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Austerity

Trump Begins Process Of Dismantling Department Of Education

March 24, 2025 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. , , , , ,
On March 20, US President Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education. The order aims to move education funding from the federal government to the states, and coincides with the plan outlined in Project 2025 by the right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation, which set eliminating the DOE as a goal. The DOE, which, among other objectives, plays a key role in providing funding for impoverished and low income students, students with disabilities, and other underserved students, has been a target of conservatives in the US for decades.

‘Organize The Future’: Potere Al Popolo Charts Resistance To Militarization And Cuts

March 20, 2025 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
“Why organize the future? Because the present we face is repulsive.” With these words, Marta Collot began her speech at Potere al Popolo’s national assembly in Rome on March 15, marking the culmination of months of organizing and political discussion. The assembly launched a new program, developed through a bottom-up process rooted in labor and territorial struggles, outlined to serve as a framework for truly organizing the future. According to Maurizio Coppola, a member of Potere al Popolo’s national coordination, the process was launched for multiple reasons.

Solidarity With Argentine People Against The Fascist Government

March 15, 2025 Resumen English. , , , , ,
We, the social organizations of the Alba-Movimientos., strongly condemn the brutal repression unleashed by the government of Javier Milei and his Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich against pensioners, football fans and social organizations that mobilized peacefully to reject the neoliberal austerity to which the government of La Libertad Avanza is subjecting the Argentine people. The excessive use of force, with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon, resulted in 114 people being illegally detained — including children — 20 people being injured and the photographer Pablo Grillo being seriously injured after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister.

The Greatest Threat To Social Security In Its 90 Year History

March 9, 2025 Nancy Altman, Counter Punch. , , , ,
The last few weeks have been the most destabilizing for Social Security in its 90-year history. America’s historic retirement security program has survived world wars, pandemics, and recessions. But without a rapid course correction, it may not survive Donald Trump and Elon Musk. In mid-February, Musk demanded access to private Social Security data. When the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) declined, President Donald Trump immediately replaced her. He leapfrogged over 120 more senior employees to install a DOGE sympathizer, Leland Dudek.

A Higher Education Union’s Response To Trump’s Attacks

March 7, 2025 Workers World. , , ,
Higher education — colleges and post-secondary education — has been a target of right-wing, reactionary attacks for decades, but the Musk-Trump-MAGA grouping has brought a new, vicious intensity to this campaign. The Department of Education has threatened schools with losing all federal funding if they have policies supporting diversity, equity and inclusion. The MAGA assault on DEI is intended to roll back civil rights and other efforts that address historic inequities. Much of the research funds in science, technology and clinical work has been frozen. Research and publishing on cultural and gender issues have been actively suppressed.

Who’s Fighting Back (And Not) Against Cuts in Veteran’s Administration

March 7, 2025 Steve Early and Suzanne Gordon, Popular Resistance. , , , , ,
Among the Republican voters experiencing buyer’s remorse are more than a few military veterans who chose Trump over Harris by a margin of 65 to 34%, according to some exit polls. Their shock and dismay surfaced in DC this month during the legislative conference of the reliably conservative and hawkish Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), which has 1.4 million members. In the run-up to that annual event, VFW national commander Al Lipphardt, urged his members to “march forth” and “engage with lawmakers” to “stop the bleeding” at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

What Are European Leaders Going To Choose: People Or War?

March 3, 2025 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
Europe’s militarization has been accelerating long before Donald Trump’s return to the White House. In the past three years, Poland has increased its military spending to nearly 4% of GDP, French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to “transform” the French military for a new era, and most recently, Britain’s Labour government announced plans to slash international aid to fund a “generational” boost in defense spending. This renewed focus on expanding arsenals is growing while the region remains subordinated to US interests.

Health Workers, Patients, Activists Unite Against Milei’s Healthcare Cuts

March 1, 2025 Ana Vracar, People's Dispatch. , , , ,
Over 100 workers’ collectives, health groups, and organizations mobilized across Argentina on Thursday, February 27, in protest against President Javier Milei’s devastating policies. A central march took place in Buenos Aires, denouncing the purposeful underfunding of the health system, deteriorating working conditions, and pressures on public hospitals. Among the demonstrators were health workers, patients, and the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. “Health is a fundamental human right, and defending it is the responsibility of all society,” organizers declared ahead of the protest.

A Federal Worker Speaks Out: ‘Many Jobs And Services Will Disappear’

February 24, 2025 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. , , , , ,
In the first month of the new Trump administration, there has been a widespread assault on federal workers led by billionaire Elon Musk and his new 'agency' called DOGE. Thousands of federal workers have lost their jobs, funding for government programs has been suspended and technocrats under Musk have entered agencies and demanded access to privileged data. Clearing the FOG speaks with a current federal worker, John, who is being kept anonymous for protection, about what is happening within federal agencies, the legality of the attacks and how workers are organizing and fighting back. John warns that most federal workers are going to be fired and services are going to be cut without a plan for protecting and serving the public. 

Trump And Musk’s Next Target: Social Security

February 22, 2025 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. , , ,
The world’s richest man has shown his determination to use his unelected position within the Trump presidency to wage war on the working class in the United States. Elon Musk’s latest accusation of widespread fraud within the Social Security system in the US could represent yet another major offensive against workers, who nearly universally rely on the country’s largest social service for current and future retirement plans. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an invention of the Trump administration that has pursued broad cuts to federal departments and regulations, has pursued access to sensitive information of millions of people in the US, held by the Social Security Administration.

Federal Workers Can Defeat Musk’s Coup

February 11, 2025 Eric Blanc, Labor Politics. , , ,
Who can stop Elon Musk? Even though it’s illegal for him to seize control of federal agency finances to slash the workforce, a Republican Congress is unlikely to assert its legally mandated prerogatives. Nor has any serious opposition emerged from the Democratic Party. And while the courts have paused some of this power grab, there’s no guarantee that our hyper-conservative Supreme Court will seriously oppose it. Moreover, Musk’s wrecking crew can impose a huge number of cuts while legal proceedings wind their way through the courts.

Democratic Party Collusion, Race Baiting, And Death By Austerity

February 8, 2025 Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
“You’re watching the Super Bowl next week. Wait till Trump’s tariffs raise your pizza prices.” - Senator Chuck Schumer , leader of the Democratic Party opposition President Donald Trump is certainly a man of his authoritarian word. As he promised on the campaign trail he is very serious about changing the nature of the U.S. government, the U.S. role in the world, and promoting white nationalist sentiment. While he carries out unconstitutional and possibly illegal acts, Democratic Party leaders have been AWOL, stunned into silence as Trump has thus far chosen not to utilize the back room deal making they are accustomed to and moves ahead unilaterally with budget cuts, personnel cuts, and the elimination of entire agencies, circumventing congressional prerogatives as he goes.

Nigerian President Enforced Violent Crackdown On Hunger Protests

December 3, 2024 Pavan Kulkarni, People's Dispatch. , , , , , , , ,
Extrajudicial executions, mass arrests, custodial torture and charges of treason were among the methods used by the Nigerian government to crack down on protests this August against rising hunger and economic hardships. Nigerian civil society, demanding a reversal of President Bola Tinubu’s aggressive implementation of IMF policies that brought about this cost of living crisis on Africa’s largest population, led these protests for 10 days at the beginning of August. In a report released on November 28, titled “Bloody August,” Amnesty International (AI) documented 24 killings, while “scores of additional cases reported by activists and journalists” are yet to be verified.

Workers In Greece Mobilize Against Austerity

October 27, 2024 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , , , ,
Strikes swept through Greece in the week of October 21 as workers protested austerity measures imposed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government. Workers demanded wage increases, strengthened collective agreements, and the reversal of public service reforms, especially in healthcare and education. Actions across sectors—including in hospitality, metalwork, transport, logistics, and education—built momentum for the November 20 general strike, anticipated to demonstrate the public’s frustration over deteriorating work and living conditions. Throughout the strikes, workers appealed to the community to support them.

Chris Hedges Report: The Secret History Of Neoliberalism

October 10, 2024 Chris Hedges, Scheer Post. , , , ,
Neoliberalism is a stealth ideology, one that at once dominates our lives, but exists in relative anonymity. Its effects have radically reconfigured western societies through deindustrialization, austerity, the privatization of utilities, postal services, schools, hospitals, prisons, intelligence gathering, police, parts of the military and railroads, along with spawning wage stagnation and debt peonage. It has deformed a tax system and gutted regulations to funnel wealth upwards, creating an income inequality that rivals pharaonic Egypt. Yet neoliberalism remains largely unmentioned and unexamined, especially by academia and a media that has been captured by a ruling class that profits from neoliberal doctrine.
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