Skip to main content

Research Before Voting

In 1797, Thomas Paine wrote, “Every individual is born with legitimate claims on natural property or its equivalent.“ With all that is going on in Washington, D.C., that has all our attention, we should not forget what is really important to the 99 percent, which is the economic inequality. What we need to do to fix it is a new bill of right or sorts that would include, such things as universal basic income (UBI), minimum wage of $15 to $24 an hour, universal healthcare, free education, more unions, and to rebuild the wealth of the 99 percent. We need a housing plan like the old G.I.Bill, which paid G.I.s to go to school and made it easier to buy a house with very little costs upfront. We need to vote in people who will support this bill of rights for the 99 percent. We are never going to have enough jobs for everyone and even the jobs we have or will have will not pay enough to live on. Most jobs will be part time with no benefits and most people will have to work two to three jobs. Again, think about who you are pulling the voting lever for. Are they the person who will do what you need for you and your family? If so, then support them and don’t be afraid to demand your undeniable rights. Also, think about how our Commons are being used by large corporations for free. We, the people, should be paid rent for the use of our Commons, which would pay for a UBI to makeup for the lack of jobs, since the tech companies have and will continue to eliminate. We need to understand just what are our Commons are, like water, clean air, airwaves: internet, radio and television frequencies, gas, oil, minerals, patent protections, forests and national parks, roads, dams, clean air, and many others. These belong to all of us and we have a right to be reimbursed for corporations using these Commons for their own gain. If we had a UBI, there would be more small businesses and most people receiving the UBI would still work to make more money, and businesses could have part-time workers or a gig type jobs available. All of us would do well and the capitalist system would be fueled with cash flowing and with the bill of rights as listed above, we could very well have a new middle class and the rich would still be rich. Taxes would be paid and the government would still function for the people. All of this is really up to us, the people, who cast our votes. We have no one to blame but ourselves if we do the wrong thing. We must stand together just like a good union does. Thomas Paine also wrote, “We all were born with a claim on natural property.” Why are we allowing corporations to rape and pillage our Commons and birthrights with no repercussions for the destruction or compensation to those of us who for the use of these Commons.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Time for an Offense

There are three phases of a general strike and unions must plan for one. Those three phases are: 1. general strike in an industry 2. general strike in a community 3. general national strike We need to move away from being on the defensive and move toward a good offensive. The American Federal of Labor (AFL) could not have held a general strike if it wanted to because they had thousands of different contracts that expired at different times of the year. This was done deliberately so that there is no consolidation of power for a general strike. Also, nowadays, there is no law agency that will support labor, except the National Labor Relations Board (NLBR), which has been under attack and in decline for years. This leaves the burden of change up to unions, and unless unions work together, little will change. We essentially have a combination of job trusts, which are not as strong as contracts, and the courts can break easily because the NLBR will be further weakened and essentially elim...

If Gompers Could Do It, We Can Do It

Labor must vote for the person who will support and vote for labor’s best interests. And in turn, labor members have to support those who are running for office who support labor unions and vote down ballots. Voting down ballot gives the person at the top more power to do what’s best for us. This includes elections for city, county and state positions, as well. If you think a four day work week is wishful thinking, remember workers had to fight for an eight-hour work day and a five-day work week. We, labor members and supporters, need to find people who can fight and win. We need to clean the Congress and Senate of the old Democratic guard who have voted repeatedly to hold the working class back while enriching themselves. This would rebuild solidarity in a magnitude greater than anything either party has seen or offered in the last fifty years. If we can bring about the change in the ruling class we can improve all of our lives. This would be the start of the end of the tyranny of the...

Shock Troops

Gerrymandering is the only legal form of voter theft. Workers, our long range plans should involve 1. crushing Citizens United; and 2. getting rid of the Electoral College. We have been trying to get rid of the electoral college since 1876, and we are still waiting for the revolt. Our unions need to start training some members to be our shock troops and if all unions would do this and work with our local Labor Councils, it would be a good start. Our members need to know our labor laws, local laws, and learn how to protest in the streets if necessary. The antiunion people like Trump, Musk and his billionaire friends work together to crush the working people and convince workers they’re doing them a favor and then use them as shock troops against unions and their workers. All union and nonunion working people must come together and work together to protect what we have now. Labor Councils have retired union members and they could work together to prepare to bring the movement forward....