‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
One Last Fling
from the series Raise Your Voice... Peter Molenaar By PETER MOLENAAR Responsible neighbors who sought their polling places remain aware that the back page of the ballot was devoted to the election of numerous judgeships. For me, this was as daunting as a college entrance exam! Why do respected election officials not inform us that our ballots count if not fully filled out? Let us enhance voter participation, not suppress it, please. Now hear this: Trump won’t be winging it this time. Rather, he will commence with a fully worked out billionaires’ agenda. So, expect another round of tax cuts for the rich, coupled with public service cuts for the rest of us. How was it possible for such an outstanding citizen to win once again? Was bigotry the key ingredient? Actually, I prefer to think that skillful agitation of economic angst won the day. Truly, one wonders if the capitalist system will collapse before the end of this century. But guess what? It was price gouging [...]
Tax Fairness Matters!
From the series Raise Your Voice! By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar From the most recent post from Americans for Tax Fairness coalition*: “The numbers don’t lie, but corporations sure do… that’s why we just released a damning new report that pulls back the curtain on 12 of America’s largest corporations, exposing a web of tax dodging, executive excess, and worker exploitation.” How then is it possible that many of us regular folks live in MAGA land? Our East African immigrant neighbors are a wiser lot, many having been recruited to work for Amazon. Indeed, over a five-year span, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos-–earning $3.5 M per hour—watched his personal fortune increase by $115 billion, while wages inched up to the “scrape-by level”. Yet, one worker I contacted while phone banking from the Labor Centre stated: “I remain on the fence!” I expect, sooner or later, our overheated planet will blow him off! Sadly, over the same five years, Boeing aircraft [...]
UNITED WE RISE, DIVIDED WE FALL
from the series Raise Your Voice... By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar Most of our neighbors are familiar with the 11th Avenue bridge as a way of crossing Interstate 94 to access Elliot Park. However, most are likely unfamiliar with the zigzag required to locate 620 12th Avenue South, the headquarters of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 563. LIUNA represents workers who build roads and bridges, schools, hospitals and energy systems. They also played host to a race and labor history training with the caption: UNITED WE RISE, DIVIDED WE FALL.The Workers Confluence Fund spawned the event via the Minneapolis Labor Center. Justice educator from Seattle Mark McDermott presented slides and commentary, which induced round table discussions between an array of union members and folks from community organizations. Centro De Trabajadores Unidos En La Lucha (CTUL) was present. The English/Spanish translation was excellent.According to plan, the round tables [...]
