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| A Larger View |
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A Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Inner Outer Partnership |
| Volume IX Edition 1 |
Jan/Feb |
2004 |
The Need For A Public Sector:
Being Wary of Privatization
Congressman Patrick J. Toomey, a Republican representative from Pennsylvania, recently put it succinctly. He said that, "Where there is a private-market alternative, it ought to be providing the goods and service, rather than the government." Spurred on by many conservatives, the privatization of government services is growing. Almost all sectors of the government now have some form of privatization. Public housing is almost a thing of the past. Defense contracts abound, all that one has to do is go to the Department of Defense web site and look up the awards posted daily under military contracts. Some prisons are now privatized, some schools are, and there the debate will continue at least as long as the issue of vouchers is before us. In health care, the recent passage of the bill reforming Medicare allows providers such as HMOs to compete with Medicare. The proponents see privatization as a way to create efficiency and reduce waste saying it will lead to better services while trimming costs. Ah that it were that simple. Robert Kuttner, co-editor of the American Prospect, like its name suggests, a liberal magazine, reminds us that before Medicare only half of America's seniors had hospitalization insurance, adding that even for those who could afford it, no company would sell it to them since those over 65 tend to be sick more often. He adds, that without free public schools, half of the families in America could not afford to educate their kids and draws a significant conclusion: "The result would be a terrible human cost and a loss to the productivity of society."
The idea of the public sector was meant to be one where the public good could reign, where special interests had no voice. Those making decisions would be free to do what is best for most if not for all. That reasoning is of course still true. If the public sector has problems with efficiency or accountability, none is unsolvable, and no doubt would be more readily addressed than the culture that leads to the abuses of corporations like Enron. As things stand, privatization serves the interests of big business reminding us that the U.S. economy is in the main made up of large and getting larger corporations whose first allegiance is to their bottom line.
Those of us who believe in the public good and in the government's responsibility to that public good ought not to so readily accept a shrinking public sector. We ought to instead insist on a vibrant one.
Wal-Mart, Unions and the Strikers:
Putting Our Money where Our Ethics Are
In Southern California, a strike by grocery workers is many weeks old, and shows no signs of being resolved despite the fact that both sides are enduring financial strain. The impasse is no doubt due to the fact that both have legitimate grievance. Part of the problem the striking unions say is healthcare. For their part the grocery chains state the problem as Wal-Mart and its increasing number of superstores selling anything including groceries cheaper than anyone else. What seems to make the issues even harder to resolve is that these are not local problems, but national ones. If viable solutions are to be found they must be addressed on a much larger scale than would a local dispute. As it is the strike may end up being too parochial a tactic to yield lasting results. What would have happened had the unions banded together with all other unions and demanded that health care be addressed? Union leaders have recently reached out to leaders in other states but the chief reason was not the spirit of cooperation that might have made a huge difference, but to avoid being stymied. Similarly, what would be the result if all grocery chains joined together to confront Wal-Mart? Better yet, what insights might have come had both sides realized that the cause of their disagreement was over the same issues and instead banded together to pressure Congress to act on health care. Wal-Mart has and is conducting aggressive PR. When the city of Inglewood passed a resolution prohibiting a superstore, for example, the company enlisted the help of community groups to have an initiative on the March ballot to override them. Public interest groups have gone to court so far successfully blocking the initiative. Whether or not they ultimately succeed, certain facts remain. Where grocery stores pay certain clerks up to $19 per hour, Wal-Mart does not go above $9. It has fiercely resisted unionization and has been known to take drastic measures to prevent workers from organizing. While Wal-Mart offers medical insurance, the premiums and/or co-pays are too high for the workers to afford on their salaries. In Las Vegas, home of one of Wal-Mart's superstores, a surge in admissions to the county hospital's ER revealed that many of the patients were Wal-Mart employees. Wherever Wal-Mart opens a store many small stores go under, and then there's the issue of working conditions in the third world countries contracting to do the sewing or manufacturing work. Given that Wal-Mart insists on lower prices the pressures are passed on to already overburdened workers-glad for a job perhaps, but sometimes working with swollen hands, aching backs along with other work related ailments in what is nothing but sweatshop conditions. Such conditions led a Los Angeles Times editorial to ask at what cost do we the public want lower prices?
These are not simple problems and resolving them will take determination, persistence and time. Before they can be resolved, however, they require far more understanding than they have been receiving. Let us begin.
Kofi Annan: The Search for a More Relevant UN
There's something reassuring about the head of the United Nations. It's more than his quiet voice, his unassuming ways and self confidence, or even his sophistication and command of language, it's his understanding of the world's problems and of the role the United Nations can play. Our leaders are so often rapt in their own perspectives that problems go unrecognized or unarticulated and not surprisingly answers consequently remain elusive. But Ghanaian born Mr. Annan, a veteran of the UN, not only grasps the biggest issues we are facing, he seems to have an equal grasp of what is needed to resolve them. He calls our times "a decisive moment in history" and says that problems such as protecting ourselves against terrorism, halting the spread of weapons of mass destruction, whether preventive war is justified, or to what extent it is the international community's responsibility to prevent or to resolve conflicts within given states (such as ethnic cleansing) need answers. And when he speaks and adds what he calls the "softer" threats of extreme poverty, hunger, unsafe drinking water, environmental degradation and the spread of infectious diseases, he reminds us that the need is even keener because these too impinge on peace and security. It's not that Kofi Annan offers the UN as the savior or policeman of the world, but that he sees the possibilities of the organization's contribution with pragmatism and imagination. To that end he has convened a panel chaired by the former Prime Minister of Thailand to examine the future of the UN, and how in particular it could fulfill one of the purposes stated in Article I of its charter, that is to "take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace." The panel's report is due in the Fall. Let us hope it is as visionary as Mr. Annan, but most of all that its findings are heard.
The Hidden Side of Illegal Immigration
In the wake of 9/11 it seems only logical that porous borders should be closely watched. In the U.S. borders are an issue with both Canada and Mexico but when it comes to Mexico and the steady trickle of illegal immigrants the issue becomes much more than security. All along the Texas, California and Arizona borders all key ports of entry are being closely monitored. This means that when people cross illegally, they now have to resort to going through the desert, and that has become a deadly venture for many. While over the entire history of the Berlin Wall 287 people died trying to cross it, as currently implemented since the Clinton Administration, the number of Mexicans who have died trying to cross into the U.S. is over 2500. The desert in question is the Arizona desert, upon which lies the Tohono Indian Reservation. As a humane gesture, Mike Wilson, a former Green Beret who is also a Tohono, recently put 134 gallons of bottled water at a well-traveled spot, only to find them slashed or spilled a few days later. Since the Tribe's council has threatened to ban him for providing water, and since they refuse to provide it themselves, it appears they may be behind it. He believes the reason is fear. Regardless, the life or death of those walking across the desert is more important to him than any tribal sanctions and he continues to provide it. Crossing the desert is not the only danger illegal immigrants face. Once they are in the U.S. criminals and gangs raid the safe houses where they temporarily stay, kidnapping them and then torturing and raping them while talking to their relatives on the phone asking for ransoms.
Borders do have their purpose, still the plight of illegal immigrants has now become a human rights problem.
Web Site of Interest: www.thisnation.com
Civics and Government In One Easy Website
It's not only that important documents are part of this web site, documents such as the Mayflower Compact or the Magna Carta, it's that it also contains pieces like John Locke's Treatise On Government, a classic work succinctly making the case for why government is important, or the full text of FDR's Four Freedoms. Created by Jonathan Mott, it is meant to be an adjunct to an ebook he wrote about government and how it works. It does, however, stand on its own and is an easy reference to questions we might have about how the three branches of government work, voting, legislation and other such issues which affect how we live whether or not we realize it.
To Ponder On
"So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, which moves
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."
From Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant, via Garrisson Keilor's www.writersalmanac.org
A Larger View is published by the Inner\Outer Partnership, a tax-exempt educational organization addressing issues of higher values. We are funded through donations. Please send yours-as well as any comments-to P.O.Box 1293, Pac. Pal. CA 90272-1293. Also contact us by email at innerouter@earthlink.net or call 310-8367710 or visit our web site at www.innerouterpartnership.org
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