State of the Poor in Michigan

From Maureen D. Taylor, MWRO State Chair

The out-going director of the MI Dept. of Human Services, Ishmael Ahmed delivered a message today where he outlined the “State of the Poor.” The room was held spell-bound as the numbers of people new to poverty were described and the numbers of people already immersed in poverty were counted together. By his official figures, 29% of children living in this state fall below the poverty level. Between 25% and 30% of all adults are receiving food assistance, many more are entitled but don’t know that they are eligible. He lamented over the pockets of poor people living in disproportionate numbers in places like Pontiac, Flint, Saginaw, Inkster and Detroit with poverty figures at 49%. He referenced by comparison southern states that are color-coded to indicate at what level of poverty they rank. Director Ahmed described the fact that almost all of them are colored to indicate that they are at or below the poverty level. There is one state north of the “Mason-Dixon Line” with the same color - Michigan.

The tremendous loss of jobs in the manufacturing industry in southeastern MI, especially in both urban and rural cities in this state have plunged millions into abject destitution. Working people need time and resources to recover from this devastating circumstance.

Instead, what is happening is the “Great Takeover” of personal property once owned by these folks who used to have jobs.

We continue to be rendered homeless by these ravenous banks that foreclose on our family homes. We continue to see our cars repossessed by lending institutions after making faithful payments for months and years. We are dropped into the vat of destitution because we suffered a medical emergency so all of our savings evaporate leaving us vulnerable to economic predators of every design.

What are we to do? Where are we to go? Detroit used to be home for 1.4 million residents. The current census will record between 800,000 and 900,000 residents as the “Great Exodus” continues unabated of workers moving about the country in search of jobs. The next chapter of the “Grapes of Wrath” featuring wandering families is being written.

The DHS Director believes that the way to repair this crumbling system is for the grassroots mothers and fathers to take control over what needs to happen to manage these difficult times. Not speaking of the tea party approach that wants all government excluded. We must hold the government responsible for securing the basics of society – food, healthcare, public safety and education. We agree with Ish…

Image from State of Michigan DHS

Wake The Hell Up!!

‘CIPIENTS SPEAK
by Maureen D. Taylor
State Chair, MWRO
May 2009

On Thursday, May 14th, 2009, most Americans woke up to the grim news that in order for Chrysler to save itself, 25% of the current dealers needed to be sacrificed. Some 789 Chrysler dealers were on a list to be closed, some as early as June 9th, after having served the master for decades. Never mind the hundreds of thousands of new families who are now facing unemployment, never mind the many community programs underwritten by these dealerships over the years, never mind the feeder businesses near by who rely on the traffic created by these car dealers - with one swipe of the pen, they will soon be “toast!”

Next comes the dreaded list issued by General Motors who will name the fate of thousands more GM dealerships that must close to save GM. All the while these horrific announcements are being made, a psychotic Wall Street reacts by closing higher, happy at the news that the Big Two are being saved by the sacrifices of millions. Is there not something insidious, sick, and diabolical about these happenings?

Perhaps what is most disturbing is the ease in which millions of car-related workers accept the premise that for America to be better, they must starve, lose healthcare, have homes taken from them, and in other ways stand “mute” while their very lives are being wrecked. The incomes offered to the next generation of workers is woefully lower than what their predecessors earned and will not allow the purchase of these hi-priced cars of the future.

The question is, where are the blue-collar and no-collar visionaries who have the answers to these current economic issues? Welfare Rights firmly believes that the solution to this deepening crisis is not to be found in the direction which we are all being pushed that calls for us to lose everything for the sake of the company. Don’t our lives and the future of our children count? Every response to the growing international crisis is one that suggests that we must bear the pain…closing schools, reduced wages, loss of retirement funds, loss of retiree health coverage, mounting foreclosures, rising domestic violence, rising suicide rates among children and veterans, rising incidents of police brutality…all things connected to rising stress levels. What do we get for our pain?

The time to bring up new ideas is now. The time to suggest a new and different course of action has arrived. The 6.5 million workers who now receive unemployment benefits must soon decide what is to be done when that last check arrives and a job has not been secured. The only answer to this greed-driven, corporate crisis is to engage in building an organized society that rests on certain foundations. People must eat, no matter what. People must have access to clean drinking water, no matter what. People and families must have homes to raise children in, no matter what. Elders deserve respect and a level of comfort, no matter what. We take care of sick people, we educate children so that they can make wise decisions as adults, we care for animals, and we live our days to serve a higher cause that includes kindness and concern.

The time has come to make a choice – “which side are YOU on?” Massa won’t let you live with him, so we must live without him. Wake the hell up!

State Emergency Relief for Low Income Michigan Residents

In the state of Michigan, low-income people may apply for State Emergency Relief (SER) through the Department of Human Services (DHS). The SER application allows for persons who have utility bill shut-off notices, or home foreclosure or eviction notices to receive assistance from the State.

As announced on Tuesday's 4/14/09 WHPR "Ask Welfare Rights" Show, go to a Michigan Dept of Human Services (DHS) office by Thurs, 4/16/09 to receive DTE matching funds for SER! If you have received a shut-off notice for your DTE bill, you can receive matching funds with a State Emergency Relief (SER) application that may help you pay off your entire electric bill. SER funds are also available for water shut-off bills, foreclosure and eviction notice, or home disaster relief. Don't let your DHS worker tell you funds are not available--that's not true!

DTE, the Detroit-based electric and natural gas company, is currently matching funds paid by DHS until April 16, 2009. Eligible residents must go to their nearest DHS office by the end of this date for these matching funds.

After April 16, 2009, you may continue to apply for SER assistance (including home disaster relief and burial service). Many of these current funds have been provided to the states through federal economic stimulus funds to assist low-income, unemployed, and homeless families.

The Michigan Assistance and Referral Service (MARS) website can also help you determine which programs you may be eligible for to receive cash assistance, food stamps, medical care, emergency services, child care, and more. MARS is available in English, Spanish, and Arabic.

Check out the Michigan DHS and SER websites for more information.

Image courtesy of the Michigan's Poverty in Michigan website.

The Reagan Years Are Back Again In Detroit

Not since 1984, when President Reagan sold us a pile of mess called Trickle Down Economics have we seen such high unemployment rates in Michigan. The state reported unemployment rates of 12% in February 2009. Worse yet, Michigan's largest city, Detroit, reported an unemployment rate of 22.2%--the highest since 1983!

Apparently, these numbers don't even include the men and women who have simply given up looking, or who can only find part-time work. As more and more Michiganders are laid off from auto industry-related jobs, they're competing with low-income families in need of work and who are barely making ends meet.

We find that these families are also competing for jobs with senior citizens who can't afford their medications or high utility bills. Instead of sitting out on their porches or balconies, our elders are standing for hours at a time selling fast food or greeting customers!

And forget about any of our youth trying to get jobs. They have virtually no chance in these terrible economic conditions and will suffer the consequences later, as adults, when they have little or no job experience to show.

During these days of government handouts and bailouts to banks and businesses, the people of Detroit and Michigan need cash bailouts too! We don't need politicians promising tax credits or asking for our patience. Neither will buy groceries or pay the light bill! As citizens and taxpayers, we want and deserve the same assistance that is being given to the corporate welfare cronies across this country!

(Image courtesy Moronail.net)

World Water Day: Protect Your Right to Water

March 22nd is World Water Day, a day set aside to celebrate and protect one of life's most precious gifts. But is has also become a day when people around the world are forced to defend and demand their right to water!

World Water Day also coincides with the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. At the Forum, hundreds of United Nations representatives, policy-makers, and business leaders come together to discuss world water solutions but mostly with the intent of driving profits on water. It has also excluded the concerns and input of grassroots groups and world citizens. Hence, water activists hold a Counter World Water Forum to promote water rights and local decision-making around water needs.

Fresh water has become like oil: a once abundant resource that is commodified, taken from the people, and sold to the highest bidder. But critical differences exist. No one owns water, it belongs to everyone. Like air, it is necessary for life and without it, people die.

This possibility is no longer fiction. Countries around the world are allowing their fresh water supplies in rivers, lakes, aquifers, and even rainwater to be tapped, bottled, sold, and distributed by companies seeking easy profits. As a result, children are dying, people are ill, and communities are collapsing. Water belongs to no government, no company, and no international cartel. It belongs to the earth, it belongs to the people.

No one has the right to deny people of their right to life-sustaining water because of their inability to pay. Moreover, companies and governments have no right to enter into agreements that sacrifice clean water access at the expense of local community needs. In Chile, for example, companies are draining more water than they are permitted and entire cities, villages and farms are being decimated.

Food & Water Watch has launched a petition campaign to ask Congress to protect out water and water infrastructure with a Water Trust. Join in and find out what your local officials are doing to safeguard your municipal water system. The solutions to water access and sanitation will not come from big business or free-market governments. Don't be duped! The solutions rests with local communities leading the effort to determine their needs and rights so that everyone can benefit from this life-giving natural resource.

(Image courtesy of U.N. World Water Day)

Bail Out The People — Not The Corporations

(reposted from the People's Tribune, March 2009)

Over the past year, more than 2.2 million homes have been lost to foreclosure, a record number. Some four million jobs have vanished, and jobs continue to be lost at the rate of about 650,000 a month. One American in three has suffered a job loss or a pay cut in their household. Those once stably employed are becoming destitute, and those who were already destitute are dying.

The question on everyone’s lips is, what is our government doing to stop the ongoing economic catastrophe that threatens us all? What should it do? Where do the interests of the people lie?

As this issue of the People’s Tribune goes to press, President Obama has signed an economic stimulus bill which, we’re told, will create or save a few million jobs and expand public assistance to the unemployed, among other things. The government is also pondering how best to bail out the banks, arguing that helping the banks will restart the flow of credit and help get the economy going again. And the administration announced a $75 billion foreclosure-prevention plan that it says could help up to nine million homeowners keep their homes.

We should be on guard. We should ask ourselves, what actually needs to be achieved? The end result of the government’s intervention should be to guarantee the necessities of life for anyone who is doing without them. If this isn’t happening, then we need to demand that the government do what is right.

The underlying cause of the crisis is that more and more production is carried on with less and less labor, because of the introduction of labor-replacing technology into the economy. This technology has wiped out jobs and driven down wages for those still working. Because people with low wages or no jobs buy less, the market for goods and services is being wiped out. As the market has been undermined, the economy was kept going with debt – the massive extension of credit to workers and businesses. Credit was also used to fuel a huge orgy of speculation in stocks, bonds, credit default swaps, mortgage-backed securities and all sorts of exotic financial instruments that really had no value. On a temporary basis, this speculation brought huge profits to the financial sector.

This house of credit, debt and speculation has been standing on a “real” economy that has been hollowed out by labor-replacing technology. Eventually the debt-based bubble had to burst, and now that it has, the real economy is falling to its true level.
In the short term, what is needed is to nationalize large parts of the economy, such as the banking system, in the interest of the people, not the corporations. We should be nationalizing the assets of the corporations—not their risks—and putting those assets to work in such a way as to guarantee every person has access to housing, health care and the other necessities of life.

In the longer term, we are going to have to decide whether we’ll have a society that serves the majority of the people, or a society organized to serve only the wealthy few. Either the people are going to have to take the corporations over and run them in society’s interest, or the privately owned corporations will decide whether the rest of us live or die. This is the ultimate question we must answer.
(Image courtesy of the People's Tribune)

Homelessness: "America's Youngest Outcasts"

Yesterday's national story reporting that 1 in 50 children in America are homeless raises, again, our concerns about how much the current financial bailout plans will help low-income and poor families. “Children without homes are on the frontline of the nation’s economic crisis. These numbers will grow as home foreclosures continue to rise,” said Ellen L. Bassuk, M.D., president of the National Center on Family Homelessness.

The report concludes that states with the highest number of homeless children are: TX, CA, LA, GA, and FL. When the numbers are examined along with children's health problems, the worst performing states are: TX, GA, AR, NM, and LA. Moreover, one-third of the nation's homeless population are families with children. It's also believed that "the current home foreclosure crisis will be adding a new demographic to these statistics: middle-class blacks and Latinos" who were previously stable until pieces of their life--jobs, health, home--continued to break away.

In this report, Michigan ranks 29th overall among America's Youngest Outcasts for (1) Extent of Child Homelessness, (2) Child Well-being, (3) Risk for Child Homelessness, and (4) State Policy and Planning Efforts. However, it ranks 36th for Risk for Child Homelessness, and 38th for Child Well-Being (with 1 being best, 50 being worst).

In the first half of 2006, the Baseline Data Report on the state of Michigan’s Homeless (pdf) found that 56% of homeless persons in families were children, most under the age of 10. Poverty continues to be the greatest cause of homelessness for families.

President Obama has allocated $1.5 billion in stimulus funds to help with homeless prevention funds. Through state governments, families and individuals will be able to apply for short-term mortgage and rental assistance, including help with security deposits and utilities. This is helpful but it's not enough!

The Michigan economy is the worst in the nation! Homeless individuals and poor families are on the edge of survival. With massive housing foreclosures and evictions, large social service cuts, and no job prospects in Michigan, we must do more as a people to help our most vulnerable members of society. Push your elected officials and business leaders to allocate more funding to low-income and poor people's needs. "Bail out the people, not the banks!"

(Image from National Center of Family Homelessness)

Will Housing Stimulus Funds Help Michigan?

Michigan remains among the top five states with homeowners in foreclosure or late in their mortgage payments. Along with California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, Michigan has had some of the sharpest increases in delinquent loans over the past 90 days.

Many have hoped that President Obama's $275 billion housing stimulus bill would help struggling families but it seems many in Michigan won't qualify for mortgage relief. The funding is too narrowly tailored and many low-income Michigan homeowners have loans outside of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Lenders such as Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and GMAC Financial Services would also have to agree to comply.

The federal government is setting up a new website where (among other things) homeowners can find out if their loans qualify for housing stimulus bill assistance. However, still missing from legislation and all of the surrounding conversations is a concerted effort by government and banks to stop the tidal wave of foreclosures for low-income homeowners.

MWRO calls once again for moratorium on home foreclosures for low-income and working families! They need an opportunity to retain their homes while they work out other arrangements, jobs, and funding sources. Moratoriums can help not only these homeowners but the surrounding communities. The Michigan Moratorium Now Coalition offers Resources for Fighting an Individual Foreclosure.

It's time there was more assistance and effort being made to help struggling families keep what little left that they have. Housing is a human right!

(Image from Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shutoffs - Michigan blog)

America, Women, and Babies!

By Maureen D. Taylor
MWRO State Chairperson

A surprising segue has developed over recent weeks, after the birth of octuplets to a mother who already has six children. The good news I thought was that all the children are still alive after these few weeks, even though it is suspected that several will have developmental issues.

The "flap" one would guess, would be over the wisdom of implanting so many embryos that bring with this procedure potential for birth defects. In Vitro Fertilization has risks that multiply with multiple births--we all get that--but this is not what is being spoken of.

Hate mail and hatred is being directed toward this mother because she is not married and the government may have to take financial responsibility for these eight, along with the other six. This mother seems obsessed with having babies, all fathered by the same partner--a fact known by the clinic who performed this procedure every time.

Bitter statements have suggested that Ms. Suleman has created this scenario to gain income for herself and her children. Her planned pregnancy has unleashed the wrath of many orthodox thinkers who are ultra critical without offering the sympathy this challenged mother needs.

Somehow, she feels herself to be little more than a "baby-machine" who because she lacks affection in her own life, needs babies to cherish who will categorically love her back. We say nothing about the $1,000 hammers purchased by the Defense Dept., or the $10b per month price tag for our involvement in Iraq.

The gov't benefits she receives is not enough to care for this family. The mother needs counseling and care, as do these babies who have been born into a world that loves them not. Women of America, don't join in this assault against this troubled soul that we should, instead, demand services for, along with all children and depressed moms.

(Image from Washington Post/AP/KTLA)

Eight Years of Hell Come to an End!

By Maureen D. Taylor, MWRO State Chair

Last week, my friend, confidant and great poet Ron Allen and I talked about the "State of the State." I miss Ron who relocated out of the state because, among many other things, he was my dance partner when we would accidentally meet up at this grocery or that department store. Many a time, some Temptation tune or some Bee Gees classic would be blaring out overhead, and we would take off on a serious Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers ballroom dance step or two to the amazement of store on-lookers who always had a smile at our antics.

Ran and I spoke about how silly so many people are who ascribe to our new President's powers as if he was Superman. He is but one human being. As wonderful as we all feel about his being the President and that he has opened the door for us to do great things with him, it is both unfair and unrealistic for people to assume that he will correct all mistakes or reverse all policies.

Whose task is it to work at eliminating poverty across the country? OURS! Whose task is it to help Federal funds get directed to chronically low income persons so that those on the bottom can be encouraged and employed? OURS! Whose task is it to take control of what projects need be instituted in places like Detroit with 50% unemployment in black communities, 60% unemployment in Latino communities, 70% unemployment among Native Americans, and 75% unemployment among youth? OURS!

There is much work to be done in America, as Ron and I discussed. The soul of poetry and cultural creation has been gutted by 8 years of "mob-rule." How long will it take to repair the damage done by the Bush/Cheney Mob? Probably decades. But what matters is that we have to start the process of change now.

We are standing at a crossroad. We all have freedom, or no one does. We all have food to eat, or no one does. We all have places to live, or no one does. Technology has reached a point where there is no need for ANYONE to be hungry, homeless, without health care, uneducated, or without the means to pursue happiness and full equality.

Bush is gone, and a breath of fresh air has moved into the White House. Rush Limbaugh is having a case of the vapors, and the right wing is in absolute misery. So this is the time for us to put our best foot forward and get busy. All help and support must be directed to those at the bottom because to help them means lifting all ships. Low income people and Welfare mothers - let's give 'em something to talk about.

(Photo courtesy: Flickr Creative Commons)

“Capitalism vs Democracy”

‘Cipients Speak! December 2008
by Maureen D. Taylor, MWRO State Chair

As we come to the end of the year, MWRO sends out greetings to our members across the state and to the welfare rights members across the country, the front-line fighters. Don’t get weary now! The American worker is looking at this collapse of an economy that we have all grown up under, and many questions abound.

Most of our lives, we have equated capitalism with democracy. People have the right to make money at the expense of someone else. Lights, gas, water – all natural resources have been privatized as corporations make millions at the hands of our suffering, and we are taught that this is the “American way.”

Retirees put their trust in these same corporations, and allowed these snakes to invest their pensions in stock market ventures, and now that their precious dollars are gone, the message is, “too bad!” We have seniors living well below the poverty level, juggling decisions to pay bills or pay for prescriptions, and we are okay with that?

Veterans who served honorably are living in homeless shelters, and we are okay with that? Southern congressional officials are demanding that northern workers accept the no-benefit salaries paid to non-union workers, and we are okay with that?

Capitalism doesn’t mean democracy, it equals terrorism.

The door is open to start rebuilding the country based on a new standard of living. Welfare Rights supports a guaranteed annual income for those unable to secure employment that maintains a level of existence well above poverty. If we can spend $10B per month over eight years for wars, we can keep people fed, clothed, and out of harms way.

The technology exists today to feed folk, to build cars that run on vegetable oil, to build affordable homes, to provide healthcare, and to make America closer to the dream that it was built on. We have to construct a new point of view that emphasizes that the needs of the many are more important than the needs of the few. Thank you, Mr. Spock! Happy Holidays to All!

Detroit's Neighborhood Parcels of Land

A recent study by the University of Detroit Mercy estimates that 30% of vacant parcels across the city amount to nearly 40 square miles--enough to fit the cities of San Francisco, Boston, and Manhattan in Detroit's boundaries. The study's author also believes that it will take another generation (at least) before there will be enough people in Detroit to repopulate these areas.

In the meantime, a variety of proposals are being put forth for how this land can be used: urban gardens, reforestation, playgrounds, new housing, shopping centers, and other plans by the Detroit Planning and Development Dept.

Yes, large and small neighborhoods across Detroit are filled with empty and abandoned parcels of land. Some belong to local residents and governments, and others have been purchased by outside banks and developers who see the severe Michigan economic hardship on families as a profit bonanza. A few more of the vacant lots have turned into dump sites for people who leave behind their bulk trash because of the city's inferior trash and recycling program.

However, a good number of these plots have been adopted by adjacent neighbors. Many have already been turned into unofficial community gardens, extended yards, open BBQ picnic areas, and informal playgrounds. Some homeowners try to purchase these vacant residential lots but who has the extra money and time these days for that lengthy process?

The upcoming Detroit mayoral elections are going to be filled with many candidates claiming to have the best ideas for managing these neighborhood pieces of land. Many of the ideas will also be backed by banks and developers who know nothing about the people and history of the neighborhoods. MWRO believes local residents and neighborhoods should have a significant voice in how these vacant lots are used or maintained, and politicians should be ready to listen.

Detroit's Water Czar

While Congress and the White House toss around the fate of thousands of auto workers, and discuss the creation of a "Car Czar," we thought we'd mention another local czar in the news, Judge John Feikens.

Thirty-seven years ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sued the Detroit Sewerage and Water Dept (DWSD) and the city to stop polluting the Detroit River. Judge Feikens was charged with overseeing local efforts--as the de facto water czar--and requiring local governments to respond to the lawsuit. Snow, rain, and widespread development created massive storm drain run-offs that contributed to water contamination in rivers and the area's watershed.

Many local groups have applauded Judge Feikens' heavy-handed efforts to comply with this Clean Water Act ruling, and there are noticeable improvements in the areas rivers, lakes, and beaches. In fact, his Detroit efforts have caused some to believe that this could be a national model for other cities.

But during this time, residents of two local water depts--the DWSD and Highland Park Water Dept--had another set of crises that the water czar did not include in his regional remedy plan. Since 2002 in Detroit, thousands of low-income residents had their water shut-off for lack of payment. In Highland Park, nearly half of the city's 16,000 residents had their water shut-off by cash-strapped local officials.

For several years, MWRO has worked in concert with local residents and grassroots leaders to have the water departments address this wide-scale public health and human rights problem. On several occasions, Judge Feikens' name came up by local water and city council officials as we pressed for relief or a moratorium on shut-offs.

Waterless residents were told that before any public policy changes could be made to help vulnerable populations restore their water service or establish affordable payments options, the water czar would first require payment and compliance with his legal orders by the water depts. In Highland Park, this made matters worse. Residents were receiving bills in the thousands of dollars (see film, The Water Front), and the city was nearly under receivership by the Governor because it could not pay its own bills.

For the past six years, MWRO members and local residents have sought a Water Affordability Program that would prevent shut-offs and allow low-income households to make modest monthly payments. We reached out to Judge Feikens for assistance and guidance and not once did we receive a response. If the Detroit water czar is truly interested in improving the area's quality of life through clean water then, we believe, part of that entails ensuring that the poorest members of the community are included and safeguarded against the harm of water shut-offs.

Lastly, a local study found that the cost of modernizing the Detroit region's sewage treatment plants and system pipes could be over $50 billion in the next 25 years. This could also double the cost of water bills within 15 years, which are already rising twice as fast as inflation. Low-income residents cannot manage this increase. What will the water czar do to avert this crisis?

For profit chain gangs in Michigan?

Having family and friends in prison teaches you a lot about what things are like from "the inside." MWRO's comrade and Benton Harbor political prisoner, Rev. Edward Pinkney, has been moved around to at least half a dozen Michigan prisons since he was sentenced a few months ago for quoting the Bible. Doing time is a difficult experience for all involved and the guilty should be punished. But punishment should be fair and not exploit an already marginalized group.

In Michigan, incarcerated men and women in many prisons work for Michigan State Industries (MSI)--a 1980 Dept of Corrections program that assigns jobs to all able-bodied prisoners. Fundamentally, MSI goals sound like a good idea, i.e., they provide "an opportunity for prisoners to learn marketable skills and to acquire sound work experience" while attempting "to address the problem of crime and the tension and idleness in prison resulting from overcrowding...." MSI has a map of all prison production locations where they sell and bid out items such as furniture, bed sheets, and outdoor banners online or through its Lansing showroom.

However, Rev. Pinkney's experience has given him and us some insights into prison conditions and prison work. Last week he wrote:

Prison officials can control virtually every aspect of a prisoner's life. They can decide her/his actions - when (s)he will awake and when (s)he sleeps, how much is spent on food, who can visit prisoners and for how long, whether to force a prisoner to sleep on a metal grating without a mattress, how long a prisoner waits for medical treatment, whether a prisoner spends 24 hours a day in a cell or 12 hours a day at back-breaking labor, and what arbitrary (useless) rules will be followed. How and when to punish prisoners in many different ways, including depriving them of all food except "nutri-loaf" (tasteless ground-up leftovers pressed into a loaf). It is all up to the Dept. of Corrections.

In many states there is a move to remove gov. administration of prisons and privatize them for corporate profit. The labor of the prisoners belongs to the state but when the state transfers their interest to a private corporation, the labor of prisoners belong to the corporation. A corporation will run the lives of prisoners and decide how they shall labor and what they shall labor at. Do you see chances for profit here?

Prison labor is not new. It's been used for centuries to help contain incarceration costs and keep prisoners disciplined and busy. But in recent times, it's being increasingly used in for profit ventures. MWRO opposes the slave labor practice of requiring incarcerated human beings to make or build products for the highest bidder. Not only do these conditions prevent a worker from demanding a fair price for his or her labor, it contributes to abusive and inhumane conditions beyond typical institutional incarceration.

(Image courtesy of Flickr)

UAW Exposes GOP Efforts to Punish Organized Labor

By Maureen D. Taylor,
MWRO State Chairperson

Last Friday, Dec. 12th, 2008, two days after the 60th anniversary that the Declaration of Human Rights was signed, the American worker was stabbed by corporate capitalism and their elected official friends. In a stunning betrayal of truth, a small Nazi-fringe of the GOP engineered the collapse of the auto-loan request designed to stop blue-collar workers from being put out on the streets.

This country is alone in its refusal to help shore up manufacturing entities making lack-luster politicians who heretofore stood mute, into outstanding champions for justice. Better late than never! No minor children should read beyond this point, because the language is about to take a low ride.

Today, AIG -- the American Insurance Group -- that was given billions over the last several weeks was caught again giving bonuses to their executive staff. According to our sources, some 78 administrative staff received these dollars ranging from $92K to $4M each! This would be the third such “gift” from our tax dollars provided to executives, while blue-collar workers are being asked to “grovel.”

UAW President Gettelfinger was impressive as he exposed the “secret GOP memo” that suggested methods and rationales for how to punish the UAW for their support of Democratic candidates over the years. Today, we learned the fees taxpayers paid to “right to work” states to bring off-shore auto manufacturers to Tennessee and to Alabama. He revealed the shocking $500M Tennesseans paid to Volkswagen to build a factory there along with years of tax abatements! He revealed the $252M paid to Hundai, the $29M paid to Toyota, the $158M paid to Honda, and the $253M paid to Mercedez by Alabamans so that these competitors could locate manufacturing hubs in America. He revealed the deal penned by our own Peter Karmanos, who purchased 2,500 Benz’s for his executive staff.

American workers should craft new plans for a better future. Suggestions: buy factories and start making our own cars – we know how! File tyranny charges against AIG, Alabama and Tennessee state senators and take them to court for crimes against American workers. Take over the production of all industries and operate them toward the benefit of working people everywhere. Research what elected officials in Indonesia, and China make so that these high and mighty senators can lead by example and start accepting similar salaries as they are demanding American workers to do. Juan Williams from Fox News suggested that blue-collar workers do earn too much, so we need to research what news broadcasters in Indonesia and Mexico make so he too can lead by example and accepts similar wages.

We have reached the end of an era. What will the next set of pages contain about how the world is to be run? You get what you organize to take. These corporations hate you. They hate your children. They would see you die from starvation, from neighborhood violence, from no health care, and we are walking into the crematoriums without so much as a whimper. Fool us once, shame on you…fool us over and over and over again, shame on us! Wake Up!

(Image from China Daily, includes Republican Senators Richard Shelby (AL), center; John Ensign (NV), and Jim DeMint (SC).

Families, Children And Elders In Poverty Ask Congress For A $1 Billion Bailout

[reposted from
People's Tribune]

By Poor News Network

“Thousands of families, children, and elders in poverty are barely subsisting in this country, while thousands of others are struggling to stay housed after having their houses foreclosed on. If we were given even $1 billion of the $700 billion bailout being offered to corporations, we could bring hundreds of families permanently out of poverty,” said Lisa Gray-Garcia, author of Criminal of Poverty, Growing Up homeless in America and co-founder of POOR Magazine and PoorNewsNetwork.

Lisa and many other very low-income and poor families, youth, and elders publicly released this plea to Congress recently to reconsider the $700 billion bailout and consider giving at least $1 billion to families, youth and elders in poverty.
“Why is it that so many of us are struggling to survive on less than $5,000 a year and congress is considering bailing out these multi-million dollar corporations?” asked Vivien Hain, unemployed mother of three struggling with poverty.

“As poor people we have created solutions to poverty such as permanent housing based on a sweat equity model, all it would take to launch is $1 million!” said Michael Crutchfield , unemployed father of two.

As Congress decides on this extremely expensive bailout, poor people across the nation watch in disbelief. Shelters are closing, state budgets are being slashed, services for the poor are being closed and people’s homes are being lost to foreclosures.
“When poor people ask for help, we are called bums, stupid, lazy and blamed for what got us into poverty. When these high profile panhandlers ask for money they are given $700 billion”, concluded Lisa Gray-Garcia in the statement to Congress.

Poor News Network
Resisting Poverty Through Media, Education and Art
Image: Tony Robles and Tiny at POOR Magazine’s Take Back the Land Ceremony/Eviction Protest in San Francisco. PHOTO/POORMAGAZINE.ORG

Poverty Statistics in Michigan

Like everyone else, we're reading the news and trying to keep up with what's happening. But along the way MWRO notices that a lot of statistics in Michigan are increasing.

Here are some examples:

• In October, the Michigan's unemployment rate was 9.3%, the highest level since July 1992;
• 1 out of 5 Michigan residents live in or near poverty, including 500,000 children;
• 1 in 3 Detroit residents is poor making it the poorest large city in the nation;
• 47.8% of children live below the poverty line in Detroit;
• Between January-May 2008, DTE reported a 56% increase in shut-offs for non-payment;
• 77,900 jobs were cut in Michigan from September 2007-2008;
• In home foreclosures, Michigan ranked 7th nationally with 1 in every 396 homes receiving a foreclosure filing, in Detroit foreclosure filings were 1 in every 68 homes;
• The Michigan Dept of Corrections is the largest state program and accounts for 20% of the state's budget [PDF];
• Michigan has the 11th highest incarceration rate in the U.S. (more than Canada and Mexico);
  
• 44% of Michigan adults read at a 4th grade level or below;
• 1 in 8 Michigan residents receive Food Stamps; and
• More than 1 in 10 Michigan residents will need emergency food assistance.
  

For some readers, these statistics may be shocking but for poor and low-income workers in Michigan they mean day-to-day life is difficult and miserable!

The $700 billion bailout for Wall Street banks is offering nothing to uplift this economy, nor does it appear that it will help protect any more automotive sector job losses. Moreover, the $47.1 billion from HUD to Detroit for lessening the impact of foreclosures on hard hit communities seems destined for the coffers of more unscrupulous banks and greedy developers.

The recession in Michigan has been going on much longer than in other parts of the country, at least since 2004. In Detroit, the impact has been felt the hardest by the city's most vulnerable groups--children, seniors, single-mothers, ex-offenders, homeless, disabled, welfare recipients, immigrants, and those poorly educated.

It seems around every corner there is a new problem or a new vulture waiting to take what little you have left. Poor people are resilient...finding ways to make something out of nothing, and sharing what little they have with others in need. But low-income and poor families need to do more to make their voices heard! We are the majority--a majority who has a right to the same quality of life that is enjoyed by others across this state and country.

Now is the time to stand up and fight for the things we need to survive...to fight for our human rights!

(Image from Flickr Creative Commons)

"Bail out the People, not the banks!"

In two days, on November 20th, Detroiters will have their last chance to comment on how the City of Detroit will spend $47.1 million from HUD. "What?!" you say, that's right because on November 21 it goes to City Council for a vote, then it's off to HUD for a December 1 Action Plan submission.

So, here's our quick review of this:
In July 2008, Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act to address the impact of foreclosures in communities hardest hit by the crisis. Later that month, new HUD Secretary Preston announced in Detroit, "the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis," that the federal government was launching an aggressive foreclosure prevention assistance program to buy bad loans from lenders. The following month, the Detroit Economic Growth Association hired staff and opened the Office of Foreclosure Prevention to ready itself for these funds. [We can't find its website or location!]

Meanwhile, the Detroit Planning and Development Dept, developed a Neighborhood Stabilization Plan (NSP) partly based upon HUD's guidelines but with an emphasis on demolishing homes. The NSP Executive Summary states:

It is important to note the strong focus on demolition activity in the plan, which accounts for approximately 50% of the total award amount. Due to the number of vacant properties, duration of vacancy and the market conditions, eliminating blighted structures in the target neighborhoods for future development or alternative land uses will have a tremendous stabilizing impact. Priorities for demolition will include structures adjacent to development projects nearing completion, and concentrations of blighted, vacant properties.

We agree that dangerous and abandoned homes in Detroit need to be cleared for neighborhood safety and quality of life matters. But the NSP, along with demolition businesses, banks, and others want to clear huge parcels of land for new development with new residents. Nowhere do they mention the option of creating Detroit jobs that will lead to home stabilization and neighborhood security.

Many of the homes they propose to tear down are good homes in need of repair. The residents who moved out were hard working men and women who lost their jobs, lost their pensions, died in debt from medical and utility bills. In the effort to save their home, they often took out loans from unscrupulous predatory lenders, got involved in foreclosure rescue scams, and lost their homes in reverse mortgages. Rather than tear down these homes, hire Detroiters to fix them, paint them, landscape them, furnish them, thereby providing every manner of work and community pride!

Councilmember Joann Watson's Housing Task Force met on November 6 with Moratorium Now members who condemned the NSP and demanded that these federal funds be used as designed--to assist families in foreclosure, fix up vacated homes, and resettle families in them! The Michigan Citizen reports this in a November 15 story, "Demolition or Repair?"

MWRO also calls for these federal foreclosure assistance funds to be used as intended: to protect against more Detroit families losing their home, to safeguard and rehabilitate existing low-income housing; and not to be used at the pleasure of banks, developers, and officials looking for more easy money at taxpayer expense!

Read the City's Neighborhood Stabilization Plan Executive Report (and full report), along with a map of the Detroit Target Communities that are selected for assistance. Submit your comments by November 20...call 313-224-6380 or email NSP@detroitmi.gov

(Image from Flickr Creative Commons)

The Real Stimulus Strategy!!

by Maureen D Taylor, MWRO State Chairperson

Has it not yet occurred to regular, blue-collar, working or in-between job folks that the real way to stimulate the economy is to make resources directly available to us!

Every family who was deemed eligible for the $600 or $300 check is already listed and on paper with current addresses or current bank account numbers, right? Send us all a check for $60,000, or $30,000 each and exempt us from paying taxes on just that amount since whatever we purchase, will be taxed. Make it clear that this is a one time event, and then make it mandatory that all receivers MUST open a bank or Credit Union account.

How long will it take to stimulate the economy? About as long as it takes to get dressed and get out the door! We will buy cars, and refrigerators, and stoves, and clothing, and shoes. We will pay off arrearage utility bills, catch-up on mortgages and rents, and re-invest in car insurance. We will buy food, birthday gifts, get married, fly South to visit grandma, rent a car to take the kids to the Grand Canyon, buy books, go to the movies and take a stronger interest in charity events because we want to share our collective good fortune. This is a win-win scenario.

The regressive government that allowed this nightmare to happen slithers out of blame, the corporations rise or fall on their own greed, and the American people save the country from both of these scavengers. Working people put dollars into circulation. We start small businesses. We make things work, and when we are not in the mix, well you see what happens.

President-elect Obama...get those check printing machines oiled and ready if you want to quickly fix this "rich-man's" mess! With so many more Americans becoming homeless, unemployed, poorer and poorer, wonder why we didn't lose any millionaires or billionaires? Working people will purchase our way back to a level of stability. Knowing that we may not have jobs, we will make wise decisions that protect our families and keep us alive for the long run. You must know the feeling of being "without" before you can make plans to avoid that feeling again.

The fate of the nation and the world lies with us. Trickle down never works only plans to "lift all ships" from the bottom up has the blessing of God stamped on it!

(Image from Flickr Creative Commons)

Poverty Summit Analysis

by Maureen D Taylor, State Chairperson,
Michigan Welfare Rights Organization.

Yesterday, Nov. 13th, 2008, was the beginning of an activity seen last in the 1970's. An event labeled the Poverty Summit was touted as the meeting that would start a dialogue aimed at the ten year elimination of poverty, a laudable goal set by the new Director of the Michigan Dept. of Human Services, Ishmael Ahmed.

Knowing Ish as we do, we were saddened by this event, as it was not the summit he expected nor planned for. Welfare Rights has seen this type of movement before. Some Human Services organizations are like "African weasels" who are able to stand on their hind legs with their snouts pointed up, so they can smell funding on the way.

The country is becoming alarmed by the rising numbers of people in poverty, so these "poverty-pimps" need to get in position so when the poverty spigots are opened up, they will already be in line with lips open, ready to take in their fill. It was a disgusting sight, as they climbed over each other, declaring how each was better than the one before. Once again, poor people are the pawns being set-up for yet another plan to "help" us by funneling money through professional organizations.

The trickle down theory doesn't work anywhere. You want to eliminate poverty, increase Food Stamp allotments from the current level of $3.91/a day/per person. Remove barriers to post-secondary education applied to welfare recipients and let us attend college. Mandate GED courses for those who never finished high school. Make available affordable housing for us and our children. Help us find jobs, and stop forcing us into positions that we can't manage unless we compromise our morality. Don't penalize us for attending training that may lead to employment, and take away the financial punishment called "Drivers Responsibility" that fines poor people in the thousands.

(Image from MWRO, Detroit Water and Sewerage Dept protest against water shut-offs)