NEW YORK CITY, December 10 — More than forty people came together at a church here to discuss the devastating impact of unemployment on all workers, as well as the racist attacks on education and healthcare in immigrant communities.
A pediatrician reported that job losses in poor neighborhoods cause increases in homelessness, domestic violence, poor nutrition and obesity, along with higher rates of asthma and other chronic diseases. Children suffer from higher stress, anxiety and low self-esteem, which contribute to behavior problems and low grades in school.
Unemployment Cuts Workers’ Health
As unemployment worsens, more workers lose health coverage and are unable to pay for the high cost of private insurance. Due to the bosses’ financial crisis and an ever-growing war budget, massive cuts in public services and the safety net are forcing the closing of hospitals, layoffs of healthcare providers, and reduced access to wellness or prevention programs in working-class communities.
An immigrant worker pointed out that these problems are even more severe in immigrant communities because of racist laws and the scapegoating of undocumented workers. Some documented immigrants are blaming the undocumented for the loss of jobs, causing division when there needs to be unity to fight the bosses. More arrests and higher deportation rates are dividing families and making them more impoverished. The fear of deportation makes the undocumented easier targets for super-exploitation. They are working harder for even less pay, and are less likely to seek healthcare when ill.
With the U.S. economy’s loss of millions of “living-wage” jobs in the manufacturing sector, many working-class students are forced to defer entry into the job market. As college tuition costs rise and cuts are made in traditional scholarship grants and lower-cost government loans, these students are at the mercy of the private-sector student loan racket, which exploits them with high interest rates. With few good-paying jobs available after they graduate, they may never get out of debt.
Bosses Say: ‘No Job? Join the Army’
The major reason for all of these cutbacks is the huge outlay the bosses need to defend the U.S. oil empire. As rising military spending destroys the ability of all workers to make a decent living, the capitalist war-makers recruit working-class children into the army with promises of teaching them useful skills, getting them into college and paying off their student loans. They will say anything to get young workers to fight and kill other working-class youth around the world for the imperialist needs of the ruling class.
After the panel presentation, we broke into groups to come up with actions and fight-back opportunities to take to our communities. We all agreed that we can’t rely on the government to help us. Our working-class communities must come together to resolve these issues.
In a joint action with Occupy Wall Street, we are planning to co-sponsor a press conference and rally outside a hotel that is hosting a power breakfast of financiers, politicians and other capitalists. Their topic: how to “solve” the hospital crisis in Brooklyn (see page 4). At $75 a plate, you can be sure the interests of the working class will not be on the menu.