The Worker, Vol. 37, Number 4
Contents:
I. Patient Care, or a Coat and a Roof Over Your Head?
II. How Do We Solve the Political Crisis?
I. Patient Care, or a Coat and a Roof Over Your Head?
II. How Do We Solve the Political Crisis?
Patient Care, or a Coat and a Roof Over Your Head?
Due to the high cost of medical expenses, millions of disabled and retired worker who qualify for Medicare are being forced to choose between paying for necessities such as food, clothing and shelter, or paying for necessities such as surgery and medicine. Aside from the debt and self-sacrifices such as electing to go without healthy food, large numbers of patients in this situation simply go untreated. Many of those who do eventually get treatment must repair severe complications due to the delay of their care.
On average, Medicare recipients spend around $400 per month on out-of-pocket medical expenses.
In 2021, 13% of Medicare beneficiaries were already living under the federal poverty threshold, which was measured as a household income of $12,880 per year for a family of one.
The American people are continually told by industry leaders and the capitalist politicians that comprehensive health care entitlements should not be expected without riches. And the unusually high population-level costs of health care in the U.S. are regularly blamed on the "life-style" choices of the workers. But it is the capitalist class that is benefiting from this set-up, not the consumers. For example, Pfizer alone generated $66 billion in profit in 2022.
This situation is a disaster and an outrage! We do not need more "market-driven solutions" to further shift the burden of the health care crisis onto the backs of the families of the workers. The for-profit health care system must be condemned and abolished. Everyone is entitled to comprehensive and free coverage of all their medical expenses.
On average, Medicare recipients spend around $400 per month on out-of-pocket medical expenses.
In 2021, 13% of Medicare beneficiaries were already living under the federal poverty threshold, which was measured as a household income of $12,880 per year for a family of one.
The American people are continually told by industry leaders and the capitalist politicians that comprehensive health care entitlements should not be expected without riches. And the unusually high population-level costs of health care in the U.S. are regularly blamed on the "life-style" choices of the workers. But it is the capitalist class that is benefiting from this set-up, not the consumers. For example, Pfizer alone generated $66 billion in profit in 2022.
This situation is a disaster and an outrage! We do not need more "market-driven solutions" to further shift the burden of the health care crisis onto the backs of the families of the workers. The for-profit health care system must be condemned and abolished. Everyone is entitled to comprehensive and free coverage of all their medical expenses.
How Do We Solve the Political Crisis?
It is for very good reason that the current political system and process cause widespread popular disillusionment and contempt for the behaviors and decisions of the capitalist politicians.
Although the two-party system is not accountable to the people, it monopolizes political affairs.
The government does not respond to the people’s will, passing legislation like the the Washington Treaty establishing NATO, the Patriot Act to suppress and even criminalize political opposition, the many spending bills that bail out the rich while slashing funding for public education and the social safety net – all despite overwhelming opposition. The government spits in the face of the people, launching a so-called global war against terrorism "to protect the people", maintaining bases and sending U.S. troops to the four corners of the globe – all despite overwhelming opposition. Regularly broken campaign promises are yet another conspicuous reflection of the failure of the current political system.
It is not only the painfully obvious issue of money that keeps the people locked out and excluded, but also the law. Elected officials receive their real mandate from the political parties, not the electorate as a whole. The candidates advertised on TV and listed on the ballot have not been nominated by the people themselves, but are chosen solely by the Republican and Democratic party machines. The Democratic and Republican parties are not only guaranteed a place on election ballots, but they are the only political entities which are. In other words, current law denies the people the right to nominate and select candidates and reserves it as a privilege for the two political parties. These two parties also receive large financial subsidies from the government. Even the primaries – through which the big parties select their candidates – are organized by the state itself. The Democrats and Republicans also enjoy de facto control over the election boards which organize and monitor the elections.
In the U.S., sovereignty belongs to the government rather than the people, thus leaving both appointed and elected officials to rule as they please regardless of the extent of the harm done to the interests of the overwhelming majority. This system of political privilege keeps power in the hands of the class forces that back it up. Voting every few years only legitimizes the rule of these politicians and their legalized system for guarding political power from encroachments by the people.
At the heart of the matter, the bourgeoisie exercises its dictatorship over the proletariat. While among the broad masses of the people all the the conditions exist to solve such problems as poverty, racism, national oppression, discrimination, war, barriers to enlightenment, etc., the changes aren't made and the problems are instead made worse.
A modern definition of democracy must recognize the necessity for the supreme power to be returned to the people. The issue of political power is becoming an increasingly pressing concern, as democracy should be about the rule of the majority. However, political power in our society has been designed to protect capitalist exploitation, with capitalists manipulating the process to exclude all others, and especially the workers, from decision-making and governance. To solve this crisis, a new political power must arise from the people themselves so that people can take control of their own human and social environment.
According to the program of the Workers Party, political parties must be denied the privilege to nominate and select candidates for public office and the electorate must retain the right to recall elected officials at any time. The arbitrary power of the executive branch be broken. Constituency committees must be organized in workplaces, communities, and wherever the people are concentrated. The committees must have the right to nominate and select candidates, hold elected officials accountable and to set the agenda of government. The entire operation of government must remain under the direct supervision of the people. The program recognizes the right for all nationalities to develop their own culture and language, including the right to receive all the means necessary to insure their all-around development. It includes recognition of the right to self-determination and the choice of secession for Native peoples, the people of Puerto Rico, and other oppressed nations.
Although the two-party system is not accountable to the people, it monopolizes political affairs.
The government does not respond to the people’s will, passing legislation like the the Washington Treaty establishing NATO, the Patriot Act to suppress and even criminalize political opposition, the many spending bills that bail out the rich while slashing funding for public education and the social safety net – all despite overwhelming opposition. The government spits in the face of the people, launching a so-called global war against terrorism "to protect the people", maintaining bases and sending U.S. troops to the four corners of the globe – all despite overwhelming opposition. Regularly broken campaign promises are yet another conspicuous reflection of the failure of the current political system.
It is not only the painfully obvious issue of money that keeps the people locked out and excluded, but also the law. Elected officials receive their real mandate from the political parties, not the electorate as a whole. The candidates advertised on TV and listed on the ballot have not been nominated by the people themselves, but are chosen solely by the Republican and Democratic party machines. The Democratic and Republican parties are not only guaranteed a place on election ballots, but they are the only political entities which are. In other words, current law denies the people the right to nominate and select candidates and reserves it as a privilege for the two political parties. These two parties also receive large financial subsidies from the government. Even the primaries – through which the big parties select their candidates – are organized by the state itself. The Democrats and Republicans also enjoy de facto control over the election boards which organize and monitor the elections.
In the U.S., sovereignty belongs to the government rather than the people, thus leaving both appointed and elected officials to rule as they please regardless of the extent of the harm done to the interests of the overwhelming majority. This system of political privilege keeps power in the hands of the class forces that back it up. Voting every few years only legitimizes the rule of these politicians and their legalized system for guarding political power from encroachments by the people.
At the heart of the matter, the bourgeoisie exercises its dictatorship over the proletariat. While among the broad masses of the people all the the conditions exist to solve such problems as poverty, racism, national oppression, discrimination, war, barriers to enlightenment, etc., the changes aren't made and the problems are instead made worse.
A modern definition of democracy must recognize the necessity for the supreme power to be returned to the people. The issue of political power is becoming an increasingly pressing concern, as democracy should be about the rule of the majority. However, political power in our society has been designed to protect capitalist exploitation, with capitalists manipulating the process to exclude all others, and especially the workers, from decision-making and governance. To solve this crisis, a new political power must arise from the people themselves so that people can take control of their own human and social environment.
According to the program of the Workers Party, political parties must be denied the privilege to nominate and select candidates for public office and the electorate must retain the right to recall elected officials at any time. The arbitrary power of the executive branch be broken. Constituency committees must be organized in workplaces, communities, and wherever the people are concentrated. The committees must have the right to nominate and select candidates, hold elected officials accountable and to set the agenda of government. The entire operation of government must remain under the direct supervision of the people. The program recognizes the right for all nationalities to develop their own culture and language, including the right to receive all the means necessary to insure their all-around development. It includes recognition of the right to self-determination and the choice of secession for Native peoples, the people of Puerto Rico, and other oppressed nations.