Paterson Orders 8,900 Layoffs of State Workers.

March 24, 2009.
photo: A. Golden, eyewash design, c. 2009.

Governor calls for first job cuts since the late 1990s as the state faces a $16 billion deficit.

(AP) - Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday ordered layoffs that could total more than 4 percent of state workers after unions refused concessions amid a staggering economic downturn that was projected to push the state's deficit to $16 billion in the next year.

Budget Director Laura Anglin told The Associated Press that the layoffs of nearly 9,000 employees would be the first since the late 1990s after unions refused to even provide counterproposals.

It was unclear if the eventual number of layoffs could be offset by attrition or early retirement incentives. Those are among the details that would be worked out in coming weeks.

The layoffs, which Ms. Anglin said could save the state $500 million over two years, could begin July 1. The state currently employs nearly 200,000 people.

Ms. Anglin said unions, including the state's largest public employee unions, have been informed and could still try to return to the table in the coming days before a budget is negotiated.

"We felt there was no other option at this point considering the size and magnitude of the deficit," Ms. Anglin said in an interview. "We asked everyone for a sacrifice and the unions were not willing to have that conversation."

There was no immediate comment from two of the state's biggest unions, the Civil Service Employees Association and Public Employees Federation.

Ms. Anglin said the unions refused proposals to delay 3 percent pay raises expected this year; defer a week's pay until retirement, a practice known as "lag pay"; or reduce state payments into retirees' health care.

The action is expected to save $161 million in the 2009-10 fiscal year.

It will take months to figure out which agencies and employees would be affected. The layoffs would apply only to workers in agencies under direct control of the governor's office such as highway crews, nurses, prison guards and forest rangers.

Employees not under Mr. Paterson's control include workers in the office of the attorney general, comptroller, state courts system or Legislature, Ms. Anglin said.

Mr. Paterson said no jobs are safe but he committed to protecting public safety.

State unemployment has risen during this recession to 7 percent in January, the latest number available, up from 4.7 percent a year before.

State jobs are most heavily concentrated in Albany and New York City, but they also represent a major part of local economies in many rural areas such as the Adirondacks and Southern Tier — particularly state prisons.

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Nation Institute Sponsors Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz on the Economic Collaps: NYC

To our Friends and Supporters -

Join Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, author and activist Barbara Ehrenreich, Black Commentator's Bill Fletcher, Jr., Jeff Madrick and Nation D.C. editor Christopher Hayes in a wide-ranging and incisive conversation as they discuss the origins on the financial collapse, debate President Obama's stimulus package and consider what form economic recovery should take to ensure a more equitable future for everyone.

The event marks the publication of Meltdown: How Greed and Corruption Shattered Our Financial System and How We Can Recover (Nation Books) by Katrina vanden Heuvel and the editors of The Nation. The book will be available for purchase at the event, or you can order a copy by clicking here.

As this event will be televised, please be on time — the doors open at 7:15 p.m. Audience questions will be taken, and a book-signing will follow the conversation.

If you cannot make the event, check out this page for other ways you can participate.

Nation Books is putting together a live stream in addition to having two bloggers posting updates from the event. You will also be able to submit questions ahead of time (as well as during the event) on our Meltdown page. An audio podcast will be available several days after the event.

Meltdown: The Economic Collapse and a People's Plan for Recovery
DATE: March 6, 2009
LOCATION: New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street, New York City
TIME: 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:15 p.m.
Please arrive as early as possible.

FREE OF CHARGE
SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED

CO-SPONSORS:

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Citigroup's Special Treatment: 2 Bailouts & $78 BILLION Later.

Why are we allowing our "representatives" to spend the public's money to bail out stockholders? This is inconsistent with how market capitalism is supposed to work. More importantly, we should be concerned with it's unconstitutionality.

You can fool some people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time.

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

U.S. Economic Collapse: One man's view.

The above is a video series about the ongoing world financial collapse. Like it or not folks, the current climate in which we presently find ourselves was predicted. In trolling around YouTube this week, I discovered user "NWOSigns" work. It's a little stomach-churning to take in in one sitting, but worth forcing yourself, just the same. Americans have been told for years that many of the things presently happening were inconceivable not too long ago (like, mere months).

Yet, here we are. There's a saying I once heard from a wise elder going something like this, "If someone's labeled something a conspiracy, or a person, a "conspiracy theorist", it usually turns out they're on to something." I say, if it can't hurt, then why not try? It is in this spirit that this video series is posted today. People once told a friend of mine he was "crazy" - a "nut-job," even - whenever he tried talking about the financial system & it's inevitable future train wreck to destination "Meltdown". Since we live in NYC and there are financial experts at every turn, this is not surprising. I mean, what does a musician know about the finance industry, right?

As it turns out, a lot. At least his "little project" becoming the most downloaded film in the history of the internet proved the naysayers wrong, right? Chances being, if you're here reading this blog, then you've already seen it, talked about it, or heard its name mentioned: Zeitgeist. Thinking about how one person can make a HUGE difference really makes me think I should have a new section called: "Conspiracy Corner".

Kind of catchy, right? Enjoy it while you can, 'cause it's going to be a bumpy ride friends. And, by bumpy, I do not refer to the good kind.

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Right-Washing the New Deal

by: Karl Frisch

This op-ed originally appeared in the San Jose Mercury News.

It's probably a good thing that cable news generally doesn't draw much of an audience from the 18 - to - 24 year-old demographic. Otherwise, history professors across the nation could very well be witnessing the undoing of their work to educate students about the dire economic climate the United States faced for much of the 1930s.

Those who have been watching cable news lately have undoubtedly noticed the litany of conservative media figures attempting to rewrite history by denigrating the tremendous successes of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal policies in what amounts to an orchestrated effort to derail the economic recovery plans of President Obama.

Fox News Washington managing editor Brit Hume recently called Roosevelt's policies "a jihad against private enterprise," just after claiming that "everybody agrees, I think, on both sides of the spectrum now, that the New Deal failed." That may be accurate if by "both sides of the spectrum" Hume is referring to the right and far-right over at Fox News.

Hume's own jihad against the facts, however, represents only a small portion of the historical misrepresentations passed off as reasoned debate about the New Deal.

Witness the day-break machinations of the crew over at MSNBC's Morning Joe. During a recent broadcast, Joe Scarborough and co-host Mika Brzezinski kicked off a string of attacks against the president's recovery plan, using the New Deal as their dubious weapon du jour. Mika said of Obama's plan, "I think we're going to have the same unemployment in three or four years, just like the New Deal." That just isn't true -- unemployment fell every year from 1933 through 1937.

Her buddy Joe didn't fare much better, cherry-picking data in telling viewers that unemployment was at "20 percent" in 1938, ignoring the downward trend in unemployment that occurred under the New Deal.

Joe isn't alone -- conservative columnists George Will and Mona Charen have played the same numbers game to falsely claim the New Deal failed to reduce unemployment, a contention disputed by historians and economists.

Don't take my word for it -- data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the unemployment rate in 1933 clocking in at 24.9 percent and falling each year thereafter (to 14.3 percent in 1937) until 1938 when it rose to 19 percent. Why the increase from 1937 to 1938? As Nobel laureate Paul Krugman has noted, it was a reversal of these very same New Deal policies, which had reduced unemployment, that actually led to recession and drove the numbers back up. It's worth noting, by the way, that these numbers do not include those in federal work-relief programs (at the time, BLS counted those employed by the New Deal's emergency work programs as unemployed). So, the unemployment numbers were actually lower than reported in these years.

The strengthening of the social safety net during the 1930s stimulated the economy while also providing assistance to those waiting to feel the economic recovery for themselves. That's perhaps why Fox News' Bill O'Reilly saw fit to lambast portions of the president's plan aimed at assisting those most in need during these difficult times, claiming last week on his television show that increased funding for programs like food stamps has "nothing to do with stimulating the economy." Though his ego will never let him admit it, O'Reilly is dead wrong.

Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Elmendorf and former McCain campaign economic adviser Mark Zandi have both said that extending food stamps does, in fact, stimulate the economy. Zandi stated last year that "extending food stamps [is] the most effective [way] to prime the economy's pump," while Elmendorf noted in congressional testimony just last week that "[t]ransfers to persons (for example, unemployment insurance and nutrition assistance) would also have a significant impact on GDP."

Faced with the prospect that history will again demonstrate that government spending and investment are important tools in confronting an economic crisis, it is now clear that conservatives are engaged in a misinformation campaign to mislead the public.

So, when radio host Rush Limbaugh, whom former President Ronald Reagan reportedly called the "Number one voice for conservatism" and House Republicans named an honorary member of Congress in 1994, recently said of Obama, "I hope he fails," it makes one wonder if he might not be speaking for all of his pals on the right.

If Limbaugh and conservatives truly want the president to "fail," rewriting the history of the New Deal may very well be the first salvo in a long war to defeat Obama's agenda for America.

Karl Frisch is a senior fellow at Media Matters for America, a progressive media watchdog, research, and information center based in Washington, D.C. Frisch also contributes to County Fair, a media blog featuring links to progressive media criticism from around the web as well as original commentary. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook or sign-up to receive his columns by email.

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Talk and Go Straight, and Let All be Well.

Prayer to Grandfather:
Talk and Go Straight, and Let All be Well.
by: Alane Golden

Motavato Black Kettle of the Southern Cheyenne spoke to the Indians at Medicine Creek Lodge:

"We were once friends with the whites, but you nudged us out of the way by your intrigues and now when we are in council, you keep nudging (to fight) each other. Why don't you talk and go straight, and let all be well?"

Talk and go straight, and let all be well. This is what you taught your children, and this too is what shapes me. But Grandfather, the world is a very different place today than when you walked in harmony on this earth. The time has come for all here to talk and go straight, and let all be well. Though, this is becoming more difficult with each passing day, and I ask for your strength and guidance on this journey.

Segal's Law says a man with a watch knows what time it is, but a man with two watches is never sure. You taught your children that Natural Law tells the time by looking at the position of the sun in the sky – that the sun is our watch. You taught them to navigate through the tidal creeks, using the stars and the moon - to spear flounder swimming beneath the murky water, so they too might be self-sufficient. By imparting your knowledge of tools, they learned the honor of creating. Because of you, they paid close attention to the seasons - learning to grow and prepare the same food gracing their dinner table. By doing so, they grasped the interconnectedness of man to earth, and knew they must respect and care for the land - because they understood it was a gift. Thanks to you Grandfather, your daughters learned the joys of music, of knowledge in books, and the value of sharing and giving freely. You were a man of few words, because you were a leader by example. For these things and more, I humbly give thanks. If not for you, I would not be here - trying to walk the road in a way both honoring you, and those who came before.

But Grandfather, in thinking about the time in which you lived compared to now, I sometimes find myself confused. Though the sun still remains in the same position, the clock often tells a different time. We are no longer able to get in our rickety, hand-made, wooden boats to fish freely. There are now permits required for so many of the things that just were, in your lifetime. Without money, the people are blocked from collecting the gifts of nature to share with their families, and the delicate cycle between nature and man is now broken. And the fish Grandfather, the fish! Those left are now very sick. In the world in which I walk, pregnant women are told not to eat shellfish because mercury poisoning may damage their unborn children. This is poison we put in our own water. In spite of the many rules and regulations, the people still walk on the land and swim in the waters. But, most here have lost their way. Trampling over, no longer walking with the land is what we honor today. What does this speak of the time in which we now live? Who are we? How will we be remembered? The time for all on earth to talk and go straight, and let all be well is upon us. I again ask for your strength and guidance on this journey.

Though you never went to university, you worked yourself into an early grave making certain your daughters did. Because you sacrificed yourself so your children might have opportunities you did not, I pray that you are now standing tall in the knowledge that your grandchildren have carried forward these values. It is because of you that we were able. For this, we owe you much. Know your sacrifices were not made in vain. And, like you Grandfather, I too have traveled across the Atlantic Ocean. Visiting Europe, I walked on the land upon which you once found yourself a teenager in uniform, carrying a gun. My trip was only possible because of the path you forged. Studying academics – not warfare – my weapons instead were books, pencils and paper. While learning, I tried to honor you, ever mindful to, “Talk. Go straight. And, let all be well.”

After studying in the halls of university, I traversed the world for nearly a decade - carrying what little possessions owned, upon my back. Crossing many oceans, I reached the farthest corners of the world – traveling to the places described in the books you could only read. In these faraway lands, I became a student of life - observing every one and every thing encountered – trying hard to remember the things you passed on. It was with the Koori Aborigines of Australia and while traveling with the Maoris of Aotearoa in which I most felt your presence and heard clearly, “Talk. Go straight. And, let all be well.”

Though this walkabout was good, and I learned much, the time to return to my land soon came. For, somewhere along this journey, I found my father. You remember him well. He was the one you begged your firstborn daughter not to marry. She did not heed your wisdom, and things between them were as bad as your vision foretold. His warrior spirit was not equal in strength to the disease crippling him. But fear not, Grandfather. Because after you returned to the earth, our Mother was able to gather the courage to leave – taking her daughters back to the very place in which you were raised. Thanks to the help of all our extended relations, we learned your practices – growing up healthy and strong in mind, body, and spirit. It was through these teachings that I learned to treat those as I would be treated. This concept has been taught for thousands of years. And, though easily spoken, can sometimes be most difficult in practice. But, because you walked - rather than talked - your daughters were good teachers, and we came to understood that actions speak more loudly than words. So, when I learned our father was alone, ill, and in need of care, I traded a life in Australia for one in New York City (NYC). It was on the long trip back in which I heard these words whispering in the wind, “Talk and go straight and, let all be well.”

I have seen many spectacular things in this grand city. There are buildings taller than many mountains. Art of every kind, from many periods, hangs on walls in sprawling halls of splendor and magnificence. Great performers grace stages on Broadway, singing and dancing to live orchestras playing the same music once transported through the phonographs of yesteryear. Hundreds of trains run simultaneously in incongruent directions beneath the city - depositing the millions running to-and-fro to places yet discovered. Here, people from many cultures and classes live side-by-side, in relative harmony. The city houses some of America’s best institutions for higher learning. Every summer, Central Park explodes with life - thousands of tulips bloom, setting the stage for music concerts and Shakespearean plays. There are extravagant parades for every occasion. Though I have experienced these things as an individual, knowing you have been watching fills my heart with indescribable joy. I feel strongly that you have taken great pleasure in bearing witness to this wonder and pray this has brought you a small measure of happiness. That - in some way - these moments have made you proud…that there is a smile upon your lips when you gently remind, “Talk. Go straight. Let all be well.”

While experiencing these things has been remarkable, my spirit is sometimes heavy, Grandfather. Though trying to stand tall, my walk grows increasingly more troubled – shoulders stooping slightly. For, they are burdened by a saddened heart. Just as the scale requires a careful measure to maintain balance, too great in number have our troubles mounted to achieve equality, and our lives have grown off-kilter. We have again lost our way, Grandfather. I find the challenges of life in NYC many - the road often clogged with great distraction, and much noise. Lately, balancing tears of joy with those of sadness grows ever more challenging. At times, I am fearful the image of the many desperate faces peering through the windows of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center will forever haunt my dreamtime. The sadness of their restless spirits trapped here has been, at times, overwhelming. In retaliation for this act, a continuous, near eight-year war has been waged. Though our troubles mount daily, leaders tell us yet another foreign enemy threatens our sovereignty. All the while, woes at home mount. The losses are many, ever increasing and they tug upon our souls with greater intensity. Thousands of men, women, and children have given their lives in the streets of far-away places. And, much blood has been shed.

Our great nation has lost its way, Grandfather. We now find ourselves at the same crossroads in which your generation once found itself. With our Elders fast disappearing, their wisdom has become too carelessly forgotten. It brings great sadness to admit the painful lessons learned by your generation have been ignored by most in the next. The people have arrived full circle - back to the same hard road upon which you already walked. We are reaping what we have sewn. And, just as then, many people now do not have work. The unemployment lines grow larger with each sunrise. Countless are losing their homes. Still, others find themselves without very basic health care. Fuel has become so costly the people must choose between filling their cars, or their stomachs. And, after surviving the horrors of war, our veterans are returning, only to find themselves living on streets throughout the nation - killing themselves in record numbers. The country is sick, Grandfather, and “Talking, going straight, and letting all be well,” has grown most challenging.

It is in this spirit that I humbly ask for your continued guidance. Without which, I would be lost. Because you walked the earth for many moons, you have the answers to the questions now being asked. Please accept this prayer, dear Grandfather. More than any time on my journey, I ask your help to remain brave, to grant me the fortitude of endurance, to aid in the mindfulness of the gifts of generosity, and to give me the wisdom I seek. Like you, the great desire to leave this earth a better place than when I lived, remains stronger than ever, and I thank you for your counsel on this journey. Talk and go straight, and let all be well!

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.