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Student Debt Slavery: the Ruling Class’s Latest Shackles on Workers

by Dylan Borne

“I am a 60 year old mom and I work as a janitor to help my son pay his student loans. I have arthritis which makes my job even harder.”

A woman named Darlene posted this on studentdebtcrisis.org. She’s one of the 44 million Americans carrying crushing student debt. In the past decade, student debt rose to the highest it’s ever been. Now more than $1.4 trillion, it has overtaken auto loan, home equity, and even credit card debt. The average student graduates from college with $35,000 to repay—and counting. In just three years, between 2010 and 2013, the number of “seriously delinquent” loans (loans too high to repay) doubled. Many indebted workers are college dropouts, pressured to go to college by the competitive economy but ending up even worse off than if they had never gone to school.

But lenders and college administrators are laughing their way to the bank. More loans mean more people paying for college, so colleges take advantage and raise tuition. High tuition means more students take out more loans. The cycle continues, stacking up to a debt mountain nearly the size of Texas’s economy.

Yet real wages and salaries are declining. The value of a college degree now is less than half its value than in the early 2000s, according to the Pew Research Center. Students will have to stop paying; the tower of debt will have to fall.

When this happens, the banks won’t suffer. Whether there’s a Republican or a Democrat in office, the government will bail them out like both Bush and Obama did during the mortgage crisis.

But a solution is possible.

The New Orleans Workers Group demands that the government bail out the people instead of the banks. Cancel student debt. The billionaire bankers can afford to downsize the mansions we bought for them with our interest payments.

College should be free for everyone—like it is in socialist countries like Cuba—so the student debt can’t be amassed in the first place. Banks should be replaced by People’s Banks, overseen by ordinary workers to give out low-interest loans based on helping people sustainably pay for what they need, instead of exploiting them for the bankers’ profit.

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Puerto Ricans Still Left in the Dark

By Ashlee Pintos

Beginning on September 22nd, 2017, a modern colony of the “greatest country in the world” went into complete darkness. The small island of Puerto Rico with its 3.4 million citizens suffered in isolation while Hurricane Maria ravaged the entire country. It was not until day 4 or 5 that the millions of anxious Puerto Ricans living in the states were able to hear any information about their loved ones.

The government has declared only 48 deaths as direct results of the hurricane. However, The U.S. is only counting deaths directly related to the storm itself and does not address the hundreds of deaths caused by the failure of the U.S. government to help the island during Maria’s aftermath. There have actually been reports of over 450 deaths, island wide, with 69 people reported missing. Many of the island’s hospitals are not functioning at full capacity: they are running out of medications and fuel for their generators. This has resulted in hundreds of deaths from a lack of medication, oxygen tanks, and the sanitation that electricity provides to prevent the spread of disease. Relief resources are not being distributed to the island’s remote villages. Instead, the U.S. immediately began the militarization of the island, sending in hundreds of police and military officials.

After almost 2 weeks, Trump finally visited the capital of San Juan, the epicenter of the tourism industry and site of his own personal investments. He has not addressed the villages where dead bodies of humans and livestock have yet to be moved, there is no running water or electricity, and people are desperate for food, clean water, cash, and gasoline. One of his first responses to this catastrophic event was to acknowledge the island’s illegitimate debt of $74 billion and remark that the island is throwing the “budget out of whack.” But that debt has been caused by over 100 years of abuse by the U.S., and compared to state debts such as New York at $143 billion, Puerto Rico’s debt is manageable. Not to mention, the U.S. military budget is well over $800 billion, a figure that could pay PR’s debt 10 times over. Puerto Rico’s debt should be pardoned and the island should be granted liberation!

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Blood in the Cane Fields: An Interview with Chris Dier

By Gregory William

Chris Dier was born and raised in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. He was displaced by Katrina, but returned home in 2010. Like his mother, he is a history teacher at Chalmette High School, and author of a new book, Blood in the Cane Fields: The 1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre.

W.V.: What was the St. Bernard Parish Massacre?

Chris Dier: In St. Bernard Parish there was a massacre in 1868, right after the Civil War. Following the war, many black males had gained the right to vote and that threatened the economic relations of these parishes, where white supremacy ruled the land. Around New Orleans, there were sugar-producing regions where black people were the majority, and had been locked into slavery. When they were emancipated and gained voting rights, many voted for the Republican Party, which in that time had sided with liberation. This threatened the white political and economic elite. That elite pushed the narrative that all the problems after the Civil War were caused by the freed people and a lot of poor whites bought into it…1868 was the first presidential election after the war. The Republican candidate was Union veteran, Ulysses S. Grant, and the Democratic candidate was Horatio Seymour, an opponent of Reconstruction and rights for African Americans…Days before the election, armed white groups, many poor planters – not the elites themselves, who had been stoking the fire – carried out one of the most violent episodes of the Reconstruction era in Louisiana. These groups went from plantation to plantation and executed up to 135 people in the streets.

W.V.: So this was a reaction to Reconstruction, which was coming down from the federal level, but did you also uncover information about what freed people were doing in the region at a grassroots level to secure their rights?

Chris Dier: Yes. The first Republican meeting in St. Bernard was a group of freed people coming together. They had their own processions and meetings. There were a lot of grassroots efforts in Louisiana. Interestingly, 19 years after the massacre, in 1887, black and white St. Bernardians marched in unison against the planter elite. That unity is terrifying to the rich…The idea of race had to be strongly imposed over the centuries, going back to the 13 colonies, where there were many instances of poor whites joining in struggle with enslaved people… During the labor movement in New Orleans, blacks and whites came together in 1892 and 1907 along the Mississippi River fighting for their common rights, and this is what brought about some of the harshest reactions from the rich…There are many lessons in this history for the struggle now.

W.V.: How have your students responded to this research?

Chris Dier: My students have been very eager to explore this event. Many see their last names in the book. Some of the last names of perpetrators as well as victims are those of students sitting in the same classroom today. This is their history and most knew nothing about it…It is so important for young people to learn about history, because they are the ones who are going to carry struggle forward.

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Oppose the Stepped Up FBI-Led War Against the Black Liberation Movement

By Malcolm Suber

The New Orleans Workers Group (NOWG) strongly opposes the August 2, FBI report that named so-called “black identity extremism” as a terrorist movement motivated by retaliation for incidents of police abuse and terrorism against African-Americans. The report predicts an increase in violence based on 6 attacks against police between 2014 and 2016, including Michael Johnson on July 7th, 2016 in Dallas where 5 cops were killed.

In all 6 incidents, a total of 8 police officers were killed, but this doesn’t compare to the hundreds of black people killed by cops according to the Washington Post. In 2015, police killed 259 black people. This move by the FBI to claim that black identity extremism is equivalent to white extremism and nazism is ridiculous on it’s face. We know that the racist white supremacist Donald Trump and the justice department under the leadership of Jeff Sessions are encouraging white supremacists and hell-bent on continuing the slaughter of black people in this country. The (BIE) designation is putting old wine in a new bottle. This is a continuation of the infamous COINTELPRO program created by J Edgar Hoover, designed to disrupt and derail the Black Liberation struggle.

The resurgence of the Black Liberation struggle, inspiring the Black Lives Matter movement, causes great consternation to the white racist billionaires who now run this country. They are hell-bent on preventing the resurgence of a strong black liberation struggle that may spark struggles among other oppressed peoples and segments of US society. NOWG calls for all of us to become more vigilant about infiltrators and agent provocateurs, which are trade tools of the FBI. Hopefully this latest program will not end with the murders and imprisonment of the newly developed leaders of the Black Liberation struggle.

We must all be vigilant and understand that the US state controlled by the billionaire ruling class is not neutral and has always been part of the lynch mob attitude towards the black masses and their struggle for freedom and liberation. We ask all working people and our allies to stand up and expose the fraudulent nature of the BIE designation. The real terrorists, the white supremacist neo-nazi elements of society who are trying to continue the terror campaign of the government and the Ku Klux Klan must be combatted and exposed as racist scum.

If all the oppressed and exploited stand together, we can turn back this assault by the FBI and the government and move closer to the day of the triumph of the workers revolution that will eliminate white supremacy and the billionaire ruling class.

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100 Years Later: Workers of the World Celebrate the Russian Revolution

By Quest R.

In October and November, workers and oppressed people on every corner of the globe celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the first Socialist Revolution: the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution of Russia. The downtrodden people of the Earth have looked to the Russian Revolution for inspiration since 1917, and in 2017, we have proven that the revolutionary legacy is still alive in the hearts of the masses everywhere.

The New Orleans Workers Group held a public celebration of the Bolshevik Revolution on October 29. Speakers gave talks regarding the historical context and significance of the Revolution and its implication on our struggles today. After brief talks, we celebrated with food and drinks and we sang the “Internationale”, the song of working class revolution.

Russian Revolution 100 year anniversary celebrations in South Africa, Russia, Bangladesh, Venezuela, and Italy.

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Black Lives Matter Forum

    The Black Lives Matter Movement & The Fight Against Police Terror was the title of our first forum on August 28th at Cafe Istanbul. It was attended by over a hundred people, black and white.  The main speaker was Malcolm Suber, a devoted black revolutionary who has been on the front lines in the struggle against NOPD abuse for over three decades.
    During his presentation, Suber explained that the main political lesson drawn from the Black Lives Matter movement is that it is spontaneous resistance to police terror that has propelled the freedom struggle to a level we haven’t seen since the 60’s and 70’s.  He said “the choice before our movement is: will we wage a revolutionary fight to end the rule of the  billionaire ruling class, or will we continue on the road of reform that guarantees continued police terror and murder of national minority youth on the streets of America?”
    He also noted that the police are doing exactly what the rulers want them to do.  “It is their function to terrorize us and keep us in our place, in our oppressed condition.”
     At the end of his talk, Suber invited singer Nana Nantambu on stage to lead the audience in singing the classic freedom song “We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest”. Afterwards there was a lively discussion full of revolutionary energy and solidarity among the audience. At the end everyone walked out enthused, with a deep understanding of the black lives matter movement, and they were therefore more ready for the fight against racist police oppression.
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Standing Rock

The Oceti Sakowin people of the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota are battling a $3.8 billion oil pipeline development by Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to protect their main water supply, the Missouri River, and to defend their sacred land. In the face of invasions, desecrations, and broken treaties, the occupation has united the largest coalition of Native tribes in decades. Over 200 different tribes, supported by thousands of protestors of all nationalities, have successfully stood their ground to protect aboriginal territory and halt construction.

The pipeline, which will slice through four states (North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois), transporting 570,000 barrels of crude oil a day, is not just a threat to the Oceti people’s way of life and their future generations, but is also a potential environmental catastrophe. In just the past 5 years, pipeline spills and ruptures have released about 7 million gallons of crude oil and killed a total of 80 people. One of the largest of those spills already happened in North Dakota in 2013, pouring 840,000 gallons of oil into a wheat field. Not only that, but as recently as September 5th, and as nearby as Barataria, Louisiana, 5,300 gallons of oil spilled into Barataria Bay from a damaged pipeline.

Standing Rock and other Native American reservations have, bit by bit, been shrinking since their formation in the 1860-1880s. In the 1950s, the same Army Corps of Engineers that now approves this latest invasion, built five dams on the Missouri which displaced multiple native villages.

The North Dakota government, on behalf of DAPL, has arrested over 40 people. A security group (G4S) hired by DAPL has unleashed dogs on peaceful, mostly Native American protesters. At least 6 people were bitten, including a child, and these thugs have also rained pepper spray down into the crowd. Despite these attacks, the thousands challenging this construction have, day after day, stood their ground and fought back.

The Obama administration, a strong supporter of the pipeline, has bowed to nationwide pressure and issued a temporary halt on its construction, so the struggle continues until construction is stopped permanently. The leaders of the Oceti people have been very clear that no matter what happens, the people are not backing down.

 

 

 

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Just Think

By Big E

Just think About U.S. and the Annexation of Hawaii

Just think About U.S. and Agent Orange

Just think About U.S and the Tuskegee experiment;

Just think About U.S and Iran-Contra

Just think About U.S and where the interstate highways were built and who made the decisions

Just think About U.S and Plessey vs. Ferguson

Just think About U.S and the Dred Scott decision

Just think About U.S and the 3/5th clause

Just think About U.S and the Iraq War

Just think About U.S and the Chinese Exclusion Act

Just think About U.S and the deportation of Marcus Garvey

Just think About U.S and the Trail of Tears

Just think About U.S and “little boy” and “fat man”

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Solidarity with National Prison Strike

By Quest Riggs

On September 9th prisoners across the country stood up for their human rights. Walking in the footsteps of the heroes of the 1971 Attica Prison Rebellion, our caged brothers and sisters worked very hard to coordinate a countrywide prisoner strike.

Strikes took place in 26 states despite efforts by wardens and guards to silence and isolate militant prisoners. In some prisons striking by even a minority of the prisoners scared the authorities into stopping work altogether. The nation-wide strike took place in both men and women’s prisons. The prisoners were applauded and supported by tens of thousands of non-incarcerated people across the country.

Some prisons, including several in Florida, experienced full-scale prisoner rebellions. Of course, the ruling class media calls the prisoners rioters so that we on the outside will ignore the just demands of the prisoners. These aren’t riots; they are rebellions against the barbaric conditions in US prisons.
Florida prisons, like Louisiana’s, are extremely overcrowded. Prisoners often face lengthy time in solitary confinement, which is a form of torture, and brutal physical and sexual abuse and murder by prison guards.

New Orleans jails more people than any other city, and Louisiana has the largest percentage of people in prison in the U.S., and the U.S. has the largest rate of incarceration in the world. We must support the prisoners’ demands to abolish modern day slavery.

We will send copies of the Workers Voice free to prisoners, and we welcome letters from prisoners. 

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Baton Rouge Flooding

You bailed out the banks, now bail out the workers 100%!

By Alex Quintero

The natural disaster that struck Baton Rouge was a flashback of the cataclysmic events of Hurricane Katrina, and in much of the same way the government has reacted with little to no disaster relief at all.

The U.S. Spent close to $16 trillion of public money to bail out the banks in the 2008 market crash. One trillion dollars a year goes to our military budget profiting those in the business of making war. But when it comes to bailing out the people of Louisiana, especially in the Black community, FEMA gives very little. This was the case in New Orleans and now our sisters and brothers of the working class in many parishes in Louisiana are devastated.

110,000 homes were destroyed or damaged. Almost all applied for FEMA. But FEMA only gives a $33,000 max grant  (and usually much less) if the victim can provide paperwork that may have been lost in the floods, Only 12% had flood insurance because these areas were not known to flood before. Also, many people have already been denied, especially in the African American neighborhoods in Baton Rouge.

There has also been a loss of job income, businesses destroyed, and cars demolished. Immediate unemployment assistance is needed.

Disaster capitalists like contractors are “hiring” undocumented workers so they can under-pay or con them out of pay altogether. Meanwhile, thousands of workers are now out of jobs. There even was a fatal bus crash of an unlicensed immigrant driver as its consequence. While the driver was jailed, we say jail the contractor.

This is why workers need to be for legalizing immigrants so these workers, who are only trying to feed their families, cannot be taken advantage of and there is no incentive not to hire all workers where there is high unemployment like in the Black community.  Louisiana legislators should call an emergency session to cut corporate tax breaks and help the flood victims.