Hunger Strike Success In India. Will It Work In The US?

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Greg
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Re: Hunger Strike Success In India. Will It Work In The US?

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kaytodd wrote:Next month, the "Super Committee" of six Democrat and six GOP members of the US Congress will begin meetings to decide the best ways to reduce the US federal deficit. It is necessary that this be done.
Actually, deficit reduction right now, with unemployment so high and demand so much below the ability of the country to produce goods and services,is not only not necessary; but, it would greatly harm the economy by increasing even more the levels of unemployment and undercapacity. The federal government need not borrow money to finance deficits but can instead print new money for circulation; and, the only negative consequence of the federal government printing and speinding money is that is could be inflationary. Well, when the economy is at undercapacity like it is now, printing and spending, especially if it used to fund public-works projects that will produce goods and services to back up the newly-printed money, will not be unduly inflationary. We need to wait until the economy moves closer to full capacity until we move towards a balanced federal budget.
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Hunger Strike Success In India. Will It Work In The US?

Post by kaytodd »

This is a pretty amazing story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/ ... SQ20110827

I hope the ombusdman will actually have the real promised power to investigate and publicly report on corruption at all levels of Indian government. And I pray this will make a real difference in the lives of ordinary Indians. What got my attention was how the Indian public at large got behind Anna Hazare (he is male, my fellow Westerners) and got the unwieldly Indian Parliament to twice pass sweeping reform legislation-once in April and again in August because the April legislation exempted many high level government officials from the ombudsman's authority. I do not admire everything I have read about Hazare. His imposition of severe punishment for people in his home region who consume and make liquor and do not follow vegetarian diets makes me think he is a dangerous busybody. But he has devoted his life to improving the lives of ordinary people in his home region. Also, for some reason, his hunger strikes have captured the imagination of the Indian public and led to important legislation and, maybe more importantly, lots of public discussion of the effects of corruption in the public and private sectors on the lives of all Indians. Hazare is getting his message out and making a difference. Good for him.

We need such extraordinary efforts in the US. Next month, the "Super Committee" of six Democrat and six GOP members of the US Congress will begin meetings to decide the best ways to reduce the US federal deficit. It is necessary that this be done. But I am not optimistic right now. The GOP has made it clear that the only thing they will discuss is cuts to federal spending. No tax loopholes will be closed. Wealthy individuals and coporations will not be asked to pay more in taxes.

And I have been reading recent columns by people like Cal Thomas and George Will that provide intellectual cover for the idea that ordinary Americans will be better off without charities and other services funded by the federal government. Programs like AFDC, Medicare and Medicaid are described as "strangling" the charity work of religious organizations. Religious charities, according to the right, not only feed, clothe and house the needy they give them spiritual tools to help them get work and take care of themselves. Charities funded by the federal government discourage people from getting jobs to keep them dependent so the government employees can keep their jobs. Their presence prevents religious and other private charities from operating.

And organizations like the Securities And Exchange Commision and the Department Of Commerce are being described by the right as preventing the financial and banking geniuses in the private sector from using their skills to improve the economy. Deregulating Wall Street and the banking industry is not enough. Publically funded education and the Department Of Education are preventing brilliant entrepeneurs from providing education parents and students really want. Let entrepeneurs compete with each other, using price and quality of services.

The GOP wants ordinary Americans who need basic services to be at the mercy of private individuals seeking to make profits. This tension will come to a head over the next few months. I wonder if a dramatic gesture like Hazare's would capture people's imaginations and create a similar wave of public pressure on the US Congress. I know it is a real long shot. I don't think Bobby Sands' 1981 hunger strike moved the British public at large or led to significant legislation. I know I probably won't be the one to go on a hunger strike to prevent the GOP from privatizing everything essential in the US. But I wonder if it would make a difference.
The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living. Oliver Wendell Holmes
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