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The San Diego Monitor
DEMOCRACY | and the Hood Needless to say the intervening years have only strengthened his thesis—inequality and environmental degradation have gotten much worse and grinding poverty persists. But does there exist a viable alternative that might take us beyond the capitalist market economy, a new system that would preserve the strengths of competitive capitalism while at the same time eliminating, or at least mitigating, its worst features? It is important to be clear and unequivocal: the answer is “Yes.” And it is simple enough to state. What we need to do is extend democracy to the economy itself. To formulate the project in terms of slogans, we need to
Democratize labor! Democratize capital! Democratize democracy!
Economic Democracy: The Basic Model Consider the structure of free market capitalism. It consists, essentially, of three kinds of institutions: Markets for goods and services: enterprises compete with one another to provide consumers what they need or want. Wage labor: in order to work, one must have access to “means of production.” One’s “capacity to work,” i.e., one’s “labor-power”— to use Marx’s term—is a commodity like any other, to be bought and sold. People must compete for jobs, and, once hired, do what they are told. Private allocation of investment funds: private financial institutions raise money from those who have excess, and allocate it to businesses promising the highest profitability. Let us imagine an economic system, which we will call Economic Democracy, that keeps the first set of institutions in place, i.e., competitive markets for goods and services, but a) replaces (most) wage labor with cooperative labor and b) replaces those out-ofcontrol financial markets with a more democratic mechanism for handling investment.
Real-world economies will always be more complicated than the models that describe them. And yet, if we are going to comprehend the essential dynamic of an economic system, modeling is necessary. This will be the “basic model.” To be clear: this will be a simplified model of an alternative, noncapitalist economy. Real-world economies will always be more complicated than the models that describe them. And yet, if we are going to comprehend the essential dynamic of an economic system, modeling is necessary. Marx gave us a “model” of capitalism that remains, to this day, at least in my view, indispensable for grasping the workings of our current system. Here we are considering a model for a different system, perhaps the “next system.” A brief elaboration of each of these key institutions: 1) Historical experience makes it clear that markets are a necessary component of a viable socialism. Central planning does not work for a sophisticated economy. The knowledge and incentive problems are too great. But these markets should be largely confined to goods and services. They should not dominate labor or capital. And, of course, they should be regulated so as to protect the health and safety of both consumers and producers. Continued pg.6
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The San Diego Monitor
Is America a Democracy YET? The United States is a nation founded on both an ideal and a lie. Our Declaration of Independence, approved on July 4, 1776, proclaims that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” But the white men who drafted those words did not believe them to be true for the hundreds of thousands of black people in their midst. “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” did not apply to fully one-fifth of the country. Yet despite being violently denied the freedom and justice promised to all, black Americans believed fervently in the American creed. Through centuries of black resistance and protest, we have helped the country live up to its founding ideals. And not only for ourselves — black rights struggles paved the way for every other rights struggle, including women’s and gay rights, immigrant and disability rights.
My father, one of those many black Americans who answered the call, knew what it would take me years to understand: that the year 1619 is as important to the American story as 1776. That black Americans, as much as those men cast in alabaster in the nation’s capital, are this nation’s true “founding fathers.” And that no people has a greater claim to that flag than us. In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson sat at his portable writing desk in a rented room in Philadelphia and penned these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” For the last 243 years, this fierce assertion of the fundamental and natural rights of humankind to freedom and self-governance has defined our global reputation as a land of liberty.
Without the idealistic, strenuous and patriotic efforts of black As Jefferson composed his inspiring words, however, a teenage Americans, our democracy today would most likely look very boy who would enjoy none of those rights and liberties waited different — it might not be a democracy at all. nearby to serve at his master’s beck and call. His name was The very first person to die for this country in the American Robert Hemings, and he was the half brother of Jefferson’s Revolution was a black man who himself was not free. Crispus wife, born to Martha Jefferson’s father and a woman he owned. Attucks was a fugitive from slavery, yet he gave his life for a new It was common for white enslavers to keep their half-black nation in which his own people would not enjoy the liberties laid children in slavery. Jefferson had chosen Hemings, from among out in the Declaration for another century. In every war this about 130 enslaved people that worked on the forced-labor nation has waged since that first one, black Americans have camp he called Monticello, to accompany him to Philadelphia fought — today we are the most likely of all racial groups to and ensure his every comfort as he drafted the text making the serve in the United States military. case for a new democratic republic based on the individual rights of men. Read more www.sdmonitornews.com
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The San Diego Monitor
What do They Want To KNOW? What Everyone Needs to Know About 2020 Census Questions
By law, the U.S. government is required to count the number of people living in the United States every 10 years. Getting an accurate count is important because census numbers impact daily life in the United States in many ways. For example, census data are often used to determine how much federal funding is allocated for important projects and services that benefit local communities. The census also plays a vital role in our nation’s system of government by determining how many representatives will be sent to Congress from each state.
Because getting an accurate count is so important, the process is designed to be fast, easy, and safe. On average, it takes no more than 10 minutes to answer the questions on the census. How Are Census Data Collected? During the first census in 1790, census takers visited nearly every U.S. home to gather data. In 2020, households will have the option of responding online, by mail, or by phone. The Census Bureau expects many households to complete the questionnaire online, using instructions received in the mail. These instructions will also include information about how to respond by phone. Some households will receive a printed questionnaire which they can mail, postage-free, back to the
Be Counted! SDMNEWS’S Motivation Information
Census Bureau. A small percentage of households, primarily located in remote areas of the country, will be visited by a census taker who will help collect the necessary information to complete the form. Who Receives the Census Questionnaire and How Is It Filled Out? Most housing units in the United States that receive mail at their physical location will receive a letter by mail with instructions on how to complete the census questionnaire. Housing units include houses, apartments, cabins, mobile homes—pretty much any place where people live in the United States. In areas where the majority of housing units do not have mail delivered to their physical location, census workers will leave questionnaire packages at every identified housing unit. The census process also includes special provisions to count people who are homeless and those in other types of living quarters, such as college dorms, military barracks, ships, prisons, nursing homes, and homeless shelters. The person in the housing unit who fills out the census questionnaire or talks to the census taker is known as Person 1. Typically, Person 1 is the owner/co-owner or renter/corenter of the housing unit. READ MORE sdmonitornews.com
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The San Diego Monitor
SDMNEWS Must Read 2020 CA Census Guide Table of Contents Section 1: General Information (PDF) •
Initiative and Referendum Qualification Requirements
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Candidate Qualifications and Information
Section 2: Nomination Requirements (PDF) •
Presidential Candidates
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United States Representative in Congress, and Member of the State Legislature Candidates
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Nomination Documents – Nomination Papers and Declaration of Candidacy
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Signatures In Lieu of Filing Fee
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Signatures In Lieu of Filing Fee and/or Nomination Papers
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Ballot Designations
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In General
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Campaign Filings and Responsibilities
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Candidate Intention Statement
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Campaign Contribution Account
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Exceptions
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Additional Filing Information
Section 3: Candidate Filing Information (PDF) •
Required Filing Fees, Nomination Signatures
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Write-In Candidates for the Office of President
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Write-In Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices
In-Lieu
Signatures,
Section 4: Candidate Checklist (PDF) •
President of the United States
•
United States Representative in Congress
For download please go to www.sdmonitornews.com
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The San Diego Monitor 2) Enterprises in Economic Democracy are regarded, not as entities to be bought or sold, but as communities. When you join a firm, you have the right to vote for members of a worker council, just as you have the right to vote for the city or town council governing your place of residence. This council appoints upper management and oversees major enterprise decisions. Although managers are granted a degree of autonomy, they are ultimately answerable to the workforce. Regarding income: All workers share in the profits of the enterprise. These shares need not be equal, but everyone’s income is tied directly to the performance of the firm; hence, there is incentive to work diligently and efficiently— and to see to it that your co-workers do the same. 3) Some sort of democratic control of investment is essential if an economy is to develop rationally. This has always been the case, but, given the ecological terrors we now face, never before has rational development been more urgently needed. Investment decisions in the present shape fundamentally our collective future. Democratic control is essential.
But democratic control of investment is impossible if we must rely on private investors for the generation and allocation of these funds. The solution to this problem is simple. Don’t rely on private investors for either of these functions. Let us generate our investment funds publicly via a capital-assets tax: a flat-rate property tax on all businesses. (In effect, this tax replaces the interest and dividend payments to shareholders and creditors in a capitalist economy.) These revenues constitute the national investment fund. All of these revenues are reinvested in the economy. They are not used for other governmental services. (A separate income or consumption tax will fund ongoing governmental expenses.) These publicly-generated funds are allocated in a manner that combines planning at the national, regional, and local levels with market criteria. The allocation proceeds essentially as follows: A certain portion of the national investment fund is set aside for public projects that are national in scope. The remaining funds are allocated to all regions of the country. Read entire article on www.sdmonitornews.com
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The San Diego Monitor
The Diversity of Black Political Views But two polls released over the last week by The Associated Press and CBS News — conducted as part of news coverage around the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. — show that there is considerable diversity in black political opinion outside of the often-binary question of voting.
We in the press often write and talk about African-Americans and their political perspectives through a single, simple frame: Blacks overwhelmingly vote for Democratic candidates. As a result, the only real question about them politically tends to be how enthusiastic they are about whichever Democrat is on the ballot (and therefore how likely they are to vote). And it’s true: Exit polls suggest that in the past 12 presidential elections (so 1972 and every one since), the Republican candidate won only about 10 percent of the black vote, on average; the Democrat averaged 87 percent.
The Associated Press/NORC Center poll, conducted in February, asked a series of questions on racial issues and surveyed a larger proportion of black adults than most polls do. The poll found, unsurprisingly, that 92 percent of blacks disapprove of President Trump, compared with 7 percent who approve of him. A whopping 84 percent of blacks think Trump is a racist, compared with 10 percent who do not. But black opinion was less monolithic on other questions: Asked if race relations in the U.S. are better, worse or about the same as in February 2017, about 7 percent of black respondents said better (I would assume the Trump backers), 65 percent said worse, and 27 percent said about the same. READ MORE WWW.SDMONITORNEWS.COM WWW.SDMONITORNEWS.COM