303 results for author: Phil Anderson
Options for Budget Solutions
Wisconsin Republicans claim that the state is broke and they have to make “hard choices” to balance the budget. They have no choice but to cut school funding and other social programs.
Whenever I hear someone say we have no options, I get suspicious. Either they don’t want to see options or they lack the ability to see alternatives. There are always options. Better, more creative leadership would “think outside the box” and provide a range of options to solve problems. If the Republicans would take off the ideological blinders they might see some of them. May I suggest a few budget options?
Collect unpaid taxes from the deadbeats! ...
Divide and Conquer Works in Wisconsin
This week Wisconsin became a right to work state. This was a “given” when reactionary Republicans took control of state government.
Legislation to eliminate prevailing wages is next. These laws require public contractors to compete by having better management or efficiency, not just lower wages. This is another attack on unions and the public good.
Ironically, this week the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a campaign finance reform advocacy group, released figures on union contributions to Governor Walker. Unions representing engineers, police, firefighters, plumbers, carpenters and other trades contributed contributed $83,000 to Walker's ...
Normal Relations With Cuba Long Overdue
This is the second in a two part series on Cuba by Philip Anderson. The first article in this series can be found archived under the author’s name. Mr. Anderson is a twenty year veteran of the U.S. military.
Establishing normal diplomatic and economic relations with Cuba is long overdue. For over 50 years we have bullied and threatened this small, poor nation for no good reason. Not only has our animosity toward Cuba been irrational and unnecessary, it has been a complete failure. President Obama should be praised and supported for finally considering improved relations.
Unfortunately, we still are blinded by our hubris. The tone set by the ...
Cuba – A Historic Perspective
This is the first article in a two part series on Cuba by Philip Anderson. Mr. Anderson is a twenty year veteran of the U.S. military.
American involvement in Cuba begins long before Castro and the current socialist government. To understand the harm our government's actions have brought to the people of Cuba requires looking at this history. To understand the present, we must look at the past.
All through the 1800s many Americans advocated annexing, buying, or otherwise expanding U.S. influence in Cuba. Commercial gain, increasing trade, and expanding slave territory were the primary motivations. By the 1890s, the U.S. was a dominant ...
Hypocrisy is Not Good Diplomacy
It was recently in the news that Cuba is going to release 50 “political” prisoners as part of normalizing diplomatic relations. Cuba must reform its evil ways, but we can continue ours.
Ironically we still have 122 political “detainees” in Guantanamo Cuba. Most of them have not been charged or convicted of anything. Of these, 54 have been cleared for release but are still being held.
Estimates of other U.S. “political” prisoners range from hundreds to thousands. We certainly have many “prisoners of conscience” even though they may not have been officially convicted of a political offense. For example, Greg Boertje-Obed, a Duluth ...
Veterans Day Reality
On Veterans Day I am reminded of the many popular misconceptions about veterans. We have an almost cult hero worship of veterans and their “sacrifice” for “freedom.”
The truth is veterans are just people. They reflect a cross section of our society. They have the same mix of dedication, patriotism, and competence as other public employees. They also exhibit the same prejudices, character flaws, and foibles as the general population. The periodic scandals (rape, torture, killing of civilians, sexual harassment, cheating on competency tests) clearly illustrate this point.
It is a myth that we owe our freedom to veterans. Our many wars were ...
Reducing Money in Politics
Do you think there is too much money in politics? Do you think politicians are bought by big money contributions? We need to do something about the extreme amount of money being raised and spent on elections. But it is unlikely that the politicians, or the industries that profit from the current mess, will allow change. What can we do? We can reduce the influence of money in politics if more of us participated in elections.
First we should recognize that politics is the way we make decisions in a democratic society. It is how we decide priorities, spending, and public policy. If citizens abdicate, then special interests take over. Refusing to ...
Unions: The Real Homeland Security
Americans are obsessed with national security. Over half of the national budget is spent on defense. The Department of Homeland Security has brought us the biggest bureaucracy in the history of human kind. But for most of us real security is a job with a future, a family supporting wage, affordable healthcare, affordable housing, and a secure retirement.
Family supporting jobs are on the decline. Average workers are being paid less when adjusted for inflation. Homelessness is on the rise. Workers in their 20's are especially insecure with high costs of schooling, student loan debt, poor job prospects, and continuing high housing costs. Secure ...
Why I Am A Retired Union Member
Unions serve a number of useful purposes for working people. They give workers a voice in the workplace. They provide protection from arbitrary treatment by an employer with workplace rules and grievance procedures. They negotiate better pay and benefits.
But a retired worker no longer has an employer. So why would a retired person join a retiree union? There are many reasons why I joined my retiree local.
Unions give you a collective voice even in retirement. That voice can continue to protect your economic interests. Through lobbying, policy research, and political activism many unions help to advance the interests of all working people, ...