The Economic Crisis

Capitalism in Crisis: make the rich pay!

One year after panic gripped governments across the world, when the very existence of a functioning capitalist economy was in doubt, a new consensus has emerged in the media. The headlines and sound bites are now full of a new “R” word – recovery. The message from the media is that the combined effects of the stimulus and Obama’s bank stabilization have set the stage for a new phase of healthy growth, albeit without new jobs to replace those lost in the recession. This message is completely impressionistic and fails to analyze the huge problems facing the US. economy. Read more

It has been 7 years since the invasion of Iraq, over 8 since the invasion of Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan has now surpassed Vietnam as the longest US war ever. President Obama has sent in 60,000 more troops and approved more unmanned drone attacks into Pakistan than Bush did in two terms. Congress has voted for over $30 billion in supplemental funding for the surge, in a time of terrible budget cuts. Still, the US and its allies look ever more isolated in a war which is unwinnable. Obama is escalating, despite the known risks, in a desperate attempt to save face and maintain credibility of US military might. The removal of all foreign troops and the handing of control back to the Afghan people is the only way to break this bloody deadlock.  read more

 The Fight for Healthcare

 The Healthcare System is Broken 

Back in the 50’s the United States was one of the healthiest countries on earth. Since then we have slipped to 37th as ranked by the WHO. We currently spend 17% of our GDP on health care, twice as much as most other developed nations. Yet 45,000 people die each year either from having no insurance, inadequate insurance or just being flat cheated out of treatments by big insurance companies. Roughly two thirds of personal bankruptcies are the result of medical expenses. Fifty percent of those bankrupted by illness had medical insurance at the time they fell ill. It is the profits of the private insurance industry that are destroying the American healthcare system. In the drive for more profits they make us pay and then pay again, through deductibles and co-pays and denial of service, once we get sick. Whistle blowers formerly employed by insurance companies have told how they were instructed to turn down every third or fourth claim. A recent study in California found that insurance companies are denying coverage for 21% of medical claims. These are the real death panels. read more