THE GLOBAL ECONO MY  

Here’s a kick in the butt for working folks! Proposed House Bill H.R. #2896 the “American Jobs Creation Act” includes a $60 billion tax break to companies that move offshore and ship jobs overseas.  Talk about unpatriotic. Workers in this country have seen 3million jobs leave this country during this Administration’s first term.  That alone is unconscionable, but to add insult to injury, they give these laws warm fuzzy names like “American Jobs Creation Act” which have exactly the opposite effect of what the name would imply.  HOW DUMB ARE WE???  It is understood that multi national corporations have loyalty to only themselves and money, but what is truly puzzling is how smaller business’s can support these types of policies.  If Americans are unemployed, how can they purchase goods and services, regardless of how inexpensive they may be?  American workers are the most productive in the world, but will never be able to compete with Communist China, whose average pay is $17 for a 60-hour workweek.  That’s another issue that is upsetting.   We now have an enormous trade deficit with China , which manufactures everything from dining room tables to AMERICAN FLAGS and simply ignore the fact that they are Communist controlled in order to save a few bucks.  I guess patriotism takes a back seat to profits and greed.  We now have an administration full of _______.  You fill in the blank!               

Steve Williams

                                               Business Manager

MASTERS OF DECEIT

Baby Boomers may remember a book from the 60’s entitled ”Masters of Deceit”. As I recall it was about the masterful use of deception by the communists in their tyrannical attempt of world domination. Who would ever have thought that such a title would be so appropriate for a United States President and his administration?

I started with Baby Boomers, because they are this week’s prime targets on the Bush administration’s radarscope. Bush’s handling of the economy has been more than slanted with tax breaks for the wealthy and corporate welfare. Mr. Greenspan warned of the dangers posed by huge budget deficits and instead of restoring the revenue losses caused by their give away programs, the Bush Administration wants to target Social Security benefits. Three years ago Congress was assured that the tax cuts would not endanger Social Security benefits. Just another deception.

Increases in taxes on working Americans generated a Social Security surplus and the Bush administration used that surplus as one of the arguments for tax cuts. Those tax cuts gave very little relief to working families, but were worth a lot to those making over $300,000.00.  Now that the Bush tax cuts have contributed heavily to the soaring deficit, cuts in Social Security benefits are this administration’s answer to the problem.  

If Bush wins in November you can be sure he will continue his attack on Social Security through deceptive policies like privatization and personal retirement accounts. The masters of deceit will claim this to be a way to “save” Social Security when it is just another way to undermine it.

Evidence of the deceit in Bush’s policies can be seen in the warm and fuzzy titles of legislation. ”Paycheck Protection Act”, “American Jobs Creation Act”, ”No Child Left Behind”, just to name a few. The same can be said for the recent prescription drug bill, when you see what it really does to seniors and Medicare. This is nothing new to the ideologues on the right. All you have to do is look at real meaning of the ”Right to Work” and you can see that it goes back a long way.

President Bush is starting his re-election campaign attacks this week. The masters of deceit will be busy for the next 8 months. Hopefully the American people will be able to see through the veil of deception as the administration attempts to hide the truth.

                                                Bill Sweeney

                                                Organizer

Jobs and Jobless in America

It’s only been three short years since George W. Bush took office and WOW, has things changed.  During the Clinton Years, work was plentiful with overtime if you wanted it.  Unemployment was low and his term in office ended with surplus in the federal budget for the first time since 1969.  Now only 3 years later, unemployment stands at 5.9% with many workers who have exhausted their benefits and are no longer counted in these figures.  The deficit is approaching 500 billion dollars.  

As reported in the Seattle Times, “The movement of American factory jobs and white-collar work to other countries is part of a positive transformation that will enrich the U.S. economy over time, even if it causes short-term pain and dislocation”, the Bush administration said.  “Outsourcing is just a new way of doing international trade.  More things are tradable than were tradable in the past.  And, that’s a good thing”, said N.Gregory Mankiw, Chairman of Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors.  Good for who?  CEO’s, major stockholders?  Not for working men and women.

Comparing George W. to past Presidents, you would have to go back to Herbert Hoover to find a President with a worse job creation record and he’s closing in on that.  

PRESIDENTIAL TERM                      JOBS CREATED PER MO.  

Truman 1                                               60,000

Truman 2                                               130,000

Eisenhower 1                                        58,000

Eisenhower 2                                        15,000

Kennedy                                                122,000

Johnson                                                 206,000

Nixon 1                                                   129,000

Nixon /Ford                                           105,000

Carter                                                     218,000

Reagan 1                                                109,000

Reagan 2                                                224,000

G. Bush                                                   52,000

Clinton 1                                                242,000

Clinton 2                                                235,000

G.W.Bush                                               69,000 Destroyed per month  

Since George W. Bush has taken office, America has lost 3 million jobs.  One million of those through outsourcing, 2.5 million of those were manufacturing jobs.  His latest gimmick was to change fast food jobs currently classified as service industry to manufacturing, to boost those figures.  We heard he got caught and that may not happen.  Manufacturing what?  A Hamburger….oh yeah.  There’s a new word in the dictionary.  Macjob – A low paid dead end job without health insurance.  Let’s make one more while were at it.  Bushjob – having no job and being out of unemployment.  

Our local union is approximately 90% registered to vote.  That’s as good as any local I’ve heard but it doesn’t stop there.  We must let people know how America is being sold out to the lowest bidder and get Bush out of office.  We can’t take 4 more years.  Vote Democrat for the good of your JOB!  

                                    John Barrington

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INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
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