Subscribe online at:
http://www.moveon.org/moveonbulletin/

CONTENTS:
1. Peter Schurman: It's Still the Economy
2. Seth Sandronsky: Bush's Fiscal Policy Not Creating New Jobs
3. Holly Sklar: Poverty Wages are Toxic
4. Molly Ivins: People First
5. Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Poor Pay for States' Woes
6. Stan Cox: Wal-Mart Wages Don't Support Wal-Mart Workers
7. Joe Robinson: Washington to Nation: Drop Dead on the Job
8. William Greider: Rolling Back the 20th Century
9. James Hickey: Waging a Fight
10. Robert Scheer: Blame Bush in State Fiscal Crisis
11. About the Bulletin

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IT'S STILL THE ECONOMY
MoveOn Bulletin Op-Ed
by Peter Schurman

Since America's inception, our identity has always been closely linked to our economy. Among the first writers to define our national character, Alexis de Tocqueville described Americans as hardworking and entrepreneurial -- and our country as bustling with economic activity. America's rise over the past century to global prominence has been driven not by our arms buildup, but by our economy. When our politicians assert that the United States is the greatest country on Earth, it's our economy they're trumpeting.

Today the state of our economy is perilous. Unemployment has risen to 6.4% and nearly 2.5 million jobs have been lost since President Bush took office. This summer presents college graduates with the worst job market in a decade. Many companies are slashing or eliminating pensions. State and local governments are cutting vital services to balance their budgets, under pressure from the economic slump and the cost of President Bush's tax cuts, which mainly benefit wealthy elites.

The articles in this week's bulletin provide a vivid snapshot of the American economy in trouble. They cover California's fiscal crisis, working families trying to get by in Kansas, and a citizens' group fighting for a living wage in Atlanta.

The 2004 elections may well turn on the strength of our economy, as they did in 1992. President Bush is concerned enough that he's announced plans to conduct a massive public relations campaign this summer, attempting to whitewash the economic picture and depict himself as a responsible leader. We think the facts argue otherwise, and we present them here so you can judge for yourself.

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BUSH'S FISCAL POLICY NOT CREATING NEW JOBS
Seth Sandronsky, AlterNet
The economy is weakening; the unemployment rate is at 6.4 percent, or about 9.4 million workers; and state and local governments are facing unprecedented budget crises. Yet the Bush White House continues to focus on the economic restructuring of the nation, cutting taxes for corporations and the rich for the third time. It's becoming clear that Bush's "jobs and growth" plan is making working life more precarious for millions of Americans.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16370

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POVERTY WAGES ARE TOXIC
Holly Sklar, AlterNet
If your image of the typical minimum wage worker is a teenager, think again. Think of adult women working at checkout counters and in childcare, of healthcare aides taking care of your parents or grandparents -- without employer health benefits, paid sick days or paid vacation. A $5.15 minimum wage -- $10,712 a year -- just doesn't add up.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16265

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PEOPLE FIRST
Molly Ivins, AlterNet
All this big talk about tax cuts from Washington comes down to taking away after-school programs and health clinics and firefighters. But roads, schools, prisons, courthouses, bridges, dams and sewage systems are all necessary, as are health and education. That's why we pay taxes. We pay for after-school programs and sports leagues because kids need them and get into trouble without them.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16152

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POOR PAY FOR STATES' WOES
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, AlterNet
Thirty-seven states slashed their budgets by nearly $15 billion this year, balancing their budgets by making deep slashes in programs and services and hefty increases in taxes and fees. Bush claims that an improved economy and his tax cut will ignite the economic miracle that will save the states from financial ruin. If the turnaround comes, and there is much doubt when or even if it will, the poor will have already paid, and paid dearly for the state's budget woes.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16285

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WAL-MART WAGES DON'T SUPPORT WAL-MART WORKERS
Stan Cox, AlterNet
Wal-Mart is the nation's biggest employer, the low-price champion, and a seller of just about everything. But can a Kansas family whose breadwinner works at the superstore afford to supply its minimum needs by shopping there? Not even close -- even at Wal-Mart prices, even with the 10 percent employee discount, and even with employer-assisted health insurance. EITC, food stamps, Medicaid and state assistance programs are needed because corporations like Wal-Mart refuse to pay their employees a sufficient wage for the work they do.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16111

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WASHINGTON TO NATION: DROP DEAD ON THE JOB
Joe Robinson, AlterNet
Americans are already working more hours than at any time since the 1920s. Yet House Republicans have vowed to continue fighting for a bill, brazenly titled the "Family-Time Flexibility Act," that has about as much to do with families as a Vegas strip joint, yanking more parents for longer hours away from the home. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor has issued a proposal for new wage and hour regulations that would radically alter the definition of the term "salaried employee," a move likely to dramatically increase the ranks of workers who are not paid for overtime. And don't even think about taking a vacation.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16218

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ROLLING BACK THE 20TH CENTURY
William Greider, The Nation
Hard-right conservatives like George W. Bush have been advancing their ideological agenda step by step, laying the foundations for their grand transformation of American life. This 'McKinley vision' requires vast sectors of society to pay dearly, and from their own pockets. What does it look like? To begin with, slash hundreds of billions in domestic programs, especially spending for the poor, even as the Bush tax cuts kick in for the well-to-do; and hand housing aid, food stamps and other social welfare programs over to state governments.
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030512&c=1&s=greider

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WAGING A FIGHT
James Hickey, TomPaine.com
The Living Wage movement is taking hold in communities around the country. Living Wage is founded on two basic principles: that people who work fulltime should be able to support a family of three and live above the poverty level; and that employers who benefit from tax dollars should be willing to be good citizens and pay a living wage. Take a look inside the Atlanta Living Wage Coalition, a grassroots movement where the voices of working Americans are prominent and irresistibly compelling.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/8162

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BLAME BUSH IN STATE FISCAL CRISIS
Robert Scheer, AlterNet
It is absurd to blame current difficulties on any state's governor, Republican or Democrat. It is the Bush administration that has mismanaged a successful economy inherited from Bill Clinton. It is the Bush administration that should bear responsibility for the difficulties being experienced by state governments -- and it should at least help California as much as it is helping our newest state, Iraq.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16312

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