Austerity

A Great National Sick-Out – It’s Past Time

March 20, 2016 Laura Flanders, http://www.lauraflanders.com Resist! Austerity, Detroit, Education, Schools

By Laura Flanders for the Laura Flanders Show. The teachers sent out pictures of something that’s had a hard time getting seen: the social cost of austerity.The teachers secured attention from at least one national candidate - Hillary Clinton who pointed out such conditions wouldn't be tolerated in more affluent places. Majority Republicans in Michigan's Legislature threatened new laws to make it easier to crack down on protesting workers. We’ll see what happens. Meanwhile, it’s worth reviewing how the Detroit schools got into such a fix. The system wasn't always broke. According to analysis by the Citizens Research Council, a Michigan based policy group, the Detroit schools were enjoying a surplus in the 1990s. Now, 41 cents of every dollar appropriated for students is being spent on servicing city debt.

Puerto Rico Students Shut Down University Over Austerity Cuts

March 18, 2016 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Resist! Austerity, Education, Higher Education, Puerto Rico, Student Protests

By Staff of Tele Sur - The students are calling for people all over the country to join the protest against "unpayable debt" and austerity. Thousands of college students from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) approved a three-day, full-campus shutdown Tuesday to protest recent austerity measures, which they say endanger the higher education system. The students held a general student assembly, after which they marched through the university and closed all entrances to the campus.

Argentina Protests Macri as He Threatens More Austerity Schemes

March 16, 2016 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Resist! Argentina, Austerity, Protests

By Staff of Tele Sur - The Argentine president was met with widespread protests during his visit to the city of Rosario as he pushes for a deal with U.S. vulture funds. Argentine President Mauricio Macri suggested that without a deal with U.S. hedge funds, commonly referred to as vulture funds, the country is in store for further austerity or hyperinflation. “Austerity or hyperinflation. There is no alternative,” President Macri told an Argentine TV outlet Monday.

Chicago Teachers Rally Ahead Of Mass Action

March 13, 2016 Madeline Wensel, www.inthesetimes.com Resist! Austerity, Chicago Teachers Union, Education, General Strike

By Madeline Wensel for In These Times. Activists from across Chicago gathered in downtown Chicago last night at the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple to demonstrate a united front in the face of continuing budget cuts and austerity measures proposed by state and city officials and a potentially impending strike of the Chicago Teachers Union. Organized by the Chicago Teachers Solidarity Campaign, a group of community activists dedicated to supporting the union, many sitting in the pews wore the CTU’s bright red t-shirts. But onstage, representatives from transit workers union ATU 308, AFSCME Council 31, the Black Youth Project (BYP) 100, University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 and the Chicago Student Union joined CTU President Karen Lewis in calling for solidarity across unions and non-union groups.

Taking Action Against Austerity, Greek Activists Block Home Foreclosures

March 11, 2016 Michael Nevradakis, www.truth-out.org Resist! Austerity, Foreclosures, Greece

By Michael Nevradakis for Truthout - Once again, Greece is in the throes of domestic unrest. Despite the fact that global solidarity movements and the mainstream media have seemingly forgotten about Greece following last July's referendum, in recent weeks, Greeks have been taking action. Farmers have set up roadblocks in hundreds of locations throughout Greece and have descended upon the capital; lawyers are on strike; accountants have declared that they will abstain from filing tax returns for their clients; and ordinary citizens have once again filled the streets in protest of the Syriza government's proposed pension cuts, recapitalization of the banks and tax increases.

EU: Left To Reclaim Democracy From ‘Technocrats’

February 14, 2016 Nadia Prupis, www.commondreams.org Organize! Austerity, Democracy, European Union (EU), Syriza

By Nadia Prupis for Commondreams. Berlin, Germany - Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis on Tuesday announced the launch of a pan-European progressive movement to "democratize" the continent and promote alternatives to austerity and authoritarianism. Along with pro-democracy allies from across the continent, Varoufakis—known for his candid rejection of European Union austerity politics during Greece's financial crisis—chose to announce the "Democracy in Europe Movement 2025" (Diem25) at the historic Volksbuehne theater, which is known as a landmark in German leftist activism. "We've chosen Berlin precisely because nothing can change in a progressive direction without the full participation of Germany in our European endeavors," he said during a press conference in the theater.

Occupy Ghana ‘Red Friday’ Protest Against Government

January 24, 2016 Delali Adogla-Bessa, citifmonline.com Resist! Austerity, Corruption, Ghana, Workers Rights and Jobs

By Delali Adogla-Bessa foe Citifmonline.com/Ghana. On January 22, 2016, Occupy Ghana,marked Red Friday to protest what they describe as the government’s “destructive” economic policies. They also protested Government’s decision to accept what they call “two highly suspicious terrorists” in Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, “under the pretext of honouring international neighbourliness and compassion with America.” Ghanaians wore red to call to government attention concerns raised by the pressure group and the citizenry including the hikes in utility tariffs, the exorbitant taxes on petroleum products, the “shady” Ameri deal and corruption among other things.

A New Era Of Global Protest Begins

January 15, 2016 Rajesh Makwana, www.sharing.org Resist! Austerity, Climate Change, Democracy, Environment, Global Protests, Human Rights, Inequality, Protests, Racism, Students, Wages

By Rajesh Makwana for STWR - It’s reasonable to conclude from a simple analysis of these trends that a revolutionary change is taking place in the global political landscape. As policymaking becomes increasingly subverted by powerful vested interests, the resulting democratic deficit is being filled by concerned citizens who are demanding that governments take heed of their collective demands. This signifies a fundamental shift in the relationship between citizens and the State, and heralds a new expression of democracy that is still in its infancy but already capable of shaping public opinion, influencing policy discussions and even toppling governments.

This Is The Age Of Dissent – Much More To Come

January 15, 2016 David J. Bailey, www.theconversation.com Resist! Austerity, Environment, Housing, Immigration, Protests, Racism, Students, Wages

By David J. Bailey for The Conversation - The year 2011 is widely viewed as the peak of protest and dissent in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and the austerity agenda that followed it. It was the year of the Arab Spring, Occupy, UK Uncut, indignados, urban riots and anti-austerity and tuition fee protests – and in which Time magazine famously named “The Protester” as its person of the year. Yet in the UK, protests continue to occur at a rate rarely seen prior to the global economic crisis in 2008. Indeed, 2015 seems to have confirmed the suggestion, made at the beginning of the year, that 2011 was “really only just the beginning”.

The Great Forgetting

January 12, 2016 Chris Hedges, www.truthdig.com Educate! Arts, Austerity

Chris Hedges for Truth Dig - America’s refusal to fund and sustain its intellectual and cultural heritage means it has lost touch with its past, obliterated its understanding of the present, crushed its capacity to transform itself through self-reflection and self-criticism, and descended into a deadening provincialism. Ignorance and illiteracy come with a cost. The obsequious worship of technology, hedonism and power comes with a cost. The primacy of emotion and spectacle over wisdom and rational thought comes with a cost. And we are paying the bill. The decades-long assault on the arts, the humanities, journalism and civic literacy is largely complete. All the disciplines that once helped us interpret who we were as a people and our place in the world—history, theater, the study of foreign languages, music, journalism, philosophy, literature, religion and the arts—have been corrupted or relegated to the margins.

Reality Peeks Through In Ukraine

January 11, 2016 Robert Parry, www.consortiumnews.com Educate! Austerity, Corruption, Neoliberalism, Regime Change, Ukraine, US Empire

By Robert Parry for Consortium News - Nearly two years since U.S. officials helped foment a coup in Ukraine – partly justified by corruption allegations – the country continues to wallow in graft and cronyism as the living standards for average Ukrainians plummet, according to economic data and polls of public attitudes. Even the neocon-oriented Wall Street Journal took note of the worsening corruption in a Jan. 1, 2016 article observing that “most Ukrainians say the revolution’s promise to replace rule by thieves with the rule of law has fallen short and the government acknowledges that there is still much to be done.”

Social Movements Organize To Resist Macri’s Neoliberalism

January 11, 2016 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Resist! Argentina, Austerity, Neoliberalism

By Staff of Tele Sur - In one month, President Mauricio Macri signed more than 260 decrees to push through rapid neoliberal changes and started to roll back social programs. While Argentine President Mauricio Macri’s first month in office has given big business reasons to rejoice, thousands have taken to the streets to protest the rapid policy changes and many important social and political groups are organizing to resist the neoliberal trend.

Teacher Sickouts May Close 35 Detroit Schools Monday

January 11, 2016 David Jesse and Katrease Stafford, www.freep.com Resist! Austerity, Education, Strike

By David Jesse and Katrease Stafford for Detroit Free Press - A group of teachers called Detroit Strikes To Win spent more than 90 minutes meeting Sunday night at Gracious Saviour Evangelical Lutheran Church in Detroit to discuss the sick-outs and a possible district-wide strike. The group, led by ousted teacher union president Steve Conn, is upset with what they call the ruination of the school system by the state. When asked by the Detroit Free Press if 35 schools or more, about 1/3 of the district's schools, could be closed Monday, Conn said: "At this moment, that's what we believe."

Mass Movement Grows Against Austerity Across UK

October 21, 2015 Gabrielle Pickard, www.alternet.org Resist! Austerity

By Gabrielle Pickard for Occupy - As the Conservatives settled into their seats at the Manchester Central Convention Centre for the annual Conservative Party Conference earlier this month, up to 60,000 protesters gathered outside, collectively voicing outrage about government policies that include National Health Service reforms, spending and benefit cuts, and restrictions on trade unions. The People’s Assembly Against Austerity demonstration united opposition forces ranging from trade union groups to Jews for Palestine to disabled people operating wheelchairs and buggies.

European Left Debates A ‘Plan B’ Against Austerity

October 18, 2015 Liam Flenady, www.greenleft.org Resist! Austerity, Europe, European Union (EU)

By Liam Flenady for Green Left - Five key figures of the European left have launched a new initiative “for a Plan B in Europe”. A statement was jointly published on September 11 by former Die Linke (Left Party) leader Oskar Lafontaine from Germany; Italian deputy and economist Stefano Fassina, leader of France's Left Party Jean-Luc Melenchon, and former deputy and parliamentary speaker Zoe Kostantopoulou and ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis from Greece — both former members of SYRIZA who resigned after the left-wing party accepted harsh austerity measures in July. The statement calls for a summit to be held by the end of the year to develop a new common plan for the left in Europe. The signatories say the European left's “Plan A” is to build the fight in each country and across Europe to renegotiate the founding European treaties. These lock the European Union into a neoliberal paradigm. The aim is to open the path to a socially just European model of development. But the statement says this plan, while needed, is insufficient. Europe's left needs a Plan B at its disposal, which will allow any future left government in Europe to face down the blackmail from the European establishment — including threats of expulsion from the eurozone.

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