New York State Government Cuts: Make the Rich Pay for the Crisis!

New York Governor Patterson was trying to get the state work force to accept a one-day-per-week furlough. This would have meant a 20% cut in pay! The unions went to court and the furlough plan was stopped. Now, Patterson threatens 10,000 state workers with lay-offs on January 1, 2011. This is on top of many education and service cuts. The Metropolitan Transit Authority is laying off 475 station agents and plans to lay-off 500 subway conductors and bus drivers. Many local governments in NY State are also making deep cuts.

New York Governor David Patterson New York City alone is cutting more than 10,000 jobs: 4,971 jobs through attrition and 6,026 through lay-offs. Mayor Bloomberg is threatening even more lay-offs if the unions do not accept give-backs. The public hospitals in NYC are planning 3,700 job cuts through lay-offs and attrition over the next four years. This just after St. Vincent’s, a large Catholic Hospital in Manhattan, has shut down due to financial problems.

As reported in past Socialist Appeal articles, the present crisis of American capitalism is now hitting many state and local governments. The Federal Government and Federal Reserve bailed out the banks and then loaned them money at zero percent interest. The big banks borrow money at zero percent and loan the money back to the government by purchasing treasury securities and that is one reason the banks are now making money.

Is it not amazing? This same Federal Government cannot afford to fund state and local governments’ education, health, welfare and other necessary services. Why can’t the Feds give the state and local governments a line of credit at zero percent interest? It is very easy to understand. Their view is that the crisis caused by the rich must be paid for by the working class (while continuing to enrich the already wealthy!).

The rich control the media, educational institutions and both the Democrats and Republicans. They determine what policy options are considered “acceptable.” What is acceptable to capitalism is that whenever there is a crisis, they want to resolve it on the backs of the working class. They want to cut government spending at the expense of education, public services and the workers in the public sector. If they raise taxes, it will be those taxes which hit working people disproportionately. It will not be a tax on bank profits. And they do not cut spending on things like the military, in fact Obama is expanding the military budget!

The Democrats control the governor’s office and both houses of the state legislature and they are implementing these cuts. The Republicans want basically the same policies, only more draconian. Democratic Governor David Paterson is not running for reelection. Instead, NY State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is running. Is he a genuine alternative?

Cuomo announced his candidacy and his program. He said he wants to place spending caps on state government and to cut state government agencies, which means more job cuts at this time of high unemployment. He wants more charter schools, which have teachers working in private, non-union publicly-funded schools. These teachers are made to work harder and longer hours, but for lower wages and benefits. Cuomo also wants a cheaper pension tier for newly hired state workers, so the average worker will have to postpone retirement.

NY state workers already have a new pension tier for new hires, which gives fewer benefits than the prior pension. This was part of an “agreement” with Governor Paterson, that he would not lay off state workers in 2010. So the pension benefits were given up permanently and the workers can then be laid off on January 1, 2011! What kind of agreement is that?

There is an alternative to being attacked and accepting “givebacks.” The leaders of all the public sector unions: American Federation of State, County and Municipal workers (AFSCME), Teachers, Public Employees Federation (PEF), Transport Workers Union (TWU) and all the others must launch a campaign to make the rich pay for this crisis. The Federal government can bail out New York and all of the states, but only if the power of organized labor is mobilized. Shop stewards and delegates from all work places must meet to make sure all the workers are united for action. Such a movement in New York State and NYC could spark a national movement!

In an article in the May 28, 2010 edition of the civil service newspaper, The Chief, it is mentioned that if New York State rebated only 80% of the stock transfer tax, instead of the present 100%, there would be an additional $3 billion for public services. The WIL supports taxing the rich as an immediate short-term solution to the crisis, but we know that the rich are excellent in finding ways to avoid paying taxes and we know that ultimately, the only solution to the capitalist crisis is a socialist one.

Demonstration against New York budget cuts Under socialism, the largest 500 corporations, banks and insurance companies would be nationalized under democratic workers’ control. This would mean we could expand production, re-open closed factories and offices, and expand education and vital services. This would create more jobs and lead to a reduction of taxes for working people.

The unions must also go on to a political offensive against the two big business political parties. They should stop giving volunteers and money to these parties and run independent labor candidates. A large vote for such candidates would show the potential for a labor party and they would certainly get more votes if they had broad labor support.

Rank and file activists! We can bring about a change in these policies. The stakes are too high to simply do more of the same.

Source: Socialist Appeal - USA