Articles

May Day!

For May Day, the traditional day celebrating the struggle of

Articles

The Deficit: THEIR Problem, Not Ours

By David Camfield and Daniel Serge

Deficits are the difference between what governments spend and what they take in. Governments often claim deficits are the fault of social spending that’s too high. But in fact deficits always grow when capitalist economic activity slows down or contracts because tax revenue falls while state spending rises.

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What Strategy for the Big Union Centrals?

By Pierre Mouterde

In the name of “deficit reduction,” governments and other public sector employers across the Canadian state are attempting to extract concessions from public sector workers and weaken the services they deliver. The Common Front of Quebec’s public sector unions is currently in negotiations for contracts covering 475 000 workers. The employers are still showing no sign of moving to meet union demands, but the union leaderships have not been preparing for a strike and continue to negotiate despite the lack of progress at the bargaining table. This article takes a look at the situation. We will be running more articles about public sector unions in future. — NS.

Articles

The Politics of Free Speech: Israeli Apartheid Week, Ann Coulter and Mobilization from Below

By Alan Sears

One talk by racist American right-winger Ann Coulter gets shut down and the media fills up with columns, editorials, stories and opinion pieces about freedom of speech. Yet a concerted silencing campaign against Palestine solidarity that has included the federal government, Israel advocacy organizations and Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff gets virtually no critical media attention.

Articles

Costa Rican Election Results Hide Complex Reality

By Elena Zeledon

Costa Ricans have the highest standard of living in Central America including universal free education and health care and a social safety net of workers’ unemployment  benefits and pensions that is the the envy of Central  America. However, these hard-won gains are threatened by the capitalist crisis, the implementation of  the Central American  Free Trade  Agreement and other pro- capitalist policies of the governing  social democratic  National Liberation Party. The NLP won  reelection in  February with Laura Chinchilla succeeding Oscar Arias as President.  What does this mean?  Will intensified attacks spark social struggles? Elena Zeledon reports from Costa Rica

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