Monday, April 10, 2006
French Labor Law a No Go
Democracy in action
The U.S. is facing similar protets (minus the property damage) over immigration reform, and one can only hope that the Congress and the President will remember the "WE the People" part of the Constitution and bow to the will of the people and not to the special interests and the lobbyists. Perhaps the only way to get the Republicans to listen is to put millions of people on the street saying no to war, no to hate, and yes to legalizing immigrants. Of course, the track record of putting millions on the street saying no to war and influencing king George and the Rubber Stamp Congress isn't that hot, but one can hope.
10 to 12 million more workers paying Social Security taxes will go a long way to keeping Social Security up and running. And just think, with all that extra revenue we might be able to fund things like schools, health insurance for all, and a whole host of things the Republicans don't really care about.
Democracy in action
French President Jacques Chirac announced today that a contested labor law would be taken off the books, handing a victory to student groups and labor unions who have demonstrated in the millions in recent weeks to have the measure scrapped.Sure it took street protests, but the French government did respond to its citizen's wishes. Would it have been better for a more sedate process to have taken place? Sure, but the French government was at the end of the day responsive.
The U.S. is facing similar protets (minus the property damage) over immigration reform, and one can only hope that the Congress and the President will remember the "WE the People" part of the Constitution and bow to the will of the people and not to the special interests and the lobbyists. Perhaps the only way to get the Republicans to listen is to put millions of people on the street saying no to war, no to hate, and yes to legalizing immigrants. Of course, the track record of putting millions on the street saying no to war and influencing king George and the Rubber Stamp Congress isn't that hot, but one can hope.
10 to 12 million more workers paying Social Security taxes will go a long way to keeping Social Security up and running. And just think, with all that extra revenue we might be able to fund things like schools, health insurance for all, and a whole host of things the Republicans don't really care about.