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Workers of the World, Unite! The MICHIGAN May Day in America socialist page 5 Vol. 1, No. 1 • May 2003 Voice of the of Michigan 50¢ ($1 Solidarity) The Anglo-American occupation of ...

TyrannyTyranny getsgets aa MichiganMichigan statestate makeovermakeover budgetbudget battlebattle MarinesMarines threatenthreaten highhigh schoolschool DetroitDetroit CityCity CouncilCouncil electionelection Vol. 1, No. 1 • MAY 2003 1 socialistThe MICHIGAN editorial Editor MARTIN SCHREADER Stop the war against Iraq! SPMI Chairperson MATT ERARD The following was adopted unanimously by the monthly meeting of the SPMI Secretary MIKE TREACY Socialist Party of Michigan (SPMI), March 22, 2003. Even though, technically, The Michigan Socialist is the voice of the Social- the war is over, and the occupation has begun, we believe this statement is ist Party of Michigan (SPMI), affiliate of the important for people to better understand what separates the SPMI from the Socialist Party USA. Party address: 907 Walwood Ct., No. 2, Kalamazoo, MI 49007; e-mail: other political parties in Michigan. — Editor [email protected]; WWW: www.michigansocialist.net/news. The Socialist Party of Michigan (SPMI) unemployment benefits, and providing All submissions to the Michigan Socialist can opposes and condemns the attack on Iraq healthcare for every resident. be sent by mail or e-mail. Articles sent in hard- in the strongest possible terms. We stand Washington claims this is a war of copy format should have 1-inch margins all the with the majority of people in the United “liberation,” and that “” will be way around, and be printed in a basic, legible States and around the world in opposing product of the American occupation. The typeface (e.g., Times New Roman or Helvetica). Articles sent electronically, either by e-mail or this unilateral war of aggression and SPMI rejects this argument as pure on diskette, should be in plain text (.txt), Rich conquest. propaganda. Text (.rtf) or MS Word (.doc) format, although This war is illegal, immoral and unjust. We do not forget that Bush came to any format will be accepted. Submissions sent It is a predatory war for the benefit of occupy the White House through a by e-mail can be addressed to mschreader@sp- American and British petroleum coordinated campaign to rob African usa.org. companies, many of whom have close ties American voters in Florida of their rights. Signed articles, columns and letters do not to the Washington government. No government that came to power necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the Socialist The Bush regime, the Republicans and through such undemocratic and Party of Michigan, which are expressed in edi- most Democrats in Congress have joined illegitimate means could ever export torial statements, or the Socialist Party USA. The Editor of the Michigan Socialist reserves the together to bring misery and death to the “democracy.” right to edit all articles for typography and spell- people of Iraq. It is no coincidence that Because of this, we also reject the idea ing without consultation. On all other matters the first casualties of this war were that the has the right to of editing, the Editor will attempt to collaborate civilians — mostly women and children. demand “regime change” in Iraq or any with authors as much as possible. Bush and his cohorts have chosen to other country. It is the sole right and spend billions of dollars of taxpayers’ responsibility of the people of Iraq to Socialist Party USA: money to invade and occupy Iraq in order remove from power. Outline of Principles to “stimulate” the bottom lines of They are the ones who have suffered capitalist industries, many of which have for decades under his regime, itself the THE SOCIALIST PARTY strives to establish a close ties to the Republican Party. product of a U.S.-sponsored coup in the radical democracy that places people’s lives under Meanwhile, critical like 1960s. “Regime change” begins at home their own control: where working people own and control the means of production and distribution, education, housing, healthcare and local — whether your home is in Baghdad or through democratically-controlled committees and infrastructure are ignored and allowed to Detroit. assemblies; where full employment is realized for collapse. The Socialist Party of Michigan calls everyone who wants to work; where workers have At a time when there appears to be no on all those opposed to war to join and the right to form unions freely, and to strike and end in sight to the economic recession build the antiwar demonstrations engage in other forms of job actions; and where the and crisis, Bush and his generals are happening across the state in the coming production of society is used for the benefit of all spending billions in a cynical oil and land days and weeks. humanity, not for the private profit of a few. We grab. These protests represent the real believe and democracy are one and Cost projections for the first year of democracy that we are all taught indivisible. The Socialist Party fights for progressive war and occupation range between $90 embodies “America.” They are the main changes compatible with a socialist future. We and $300 billion. At the same time, the obstacles at the moment to the Bush support union and electoral actions — independent State of Michigan estimates its current agenda of endless wars, unionbusting, of the capitalist-controlled two-party system — to budget deficit at around $2 billion. racist repression and destruction of our present socialist alternatives. We strive for The money that Bush is pouring into democratic rights. democratic revolutions — radical and fundamental this war could easily alleviate the It is the people’s organization and changes in the structure and nature of economic, financial shortfalls in the budgets of every democracy against the capitalists’ police political and social relations — to abolish the state in the Union, including Michigan state and misery. One must defeat the power now exercised by the few who control the — money that would go to fund school other. The SPMI will work with anyone economy and the government. The Socialist Party is a democratic, multi- arts programs, college scholarships, fixing who wishes to achieve the people’s tendency organization, with structure and practices roads and highways, job training and democracy. visible and accessible to all members. 2 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST world Tyranny gets a makeover By MARTIN SCHREADER Editor, the Michigan Socialist SADDAM HUSSEIN’S regime is gone. Good riddance to bad rubbish. If it had been the result of a mass upris- ing for democracy and independence, then we all would have something to celebrate. However, we really have nothing about which to cheer. One unelected, repressive dictator has been replaced by another — appointed by Washington, accountable to no one. “Meet the new boss … same as the old boss,” as the saying goes. After three weeks of ground combat op- erations, a massive bombing campaign dubbed “Shock and Awe” and the near-to- tal incineration of the Iraqi armed forces, American tanks rolled into a four-block sec- tion of Baghdad and declared the city of 5 million “liberated.” U.S. Marines put their flag over Saddam Hussein’s face. How ... umm ... fitting. As had happened in cities like Umm Qasr and Basra in the days and weeks pre- actually assembled and put back on the Anglo-American types. ceding the capture of Baghdad, one of the streets, it was already too late. Not only From the day that the Marines entered first things that U.S. soldiers did was to hoist shops and stores had been stripped clean, Baghdad, hundreds of Iraqis have gathered their flag over the conquered region (only but also hospitals, libraries and Iraq’s Na- at the Palestine Hotel — where the occupi- to take it down later because it was bad pub- tional Museum of Antiquities — which con- ers have established their military command licity). tained over 4,000 years of culture and his- — to call for their withdrawal from the The sight of a bronze statue of Saddam tory. country. Hussein, a symbol of the repressive state Watching the scenes of amused Ameri- In Nasiriyah, where Washington’s hand- built by his Ba’athist party, with the face can soldiers standing by as centuries of civi- picked “opposition movement” was meet- obscured by the Stars and Stripes, is a fit- lization were smashed and burned seems all ing to decide on the division of the spoils, ting metaphor for the new phase of the con- too fitting. Coming from a society like ours, over 20,000 demonstrated against the oc- quest of Iraq. As invasion turns to occupa- where such things as culture and history are cupation and called for real democracy tion, the “new” regime of military governors bought, sold and repackaged like commodi- and independence. Armed soldiers met their and Iraqi puppets of Washington will rely ties, it comes as little surprise that the de- peaceful protest. increasingly on the old state apparatus. struction of the artifacts of one of the most In Mosul, in the north of Iraq, hundreds This has already been seen in the last few ancient peoples on earth would not warrant gathered to express their anger at the ap- days, as the old Ba’athist police forces have the lifting of even one finger. pointment of a military governor for the been recalled to active service to silence the When this horrific and barbaric scene is region. When the new lord of Mosul grew growing anger and frustration over the bru- compared to a recent raid by Marines to stop tired of the jeers and cries of anger from the tal treatment of civilians by the American a bank robbery, we can see the real priori- protest, he retreated inside his new head- and British occupying forces. ties of Iraq’s occupiers. quarters. Shortly thereafter, the American No, Iraq’s hated police were not brought troops protecting the building opened fire IF ONE BELIEVES the statements from the back into service to stop looters. They have on the unarmed crowd, killing seven and propaganda arms of the American govern- been re-armed and re-organized to stop wounding over 100. ment (commonly known as the “free press”), people from expressing their outrage over This is the face of “liberation.” these much-hated police forces were the occupation. This can be seen by the bru- brought back into service to stop the loot- tal treatment anti-occupation demonstra- IT HAS ONLY been a few weeks since the ing and pillage of the major cities of Iraq. tors have received by the armed agents of fall of Baghdad, and the honeymoon is over. However, by the time these police were the “liberators” — of both the Iraqi and Those few Iraqis who showered the invad- Vol. 1, No. 1 • MAY 2003 3 ers with cheers and kisses now do so with jeers and rocks. “Go, go, USA,” has now become “no, no, USA.” As the occupation of Iraq settles in, there is little doubt that the protests and clashes will continue. The United States is about to get a taste of what has been deal- ing with since the latter occupied Palestine. A new intifada (the word for “upris- ing”) is taking shape in the “Cradle of Civi- lization” — now a Texas-sized Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, all eyes now turn toward . The Bush regime has already begun to claim that Damascus is allowing former Iraqi leaders to stay in the eastern parts of the country, and that is has been secretly building “Weapons of Mass Destruction.” The U.S. has already cut off a pipeline that was sending thousands of gallons of oil to Syria every day, claiming it was “illegal” (even though it was allowed under the UN’s This is a wide shot of Firdos Square, the place in Baghdad where the scenes of jubilant “oil-for-food” program). Iraqis pulling down the statue of Saddam Hussein were filmed. This picture was taken A recent televised statement by Bush at the same time as the U.S. Marines were hooking up the cables and wires that would demanding that no Ba’athists be harbored eventually bring down the statue. Does this look like the “thousands of cheering Iraqis” in Syria reflects at once the blatant arro- that the government’s propaganda arms were reporting? No? Well, then you’re seeing gance and rank stupidity of the regime in how lies are turned into “truth.” Washington. Apparently, no one in the government is aware that there are over 400,000 mem- bers of the Syrian Ba’ath Party, a fraternal organization to the Iraqi Ba’athists, and they JOIN THE ARMY are the leaders of the internationally recog- nized government. Of course, it is not like any of that would Visit exotic and faraway lands, ever stop Bush’s moves for “regime change” there too. Meet new and interesting people, The only thing that can stop Bush and his regime from invading more countries is an organized, mass movement of the people — primarily working people, especially in its leadership — willing to fight for genuine peace and democracy in society. We Socialists strive to bring about a genuine peace and democracy in the United States — not a phony “peace,” which is sim- ply the imposition of order and “quiet;” and not a phony “democracy,” which is a cover for repression and robbery. We do this by seeking to pull out the weeds of violence and oppression at their root — the capital- ist system — and working to bring about a new birth of freedom and for all humanity. If you believe it is time to create a truly ... and Loot their National Treasures! peaceful and democratic society — if you THE U.S. ARMY believe that “regime change” should begin A Vandal of One This message brought to you by at home — then come and join the Social- ✭ For more information, visit http://www.goarmy.com/ the staff of the Michigan Socialist ists. 4 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST feature Remembering May Day ... in America

By JOE DeNEEN The Michigan Socialist INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY, or May Day, is a day of celebration, remem- brance and solidarity. On the first of May, workers throughout the world demonstrate for better working conditions, socio-economic equality, uni- versal healthcare and education, and the right to unionize and strike. But, to best understand why workers in America should celebrate May Day, we need to know its history. The 19th century witnessed some of the worst acts of barbarity in the workplace. Above: A photo engraving of the police riot against protesting workers in Haymarket Square, Women, children and immigrants were used 1886. Top: One of the monuments dedicated to the memory of the Haymarket martyrs. as a source of cheap and obedient labor, working conditions were outrageous, unions anarchists organized an anti-police brutali- — were arrested, tried and convicted of con- were small and brutally repressed, and work- ty rally in Haymarket Square. On May 4, spiracy in the Haymarket bombing by a ers spent 10, 12 or 14 hours a day making thousands came out for the evening rally rigged jury and biased judge, with little ev- profit for the bosses. without incident. idence and even though only one was actu- It was at its best. As the last speaker took to the platform ally at the rally (and he was a speaker on In 1884, the Federation of Organized the rally had dwindled down to a couple the platform). Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU) passed hundred, and nearly 200 police officers Parsons, Spies, Fischer and Engel were a resolution demanding the eight-hour moved in to disperse the crowd. hanged on November 11, 1887; Louis Lingg workday, starting from and after May 1, In the shuffle, a bomb was thrown among committed suicide the day before his exe- 1886. the police, killing one and injuring dozens, cution on November 10, 1887; Illinois Gov- The resolution called for a general strike; resulting in police gunfire, which killed or ernor Altgeld pardoned Fielden, Schwab by April 1886, over 250,000 Americans had injured an unknown number of workers. and Neebe on June 26, 1893. heeded the call. The eight-hour movement This event became known as the Hay- In 1889, the founding congress of the was growing rapidly and radically, especial- market Tragedy (or “Haymarket Riot,” as Second (Socialist) International met in ly in Chicago. some call it), and saw a sharp increase in , , on the one-hundredth anni- On May 3, 1886, following some success- police repression of anarchists, socialists and versary of the , and called es, strikers at the McCormick Reaper Works unionists. for a worldwide demonstration for the eight- Factory in Chicago faced police batons and Eight prominent Chicago anarchists — hour day. bullets. Four workers were killed and many August Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fis- May 1, 1890, saw mass demonstrations injured. cher, George Engel, Samuel Fielden, Micha- throughout Europe and the Americas. Fre- Immediately afterwards, a local group of el Schwab, Louis Lingg and Oscar Neebe derick Engels, who attended the first May Vol. 1, No. 1 • MAY 2003 5 Day demonstration in on May 3, nature of May Day. pursuit of justice in America. wrote: “As I write these lines, the proletar- The American Federation of Labor (suc- Today, International Workers’ Day is cel- iat of Europe and America is holding a re- cessor to the FOTLU) was becoming one of ebrated throughout the world and is recog- view of its forces; it is mobilized for the first the largest unions in America and, by 1905, nized as the official workers’ holiday in al- time as one army, under one flag, and fight- had gone with the government in support- most every country, except the United ing for one immediate aim: an eight-hour ing Labor Day and disavowing May Day al- States. working day.” together. Each year, millions of workers demon- In 1904, the Second (Socialist) Interna- To add insult to injury, the American Bar strate, wave flags and carry banners, sing and tional declared May 1 an annual day of dem- Association declared May 1 a celebration dance, educate, organize and agitate for a onstration “for the legal establishment of the of the principles and practices of capitalist better, peaceful tomorrow. eight-hour day, for the class demands of the “law and order” — Law Day. Then-Presi- As workers of the world, it is our duty to proletariat and for universal peace.” dent Dwight D. Eisenhower established Law remember our past and to use that strength Unfortunately, May Day began to lose Day by proclamation in 1958. to carry our class into the future. importance in the United States, its place That such a day of international work- As the great socialist and unionist, Eu- of origin. ers’ solidarity can be turned into a celebra- gene V. Debs, said in 1907, “This is the first In 1894, the U.S. government declared tion of capitalist “justice” is a disgrace to and only International Labor Day. It belongs the first Monday in September as Labor Day, the women, men and children who struggle to the and is dedicated to the with the aim of pulling the young Ameri- under exploitive conditions, and the Hay- revolution.” can labor movement away from the radical market martyrs who lost their lives in the Workers of the world, unite!

Read... Detroit City Council elections: THE SOCIALIST Nothing to smile about Magazine of the Socialist Party USA city, is really nothing about which to smile By MARTIN SCHREADER or celebrate. Editor, the Michigan Socialist In fact, it would be fair to say that Wat- MANY PROGRESSIVES throughout the son’s victory was Pyrrhic. Detroit area are celebrating the victory of First, only about 12 percent of eligible JoAnn Watson in the recent Detroit City voters went to the polls, and Watson only Council election. received a little more than half of those bal- Watson, a liberal community activist and lots cast. the first woman to serve as director of the This means that Watson can count on a Detroit chapter of the NAACP, edged out “grassroots” base of, at the most, only about longtime Detroit politician and former cop, 6 or 7 percent of the voters in the City. Gil Hill. Certainly, that’s nothing to celebrate. Watson’s victory was clearly an upset; Second, many of Watson’s votes came as most political analysts saw Hill’s stature as a result of (or, in spite of) a negative cam- being able to carry him past his opponent paign that saw a new low in sleaze and at- fairly easily. tacks. $ For one year However, they did not count on Watson Instead of focusing on those issues that (six issues) running a strong grassroots campaign, and separate her politics from Hill, Watson ran 10 successfully lining up several popular local commercials pinning on him responsibility politicians in her corner. for a rise in crime and corruption (a respon- To subscribe or inquire, What likely tipped the balance in favor sibility that cannot be ascribed to any one write to: of Watson was, in fact, the endorsement of political figure in Detroit, Michigan or even Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick … of Hill. the U.S.). The Socialist Magazine The endorsement by the mayor, whose Watson will be finishing out the term for P.O. Box 12431 popularity has sunk to an all-time low due the late Brenda Scott, who died last Sep- to allegations of nepotism and corruption, tember after complications from elective Raleigh, N.C. 27605 was effectively a “kiss of death” for Hill. surgery, and will face re-election in 2005. [email protected] Since taking office, Kilpatrick has be- She will be the all-important ninth mem- come infamous for his frontal attacks on city ber of the City Council, which is currently Or visit us on the web at: workers, as well as firefighters and police divided into two factions — one firmly in www.sp-usa.org/socialist officers. the pocket of the mayor and the state gov- But Watson’s election, hailed by main- ernment, and another, which seeks more stream liberals and radicals throughout the “home rule” for Detroit. 6 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST Within all this “slash-and-burn” eco- training needed to get a decent job. Budget nomics of the state Republicans, though, If there is anything we can learn from there is a small silver lining. The budget the budget fight, it is that the working peo- continued from page 8 restores a little more than half of the $10.2 ple of Michigan — to say nothing of the take the biggest loss. A $15 million grant, a million Democratic Governor Jennifer Gra- people of the state in general — should not “consolation prize” for the city coming out nholm had cut from the funding of math place any faith or reliance on these “repre- of the bipartisan effort to strip its residents and science centers around the state. sentatives” to pass a budget that benefits us. of the right to vote, was eliminated. House The math and science centers are used Obviously, the Republicans have no in- Republicans were clear that the main rea- by many school districts, including many terest in drafting a budget that would place son for eliminating the grant was the cur- poor and struggling areas, to supplement the people’s needs before those of the corpora- rent effort to place a referendum on the bal- standard teaching curriculum and help tions. But, as the case with the math and lot in November to return to an elected teachers with turning students on to these science centers shows, the Democrats are School Board. subjects. really no better. At the same time, while some of the House Republicans have also targeted Moreover, the “fight” between the Dem- poorest school districts in the state are ex- the Michigan Economic Development Cor- ocrats and Republicans is not whether or pected to have even less than the paltry poration for massive cuts in order to fund not the school funding should be cut, or funding they have received over the last its “Merit Scholarships.” The MEDC has whether or not “Merit Scholarships” are decade, the state Republicans have managed two main tasks: doling out corporate wel- preserved, but how much of the school fund- to preserve full funding for the so-called fare, and coordinating job training and vo- ing will be cut, and how much of the “Merit “Merit Scholarships.” cational education in inner-city areas. Scholarship” funding will be preserved. These scholarships, set up by former While few would likely have a problem It is a question of degrees for them, not Governor John Engler in the 1990s, are giv- with taking the ax to the tens of millions in fundamentals. en mostly to students in wealthy districts corporate handed out every year by Everyone in Michigan should keep this whose school funding is not being cut, and the state government, the Republicans’ plan in mind for next year, when there will be whose state representatives are usually Re- will also leave thousands of unemployed independent Socialist candidates on the publicans. workers with no means of receiving the ballot running for the state legislature. Marines threaten Mich. high school By A CORRESPONDENT ers the Hemlock area, Staff Sgt. Michael been giving [recruiters] students’ names, Lustri, began a one-man operation to get addresses and phone numbers.” The Michigan Socialist his claws into the youth of this small mid- Recruiters “come to the school far more FROM THE HALLS of Montezuma, to the Michigan town. often than university recruiters,” Crossett shores of ... Hemlock? First appealing to the local media, and added. It does not take much to put the U.S. then taking his case directly to the Hem- Like the now-famous Prisoner Of War, Marines in the mood to invade a small, lock Board of Education, Lustri complained Jessica Lynch, most of the young people defenseless region. When the recent U.S. about how an “injustice” had been done to from Hemlock that join the military come invasion of Iraq began, at least one of them the military because they were not allowed from relatively poor backgrounds, and have was looking at action closer to home. to rope in more cannon fodder. likely never traveled more than 50 or 100 When the first members of the Ameri- However, as soon as the media flashed miles from their home. can military set foot into Iraq, officials in the images of the “mass” toppling of Sadd- The armed forces seek out such youth, the Hemlock Public School District imple- am Hussein in Baghdad [see photo, page 4 which have been kept politically and so- mented its long-standing policy of asking — Ed.], the school officials in Hemlock cially backward by the conditions under military recruiters to leave the high school once again opened the doors and let in the which they live, because they know many campus for the duration. Their goal was to wolves of war. of these young men and women take the keep students from falling prey to the war Hemlock is a small, semi-rural commu- civics lessons about “democracy” and “free- fever and make an impulsive decision to nity in the Tri-City area of the middle low- dom” as good coin. enlist. er peninsula. Most of the students are sons They rely on the hope that these young The Army, Navy and Air Force recruit- and daughters of workers in the various in- people will continue to remember that as ers were all respectful of the school district’s dustries in this region, which includes Sag- they go marching into combat for the likes policy. The Marines, on the other hand, inaw, Bay City and Midland. of Halliburton, DynCorp, the Carlyle geared up for a fight. Like most small towns, ruthless military Group and other major corporations direct- Under the Bush regime’s “No Child Left recruiters seeking to fill coffins and capi- ly tied to the Bush regime. Behind” Act, military recruiters are allowed talist bank accounts prey upon it. Socialists rely on the hope that these unfettered access to exploit and prey on The Hemlock Public Schools Superin- young people will learn and remember for young people. Sensing the need for fresh tendent, Clifford Crossett, made this ap- whom they really fight — and then will blood, the Marine Corps recruiter who cov- parent. “As the law goes, we always have choose not to. Vol. 1, No. 1 • MAY 2003 7 socialistThe MICHIGAN MICHIGAN NEWS And you thought it would be different under Granholm... Privilege preserved as state budget goes bust Most of the deepest cuts are in educa- By MARTIN SCHREADER tion. More than two dozen school districts Some Lowlights of the Editor, the Michigan Socialist in Michigan will lose funding under the Republican state budget THE MICHIGAN STATE legislature is still current budget plan, including Detroit, A loss of almost $1 million for Flint and controlled by the Republican Party. No Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids public schools, earmarked clearer indication of that can be seen than Muskegon. for class-size reduction the new state budget, passed by the State The Republican-sponsored plan reduces A loss of about $500,000 for both House at the time of this writing, and await- per-pupil spending in those districts that had Kalamazoo and Muskegon public ing debate in the State Senate. been receiving extra funds to reduce over- schools, earmarked for class-size Michigan is facing a budget deficit of at crowding in classrooms. In Flint and Grand reduction least $2 billion for the coming fiscal year. Rapids, these cuts mean a loss of almost $1 Elimination of $15 million grant to Between the economic recession and all the million in each district. Kalamazoo and Detroit Public Schools, as punishment money being poured into useless “homeland Muskegon will each lose about half that for attempts to restore the right to vote security” programs, working people are ex- much. Elimination of funding to job training pected to withstand the worst of the short- By far, the Detroit Public Schools will programs run by MEDC. fall in the state’s treasury. continued on page 7 Michigan’s poor, children face uphill battle

By BRIAN McAFEE subject: “According to the survey, a family lature cut the clothing allowance from $75 of three would qualify for $9,830 a year in to $25 to assist the Republican tax cuts for Special to the Michigan Socialist government cash assistance, food stamps the rich. MUSKEGON — Michigan’s poor are hav- and a back-to-school clothing allowance. Another aspect to this plan was that law- ing an increasingly hard time making ends That same family would spend an average makers also trimmed back eligibilty, limit- meet, according to a recently completed of $18,137 in rent, utilities, transportation, ing it to school-age children, four years and study, and numerous social service organi- food and clothing.” older on public assistance. Previously infants zations throughout the state. Cash assistance grants have not increased and toddlers were eligible. According to the 2003 Market Basket for ten years under conservative Republi- It has been noted that this past winter Survey (which measures the buying power can Gov. John Engler. And now, with a new many children have been going to school of the poor), cash assistance and food governor, Jennifer Granholm, improvement without coats, bootsor hats! stamps, which make up all the poor recieve, is unlikely because of the state’s projected Gov. Granholm is in many ways an im- covers only 5 percent of the income needed $1.7 billion deficit. provement over our now former Gov. John to pay for food, clothing and housing. One Child and Family Associates see an ur- Engler, but she has yet to prove herself an year ago, Public Assistance provided 60 per- gency in the public need particularly for advocate for the poor — particularly poor cent. children. One reported suggestion is an children. “That’s a very dramatic drop, one I added one-cent tax on each can of beer, to On a wider scale, west Michigan social haven’t seen in the seven or eight years that generate $20 Million, with the money to activist and advocate for the poor, Father we've been doing this,” stated Ellen Speck- be used to increase the back-to-school cloth- Jack LaGoe said: “A nation willing to put man-Randall, executive directer of the ing allowance from $25 to $100 — much itself into a debt of $400 billion a year for Michigan County Social Services Associa- more than just this is needed to ensure the the foreseeable future, asking only the poor tion, which conducted the annual survey. well being of poor children. and lower middle class to pay for it, has lost From a Muskegon Chronicle article on the Michigan’s Republican-controlled legis- its vision and any hope of peace.” 8 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST