Friday Updates.

In life, many people view some things as impossible when they are possible. Over 150 years ago, many people thought the slavery would never end in America. These folks were wrong, because after the U.S. Civil War, slavery was banned in America. There were people that believed that large monopolies like Standard Oil wouldn't be broken up. Yet, progressives, union leaders, and other heroes broke up many monopolies. Some even thought that the Civil Rights Act would never be passed because of the many segregationists in Congress. Yet, leadership from the grassroots leaders to progressive politicians not only caused the Civil Rights Act to be passed but the Voting Rights Act to be passed too. The racist Reagan once called the bill to advance universal health care for seniors as "socialistic" and representative of totalitarianism.

Yet, JFK gave a speech in NYC to promote such a health care policy, and LBJ signed it into law. It is now called Medicare which helped the lives of millions of Americans with great effectiveness. Today, some people (from the far right to neoliberal centrists) view bold ideals as impossible. I reject that idea, since bold, progressive views have worked in the past (from Social Security to the Clean Air Act), and they will work in the future. Many of the same ones who love tax cuts for the wealthy, massive corporate subsidies, and eliminating legitimate environmental regulations (which are wrong policies) are silent on desiring a higher minimum wage or any other actions that are used to help the poor, black people, other people of color, women, immigrants, and the oppressed. That is why the Golden Rule and social justice matters. .


Tariffs in a trade war is a bad economic strategy. Tariffs increases the burdens on workers since tariffs are taxes on items that the working class either use or buy. The Fed cutting interests rates shows that they fear economic instability. We want the economy to improve. That means to end the trade war, eliminate tariffs, give relief to farmers, and develop a Marshall Plan like infrastructure investment policy to develop urban plus rural communities. Communities deserve investments since the more consumers and production you have, the more economic growth comes about (since consumers, businesses, and jobs help keep the economy afloat). Businesses have to follow the rules too.

Strong unions, collective bargaining, and tax cuts for the middle class (and tax cuts for the poor plus working class) are proven to develop financial indicators (i.e. GDP, Gini Coefficient, employment rates, etc.). Living wages, increased taxes for the super wealthy, and the rejection of horrendous austerity make sense. Conversely, tax cuts for large corporations and the super wealthy (costing about 1.9 trillion dollars in the next ten years) expand the deficit. This deficit expands because of low tax revenue. Low tax revenue doesn't invest in the lives of the people. We have to address income inequality. I have no problem with a wealth tax. It's not just a economic situation. We have to use policies to fight systematic racism in society. Eliminating for profit prisons, ending the mass incarceration reactionary laws, and eliminating racial discrimination involving the criminal justice system are necessities. That is why ending the tax cuts for the rich, and other policies will benefit all Americans.


I disagree with Jason Whitlock's statements about Lebron James and I agree with Perkins. Whitlock said that Lebron is a helicopter parent that is being around his son's basketball games for ego and self-aggrandizement. Whitlock is wrong, and he is known for making statements that are more respectable to corporate interests than to the interests of our community. Lebron being involved in his child's life is great, and it outlines the value of active black fathers. Whitlock (who people of the sports world know of his reactionary views) is wrong to say once that Lebron James is too rich to experience racism today. Obama is rich, and he has experienced racism all of time when he was President. Whitlock is the same male who doesn't vote (even in local elections) and doesn't believe in politics. The truth is that life is political and social plus we deal with economics in life. You need political and economic power in order for revolutionary change to exist for our community. Voting deals with investments in health and education. Voting deals with the judges that you have in your district. Voting also even decides how education is structured. So, voting is very important. I will vote. Therefore, we can't fall for the okey doke. We desire solutions and not shaming Lebron James for his activism or helping his son. Lebron James should be praised for his active involvement in helping his family.


By Timothy