Lords of Capital Decree the End of Personal Security

A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

To obtain a downloadable MP3 copy of this Black Agenda Radio commentary, visit our Black Agenda Radio archive page.

"Those politicians who would allow Detroit to go down the
drain, are loyal to capital, not to country."

The corporate media want you to believe that they are
referees in an honest debate about how the United States and the world can best
navigate the current economic crisis. But the actual contours of the debate
show that the real goal is to emerge from the crisis with working people in
such a state of insecurity, they will accept whatever terms the moneyed classes
dictate. We can see this clearly in the game of Russian roulette that
Republicans and many Democrats are playing with the U.S. auto industry, the
last outpost of decently paid, organized labor.

The Republicans insist that the auto workers' unions run up
the white flag, and name a date when they will lower their rates of
compensation to match the non-union factories operated by foreign car makers in
so-called right-to-work states. This seems like a contradiction, since all of
these Republican, mostly southern politicians constantly rant and rave about
putting "America first," yet in this instance side with foreign automakers
against American manufacturers and American unions. But in times of crisis, people
show their true colors. Those politicians who would allow Detroit to go down
the drain, are loyal to capital, not to country. The current crisis provides
them with the chance to crush, once and for all, the very idea that working
people have the right to protect themselves from the ups and downs of
capitalist booms and busts. Republican congressional leadership is determined
not to pass up this historic opportunity to obliterate the last vestiges of job
and retirement security in the United States. And they are fully prepared to
risk bringing down the whole economic house to achieve a permanent state of
worker insecurity. In threatening to ruin Detroit, they are holding the gun to
everyone's heads, including their own. Such is the savage, anti-social nature
of the capitalist in crisis.

"Today's capitalist seeks to rid himself of the
obligations of yesterday's labor agreements."

The biggest difference between Detroit's labor costs and the
price of non-union labor, is the burden of retirees. Union auto workers used
their bargaining power to ensure that members could enjoy a comfortable
lifestyle after their working years were over. That's not much to ask, but a
lot more than Social Security was designed to provide. But today's capitalist
seeks to rid himself of the obligations of yesterday's labor agreements, and to
start off every day with a clean sheet and the promise of unfettered profits.
Not only does the capitalist seek a world in which he owes nothing to society;
he prefers a world of hunger, in which potential employees will be glad to
receive whatever is offered. Job and retirement security are the enemies of
profit, because they provide workers with options.

The whole concept of retirement is in
jeopardy in the United States, a prime target of today's lean and
incredibly mean capitalism. Corporations torpedoed retirement security for
unsuspecting millions by successfully marketing 401(k)s to replace fixed income
retirement plans. They transported a whole generation of would-be retirees
naked into the stock market jungle, where they are helpless to protect
themselves - the ultimate insecurity. Now they want to rob retired auto workers
of what they have earned from lifetimes of sweat. I call that a capital crime.

For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford.

BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted
at [email protected].

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