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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=iso.champaign@gmail.com href="mailto:iso.champaign@gmail.com">ISO
Champaign</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=iso.champaign@gmail.com
href="mailto:iso.champaign@gmail.com">ISO Champaign</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, March 31, 2010 7:31 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Rich Whitney, Green Party Candidate for Governor, on Campus
Thursday</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 13px; COLOR: rgb(68,68,68); FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">
<DIV>Friends, </DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Rich Whitney, the Green Party candidate for Illinois governor, will be on
campus this Thursday, sponsored by the local Greens. Whitney ran on an
unapologetically progressive platform in 2006, posing an alternative to the
two-party system, and still got ten percent of the vote. The editorial below
this event announcement, about the recent passage of health care reform
legislation, shows why we need that alternative. </DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>--------- Forwarded message ----------<BR>From: <B
class=ecxgmail_sendername style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Tom Abram</B> <SPAN
dir=ltr><<A
style="CURSOR: pointer; COLOR: rgb(0,104,207); TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="mailto:tabram@gmail.com">tabram@gmail.com</A>></SPAN><BR>Date: Wed, Mar
24, 2010 at 8:56 PM<BR>Subject: Rich Whitney, Green for Governor, on Campus
April 1st<BR>To: <A
style="CURSOR: pointer; COLOR: rgb(0,104,207); TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="mailto:prairiegreens@lists.chambana.net">prairiegreens@lists.chambana.net</A>, <A
style="CURSOR: pointer; COLOR: rgb(0,104,207); TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="mailto:prairiegreens-uiuc@lists.chambana.net">prairiegreens-uiuc@lists.chambana.net</A><BR><BR><BR>Rich
Whitney, the Green Party candidate for Illinois Governor, will be in Urbana on
April 1st. He will be talking about his plans to empower the economy,
environment, and people of Illinois. In 2006, Whitney took an
unprecedented 10% of the vote in the Illinois gubernatorial election,
establishing the Green Party as a political party across the state and easing
ballot access requirements. Whitney recently released a detailed plan to
fix the deficit and bolster our economy.<BR><BR><A
style="CURSOR: pointer; COLOR: rgb(0,104,207); TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://www.whitneyforgov.org/how-we-can-solve-the-budget-crisis"
target=_blank>http://www.whitneyforgov.org/how-we-can-solve-the-budget-crisis</A><BR><BR>The
event will start with a lecture and discussion in the Allen Hall main lounge at
7pm and move to the Red Herring at 9pm for continued discussion and light
refreshments.<BR><BR>Rich Whitney for Governor, Lecture and
Discussion<BR>Thursday, April 1, 2010<BR>Time: 7:00pm<BR>Location: Allen Hall
Main Lounge<BR>1005 W. Gregory Dr., Urbana<BR><BR>Rich Whitney
Reception<BR>Thursday, April 1, 2010<BR>Time: 9:00pm<BR>Location: Red
Herring<BR>1209 W. Oregon St., Urbana<BR><BR>Facebook event:<BR><A
style="CURSOR: pointer; COLOR: rgb(0,104,207); TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=ru#!/event.php?eid=364514327885"
target=_blank>http://www.facebook.com/?sk=ru#!/event.php?eid=364514327885</A><BR><BR>Google
Map:<BR><A style="CURSOR: pointer; COLOR: rgb(0,104,207); TEXT-DECORATION: none"
target=_blank>http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=109804613154147451131.00048281008f6df2991cc&z=17</A><BR><BR>Rich
Whitney for Governor<BR><A
style="CURSOR: pointer; COLOR: rgb(0,104,207); TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://www.whitneyforgov.org/"
target=_blank>www.whitneyforgov.org</A><BR><BR>Prairie Green Party:<BR><A
style="CURSOR: pointer; COLOR: rgb(0,104,207); TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://www.prairiegreens.org/"
target=_blank>www.prairiegreens.org</A></SPAN><BR
clear=all>______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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href="http://socialistworker.org/2010/03/31/when-wall-street-loves-reform">http://socialistworker.org/2010/03/31/when-wall-street-loves-reform</A></DIV>
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<H1 class=headline
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 29px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.3em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif">When
Wall Street loves reform</H1>
<DIV class=introduction
style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; MARGIN: 0px; COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.9em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.4">The
Democratic Party is celebrating health care reform--and so is Corporate
America.</P></DIV>
<P class=dateline
style="FONT-SIZE: 1em; MARGIN: 1em 0px; COLOR: rgb(104,104,104); LINE-HEIGHT: 1.4; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">March
31, 2010</P>
<DIV class=body>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><SPAN
class="sw image inline-right"
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FLOAT: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.5em; WIDTH: 330px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><SPAN
class=image-330
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><IMG
class=image-330
title="President Obama and leading Congressional Democrats at the White House signing ceremony for the health care bill (Chuck Kennedy)"
style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 0; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px"
alt="President Obama and leading Congressional Democrats at the White House signing ceremony for the health care bill (Chuck Kennedy)"
src="http://socialistworker.org/files/imagecache/330/files/images/4457734297_dcbafe71a1_b.jpg"></SPAN><SPAN
class=caption
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); LINE-HEIGHT: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-ALIGN: left">President
Obama and leading Congressional Democrats at the White House signing
ceremony for the health care bill (Chuck Kennedy)</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">DOES
THE passage of the health care bill signal a new era of progressive
reform?</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">Certainly
many mainstream commentators think so. "For all the political and economic
uncertainties about health reform, at least one thing seems clear: The
bill that President Obama signed on Tuesday is the federal government's
biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising more
than three decades ago," wrote <I>New York Times</I> economic
journalist David Leonhardt.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">Leonhardt's
evidence: an increase on payroll taxes on households making more than
$250,000, and an expected decline in medical bankruptcies. The bill also
got rid of a few of the insurance industry's more heinous practices, like
denying care for pre-existing conditions.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">But
the fairly mild tax on the rich and new regulations on the insurance
companies' practices are dwarfed by provisions that give the health care
industry more room for profit, such as mandates that require that everyone
buy health insurance under threat of financial penalties.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">As
noted on Firedoglake.com:</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1em">
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">This
bill is almost identical to the plan written by AHIP [America's Health
Insurance Plans], the insurance company trade association, in 2009. The
original Senate Finance Committee bill was authored by a former
Wellpoint VP. Since Congress released the first of its health care bills
on October 30, 2009, health care stocks have risen 28.35 percent.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">That
goes a long way toward explaining why Wall Street was so upbeat about a
bill that supposedly attacks economic inequality. The day after the House
version of the bill passed, stocks related to the health care industry
went up.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">The <I>Wall
Street Journal</I> explained:</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1em">
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">"Managed-care
organizations, like pharmaceutical companies, made some significant
concessions as part of the overhaul, but have the potential of getting
32 million new customers," said Jeffrey Loo, an equity analyst at
S&P. "We think overall that the reform will be positive for the
managed-care sector," he said.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">But
the new law isn't so positive for the 23 million or so people in the U.S.
who will remain uninsured for at least the next nine years. And that's
just one reason why the business-friendly bill that Obama signed was
nothing like what real health care reform should look like.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">Not
only does the law mandate the purchase of insurance, it imposes a 40
percent tax on plans whose value exceeds $10,200 for individuals or
$27,500 for families. That means the new law will accelerate the shift in
health care costs from employers to workers, forcing more people to switch
to inadequate, bare-bones plans.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">You
wouldn't know all that from the right-wing Neanderthals screaming
"socialized medicine," of course. By stirring up the bigots and racists in
the tea party crowd, the Republicans managed to make a heath care measure
based on their own proposals sound like a radical breakthrough. So it's no
wonder that so many people were relieved--and happy--to see the
Republicans lose a big political showdown.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">Indeed,
for many people who are sick and tired of conservatives getting their way,
the bill's passage signaled a potential shift in the political winds in
Washington. So after months when it appeared that the right was making a
big comeback, the health care reform could translate into a growing
confidence that working people can make real progress today after all.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">THE
QUESTION is, how are such gains to be made? If matters are left to the
Democrats, we'll see a repeat of the health care reform debacle, in which
widespread demand for fundamental change is diverted into weak legislation
that leaves powerful economic interests unchallenged.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">Consider
the financial reform legislation proposed by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).
His measure would do nothing to break up any of the large "too big to
fail" banks that were behind the financial crash and would place the
protection of consumers in the hands of the Federal Reserve, which looked
the other way while predatory lenders helped inflate the housing
bubble.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">Wall
Street's lobbyists have been following the example of the health care
industry, which spent more than $500 million and dispatched some 3,400
lobbyists in Washington in 2009 alone. So long before the final
congressional vote on health care, the fix was already in, as Democrats
made sure that their supporters in the health care industry got their cut.
Now, it's the bank lobbyists' turn.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">So
while the Democrats and Republicans argue over the shape of health care or
financial reform in the halls of Congress, there's far more that they
actually agree on. Former Republican strategist Kevin Phillips was on the
money when he characterized the Democrats as the "world's second-most
enthusiastic capitalist party." While the two parties may clash over
specific policies, they're in full accord with the larger
project--upholding a system that guarantees corporate profits.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">And
even if individual Democrats don't directly profit from corporate
money--though most of them do--they still accept the confines of a
corporate-dominated political system. Thus while a liberal stalwart like
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) may credit his support for the final health
care bill to "a change of heart," his decision had very little to do with
any personal transformation.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">As
long as he represents the Democratic Party, Kucinich ultimately plays a
part in upholding the status quo. That's why Kucinich turned his back on
the Medicare-for-all type single-payer solution that he has long
championed--and voted for legislation that puts health care industry
profits first.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">It's
in the context of this two-party straitjacket--where there are no other
options beyond two parties that both represent big business--that it's
possible for some people to view this lousy health care reform as a
victory.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">It's
too soon to tell whether the proposed toothless financial reform
legislation will end up the same way. But with the bankers and Republican
politicians again squawking about supposedly radical anti-business
measures, the Democrats will once again try and use the legislation to
pose as defenders of working people.</P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5"><BR></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0.5em; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5">We
deserve much better. To get it, we have to build independent organizations
and movements that take on pro-business, anti-worker policies--whether
they're put forward by Republicans or
Democrats.</P></DIV></DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></SPAN>
<DIV><BR>-- <BR>********************************************************<BR>ISO
Resources:<BR><A href="http://isochampaign.org">isochampaign.org</A><BR><A
href="http://internationalsocialist.org">internationalsocialist.org</A><BR><A
href="http://haymarketbooks.org">haymarketbooks.org</A><BR><A
href="http://socialistworker.org">socialistworker.org</A><BR><A
href="http://isreview.org">isreview.org</A><BR>********************************************************<BR></DIV></DIV><br />--
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