the onshoring manufacturing glass: half empty or half full?

A recent article in Forbes speculates that manufacturing jobs will start coming back to the US soon, partly based on one manufacturer's plans to flee "the high costs of Chinese manufacturing for the relatively lower costs of the U.S." And while people are celebrating this potential shift, it's a bit of a mixed blessing.

From the average worker's perspective, it's definitely good if some of these manufacturing jobs actually come back to the US. Unfortunately, one of the reasons they'll be returning is that wages in the US are currently so low, and falling even lower.

For example, one article, referencing data recently released by the Social Security Administration, notes that, "The median wage for the 150 million workers surveyed in 2010 was just $26,363.55 per person. For comparison, the poverty line for an average 4-person household is set at $22,350, while the line for a single person living alone comes in at $10,890." Which means that, by definition, "50 percent of wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the median wage."

Another recent article points out that, "Over the past two decades -- and especially since about 2000 -- the share of national income that flows into wages and other kinds of worker compensation has been plummeting in various countries [here it's dropped approximately 5% or about $500 billion a year since 1990]."

Furthermore, according to a report by the Nation Employment Law Project, close to 75% of the new jobs added in the last two years are below $14 an hour, while, as Alternet's Sarah Jaffe notes, "60% of the layoffs from the Great Recession were in what the report calls midwage occupations, those that make between $28,142 and $42,973 per year."

In essence, the addition of these new jobs, if they do come, will certainly help, especially when it comes to lowering the persistently high unemployment rate we've been experiencing since the 2008 economic collapse. But they're most likely not going to be very high paying jobs, which is definitely good for capital, but not necessarily so good for labour.

And, of course, nobody talking about this seems to care that for every job we gain, a worker overseas may very well lose theirs. So, for me, the potential onshoring of manufacturing trend back to the US is a bit of a mixed blessing when looking at the big picture.

occupy detroit: getting schooled

Homeless Tony just dropped some serious knowledge on my ass. Some serious fucking knowledge.

When I started out on a 'field study' to Occupy Detroit with my friend, Dave, who also happens to be a teacher, I had no idea I was going to get schooled, literally. We met Tony, a homeless man about fifty years old, who's been on the streets at least a year, sometime after midnight, long after most of the protesters had left and it was starting to get cold. His words, gruff and oftentimes filled with profanity, hit us both harder than the rally or anything the speakers themselves had to say. They were sad yet powerful, angry yet caring. More importantly, they came from experience.

There was something about what he said during our first meeting and the way he said it, as well as the fullness of his humanity in the face of complete privation, that made me feel almost as if I was in the presence of holiness. But Tony's not a saint, at least not the kind most people would recognize. Most people call him a bum and tell him to get lost; most simply see him as just another homeless, unemployed black man endlessly roaming the streets of Detroit—not the contemporary Francis of Assisi with the attitude of Diogenes that my friend and I saw that night.

Tony looked around at what remained of the group, the people who were willing to risk the cold and possible arrest to camp out in Grand Circus Park, and shook his head. "I like what you're doing. What you're doing is right. But the way you're doing it is wrong. Fuck Wall Street. I'll show you what people need to be protesting, what the people should be taking pictures of and writing about. Be here at 7am and I'll show you some real shit." And good to his word, Tony was standing right outside the orange Coleman tent someone was nice enough to have set up and left for unprepared idiots like us, waiting, despite the cold, wind, and pouring rain. "See. I told you I'd be here."

I'll admit it, I was tired, cold, and hungry when I finally crawled out of the tent. Even with all the layers I had on and the protection of the tent, it was too cold for me to sleep more than a couple of hours. Then I immediately thought about Tony and the other people who didn't even have a tent to protect themselves from the bitter cold and rain, and wondered how in the world they managed to survive this night after night.

We started walking south down Woodward, and Tony pointed out building after empty building. "What's that? An empty fucking building. It's been sittin' there three years. Why don't they let us sleep in there? They're not using it." This went on for a couple of blocks, with Tony pointing out property after property, storefront after apartment building, empty, waiting. Many of the buildings had signs saying things like: "For Lease. Wanted: Bar/Restaurant. Liquor License Available."

It's funny. People generally assume that help for the homeless has to come from the state, which means 'bigger government' and 'higher taxes'—buzzwords that have never been very popular. But as Tony took us by Comerica Park, Ford Field, and the Greektown Casino, he asked why is it that wealthy individuals and corporations can seem to afford to build huge, multi-million dollar stadiums and casinos downtown, but can't seem to find a fraction of that to build a simple shelter where people with nowhere else to go can sleep, eat, keep warm, etc. Ironically, what happens instead is that businesses push the publicly-funded police to enforce local loitering laws and essentially harass the homeless community, making them endlessly wander around downtown, looking for a quiet place to hide and rest.

As we continued our impromptu tour of his world, he'd often stop and tell us something about his life or about some of the people we ran into. He seemed to know everyone, and everyone seemed to know him. Whatever he had at the time — whether it was some spare change, a cigarette, or a swig of cheap vodka — he shared with whoever we ran into. At first I wasn't sure if this was just a show; but the way the others responded to him made me think otherwise. They seemed to love and respect him.

Many of the people we met on the way had some obvious signs of mental illness or disability, a fact which Tony pointed by saying that half of them were probably thrown out of mental health facilities. Pointing behind me, he said, "Look at him. He don't even know where he's at." It was a young man, in his twenties or thirties I'd guess, walking out of an alley with a smile and a blank stare. Tony asked the man if he'd eaten yet. The man said no and continued to smile and talk to himself. "I try to make sure he gets something to eat. You know anybody who's talkin' to himself and answers back is crazy. Shit. He might kill somebody or rape a kid one day and not even know what he did."

Just before that, he'd shown us where he 'sleeps'; although he said he hadn't actually slept in days. It turns out it was right across the street from where we parked, in a windowsill of the Old Wayne County Building. His 'bed' consisted of a hard concrete recess that offered minimal protection from the wind, rain, and cold. He kept what few things he had stashed in a small play area, including a small grill, and someone had already ransacked through his stuff. His blanket, which was still there, was pulled out of a plastic bag and was soaked. I didn't even know what to say. All I could do was look at him with all the sympathy I could muster, which I knew wasn't nearly enough. And yet he rarely stopped smiling. "I'm the happiest homeless man out here. You gotta laugh to keep from crying."

He showed us where he regularly asks for food, which is right out in front of the Sweet Water Tavern. He pointed out the places on the sidewalk, in between manhole covers issuing steam, where a lot of them try to sleep due to the warmth. He took us by streets he said he didn't go down because he'd either be arrested or shipped off in the 'party van.' According to Tony, the police routinely throw homeless people who wander around Greektown too much into the back of a police van and drop them off in the worst possible neighborhoods. When that happens, he says, he immediately files a complaint, for whatever good that does.

Later that night, when we ran into him showing some other people from Occupy Detroit what life on the streets was like, he took us behind the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law on St. Antoine, where we found a group of people sleeping. One of them was a lady who was over sixty. Tony talked to them for a minute, and then gave the lady the extra sleeping bag my friend had given to him earlier. After we walked a block or two away, he sat down at a bench to finish his vodka and broke into tears over the fact an elderly woman has to hide like some kind of vermin just to try and get some sleep.

The toll this kind of life takes must be staggering, mentally as well as physically; so it didn't come as much of shock when he told us that he was on a suicide mission—that he wasn't scared to die, he was scared to live; that he was tired, tired of looking after the others, like Chuck and Red—one, almost seventy, the other not all quite there. We ran into them earlier in the day. Tony said they get beat up a lot, that other guys routinely steal what little money they get. He said he's had to step in on more than one occasion. "I got two or three more good years in me," he said with a laugh as he threw a punch into the air.

More than once, Tony mentioned that he felt like he was being tested, that he was on a mission to help others, often accompanied his constant mantra, "I'm tired. I'm tired." It was impossible for me not to notice the similarities between him and the biblical Job, both men struggling to remain righteous in the face of excruciating circumstances and trials. It reminded me of something his friend, a man by the name of Kevin Johnson, said the night before: "You have to love others more than yourself." Something he said he learned only after losing all of his family while in prison and found himself on the streets when he was finally released.

"Why do I do it? People say I'm stupid. 'Why you lookin' after them? They're not related to you.' That's just me," Tony said with a shrug. "Out here, we're all we got." He illustrated this by asking random passers-by for change or their leftovers, and noting in his own unique way how many of them simply ignored him. "See? And they say I'm blind. Fuck you! I'm your real daddy!" He also liked to use the word 'dyke' a lot. Definitely not saintly language; but he had a point. Very few of the people coming out of the numerous bars, clubs, and restaurants acknowledged him, let alone stopped to offer anything, or to even just say that they didn't have anything to give at the moment.

"They can spend $500 partying, but they can't spend $2 to give a man a damn sandwich?" As one person walked by, completely ignoring Tony, he said with watery eyes, "You don't think that hurts me?" It reminded me of all the times I did the same thing. I felt ashamed. And when one man actually did stop to offer Tony some change, Tony said, "I don't want your money. But what you just did right there, man, I love you for that."

And that, for me, perfectly illustrates the essence of this movement. No matter what others may say Occupy Detroit is about, or how the media tries to frame it, for me it's all about treating people like people. And that's exactly what the occupiers of Grand Circus Park are doing. They're not just 'a bunch of hippies' camping in protest of the growing economic inequality; they're setting up a comfort station, where occupiers and the homeless can get things like gloves, coats, and blankets; a food station, where anyone can get a bite to eat and cup of coffee; a medical station, where basic first aid can be given (I saw Red there last night). In essence, they're protesting by taking care of the community. As Dave would say, it's a movement by humanity, for humanity.

occupy detroit: yosh!

Occupy Detroit is scheduled to begin this Friday. We're meeting at the iconic Spirit of Detroit at 4pm, and marching to Grand Circus Park at 6pm, where the occupation is planned to take place. A friend and I are planning on at least spending Friday night there. Like other protesters, we want to help add our voice to movement and inspire others to do the same.

Of course, some people don't think that organizing and protesting can change anything, that it's simply a waste of time; but history shows otherwise. During the Great Depression, for example, similar protests and civil unrest motivated Roosevelt to institute major reforms such as the enactment of Social Security, unemployment insurance, minimum wage, the right of workers to organize unions, etc. And more recently, protests and occupations led to the resignation of Tunisia's longtime president and toppled Egypt's de facto dictatorship.

As for my own reasons for supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement, I can think of four right off the top of my head. I'm protesting: (1) rising wealth inequality and lower economic mobility; (2) the increased influence of money in politics since Citizens United v FEC; (3) grievous conflicts of interest in the 16 trillion Federal Reserve Bailout, which went to large financial institutions while average, working-class Americans got next to nothing; and (4) restrictions on the use of public space. Beyond that, I'm just trying to help create a better world—one where 1% of the population doesn't essentially rule over the other 99%.

To be honest, I don't know if this movement will be successful in the long run; but as I said before, I'm truly heartening to see so many people passionate about something greater than themselves rallying around a common cause, particularly in my home town of Detroit, and I'm happy that I can be a part of it. Even if we fail to change the world, at least we can say we tried.

google hands wikileaks volunteer's gmail data to u.s. government

This story reminds me of something I wrote last month: "[The use of digital/social media by activists] brings up issues from censorship to the security of the people who are trying to organize (e.g., the ability of corporate interests to reveal names, locations and correspondences of activists to governments) to whether the internet and certain online services should be regarded as part of the commons since they're fast becoming an integral part of how we communicate and function as a society. And that's just the tip of the iceberg." 'Don't be evil' my ass.

To be fair to Google, however, they were merely complying with a 1986 law enacted by Congress; and they're one of the companies actively trying to get Congress to revise the law in order to require more search warrants. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean I think it's kosher for Google to do whatever the government asks it to. Not only do I feel that the law itself is unjust as it stands, but I think that Google has a moral responsibility (because corporations are people, right?) to not comply if they're against the law ethically, morally, etc. There's nothing preventing Google from participating in an act of civil disobedience by simply not turning over private information to the government. By their own admission, they've complied with 94% of the 4,601 requests they've received, which makes me wonder how they got out of the other 6%.

Furthermore, according to another article by the Wall Street Journal, Google says that they "pressed for the right inform Mr. Appelbaum," but it isn't clear exactly what that means. How hard did they 'press,' for example? It seems that Twitter managed to successfully challenge a similar order and at least won the right to notify the people whose information was being sought, including Appelbaum. Moreover, Twitter hasn't turned over information from the Appelbaum's account yet, which is the same type of information Google was asked to turn over. Seems to me that Google isn't quite as powerless here as they might initially appear, which is why I'm so critical of their compliance.

And thinking about it some more, I've realized that I've completely written off Congress at this point. I have absolutely no faith whatsoever that they'll do anything useful, let alone anything that's in the best interest of average citizens. I have more faith in Google, a for-profit company, and their ability to say 'no' than I do of the potential for Congress, our 'elected representatives,' to respect our rights and privacy, especially if the initial enactment and subsequent extension of the Patriot Act is any kind of indication. In essence, my complaint is primarily with Google because I think they can, and actually will, do something positive given enough pressure.

public space for public use

Last night, Boston's mayor made it explicitly clear that, "Civil disobedience will not be tolerated." About a hundred people were arrested, including members of Veterans for Peace, for the awful crime of occupying a public space in order to exercise their constitutionally protected right to peaceably assemble and petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

We're being intimidated, and our voices are being suppressed by the very people we employ to protect and serve us. This is why we, the people, need to work even harder to reclaim our public spaces for public use and protect our rights. As one Occupy Wall Street protester in New York so succinctly put it in early October, "This group is reasserting the power to use public space in a democratic manner. That's democratic with a small d. Occupying public space is a metaphor for occupying political space." In my opinion, no one should be harassed and/or arrested by the police simply for peaceably occupying public space like parks, greenways, etc., especially when in the process of exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. And that goes doubly for veterans.

occupy detroit: a hopeful start

Today I attended the first General Assembly meeting for Occupy Detroit. It was an incredible experience. Not only was the turnout great, but the energy was, too. It was truly heartening to see so many people passionate about something greater than themselves rallying around a common cause, particularly in my home town of Detroit, which has a reputation of being cynical to the point of apathy when it comes to things like political activism. One lady even brought her young son to the event, and later tweeted, "Thanks for tonight. I brought my 4 yr old. We're both excited. He says he wants to make the world better."

Of course, not everything at the meeting went smoothly, but that's to be expected at the beginning of any spontaneous, grassroots movement; and I'm hopeful that the next meeting/march/occupation that's planned for this Friday will be even bigger and better if what I saw tonight is any indication of its potential. And that's saying something considering that many people, including myself, doubted that Detroit would actually manage to organize any sort of concerted response to, and in solidarity with, the Occupy Wall Street movement at all. But it is, and I'm damn proud of Detroit for it. As the handout I picked up says, "Detroit is a city of voices that deserve to be heard."

the homeless are people too

A fairly disheartening story I read in today's Macomb Daily:

Mount Clemens business owners concerned about vagrants, teens, bar crowd

What I mainly gather from this story is that the Mount Clemens Downtown Development Authority (DDA) cares more about harassing the homeless than it does welcoming alternative energy into the city, which is obvious from the things business owners are saying about the homeless themselves. (Of course, the article also mentions teenagers and rowdy bar goers, but the focus is predominately on the homeless.)

Instead of talking about these people as fellow human beings, they're talking about them as if they're some kind of pests, e.g., "We can't just tell them to get out, but we can enforce our loitering ordinances. We're doing what we can." They're idea of 'doing what we can' reminds me a lot of the Portland Business Alliance (PBA) and their repeated attempts to help pass the various sit-lie ordinances over the last 8-9 years.

The money — which could be used to help install electric charging stations, or even go towards some kind of program to help the homeless get off the streets so they don't have to sleep "in the crevices of City Hall" — is most likely going towards more foot patrols downtown in order to "make the public feel more secure." And, apparently, 'the public' doesn't include the homeless, which is one of the business community's primary targets.

(Incidentally, one of the issues I have with the institution of private property in relation to our current political-economic setup is that it essentially links private property to liberty, and through private property rights, secures the liberty of the propertied. Consequently, the greater one's property, the greater one's means of self-determination; while no access to property means a complete lack of self-determination whatsoever.)

It's not surprising to me that businesses value short-term profit over long-term sustainability or the welfare of the less fortunate; but it surprises me that we're not more critical of this kind of attitude as a community. I really hope that the budding Occupy Detroit movement will be able to help reverse this trend in some by giving the homeless and other marginalized segments of the community a voice they so desperately need, and in my opinion, deserve.

happy indigenous peoples' day (my yearly columbus day rant)

(Since I'm feeling lazy, here's something I wrote about Columbus Day last year.)

Screw all this Columbus Day bullshit, I prefer to call today Indigenous Peoples' Day. Why? Because Columbus doesn't deserve a national fucking holiday, that's why.

I don't dislike Columbus Day simply because he 'discovered' land that was already inhabited (Hispaniola), I dislike it for the fact that he helped to literally wipe that land of its original inhabitants, the peaceful Arawaks, through his unbelievable cruelty and that of those who followed him to the New World.

What happened to these poor people was nothing short of genocide, and there's simply no justification for it. Stealing land and killing and/or enslaving its native inhabitants isn't OK, and it's certainly not something to celebrate with a national holiday.

And for all those who are unfamiliar with the real history behind Columbus Day, I suggest checking out this excerpt from Howard Zinn's Columbus and Western Civilization, as well as this clip from The Canary Effect.

anime 101: equivalent exchange

According to Wikipedia, the general principle of equivalent exchange in Fullmetal Alchemist ("To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of equivalent exchange") was initially inspired by the author's parents, who had to give all their effort working on their farm in order to earn the money to eat.

But the idea of equivalent exchange itself has been around for ages; and not just in relation to alchemy, either. For example, the concept can be found (perhaps most famously) in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, where, in the midst of discussing the role of money in the exchange of commodities, he writes, "If there were no exchange there would be no association, and there can be no exchange without equality, and no equality without commensurability" (1133b.1).

The more you know.

obligatory 'steve jobs is dead' post

So, Steve Jobs is dead. To be honest, I'm ambivalent about Steve Jobs' passing as I didn't know him personally; but I find the polarizing effect his death has had interesting. I see people fawning over him as if he single-handedly cured cancer and "invented the future," while others decry him as a capitalist monster who outsourced production to hellish Chinese factories and bashed teachers unions as "off-the-charts crazy."

For my own part, I don't think he was a saint or a monster, just an exceptionally intelligent, ambitious and lucky man (sans the whole pancreatic cancer thing) who was good at what he did, which wasn't necessarily good for all those inevitably involved. I will say, however that these opposing reactions bring to mind the Great Man Theory debate, which I think is perfectly illustrated by these two different perspectives on Steve Jobs' accomplishments: "Here's to the crazy ones: a farewell to Steve Jobs" and "The Social Genius Behind Steve Jobs."

In the end, my opinion of Jobs and his accomplishments falls more on the cynical side (as I'm generally critical of what Arthur Goldhammer calls "the hagiographic depiction of Steve Jobs as the heroic entrepreneur," which often ignore his penchant for authoritarianism and other faults); and as amazing and intelligent as he may have been (which I don't doubt is also true), I can't help but be reminded of Bertolt Brecht's poem, "Questions From a Worker Who Reads":

Who built Thebes of the 7 gates ?
In the books you will read the names of kings.
Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock ?

And Babylon, many times demolished,
Who raised it up so many times ?

In what houses of gold glittering Lima did its builders live ?
Where, the evening that the Great Wall of China was finished, did the masons go?

Great Rome is full of triumphal arches.
Who erected them ?

Over whom did the Caesars triumph ?
Had Byzantium, much praised in song, only palaces for its inhabitants ?

Even in fabled Atlantis, the night that the ocean engulfed it,
The drowning still cried out for their slaves.

The young Alexander conquered India.
Was he alone ?

Caesar defeated the Gauls.
Did he not even have a cook with him ?

Philip of Spain wept when his armada went down.
Was he the only one to weep ?

Frederick the 2nd won the 7 Years War.
Who else won it ?

Every page a victory.
Who cooked the feast for the victors ?

Every 10 years a great man.
Who paid the bill ?

So many reports.

So many questions.

how unequal we are

One of my friends posted this article on Facebook yesterday:

How Unequal We Are: The Top 5 Facts You Should Know About The Wealthiest One Percent Of Americans

While I think it's interesting in that it points out certain statistics which highlight the underlying symptoms, the real problem is that the capitalist system won't fix itself no matter how much we try to regulate it or leave it alone. It also needs to be pointed out that, as another friend of mine put it, "It's the nature of this system to produce this toxic accumulation of debt AND wealth."

If we want a real solution — one that does more than simply mitigates the symptoms — we need to start rethinking the capitalist system itself; and in my opinion, start working towards creating a new economic paradigm that's characterized by collectively owned and democratically controlled production based on need rather than profit.

But for me, particularly, economic democracy (i.e., socialism) isn't so much about the equality of wealth or outcomes as it is the de-privatization (i.e., socialization) of opportunity and the weakening of class antagonisms and hierarchies arising out of social relations unique to capitalism and other predominately exploitative systems. As Karl Marx wrote in The Poverty of Philosophy:

Social relations are closely bound up with productive forces. In acquiring new productive forces men change their mode of production; and in changing their mode of production, in changing the way of earning their living, they change all their social relations. The hand-mill gives you society with the feudal lord; the steam-mill, society with the industrial capitalist.

And if the growing popularity of the Occupy Wall Street movement is any indication, it seems like people are finally figuring out how badly they're getting fucked by the owners and controllers of all this wealth:

double standards of the nypd

Yesterday, hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested for blocking the roadway when a bottleneck formed on the walkway and a large group of protesters took to the roadway instead, obstructing traffic in one lane for several hours. Yet when a 1992 protest consisting of thousands of off-duty police officers degenerated into what one New York Times article characterized as "a beer-swilling, traffic-snarling, epithet-hurling melee that stretched from the Brooklyn Bridge to Murray Street," blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge in both directions for hours, no one was arrested. Double standards much?