickup, we couldn't afford a jail! Jails are useful only when we arrest the right people; we arrest innocent people and waste taxpayer money. - Anonymous

Don't build the jail. The state has no money to do this. - Anonymous

The People Fight Back: Janet Bosco

This speech was read at the public hearing on jail expansion, October 15, 2012

I am a concerned citizen of the Hudson Valley and would like to express my thoughts and feelings regarding the building of a new jail in Poughkeepsie. I am appalled that schools are being closed, Big Brothers Big Sisters programs are being eliminated and the Homeless Shelter will be charging $10.00 a night after 60 days at the same time that officials are planning to build a jail in Dutchess County! Two questions burn in my soul! First, will this jail eventually be filled with at risk youth who could have benefited from Big Brothers Big Sisters programs, homeless people in need of shelter, as well as students who have dropped out of school due to needs not being met in an overcrowded and under funded school system? Second, where is the money coming from for this penal institution?

I strongly oppose a jail and prefer to see money invested in vital social programs where people are treated with dignity and helped to reach their potential. I believe that a proactive focus rather than a punitive one has been proven to be more successful in creating and empowering citizens to be productive members of our society.

Sincerely,
Janet Bosco
Ulster County Citizen
Retired School Teacher
Member of ENJAN

The People Fight Back: Sam Busselle

This piece was written for inclusion in this publication

In an article in the Poughkeepsie Journal on Wednesday, October 17th, the Chair of the Legislature states “the county cannot borrow money to fund alternatives to incarceration.” (The county CAN borrow money to fund a $126 million jail!)
We are in a sorry state of affairs when the solution is all about money and not about the human lives that are being wasted when they are caught up in the criminal justice system that disproportionately targets the poor and minorities. A substantial restructuring of the entire system – that has been recommended by the Criminal Justice Council in a Needs Assessment - allows the county to make real progressive step toward changing the emphasis. Alternatives to incarceration stand a greater chance of improving a person’s likelihood for success than six months in jail.

The People Fight Back: Mark Marinoff

This speech was read at the public hearing on jail expansion, October 15, 2012

Dutchess County Officials are poised to spend between 1 and 2 million of our tax payer dollars to build a new jail with greater capacity, in hopes its use will reclaim its cost in 15 yrs. Meanwhile, elementary schools have been closed, funding has ended for the 'one on one' mentorship program 'Big Brothers Big Sisters', as well as the Youth Bureau's 'Project Return', which offered anti-bullying, anger management and conflict resolution training to thousands of young county residents; And these are the very types of services that keep people out of the criminal justice system!

I understand the current jail is overcrowded to the point where approximately 300 inmates are being housed outside the county at great expense, and, I may add, with undue hardship for their families. However, as cited in the council's assessment, there are evidence based and cost effective alternatives not only to incarceration, but to reduce jail time and recidivism. Some of these alternatives could be implemented quickly and with few additional funds, certainly much quicker and cheaper than constructing a new jail.

Furthermore, this new, larger jail will demand a rather perverse incentive for officials to keep it filled, for surely the reelection possibilities are dim for any official that signs a massive tax payer spending bill for a state of the art facility that is underutilized.

If our officials continue to refuse to implement their own cited strategies to end mass incarceration now, the need for ever more jail space, and calls for the tax payer to bear the monetary burden, will continue without end. I would like to conclude by encouraging the council, the audience and members of mediation to look into any one of the growing number of investigations taking place throughout our nation into the perverse business of profiting from mass incarceration. For anyone with internet access, just Google ‘for profit prisons’.

About End the New Jim Crow Action Network (ENJAN)

ENJAN meets at 6:00 pm every second and fourth Wednesday at the Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Library, Family Partnership Center, 29 N Hamilton St, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. (845) 452-6088 x 3343
Visit ENJAN online at Endthenewjimcrow.blogspot.com

The End the New Jim Crow Action Network! (ENJAN, pronounced “engine”) is a group of Hudson Valley residents working locally to end the era of mass incarceration in this country. With more than 2 million people currently in prisons and jails, and over 5 million people on probation and parole, the United States has steadily imprisoned or detained more of its citizens than any other country in the world. This expansion of the criminal justice system disproportionately targets African Americans and Hispanics, transforming the policy of mass incarceration into a racial caste system that robs our fellow citizens of their basic dignity and humanity by treating them as disposable beings. In Dutchess County alone, African Americans account for more than half of all those sentenced each year, despite constituting merely 10% of our population.

What We Stand For

-An end to the wasteful and failed “War on Drugs,” which has filled prisons with non-violent offenders.

-An end to unaccountable private “for-profit” prisons nationwide.

-An end to jail expansion in Dutchess County and all new prisons nationwide.

-An end to discriminatory sentencing.

-An end to Stop-and-Frisk and other forms of racial profiling.

-An end to the excessive use of force and other forms of police brutality.

-Full restoration of all civil rights, including voting rights, regardless of a person’s prior convictions.

-Full funding for programs that assist those being released from incarceration.

-A shift from forms of punishment that breed a cycle of poverty and delinquency to more restorative and rehabilitative approaches to crime, including a massive reinvestment in education and job creation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subscribe to our e-mail list by contacting leftunited@gmail.com and Like us Facebook at Facebook.com/UniteLeft

Our next major event will be a Rally for Fair Elections and Workers' Power on November 4th @1:00 PM at Hulme Park. Learn more about this event and RSVP on Facebook

Toward Democracy, Equality, and Workers' Power!