SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
national domestic workers alliance
It's the Corporate Greed, Stupid
Big corporations continuing to raise their prices above their rising costs (including their labor costs). Why? Because they can.
Nov 05, 2022
Employers added 261,000 jobs in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department said Friday. That was down from 315,000 in September. The unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent.
As American corporations report their highest profit margins the United States has seen in over seventy years, executives of leading companies are admitting on earnings calls that they're taking advantage of inflation.
Average hourly earnings climbed by 4.7 percent in the year through October. Consumer prices grew 8.2 percent through September.
Bottom line: Workers are losing purchasing power more rapidly now than they have at any point over the last year.
This may explain why the share of Americans between the prime working ages of 25 and 54 who are working or looking for work fell to 82.5 percent in October--down from 82.7 percent in the previous month. At the beginning of 2020, the number stood at 83.1 percent.
Why aren't more people working? Because pay is lousy.
So why does Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, insist, as he did at a news conference this week, that "the broader picture is of an overheated labor market where demand substantially exceeds supply"?
Overheated?
No, Mr. Chairman. The broader picture is of slowing job and wage growth--even though prices continue to rise and the Fed continues to raise interest rates.
Powell and the Fed lifted interest rates by three-quarters of a point this week, and signaled more increases to come. Presumably, they'll continue to raise rates until they push the economy into recession, thereby pushing most working people into ever-greater peril.
This borders on insanity.
The broader picture is of big corporations continuing to raise their prices above their rising costs (including their labor costs). Why? Because they can. They have enough market power to get away with this--using inflation as a cover.
As American corporations report their highest profit margins the United States has seen in over seventy years, executives of leading companies are admitting on earnings calls that they're taking advantage of inflation.
One executive argued that "a little bit of inflation is always good in our business" while another admitted that his company's prices wouldn't fall with decreasing costs, stating "we don't reduce prices on the back end of these increases."
Last weekend, ExxonMobil posted the highest quarterly profit in its 152-year history, and Chevron the second-highest quarterly profit since its own founding. Oil company profits have been soaring for the past year, prompting many other nations (including the U.K., governed by those crazy left-wing Tories) to adopt windfall profits taxes of their own.
Finally, last Monday, President Biden called for a windfall profits tax on oil companies if their prices didn't drop or didn't offer rebates to consumers.
A bit late, perhaps?
We're just three days before one of the most consequential elections in history. Democrats should be--and should have been--raising the alarm about corporate power.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'It Is a Revolution': Ocasio-Cortez and Markey Reintroduce Green New Deal Resolution
"We are in a civilization-altering moment in our history and it's time for America's political leaders to muster the courage and moral clarity to pass the Green New Deal," said the Sunrise Movement's executive director.
Apr 20, 2021
As part of what they are calling "Green New Deal Week," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey on Tuesday led the reintroduction of their landmark resolution envisioning a 10-year mobilization that would employ millions of people with well-paying, union jobs repairing U.S. infrastructure, while reducing pollution and tackling the country's intersecting climate, economic, health, and racial justice crises.
"On the eve of Biden's climate summit, this is the bold, transformative climate action we need."
--Natalie Mebane, 350.org
"The Green New Deal isn't just a resolution, it is a revolution," said Markey (D-Mass.), who first unveiled the measure with Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in February 2019. "In the past two years, the Green New Deal has become the DNA of climate action, and the principles of jobs, justice, and climate action are now widely represented in legislation and state and local actions across the country."
"We can transform our economy and our democracy for all Americans by addressing the generational challenge of climate change," Markey said. "We have the technology to do it. We have the economic imperative. We have the moral obligation. We just need the political will."
The Green New Deal Resolution of 2021 (pdf), partly inspired by Franklin D. Roosevelt's 20th century New Deal programs, declares that "it is the duty of the federal government... to achieve the greenhouse gas and toxic emissions reductions needed to stay under 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers," referencing the more ambitious target of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
The resolution calls for building resiliency against climate-related disasters; repairing and upgrading U.S. infrastructure; shifting to 100% renewable energy; prioritizing energy efficiency for new and existing buildings; spurring growth in clean manufacturing; promoting sustainable agriculture practices; and overhauling the country's transportation systems.
It also emphasizes the necessity of mitigating and managing the long-term adverse health, economic, and other effects of pollution and the climate emergency; restoring natural ecosystems; cleaning up hazardous waste sites; and "promoting the international exchange of technology, expertise, products, funding, and services, with the aim of making the United States the international leader on climate action."
\u201cToday, we reintroduced The Green New Deal with @SenMarkey - a jobs program that will leave our country more unionized & more just.\n\nWe refuse to leave any community behind. And, those who have been left behind come first.\u201d— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1618935375
The lead sponsors held an event on Capitol Hill to unveil the resolution, which has gained over a dozen new co-sponsors and is endorsed by over two dozen advocacy groups, including 350.org, Climate Justice Alliance, Future Coalition, Green New Deal Network, Greenpeace USA, Indivisible, Justice Democrats, National Domestic Workers Alliance, NDN Collective, Sierra Club, Sunrise Movement, United We Dream, and Working Families Party.
Two years after the first resolution, "we are still facing the ticking time bomb of the climate crisis, but now alongside the highest levels of joblessness since the Great Depression," noted Sunrise Movement executive director Varshini Prakash. "We are in a civilization-altering moment in our history and it's time for America's political leaders to muster the courage and moral clarity to pass the Green New Deal, launching America's biggest job creation program in a century while combating climate change."
"At a crucial moment like this," she added, "politicians have a choice to make: they can heed the call demanded by science and justice to build back better through a Green New Deal, or they can cower to the fossil fuel industry and force us down a path of destruction, towards the fires that burned our homes to rubble and the floods that took our family and friends with them."
350.org policy director Natalie Mebane pointed out the reintroduction comes just before President Joe Biden's Leaders Summit on Climate, which kicks off Thursday.
"Today, our movement presented a vision for our future: one that staves off the worst of the climate crisis and centers communities in a just transition to a regenerative, people-centered economy," Mebane said. "On the eve of Biden's climate summit, this is the bold, transformative climate action we need. We are calling on Congress and the Biden administration to implement the Green New Deal, ensure a just recovery from the racial, health, climate, and economic crises, and #BuildBackFossilFree."
\u201cShow us what democracy looks like\u201d— Green New Deal Network (@Green New Deal Network) 1618935152
Applauding the resolution "for its vision, intention, and scope," the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) said in a statement that "as Indigenous peoples and tribal nations living on the frontline of climate chaos, our communities already experience the direct impacts of climate change--and the various policies that legislate our sovereignty, our lands, and our bodies."
"We know we need bold solutions that meet the scale of our intersecting problems," IEN said. "While it is true their resolution helps shift the national conversation around addressing the climate crisis, they are also helping to shift the national conversation away from the notion that consultation equals consent and toward the codified practice of free, prior, and informed consent with tribal nations and communities. We are encouraged to see congressional leaders take charge to help Indigenous communities and tribal nations protect their homelands, rights, sacred sites, waters, air, and bodies from further destruction."
As Ocasio-Cortez detailed in a statement, "The Green New Deal has three core components: jobs, justice, and climate." She continued:
The dozens of bills that have sprung from this resolution since we introduced it two years ago all contain: 1) a commitment to creating good-paying union jobs; 2) prioritizing frontline and vulnerable communities disproportionately affected by climate change--including communities of color, Indigenous land, deindustrialized communities, and fossil fuel hubs; and 3) reducing greenhouse gas emissions from human sources by 40 to 60% within 10 years and net-zero global emissions by 2050, in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's finding that global temperatures must not increase more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrialized levels in order to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change.
In a tweet, the congresswoman highlighted the other measures that have been or will be put forth this week--including the Green New Deal for Cities Act of 2021, which she introduced with Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) on Monday. As Common Dreams reported, that bill is a $1 trillion plan to "tackle the environmental injustices that are making us and our children sick, costing us our homes, and destroying our planet."
\u201cIt\u2019s Green New Deal week!\ud83d\udc77\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2642\ufe0f\ud83c\udf0e\n\nThis week we\u2019re highlighting:\n\u2705 Green New Deal reintro tomorrow w/ new Congressional cosponsors\n\u2705 GND for Cities w/@CoriBush \n\u2705 GND for Public Housing w/@SenSanders\n\u2705 Civilian Climate Corps w/@EdMarkey\n\u2705 Ag Resilience w/@chelliepingree\n\n& more\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1618878563
Along with reintroducing the original resolution on Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez and Markey joined with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and others to introduce the Civilian Climate Corps for Jobs and Justice Act.
The bill would establish a Civilian Climate Corps (CCC) administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service within AmeriCorps. Markey's office framed the proposal as a modern version of a New Deal-era program also known as CCC. The updates include "ensuring that all Americans who want to participate may do so, regardless of race, age, or gender; broadening the range of eligible projects; providing 21st century health and education benefits; deepening partnerships with unions; and preserving tribal sovereignty."
Sanders, who's also a co-sponsor of the initial resolution and the Green New Deal for Public Housing, said in a statement that "the existential threat of climate change is our greatest challenge, but also our greatest opportunity to protect our natural heritage and build a just future for the generations to come."
"In the tradition of FDR's New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps--one of the most successful programs of the era that ensured jobs for millions of working people in maintaining our precious interior and conserving our wilderness--the Civilian Climate Corps for Jobs and Justice Act will create more than a million good-paying jobs, help us protect our natural resources, and move us forward in the fight against climate change," he added. "I am proud to work with my colleagues to see the CCC of our time renewed for the challenges ahead."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Championing Female Voters as Powerful 'Supermajority,' Organizers Launch Movement to Fight for Women's Agenda
"One of us can be dismissed. Two can be dismissed. But together, we aren't just the majority, we are a Supermajority—and we are unstoppable."
Apr 29, 2019
Several influential progressive women on Monday launched a new grassroots movement aimed at building on the energy and political power of American women, who make up the majority of the U.S. population, voters, and grassroots donors--forming what the group calls a "Supermajority."
Created by former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, and National Domestic Workers Alliance director Ai-jen Poo, the Supermajority is aimed at building on the political power women have demonstrated since President Donald Trump was elected in 2016.
"In many ways, women have been doing all this work--whether it's running their PTA, or organizing around reproductive healthcare--but we haven't been doing it together." --Cecile Richards, Supermajority co-founder"In the past two years, we've seen what happens when women mobilize," reads a statement on the group's website. "Women donated $100 million more to campaigns and causes in 2018 than they did in 2016. We've been the majority of voters in every national election since 1964. In 2018, women helped elect a Congress with a record-breaking 127 women members."
"Women are on the cusp of becoming the most powerful force in America," the statement adds. "But to fundamentally transform this country, we need to work together."
The group launched with a video featuring its slogan, taken from Richards' speech at the Women's March in 2017: "One of us can be dismissed. Two can be dismissed. But together, we aren't just the majority, we are a Supermajority--and we are unstoppable."
\u201cLet\u2019s be powerful together. https://t.co/aONH0Seml1\u201d— Supermajority (@Supermajority) 1556535601
The Supermajority plans to gather the input of millions of women across the country in order to "create a women's agenda that puts our issues first--from economic equity and opportunity to dignity and safety on the job to keeping families and communities safe."
Headed by women who have dedicated their careers to organizing around causes affecting marginalized communities, the group also plans to provide on-the-ground training to women who are new to activism and include a "Supermajority Education Fund" which will research and educate women about civic participation, visibility, and political power.
"We've spent the last year going around the country to all kinds of communities--urban, suburban, rural--and talking to women, listening to their stories," Poo told CNN's "New Day" on Monday morning. "And it's been so inspiring. They're already much more engaged in unprecedented ways...and they want to do more. They don't want to stop here, they want to do more and they want to be connected."
\u201c"This effort, 'Supermajority,' is a home for women's activism. We share a set of values that we think the majority of the country shares." @CecileRichards, @aliciagarza and @aijenpoo on co-founding @supermajority, an organization encouraging women to get involved in politics.\u201d— CNN This Morning (@CNN This Morning) 1556543839
The group argues that while women have become more politically engaged in recent years, there hasn't yet been a platform where they can join together to build on and learn from one another's efforts and activism.
"In many ways, women have been doing all this work--whether it's running their PTA, or organizing around reproductive healthcare--but we haven't been doing it together," Richards told the Washington Post. "What are we going to do to make this moment not something that is just a fleeting flash point of activism, but actually creating a permanent organizing ability for women?"
On social media, one supporter of the new movement likened its agenda to a "Women's New Deal," aimed at pushing for affordable childcare, universal healthcare, pay equity, and other reforms that would help American women--and the rest of the country.
\u201cThe Women's New Deal! \u201cWomen are mad as hell and we\u2019ve been in resistance mode for two years. Now it\u2019s time to equip people.\u201d @supermajority #txlege\u201d— Donna Howard (@Donna Howard) 1556537522
"There's a majority of Americans who want to see better, affordable healthcare, there's a majority of Americans that are impacted by childcare issues and elder care issues," Garza told CNN. "These are issues that are often sidelined as women's issues or special interests but what the Supermajority is saying is actually these are issues that are impacting all Americans and they should be addressed as the national issues and the national emergencies that they are."
In its statement of values, the Supermajority writes that women's equity is essential to "fighting for the basic human needs of all people, including universal healthcare, public education, a living wage, a clean environment, and affordable housing."
On Twitter, other influential women applauded the group for creating a new space in the political landscape in which women can work together to fight for economic, political, and social justice.
\u201cIf the news makes you ask yourself, \u201cWhat should I be doing right now?\u201d @Supermajority is a new community of women who will help you discover the answer. Become a founding member at https://t.co/hn4jjdfEZm\u201d— Gloria Steinem (@Gloria Steinem) 1556550077
\u201cWomen\u2019s issues are for everyone. Looking forward to supporting @supermajority and joining with women and their allies to promote political activism and engagement! #supermajority\u201d— Billie Jean King (@Billie Jean King) 1556550775
\u201cWomen across the country are bringing transformative change to communities & together we are a political force that will shape 2019, 2020 & beyond. Check out @Supermajority, a new organization made for women, by women. Join: https://t.co/dWG6Dy13en\u201d— Cristina Jim\u00e9nez (she/ella) (@Cristina Jim\u00e9nez (she/ella)) 1556551274
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular