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Published by the Socialist Labor Party Established in l89l VOL.111 NO. 10 JANUARY 2002 50 CENTS IN THIS ISSUE War on Terrorism Can’t Private Capital Eyes Workers’ Social Security Bring Lasting Peace Page 2 ept. 11 has been described as a turning point in the history of Sthe world. We are not the same Health Care Benefits today as we were before the terrible Louis Fisher Pounded by Layoffs events of that day. 1913–2001 Page 3 No doubt the perception most work- Louis Fisher, presidential candidate ing-class Americans have of the world of the Socialist Labor Party in 1972, has undergone dramatic changes Editorial — died on Nov. 28 following a lengthy ill- since Sept. 11. The ancient concept of ness. Military Tribunals a “fortress America” impregnably shel- Fisher was born in Baltimore, Md., in Page 4 tered behind the breadth of oceans 1913. His parents moved to Chicago finally went the way of its former jus- while he was still a child, but stayed tification. However, no great grasp of only a few years before moving on to A Picture of history or of modern technology is Chicago, where he graduated from Socialist Government needed to understand why the mate- Riverside High School in 1931. He joined Section Milwaukee in 1935 when Page 8 rial foundation that once propped up he was 22. that idea had dissolved decades ago. Fisher was the SLP candidate for governor of Wisconsin in 1940. Soon Now we know that Sept. 11 was thereafter, however, he moved to Chicago and transferred to Section episodic rather than epochal. It did Cook Co. He was Illinois state secretary for many years and a frequent not mark a seminal departure from candidate for state and local office in Illinois. He was the SLP candidate the course of history. It did not signi- for U.S. senator from Illinois in 1970. SLP Launches fy a turning point in the history of In 1972, the party’s 28th National Convention nominated Fisher as Western, or capitalist, relations with the SLP’s candidate for president of the United States. His running mate the East. The call for a “holy war” was Genevieve Gunderson of Minneapolis. The Fisher-Gunderson ticket Emergency Fund against the invasion of Western “val- appeared on the ballot in 12 states and was credited with 53,821 votes, ues,” raised or echoed by Osama bin The SLP is confronted by a financial crisis the largest vote ever received by a national ticket of the SLP. Laden and others with a similar bent After retiring from the cleaning and dying industry, Fisher and his wife that may not be easily overcome. of mind, has, for the most part, been Friends of The People who have kept Ruth moved to Arizona in 1979, where he was instrumental in organizing ignored. The reason is simple: official Section Maricopa Co. in 1982. The couple returned to Chicago in 1998. abreast of the problem have been respond- Islam, like Christianity before it, ing to appeals for contributions printed in Fisher is survived by his wife, two brothers, a son, three daughters, 12 caved in to capitalism long ago. The grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. A notice in the Chicago Tribune recent issues. Their responses have been ground has been cut out from under sufficient to stop, at least temporarily, the of Nov. 29 suggests that contributions in his memory be sent to The People. it. It has adapted. The cheap com- monthly deficits that had reduced the cash modities that Marx described as the reserves of the SLP to a dangerous level—so cannon that would knock down all plete, the decisive moment that made that followed underscore and confirm it. dangerous that the party’s ability to maintain Chinese Walls of resistance in capi- the result all but inevitable occurred The videotape that, for many, con- its national headquarters and continue publi- talism’s march toward creating a 100 or 150 years ago. firmed that Osama bin Laden was the cation of The People were—and still are—in world after its own image found no In short, not much has changed perverted mastermind who hatched doubt. great obstacle to overcome in Islam. since Sept. 11. Indeed, the war that the diabolical plot that brought Sept. As can be seen from a financial report That, too, was accomplished long ago, the United States unleashed on Af- 11 about provides nothing more than printed elsewhere in this issue, income from and if the transformation is incom- ghanistan in the weeks and months (Continued on page 6) all sources for November was $16,761. Most of that income—about $11,250—came from contributions to several party funds. Combined with contributions received during the pre- Antiterrorist Effort Gives ceding two months, nearly $31,000 in contri- butions have been received since our first appeal was printed in the October issue. It Big Breaks to Capitalists is our aim to raise a minimum of $125,000 in contributions by Aug. 31. By Carl Miller Jr. turing jobs disappeared between companies would probably make Why Aug. 31, and why $125,000? There During capitalism’s past wars, the March 2000 and September 2001. anyway. It would also make it easier are two primary reasons. government pursued policies designed There is little doubt that the attacks for them to shelter their ill-gotten First: Aug. 31 is the date on which the to hide the causes of war and protect made a bad situation worse. gains in offshore tax havens and lease on the party’s national headquarters the interests of those who stood to The airlines were the first to bene- offer billions in refunds to profitable will expire. Long before then, a decision must gain the most from such internation- fit from wartime corporate welfare. corporations. It is not only the com- be made on trying to negotiate an extension al conflicts. Among these policies were Shortly after the attacks, Congress panies who benefit from this pack- on the current lease or on locating new facil- so-called excess profits taxes on busi- passed a $15 billion bailout to shore age, but the wealthy who own them. ities that the party can afford. However, if the nesses so that people didn’t get the im- up the sagging industry. Even now Another part of this bill acceler- party’s cash reserves are insufficient to enter pression that capitalists were “profi- an economic “stimulus” package is ates tax cuts for the richest taxpay- into a new lease it will be necessary to close teering” from the war effort. It did being debated in Congress to put ers, bringing their effective date for- the headquarters and to discontinue The this to shore up (or whip up) support more money into the pockets of big ward from 2006 to 2002. According People. for the war effort and to keep the business in hopes of getting the econ- to estimates by Citizens for Tax Second: It will be impossible to keep our working class from resisting the omy moving again. It is a sure bet Justice, the majority of the tax tiny staff on the payroll. They will be forced enforced spilling of its blood on far- that very little in the way of assis- breaks would go to the richest one to look for other work. If that is allowed to away battlefields. tance will find its way down to those percent of taxpayers and almost 75 happen it would also become necessary to Now that we face a “war on terror- who need it most, the workers who percent would go to the top 10 per- shut the headquarters down. ism” and a sagging economy, the gov- lost their jobs because of a recession, cent. The rationale used by the Bush The $125,000 in contributions we hope to ernment seems intent on reversing the impact of which has been exacer- administration to justify this pro- raise would bring the party’s cash reserves the old pattern by giving tax breaks bated by the attacks of Sept. 11. gram is that it would encourage com- back to where they were on Jan. 1, 2001. We and benefits to the capitalist class. The 100,000 or so airline workers panies to invest, expand their opera- believe that would be sufficient to see The The economy showed signs of who have lost their jobs provide one tions and hire more workers, hope- People, the headquarters and the staff downturn long before the terrorist example. Congress failed to appro- fully with the result of ending the through for one more year. attacks of Sept. 11. Some economists priate as much as a dime to help present recession. However, there is To repeat, that amount is the absolute say the country has been in a reces- them get back on their feet. no evidence that corporate breaks of minimum needed to see the headquarters sion since last March. Job growth In October, the House passed a this sort ever had the desired effect. through for one year beyond the end of the had stalled and manufacturing had $100 billion corporate assistance Such programs show whose inter- current lease. As indicated, however, certain been in a downward spiral for over a package that would allow huge tax ests are important under the system decisions must be made long before Aug. 31. year. More than 1 million manufac- deductions for investments that big (Continued on page 7) We must have reason to feel confident that (Continued on page 7) Visit our Web site at www.slp.org 2 THE PEOPLE JANUARY 2002 up dizzying prices on stocks, many of which represented companies that had Private Capital Eyes Workers’ little or no earnings, such as the dot-com technology companies, and some, like the energy company Enron, that were engag- Social Security Funds ed in questionable fiduciary practices.

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