Detroit bankruptcy: Society is being reorganized for the corporations

Latest

Detroiters protest against the bankruptcy filing which allows the city’s unelected Emergency Manager greater powers to attack the current and retired public workers. PHOTO/JAMES FASSINGER, STILLSCENES.COM
Detroiters protest against the bankruptcy filing which allows the city’s unelected Emergency Manager greater powers to attack the current and retired public workers.
PHOTO/JAMES FASSINGER, STILLSCENES.COM

DETROIT— Detroit, Michigan has now made new history.  Judge Steven Rhodes has approved the Detroit Bankruptcy filing which allows the Emergency Manager much greater powers to attack the current and retired public workers.
Although the ruling will be appealed, possibly to the US Supreme Court, the power of bondholders and the government merged together against us is becoming clear.  Pension funds are now considered public assets available to be seized to pay the bondholders, while retirees will be forced to suffer.
The 20 plus international news agencies camped out at the Federal Court rushed from the scene after hearing the bankruptcy approval ruling issued by Judge Rhodes, anxious to report this devastating news.  What does it mean?  It means that we are up against the ruling class like never before.  It means that, across the nation, the other 34 states with large metropolitan cities facing declining populations and rising pension obligations had better take heed of this message—nothing is sacred.  We have been stripped of our right to vote, and even the Federal courts will not restore that basic entitlement.
What it means is that the “fire sale” of Detroit assets is open to the highest bidder at the lowest cost.  What it means is that the rise of technology and its effect on eliminating labor from our workplaces has taken another big bite out of our standard of living.  It means that because we are no longer needed in large numbers to produce, our lives are becoming more and more marginalized. Retirees are under full assault because a Federal judge declared that in the Detroit bankruptcy, public workers are not protected. ALL municipal retirees in every American city are now subject to have their health benefits and pensions reduced.  Make certain that you understand this . . . senior citizens are pushed into homelessness!
Food Stamps in millions of low-income households have been cut. Empty houses stand in neighborhoods as homeless families pass them on their way to shelters already too full.  As we move toward the final stage of this declining economy, we have to see the totality of what is unfolding in front of our very eyes.
The ruling class tells us that poor people have TOO much money, and rich people don’t have enough money.  One percent of the nation’s population controls the resources of the nation.  Elections don’t work.  Candidates don’t hear us. The process is flawed and cannot be corrected in a way that benefits the majority of the residents trying to keep body and soul together.
Objective changes in how things are produced have made a permanent impact on everyone’s quality of life.  Humanity is being re-organized on a new world order . . . either the Koch Brothers, the Romney Klan, or the Snyder Group will be in charge of how that new world looks, or working people will take up the mantle of leadership.

+ 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.

1 COMMENT

  1. My fear is that all the violent protests we watch every night at dinner time on the nightly news , are going to erupt right here in the good old U.S.A . People
    Are only going to loose so much before they push back. Hopelessness is a very dangerous emotion and mix that with anger !

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Chicagoans Vow to Fight Trump’s Attack on Immigrant Workers

Chicagoans are showing that they plan to resist President Trump’s plans to mount attacks on immigrants.

A Mass Movement Will Rise to Defend Immigrants, Says Activist

Right now there is no coordinated national mass movement to defend immigrants, but there will be, says human rights activist Camilo Pérez-Bustillo in this interview with the People's Tribune.

L.A. Fires: Climate Campaigners Say ‘Big Oil Did This’

Climate campaigners said blame for the catastrophe in L.A. ultimately lies with the mega-profitable oil and gas giants that have spent decades  knowingly fueling the crisis.

Collective Defense of Immigrant Rights is Key, Says Advocate

In this interview with the People's Tribune, Pedro Rios, director of the AFSC's US/Mexico Border Program, describes the likely shape of Trump's planned immigration crackdown, and how people are organizing to resist it.

US Workers Won Key Victories in 2024, But Hard Fight Lies Ahead

With strikes and the threat of strikes, workers did more than forestall concessions: They gained ground. With Trump, expect attacks on unions, safety regulations, and the very idea of labor law..

More from the People's Tribune