Food for Thought

- The current market meltdown is no mystery to socialists, just the normal operation of the capitalist mode of production. Booms and busts are created by the anarchy of production and will continue as long as capitalism lasts. Still, it’s amazing to see the wild market gyrations,and even more to witness the attempted bailouts. During the week of September 15-19, The Toronto stock exchange lost 515 points on Monday, lost 27 points on Tuesday, lost 349 points on Wednesday, gained 186 points on Thursday, and gained 848 points on Friday, after $180 billion had been pumped into the global financial system by the world’s central banks.Unfortunately, by September 29th., the markets lost $1 trillion, making $4.2 trillion in losses for the year and the American government is considering a $700 billion bailout, and that’s on top of several rescue attempts for large financial institutions.(AIG Insurance CO. got $85billion). Of course, that’s all in the casino economy, not the real one, but the worker will get hit again through job losses as the recession deepens and through his/her small investments or pension fund losses. Even Sir Isaac Newton was moved to remark, after losing a fortune in the South Sea Bubble,
“ I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not themadness of men.”

- Meanwhile, the excesses continue. CEO of the failed Lehman Brothers Walked away with $34 million in salary this year, and the CEO of AIG collected $14 million for overseeing the demise of his company (CBC radio). Richard Gwynne (Toronto Star, 26/09/08) reported that the pay of corporate executives increased from 27 times that of an average worker in 1973 to 400 times as much today. That means the executive has earned, by afternoon tea on the first day of the year, as much as the worker will get for a year’s toil!

- In Dubai, they have created a $1.5 billion tourist island, shaped in the form of a palm tree and with hotels that have $25 000 per night rooms.- Against all this talk of trillions and billions we learn that the UN has finally committed $3 billion over the next seven years, about $400 million per year, to the elimination of malaria. Malaria kills one million peoplea year, mostly infants, none of whom have any shares on the stock market and thus do not qualify for a trillion dollar bailout.

- The bleeding of manufacturing jobs in Ontario continues apace as Toyota cuts a shift and 1200 jobs its Woodstock plant. They may get something but it won’t compare to the CEOs parachutes.

- An article in the Toronto Star (19/09/08) reported that a national poll showed that nine out of ten Canadians thought it was “very” or “somewhat” important that the federal budget help the poor. Yet, Canada’s percentage of low-income people has never been lower than 10 percent in the last 40 years, and 150 000 to 300 000 people sleep on our streets or in shelters.They are still waiting for the ‘trickle down effect’ from the rich and famous.

- Haiti, battered by several hurricanes in the past weeks has to rely on star power to get aid. Actor Matt Damon and musician Wyclef Jean flew in to publicize the plight of the islanders. Give them credit for trying but if they have to wait as long as the Make Poverty History campaign, it will be a long recovery.

- Prisoners appearing in court in Durham Region (just east of Toronto)have had their cheese sandwiches cut to a granola bar and juice box to save money. They are finding it hard to concentrate on proceedings. A lawyer commented, “ In a 12-hour period, the prisoners are being fed the nutritional equivalent of what I scatter in the yard for the birds in the morning.” (Toronto Star).

- Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty has made bold strides to fight the economic crisis. After making poverty a priority, but doing next to nothing, he announced last week that trying economic times mean ‘adjustments’ to the programme. Say no More! - An agency to help new immigrants to settle in our region and servicing 40 000 people has had its funding cut by the federal government and two thirds of its workers laid off. The foregoing is to emphasize the fact that when the needy are in trouble, there is never any money, but when the multi-billionaire corporations are mired in a mess of their own making, trillions magically appear to their rescue, somewhat similar to the vast amounts of money that appeared at the outbreak of WWII after a decade of deprivation and starvation for the workers who were constantly told there was no money for them and their families. As I said at the beginning, this is the normal operation of the capitalist mode of production.
John Ayers