SPC Newsletter for 1st June 2015

The Socialist Party of Canada

Secretary's Report for June 1, 2015

Email report

– WSPNZ GAC meeting notes for April received with thanks.

– WSP India EC meeting notes for May received with thanks.

Good of the Movement

– The Spring edition of Imagine has been printed and sent out. If you did not receive your copy, please let me know.

– Another meeting is planned for June 4, check our web site at http://www.worldsocialism.org/canada.

Finances

– Secretary's expenses for May, $94.30

Karl's Quotes

– On the value of labour-power, Marx wrote," Like that of every other commodity, its value is determined by the quantity of labour necessary to produce it…A certain mass of necessaries must be consumed by a man to grow up and maintain his life. But the man, like the machine, will wear out, and must be replaced by another man. Beside the mass of necessaries required for his own maintenance, he wants another amount of necessaries to bring up a certain quota of children that are to replace him on the labour market and to perpetuate the race of labourers, Moreover, to develop his labouring power, and acquire a given skill, another amount of values must be spent. For our purpose it suffices to consider only average labour, the costs of whose education and development are vanishing magnitudes. Still I must seize upon this occasion to state that, as the costs of producing labouring powers of different quality do differ, so must differ the values of the labouring powers employed in different trades. The cry for an equality of wages rests, therefore, upon a mistake, is an inane wish never to be fulfilled. It is an offspring of that false and superficial radicalism that accepts premises and tries to evade conclusions. Upon the basis of the wages system the value of labouring power is settled like that of every other commodity; and as different kinds of labouring power have different values, or require different quantities of labour for their production, they must fetch different prices in the labour market. To clamour for equal or even equitable retribution on the basis of the wages system is the same as to clamour for freedom on the basis of the slavery system." ("Value, Price & Profit, page 37). It naturally follows from the above that the solution is to get rid of the wages system and institute free access. Simple, eh?

Food For Thought

– Who does the government work for? In April, Oklahoma experienced a very rare earthquake of 5.7 magnitude. State officials told a homeowner sustaining significant damage that the state's largest ever quake was 'an act of nature and nobody's fault.' Scientists disagree. They say those quakes and thousands before and since, are caused by wells used to bury vast amounts of waste water from oil and gas exploration deep in the earth near fault zones. There is no limit to the lengths capitalism will go to hide its dirty laundry nor to the size of lies told by their lackeys. (New York Times (April 18)

– The business section of the Toronto Star of May 9 had the lurid headline, "Canada loses 19,700 jobs in April." Further down the page we saw "Rise of the Retail Machines." The thrust of the article being that buying from deluxe vending machines is how people will shop in the future. Such products as cufflinks, health and beauty products, dresses, books, and much more are already stocked in the machines. Soon grocery stores could sell cooked chicken, meatballs, sandwiches and salads from machines. In other words, like the first headline, more unemployment for workers. Perhaps soon those who like to shop in a store will have two choices – on line or at the machine. Machines taking over jobs has been going on since the beginning of the industrial revolution and always at the expense of workers somewhere. It's time to put an end to insecurity of gaining a living!

– Ten years ago, the British government banned fox hunting but it still continues because no steps were taken to enforce the ban. 45,000 people hunt foxes regularly in almost two hundred registered groups. It is as if the law was never passed. It's one thing to kill foxes if they are a menace to farmers but another to hunt them down and be ripped apart by dogs. Glorification of killing defenceless animals is an ingrained part of life for the upper crust that will surely die along with capitalism.

– The Toronto Catholic School Board responded to the news of a $34.3 million shortfall in funding by announcing that it would lay off fourteen principals, eight vice-principals, twelve high school special education teachers, thirty education assistants and four elementary guidance counsellors. The Board of Trustees have been forced to cut their annual salary of $18,000 by five per cent. Furthermore, a few small schools will be closed. All religious belief in the world won't make any difference to capital in the time of a slump. The owners' stash of cash must be protected above all else in a profit system, even at the expense of educating our children.

– In late March and early April plenty of press coverage was devoted to The Canadian Bar Association's opposition to the proposed Federal bill C-51 that they felt would curtail civil liberties. The group represents 36,000 lawyers and paralegals, and they argue that the law, that would transform the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) into an agency that would disrupt terrorist plots, would also disrupt legitimate activity including environmental and aboriginal protests and intimidate democratic expression. They fear that CSIS would search private citizens' computers and mobile devices without warrants. This has already happened in the US where, under the guise of fighting terrorism, many private individuals have had their civic freedoms trampled on. Once again, there is no answer in capitalism to this ongoing problem, but a society without terrorism and governments as we know them, with a democratic administration of society wouldn't have such a situation.

– The Toronto Star revealed in an article about the Pope urging the EU to boost aid in Italy's migrant crisis, that since the start of 2014, almost 200,000 people have been rescued at sea. For those who do make it to Europe safely, there is not much joy waiting for them. They routinely face destitution, violence and racism. One group trekking into Europe on a 'safe' trail along railway lines were hit by a night train killing fourteen people in Macedonia. All this is another direct consequence of a competitive and divided world.

– The mighty Rio Grande meanders 3,000 kilometres from the San Juan mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. It is now reduced to a mere trickle due to an historic drought in California and most of the Southwest. Ironically, as we write this, Texas is suffering through one of its worst floods in history Feast or famine, climate change is beginning to show its effects on our earth. Time to work for a system that will mitigate and cope with the problem!

– On April 25, The Toronto Star published two similar articles concerning the plight of people in flight from violence. One focused on more than 10,000 Burundians who had fled into Rwanda from fear of the violence that would ensue if President Pierre Nkurunziza were elected for a third term. An armed group, CNDD-FDD are armed and threaten to kill anyone who does not support the president. Many remember the war that killed 25,000. In another article, The International Organization for Migration has estimated that the death toll from ships filled with refugees fleeing war and capsizing, could reach 30,000. In Africa, the UN has set up refugee camps. In the EU, money for the emergency has been doubled to help Italy cope with the problem. Both are short term solutions as there is no solution in sight. War, conflict, and refugees are a normal part of our current economic system and won't disappear until the system is replaced.

– A recent report from an Associated Press investigation alleged that four thousand foreign fishermen have been abandoned on remote islands in Indonesia. These are men who were enslaved, forced to work on fishing vessels and then marooned following a government moratorium on illegal fishing operations. The ex-slaves described horrendous working conditions at sea. They were forced to drink unclean water and worked twenty to twenty-two hour shifts with no days off. Almost all said they were kicked, whipped with toxic stingray tails, or otherwise beaten if they complained or tried to rest and were paid little or nothing. This is an atrocity that could only exist under a money/profit system. Some may argue that it is illegal robbery, but there is enough legal robbery going on in this system apart from illegal slavery.

– Paris is a city that is often equated with romance but not so much nowadays. Residents and visitors are much too busy coping with pollution. According to Airparif, the city's air quality monitor, the concentration of particles called P10 and P2.5 are so thick they are as bad as in Beijing, a city world renowned for bad air. Lowering the particulate matter to World Health Organization recommended levels would avoid four hundred and seventy-six hospital admission a year and one hundred and twelve deaths. It would also add six month's to residents life span but the problem is that the cost would have to come out of profits. On the capitalist scales of justice, the tipping is towards the profits, of course. Mayor Anne Hidalgo has responded by banning heavy trucks, allowing free rentals of the city's fleet of electric cars and bikes, and limiting driving to alternate days. The environmental minister had criticized this arguing that it curtails freedom of movement. Death also curtails freedom of movement.

– Is there any wonder why there is perpetual war in the world? The New York Times (April 26) that "US arms sales fuel the wars of the Arab states'. Saudi Arabia is using Boeing's F-15 fighter jets to bomb Yemen, United Emirates' fighter pilots are flying Lockheed Martin' F-16s to bomb Yemen and Syria and want to use Predator drones for spying missions. Middle Eastern countries that have stockpiled American military hardware are now using it and wanting more. The result is a boom for American defence contractors And the fuelling of a new arms race in the region. The long time ban on selling certain types of weapons that could be sold to the Arab nations to ensure that Israel maintains its military advantage, is being lifted, at least partially, as those Arab nations fighting ISIS are now seen as allies. Alliances may change, countries can be redrawn but the profit motive carries on unabated.

– The Toronto Star of May 2, had two articles about leaders, one about a school for leaders, and one about new leaders for the Upper Canada Law Society. Furthermore, we have recently heard a lot about leaders re the UK election and we expect a lot more as Canada goes to the polls in the Fall. The moment somebody says they need a leader, it is an admission they cannot think for themselves, so they elect someone to do it for them. Then, as that leader fails to deliver on promises, they go looking for the next leader. When people start to think for themselves, they will realize they do not need leaders and can make their own decisions and can administer a truly democratic society. It will be a society where (in the words of W.S. Gilbert) 'everyone is somebody and no one is anybody.'

– In "The Hidden Price of Nails" (New York Times, May 17) we are told that in the 17,000 nail salons in the US, exploitation of workers, mostly young Asian and Hispanic women, is rampant. Picked up in battered Ford Econoline vans they are ferried to the salons for ten to twelve-hour shifts. For this they carry their own tools and pay $100 to the salon owner for the privilege of having a job. Interviewing one hundred and fifty nail salon workers, the NYT learned that most are paid below minimum wage, routinely lose their tips for minor infractions, and are often subjected to physical abuse, to say nothing of the cancer risk and serious health problems due to the toxic nature of the products they use. Third world conditions are alive and well in North America and will become more and more common as capital puts the squeeze on workers to increase its returns.

– Many young people from Spain, Greece, and Italy went to Germany to seek work after the financial crisis of 2008. They received lower pay than their German counterparts and worked longer hours, even though they were better qualified in some cases. Some tried to quit but were locked into contracts that demanded they pay off language lessons and accommodation provided by the employer. (a tactic as old as the hills in capitalism). There are cases where up to US$12,000 was demanded after employees left their jobs early. It's a modern version of indentured servitude, better known as slavery. Taken with the above point re nail workers, it is easy to see that we are losing many gains won in the past century. Another reason why we want revolution, not reform.

– On may 1, Social Services Minister, Helena Jaczek, apologized an admitted that case workers had not been properly trained in how to use the province's new problem-ridden welfare caseload software. This meant that many case workers have been unable to do their jobs. A new retraining program has been suggested. We would suggest scrapping the welfare system in favour of free access for all.

– The New York Times reported that the sale of a Picasso painting for $179 million is a reflection on inequality. The soaring price for art over the last generation shows the growing number of people with vast amounts of money for such things is producing a competitive market that drives prices ever upward. It begs the question, where is all the money coming from. While billions struggle with poverty and deprivation of vital needs the world over, including in the 'rich world', they are eclipsed by the incomes of the top 0.1 per cent, and, as the article says, "And the kind of people who can comfortably afford to pay a nine-figure sum for a Picasso, the top 0.001 per cent, say, are doing still better than that." What a crazy system where children die of malnutrition and the rich can fork out millions for a painting!

– On May 1, Canada and the US announced a ten year plan to phase out trains like the one used in the Lac- Megantic disaster in Quebec. It set a series of deadlines by which different models need to be retro-fitted. By 2020 all types of cars carrying crude oil will have to have new shells, head shields and thermal protection. To quote the Transport Minister, I know the safety measures we have outlined today will not be easy and, quite frankly, they will not be cheap, but the financial losses and the costs of cleaning up after such events as Lac-Megantic will in the long run be more burdensome." In other words, it costs less to improve safety features than have a derailment. The minister said nothing about the loss of people who died in that and other disasters. Money counts, people do not.

– With all the gloom and doom around, it's nice to report some good news – the meteoric rise of comedienne Amy Schumer, who, in a word, can be described as refreshing. Though no subject is too sacred for the adventurous satirist, the area she specialises in is gender politics. Her recent lampooning of rape culture was both hilarious and to the point. As one scribe said, "Her comments are funny and horrific at the same time, mostly because they have a ring of truth." Though we know nothing of her political views, it's good to see the effects of capitalism lampooned in such a devastating way.

– "It should shock no one that in the matter of access to health care, even to the organs in other people's bodies, the wealthy and well-connected…are different from the rest of us.' The rich do better', Dr, Arthur Caplan, head of bioethics at New York University Medical Centre, told the Star (May 23). 'I don't know that that's a headline, but it's nontheless true. Right down to the homeless, health care is a tiered system.

– That abomination known as incarceration, otherwise known as unnecessary torture, is still rising in the US. There, 2.2 million are in jails, greater even than in that 'communist' country, China, that has 1.6 million incarcerated. State spending on jails has soared from $16.9 billion in 1990 to $51.9 billion in 2013. 40,900 were jailed for drug crimes in 1980, by 2013 the number was 489,000. The black population in the country is thirteen per cent but they make up 38% of the prisoners. Obviously there is a plan to incarcerate as many as possible and someone is making a lot of money out of it. Profit from the misery of others!.

For socialism, John & Steve