We Cannot Count on Harris and the Democrats
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) historically is the time when the party’s presidential candidate would be officially selected. But a virtual roll-call has already been done. So the selection of Harris and Walz at the convention is a formality. Keynote speakers include Biden, the Clintons, and Obama. The DNC comes after a media circus around Harris and Walz. Since Biden stepped down, the mainstream media has had nothing but great words to say about Harris. The media, the Democrats and their pundits say that she is the hope we’ve been waiting for against Trump, Project 2025, and the attacks we are facing from inflation, assaults on reproductive health, racist police violence, global heating, and everything else.
Even before the DNC, Harris told us she will fight to protect abortion rights against the Republicans, has vaguely agreed to the idea of a ceasefire in Gaza, and released her plan to fix the economy.
Before Biden quit his campaign, it was insulting to hear from him and the rest of the Democrats say that everything was okay, inflation was down and that the economy was fine. Since then, the Harris campaign began making weak campaign promises around limiting price gouging on groceries, building more houses, giving out child tax credits, and lowering prescription drug prices. We’ve known we’ve needed things like this for years. But it’s only at election time that politicians like Harris and Trump come out with promises to save us from these never ending crises. They want our votes, but why should we trust them?
Looking at the past two successful Democrat presidential candidates, Obama and Biden, we see how empty their campaign promises were. They promised to save us, whether during the 2008 great recession or in the middle of the pandemic. Obama promised to pull us out of Afghanistan by 2014, to codify abortion into law, and to fight for “Main Street, not Wall Street.” That didn’t happen, even when the Democrats controlled the White House and both houses of Congress. The biggest thing Obama could claim was the Affordable Care Act, a law written mostly by healthcare corporations for their benefit. In 2020, Biden promised to be the most pro-worker president ever, but then forced a terrible contract on railroad workers who were threatening to strike. He promised to follow the science on climate change and ended up leasing more land to oil companies than any other president. Politicians, including the Democrats, always make promises, especially in times of crisis. But once they become president, they seem to forget they ever made those promises.
And why wouldn’t they? 65% of the politicians in Congress currently and 80% of all U.S. presidents are worth more than $1 million. Trump has billions. They can talk like they are working people who care about our problems and can save us. But why would they? They are the peers or apologists for the wealthy who own massive corporations. Recent presidents’ administrations have given billions in bail-outs to banks and corporations, waged decades-long wars killing innocent people for power and oil. They’ve rushed opening up the economy during a pandemic so corporations could continue to make profits, while healthcare workers risked their lives with inadequate equipment and supplies, not to mention insane schedules. The capitalists’ politicians put the burden of recessions, inflation, and unemployment on us.
This election season, like every other, they hope to play us as fools. These politicians, including Harris, think that their empty campaign slogans and weak campaign promises will make us forget the war they have waged on us, our friends, family, coworkers, and loved ones. Why believe another politician who says this time will be different? With the attacks we face today, like inflation, poverty pay, endless wars, homelessness, a drug epidemic, and climate change, we can’t afford to wait any longer. We know what we need, and know the politicians can’t deliver. So, if we want to end these crises once and for all, it’s up to us to organize ourselves against the politicians, the pundits, and the bosses.
Students and Workers in Bangladesh Show the Way!
What do you do when inflation is swallowing your paycheck, young people can’t get a job or a decent education, and the richest ten percent hold more than 40 percent of the wealth? In Bangladesh on August 5, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators facing these problems stormed the prime minister’s palace and overthrew her! But then the army quickly installed a new government that they hoped would quell the revolt.
All of this is the outcome of student demonstrations since July. The students have been joined by their parents, teachers, and workers in the massive, sweatshop textile industry.
The people of Bangladesh showed their power to overthrow those who oppress us, up to the point of removing dictators that represent the ruling class. They may also be able to keep that victory from being stolen from them, by laying down the basis of a democracy that springs from the grassroots.
The aims of the working class of Bangladesh are our own: to live and not just survive, to decide our fate democratically! This is inspiring.
Racist Cop Violence Continues
It’s been ten years since the police killed Eric Garner in Staten Island and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. In the weeks following these murders, thousands of people across the country took to the streets, outraged at the constant police violence faced by Black people.
Since then, people continued to demonstrate following the murders of people of color by police: Sandra Bland in 2015, Philando Castile and Alton Sterling in 2016, and George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020. Every time, politicians repeated their empty condolences and promises. None of this talk has ended racist police violence.
Politicians show us that we can’t rely on them, because police violence and racism are key tools to maintain capitalism and divide working people. We can take inspiration from the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements for our future struggles. But we must remember: the only force that can change this system is us!
Back to School in Hard Times
Prices are at a record high, and U.S. back-to-school shopping expenses for families have increased over 67 percent since 2009, outpacing inflation. COVID relief funds have dried out, and there are massive cuts to public education and other public services happening across the country. This is a really tough time to be a worker in America, let alone a parent.
Some working families have to make very hard choices: skip a meal or two to buy the necessary back-to-school supplies required of so many students at the start of the school year. Growing kids need new clothes that fit. Prices for school supplies have risen 25 percent since 2020. Clothes have risen about 14 percent. Shoe prices have increased 12 percent in that same time.
With all the budget cuts to public education, many school districts no longer provide buses. Now working families have to think of the cost, and the time, necessary to get their kids to school.
Some educators feel they need to make up the difference with all the cuts to education. Some teachers are buying school supplies out of pocket, or seeking donations (extra unpaid work) for their classrooms. While Democrats declare that inflation is on the decline, working people and families are not feeling this at home. It’s back to school in hard times.
