I. Retail Bankruptcies and Severance Pay
"Nine of the 10 largest retail bankruptcies in 2017 were backed by private-equity firms, as were 40 percent of the largest ones from 2015 to early 2017. A third of retail job losses in 2016 and 2017 can be pinned on private-equity ownership." [1]
In New Jersey, a bill introduced by State Senator Joseph Cryan would "mandate that laid-off employees of large companies in that state be paid a severance equal to one week of wages for each year of employment. Cryan's bill would mean more than giving workers money to help after a layoff. It would change the calculation that companies make when deciding to cut workers in the first place, by putting a price on it. Right now, it's "virtually costless" to fire employees. Cryan's bill, if enacted, could make creditors hesitate to liquidate companies like Sears in bankruptcy, if the cost of paying out severance would outweigh the cost of restructuring and continuing to operate.
Sears and Kmart workers are calling for representation on the new company's board, which will restructure 223 Sears locations and 202 Kmart stores now that Eddie Lambert put in the winning bid for what remains of the companies during the bankruptcy. And workers also want a seat at the table when companies go into bankruptcy. United for Respect is supporting a bill sponsored by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D- WI) that would give employees of public companies the right to directly elect one-third of the board of directors.
II. Social Democratic Programs Prosper
'Recent polls have discovered commanding public support for social programs long exiled from mainstream politics: a national single-payer health plan, a federal jobs guarantee, universal parental leave and child care, and tuition-free college, along with heavy income and wealth taxes on the super-rich." "Three years later, many Democrats now stand much closer to Bernie than Hillary on wages, college, and trade policy. A reliable opponent of US defense sending and military intervention, from Vietnam to Libya, Sanders can boast an equally long record of skepticism toward America's alliance with Saudi Arabia which he spent three decades denouncing as a 'feudalistic dictatorship.' " [2]
"Denouncing the 'military-industrial complex' is one thing, dismantling it quite another." "And in contrast to the party's leadership, he [Sanders] recognizes that the power of the ownership class extends far beyond the nebulous special interests that every politician denounces." "But in contrast to means-tested programs like Harris's LIFT Act, Sanders champions unapologetically universal programs: medical care, college education, living wage jobs, retirement income, and environmental safety for everyone."
III. Rural Seat on GND Table
"The Rural Electrification Act authorized loans nationwide to launch cooperative companies. The GND [Green New Deal] platform would replicate this strategy, providing redress for the economic devastation of rural deindustrialization while pursuing a just transition from fossil fuels." "The Green New Deal's architects must commit to the lofty ideals laid out in the resolution: 'a democratic and participatory process to plan, implement, and administer the [GND] mobilization at the local level.' That means rural communities need a seat at the table in the coming year as the GND moves from resolution to reality." [3]
IV. Make Flynn Redactions Public
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the Justice Department to make public the still-redacted portions of Robert Mueller's report relating to Michael Flynn. He also ordered the publication of two conversations by May 31: the first is from Flynn's December 2016 phone call with Sergey Kisiyak, in which Flynn urged Kisiyak [the Russian ambassador to the U.S.] to go easy in response to the sanctions President Obama had announced . The second is a voice mail left by John Dowd, a Trump lawyer, to Flynn's lawyer, Robert Kelner, on November 22, 2017 -- a clear sign that Trump felt fondly about Flynn and demanded to know if Flynn was going to turn over 'information that implicates the president.'
V. An European Disaster
"Across Europe, traditional political parties have crumbled while far-right parties have grown." "The EU is in desperate need of the kind of reform that will make it more democratic, transparent, responsive, and engaged. Britain's petulant and erratic behavior over Brexit has not just made it look bad; it has made the EU look far more coherent, popular and impressive than it deserves."
VI. Fix Military Housing
Senator Elizabeth Warren's plan to meet the deteriorating state of military housing is to require the Secretary of Defense to standardize leases across the military services, and review all existing housing contracts for violations before they can be renewed. The offices will have independent authority to inspect housing. Military tenants will have a "bill of rights." If repair or remediation is needed, the work order can't be closed until the service member approves.
ADDENDUM:
*"Cuba imports two-thirds of its food each year, and as Cuba's Interior Minister Betsy Diaz Velaqyuez says, Cuba has had to find new sources due to its relationship to Maduro. [5]
Footnotes:
[1] Bryce Covert, "Every One Must Go," The Nation, May 13, 2019.
[2] Matthew Kape, "The Long Shot," The Nation, May 20/27, 2019.
[3] Lucas Smolic Larson, "A Generation Responds," The Nation, May 13, 2019.
[4] Gary Younge, "A European Disaster," The Nation, May 13, 2019.
[5] Abigail Abrams, "As rationing begins," TIME, May 27, 2019.
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