Morally bankrupt: Pensions under attack

Latest

Detroiter’s protest in front of the Federal courthouse on the first day of hearings around City retiree pensions. The pensions are at risk because the corporations won’t pay for labor they don’t need. The Emergency Financial Manager appointed by the governor is enforcing this. PHOTO/DAYMONJHARTLEY.COM
Detroiter’s protest in front of the Federal courthouse on the first day of hearings around City retiree pensions. The pensions are at risk because the corporations won’t pay for labor they don’t need. The Emergency Financial Manager appointed by the governor is enforcing this.
PHOTO/DAYMONJHARTLEY.COM

 
It has been said that a society is judged on how it treats its elders. In America, our judgment day is fast approaching. Across the country, countless local governments, facing major budget shortfalls, are conspiring to put the pensions of their workers—not the profits of the banks and the corporations—on the chopping block. Our economy is in collapse, and cities, counties, and states have taken on debts—often to criminal Wall Street banks and corporations—to provide public services and meet their pension responsibilities. Yet local governments continue to find themselves in financial hardship because the capitalist system itself is falling apart. We are now seeing the money public workers paid into their pensions stolen from them, given to Wall Street to pay off criminal loans.
Detroit is the first major city to file for bankruptcy since the Great Recession began in 2008, threatening the pensions of its workers yet promising to pay off Wall Street loans. Within two years, Chicago, America’s third largest city, will be unable to meet its obligations to fund its pensions because of an ever-increasing debt—which now stands at nearly $29 billion. Debt is mounting nationwide.
We have a moral obligation to provide for retired workers and all elderly people. When pensions are cut off, yet Wall Street loans are paid off, the corporations are looting the workers.
The financial crisis we are facing is based off of a lie: “there is not enough money.” The “Great Recession” officially ended in June 2009 as profits and stocks rebounded. The rebound was made possible through a major shift of wealth as trillions of federal tax dollars funneled into the financial institutions and corporations. Additionally, the private sector has boosted its profits by streamlining their efficiencies through the use of advanced technology, increasingly exploitative working conditions, and laying off millions of workers permanently.
The truth is: US companies are sitting on about $2 trillion dollars, according to JPMorgan. This is dead money, just sitting there unused. Corporations are reporting their highest profits in history, and the working class is seeing none of it. Never in history has there been this much productivity and wealth with so few workers. This amassing of wealth is the result of increasing production with computers and robots rather than with human labor. And with labor being eliminated, the corporations simply won’t pay for the wellbeing of workers they don’t need. Profits are their only priority.
Despite massive inequality, we are living in an age of plenty. There is no excuse not to provide for our retirees. It is inhumane and criminal to let seniors go without food, housing, and healthcare when there is so much to go around! For more and more people, capitalism simply is no longer able to provide a living, let alone a retirement. The only way retirees, indeed everyone, will have a secure future is to join together and fight for a new society where the people as a whole own the means of producing everything we need to live.

+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Where Do We Go From Here: It Does Matter

Those of us who have a history of being on the front lines knew this moment was coming and we’re telling ourselves it is not the time to fatigue out! We know either way it lands, that it’s in our laps and we need all boots on the ground.

Pregnant Teen Died: Seeks Care in Three Texas Emergency Rooms

Nevaeh Crain cried in pain, too weak to walk, blood staining her thighs. Vomiting and feverish at her baby shower, the teen went to two different emergency rooms, returning home, worse than before. Pregnant women have become untouchables.

No, Immigration Is Not Making Housing Less Affordable

Despite politicians' claims to the contrary, immigration is not making housing unaffordable. In fact, immigration can be part of the solution.

Make Your Vote Count 

This 2024 election is gaining on us and the pressure to get to the ballot box is intense and...

Michigan’s Prescient Lesson: Vote While You Still Can!!! 

Michigan's non-elected Emergency Manager dictatorship made Flint's water crisis possible. Pay attention to the danger of losing our Democratic rights as we’ve known them in this election. Vote while you still can!

More from the People's Tribune