Daily News Digest June 1, 2023
Capitalism is Now a Worldwide Threat to Humanity! It is on the Fast Track to Global Warming and/or Nuclear War Catastrophes!
Images of the Day:
Who’s Hungrey in The United States 
Since World War I, ‘the war to end all wars’, there have been perpetual wars for perpetual peace, this Laura Gray’s cartoon from the front page of The Militant August 18, 1945, Under the Banner Headline: “There Is No Peace”, is Still True for Today’s World!
Capitalism as a Failed System: World Capitalism Has Been Aware of the Comming Catastrophe of Global Warming Over 5 Decades Ago and Did Nothing!: Under Capitalism — Human Lives Don’t Matter Capitalism Does Not, and Never Has, Worked for the Masses! In Its Death Agony, Capitalism Is Traveling About The World Like The Four Horsemen of the The Apocalypse, Spreading Racism, War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. The very future of Humanity Is Now At stake!
During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three-Point Political Program: 1. Austerity,2. Scapegoat Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal’ Immigrants for Unemployment, and 3. The Iron Heel! For Decades, Blacks Have Been Subjected to The Iron Heel! Currently, the US Capitalist Class is Divided Over When — Not If, to Apply It to Everyone!
Due to Years of Austerity, Cuts to Public Health Care, And An Anti-Science and Profiteering President, The United States Now Leads the World In Coronavirus Cases and Deaths in the World!
Always Remember: That President Obama, With a Majority Democrat Legislature Supported the Wall Street Bailout and Remember, That he Established, in writing, the United States Capitalist Austerity Program. — The Race to the Bottom/Pauperization of the 99%!
Democracy?: As the Capitalist Robber Barons Steal from the 99%, Only the 1% Voted For Austerity! The 99% Should Decide On Austerity — Not Just The 1%, Who Profit From Austerity!! Under Austerity, All of the World Will Eventually Be Pauperized, Humbled, and Desecrated Like Greece and Puerto Rico.! Socialism Means True Democracy, that the 99% Will Rule, Not the Few!
Quotes of the Day:
. . . And I finally said to him that it’s a nice thing to say to people that you ought to lift yourself by your own bootstraps, but it is a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps. And the fact is that millions of Negroes, as a result of centuries of denial and neglect, have been left bootless. And they find themselves impoverished aliens in this affluent society. And there is a great deal that the society can and must do if the Negro is to gain the economic security that he needs. Now one of the answers, it seems to me, is a guaranteed annual income, a guaranteed minimum income for all people and for all families of our country. It seems to me that the Civil Rights Movement must now begin to organize for the guaranteed annual income. Begin to organize people all over our country and mobilize forces so that we can bring to the attention of our nation this need, and this something which I believe will go a long, long way toward dealing with the Negro’s economic problem and the economic problem which many other poor people confront in our nation.. . . — MartinLuther King Jr. Speech: The Other America (Stanford UniversityApril 14, 1967)
The pipeline language is just one of a few energy and climate provisions in the deal, drawing ire from pipeline opponents and climate activists. The bill also proposes streamlining the landmark National Environmental Policy Act to limit its requirements on some projects, and studying the capacity of the country’s grid to transfer electricity from region to region. Republican leaders say they will work with the White House later on how to speed up major electric transmission projects — crucial to Biden’s goal of transitioning away from fossil fuels — but excluded such provisions from this deal. The White House also said it fended off efforts to cut billions in spending from major legislation Biden had championed, including last year’s roughly $370 billion package that funded his climate agenda. That was not enough to please environmental groups. The Sierra Club on Monday called for Congress to reject it, as did Sen. Tim Kaine (D) from Virginia, where both U.S. senators have opposed the pipeline project. — ‘Terrible Public Policy’: Why the Debt Deal Infuriates Climate Activists
Videos/Podcasts of the Day:
A Dirty Debt Deal: Biden Blasted for Backing Fast-Track Approval of Mountain Valley Pipeline
The United States is not a Democracy (A government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly)! Only the 1%, through their ownership of the Republicrats and who profit from war and the war budget, vote for War and the war budget — A policy, which Gore Vidal called a Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace. — The 99% Should Decide On War — Not Just The 1% Who Profit From War! Under a Democracy, The 99% would have the right to vote on the policy of Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace! The United States takes from the poor and gives to the Rich. Tax the Rich! — They Can Afford To Pay! Both Parties Support U.S. Capitalism’s Wars! (The Only War the Democrats Opposed was the Civil War!)
We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both. — Louis D. Brandeis Quotes
The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own government. MLK, Beyond Vietnam
Biden’s Budget Compromise: Feed the Military —Don’t Feed the Hungry!: Hunger in America Statistics Hunger and food insecurity are real issues for some American families. With a total population of approximately 330 million people, roughly 12% are food insecure. They do not have reliable, steady access to food.
- 12% of the population in the US struggle with hunger -about 41 million people
- There are 38 million Americans that struggle with poverty
- Households with children that are headed by a single woman have the highest rate of food insecurity
- 7% of all children do not know where their next meal is coming from
- 22 million children rely on school for their meals
- 12% of senior citizens experience food insecurity
- Poverty is directly correlated to hunger, and the poverty rate is going down
- The average monthly income for those who use food assistance programs is $813/month
- The average cost of a meal in America is $3.02.
- New Mexico, Mississippi and Louisiana have some of the highest rates of hunger
The Warfare State How Funding for Militarism Compromises Our Welfare Key Findings
- In FY 2023, out of a $1.8 trillion federal discretionary budget, $1.1 trillion — or 62% — was for militarized programs that use violence or the threat of violence or imprisonment, including war and weapons, law enforcement and mass incarceration, and detention and deportation.
- Less than $2 out of every $5 in federal discretionary spending was available to fund investment in people and communities, including primary and secondary public education, housing programs, child care programs, federal disaster relief, environmental programs, and scientific research.
- Compared to 2001, the U.S. has added $2 to the discretionary budget for militarism for every $1 added to invest in communities.
- The U.S. spent $16 on the military and war for every $1 that was spent on diplomacy and humanitarian foreign aid. The vast majority of militarized spending was for weapons, war and the Pentagon, at $920 billion. Only $56 billion was spent for international affairs, diplomacy, and humanitarian foreign aid.
- The U.S. spent $51.1 billion for homeland security, approximately half of which goes to ICE ($8.8 billion) and CBP ($17.4 billion), the agencies responsible for deportations, family separations, and violent apprehension at the southern border. That’s nearly three times spending on substance abuse and mental health programs ($7.5 billion), even as opioid use remains a major cause of death. ● TheU.S.federal budget allocated twice as much forfederal lawenforcement, which includes federal prisons, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies ($31 billion), as for child care and early childhood education programs ($15 billion).
- Spending on homeland security (excluding FEMA) has more than doubled since 2001, and spending on the military and nuclear weapons has grown by 80 percent, in inflation-adjusted terms.
‘Give Me a Goddamn Break’: House Democrat Slams Food Aid Cuts as Pentagon Budget Soars “I didn’t come to Congress to hurt people,” said Rep. Jim McGovern. “And when I listen to my Republican friends, what is clear to me is that we don’t share the same values.” Rep. Jim McGovern, a leading anti-hunger lawmaker in the House, expressed anger Tuesday that the debt ceiling legislation negotiated by Republicans and the Biden administration targets food benefits for older adults while doing nothing to raise taxes on the wealthy or rein in military spending.
Biden Strikes Again: Student Debt Provision in Biden-GOP Deal Could Be ‘Catastrophic,’ Campaigners Warn “What if payments begin and millions—literally millions—of people default on their debt?” the Debt Collective asked. “What if seniors get their Social Security checks garnished en masse?” House Republicans weren’t ultimately able to include a full repeal of President Joe Biden’s pending student debt cancellation plan in the new debt ceiling agreement, but they did reach a deal with the Biden White House to insert a provision that campaigners say could be devastating for millions of borrowers across the country. Tucked in the 99-page legislation that Congress could vote on this week is language prohibiting the education secretary from using “any authority to implement an extension” of the federal student loan repayment pause, which remains in place as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a pair of legal challenges to the Biden administration’s debt relief plan.
Debt Limit Deal Prohibits Biden From Extending Student Loan Payment Pause Again The bill would implement a sweeping change for student debt at a time of great uncertainty for borrowers. The debt ceiling deal struck between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy throws student debtors under the bus by forcing student loan payments to restart at the end of this summer with recourse for the presidential administration. The bill mandates that the ongoing student loan payment pause, which has been in place since March 2020, will end on August 30, forcing people to begin repayments in September or risk default.
‘An Egregious Act’: Debt Ceiling Deal Imperils the Environment, Critics Say The agreement will fast-track the Mountain Valley pipeline, and limit the scope of environmental reviews for future developments The deal to raise the US debt ceiling will have significant ramifications for the climate and nature, by fast-tracking a controversial gas pipeline in West Virginia and limiting the scope of environmental reviews for future developments, environmentalists have warned. The agreement struck between Joe Biden and Republicans who control the House of Representatives states the Mountain Valley pipeline is “required in the national interest” and should be issued its necessary permits within 21 days and be shielded from legal challenge by those who object to it.
In the late 1970s, OSHA administrators estimated that the agency’s proposed legislation would produce a 20 percent drop in cancer rates. Since all such regulations are a battle between businesses with their “Trade Secrets” and science independent of corporations, the proposed legislation to eliminate 20 percent of all cancers was never approved by the capitalist politicians. In fact, the current “body count” is that over 40 percent of the people in the United States will get cancer. Such is the tragedy of “Trade Secrets.” The most glaring example is the occupational environment, where workplaces have become “killing fields.” In the United States, in 1990 the American Public Health Association estimated that at least 350,000 workers get occupational diseases (cancer, etc.) and 50,000 workers will die each year from these diseases. Given the steady decline in occupational health, these estimates are now most likely much higher! Blue-collar workers and agricultural workers all have higher rates of cancer and other diseases because they receive higher doses of the toxic chemicals at the workplace than the rest of the population. Eventually, these toxins spread to the entire working class as they become part of the environment. — “Trade Secrets” Cancer and the Environment (What the Bill Moyers Program Trade Secrets Revealed)
Cancer Alley Pre-Teens Demand To Not Be Made Into Another Sacrifice Zone In a recent op-ed, by Kamea Sibley Ozane and Roishetta Sibley Ozane in Teen Vogue, a Louisiana mother and daughter are followed on how they got involved in climate activism. Kamea is a 10-year-old who lives in Sulphur, Louisiana near the Gulf Coast with her mom and brothers and sisters. She recently learned that pollution from oil and gas was making her and her environment sick, as well as contributing to climate change. She talks about how one week before her 10th birthday party everything changed. Her skin started to burn, itch, and break out. She went to the doctor, and was told she had a skin disease, and could not have her birthday party. She was told her skin disease would heal, but it didn’t. She returned to the doctor and more tests were done and it was finally decided that her skin condition was caused by her environment and the polluted air was the reason her skin was peeling off. Then Kamea started to ask questions. “What is happening to me? What’s causing it? How do we stop it?” Roishetta, Kamea’s Mom said, “It broke my heart to have to explain to my daughter and the rest of my children that the petrochemical facilities around us was poisoning our air.” She cites a recent report by Environmental Integrity, which concluded that oil refineries in Lake Charles “release about 675 thousand pounds of nitrogen pollution a year in the Calcasieu River, causing serious environmental harms.
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
Labor:
Economy:
Shadow Government Statistics Daily Update May 31st to June 1st. LATEST HEADLINES:
- University of Michigan’s full-month May 2023 Consumer Sentiment held shy by 41.4% (-41.4%) of ever recovering its February 2020 Pre-Pandemic Peak level.
- Combined First-Quarter 2023 GDP and GDI just signaled a Recession in place [The GDP ALTERNATE DATA Tab and accompanying graph are updated].
- Inflation pressures continued, with April 2023 Money Supply reflecting still-extreme flight to liquidity. The most-liquid “Basic M1” (currency plus Demand Deposits) held 118.1% above its Pre-Pandemic Level and is increasing year-to-year, versus the Aggregate M2 Money Supply holding up by 30.0%, but declining year-to-year, amidst no signs of an overheating economy.
IMF Says Fed Will Have to Remain Tight at 5 ¼ to 5 ½ Rate Until Late 2024; Warns of “Unpredictable Consequences” to Banks Last Friday, at the start of Memorial Day weekend, researchers at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released an analysis of where they think the U.S. economy is headed and the headwinds (read gale force winds) that can, potentially, be expected along the way. Folks on Wall Street who were hoping that the Fed was at the end of its rate-hiking cycle, with a more dovish Fed juicing stock market returns later this year, likely had their holiday weekend ruined with this projection from the IMF: “Achieving a sustained disinflation will necessitate a loosening of labor market conditions that, so far, has not been evident in the data. To bring inflation firmly back to target will require an extended period of tight monetary policy, with the federal funds rate remaining at 5¼–5½ percent until late in 2024.” 
World:
UN Chief Praises ‘Moral Voice’ of German Climate Activists Targeted in Police Raids “It is clear that a lot of the progress that we have seen on awareness on climate change and positive movement on climate change is due to the fact that people have been demonstrating peacefully throughout the world.”
UK Labour Party Vows to Block All New North Sea Oil and Gas Projects If It Regains Power “The commitment from Labour to oppose new fossil fuel developments is a welcome first step, but it needs to come with plans for a just transition to renewable energy,” said one advocate.
Education. Heal, and Welfare:
The government of the United States can pass laws in a few days to spend tens of trillions of dollars for war and the bailout of Wall Street and the bankers. Yet, those who, pass universal healthcare for themselves, but cannot spend even one trillion dollars for universal health for those who are ‘governed’! This is what is considered, by the powers to be, a democracy and part of the democratic way. — Roland Sheppard, Let the People Vote on Healthcare