Joe Bageant on Todd Vachon

With Todd Vachon in Connecticut

( from www.joebageant.com)

By Joe Bageant

A couple of weeks ago I spent a few days of hard traveling back and forth across Connecticut's Second Congressional District. The Second District is not the Connecticut where Paul Newman lives and Katherine Hepburn is buried. The one with the marvelously tasteful old homes set against magnificent Yankee New England seascapes. It's the one where -- although quite pretty in its own right, with its small villages and winding roads -- the mills are closed, the housing bubble has popped and everyone fears what comes next. It is a place where good union men still stick together as best they can in the face of globalization, the sub prime collapse and a two-party system whose millionaire players are more married to the game than to the unheralded people who build their homes and make their world function every day.

Joe and Todd at WHUS

One of those good men is union carpenter Todd Vachon. Todd is a Socialist candidate trying to collect 3000 signatures to get on the ballot for the second district, and assisting Todd was the reason I was in the birth state of George W. Bush. This meant visiting the colleges, radio stations and lefty gathering spots such as Wrench in the Works in Willimantic, one of the sixty four towns in which Vachon has to collect signatures. In testimony to the rigged system the Dems and GOP have in place to keep any third party candidates or independents out, if Vachon is successful, he mist then drive to each of them individually again to turn the signature sheets in to the town clerks. At sixty five dollars a pop to fill his small car's gas tank, his campaign manager Andy Blood and I figured that each signature costs a few bucks apiece as we pumped gas and ran his credit card up. We can add that to the $60,000 student loan Todd is paying off and call it all the “cost of opportunity,” like big business does. Only somehow the result is not the quite the same for a working guy.

To make matters more difficult, Todd is running on a platform sure to ruin America: Universal not-for-profit health care (he supports HR676); High investment in renewable energy; Expanding public transportation; Campaign finance reform; A living wage; Women's right to choose; Bringing the troops home.

In other words, the entire rotten commie bill of goods the Democrats are forced to hint at when their ass is in a jam, the just and morally right things they will never deliver on the coldest day in hell.

Connecticut's Second Congressional district covers half the state and has dozens of blue collar towns and studded here and there with wealthy Republican bastions such as old Saybrook and Mystic, places working people drive by, sometimes stopping to pay five bucks to ogle such mansions as the Gillette Castle, a massive piece of Kitsch built by William Gillette, wealthy turn of the century actor who entertained the likes of Calvin Coolidge there. Still, the district is solidly Democratic, and even some Republicans seem displeased with their native son down in Crawford regarding the war, though they love his economic policy.

For many decades working Americans have said that what we need in this country are some politicians who've actually worked for a living, not more lawyers in office, plus some ordinary common sense. A little compassion, something lawyers are not particularly noted for, might be nice too. But after the last blast of “conservative compassion,” we may not be able to take another compassion hit.

You'd think that simply allowing Vachon, socialist or not (hell, they elected Jasper McLevy, a Socialist, mayor of Bridgeport didn't they?) a crack at throwing his hat into the ring would be a no-brainer in one of the last districts with some remaining unions and a liberal history. But in these wary times, it's no cake walk to get signatures supporting a citizen's right to even get on the ballot, even though the signature implies no political support other than the right of an ordinary citizen to run for office.

Todd knows what he's up against, and knows the likelihood of ever getting elected, or even on the ballot. But he's out there anyway because he acts on his beliefs and accepts the risk and debt and stress on his wife and two children that come with the commitment. And when I learned of his campaign, I knew that if I were not there for him as best could be, then I don't have ball one and should forever keep my mouth shut about liberty, change and action toward those ends.

Which is how I found myself spending a few nights on the couch of Todd's parents, it was the most moving part of the trip. Todd's 55-year-old dad, another union carpenter and proud of it, is behind Todd all the way. Over a lifetime of hard work both at home and on the job, he has built a house with his own hands, blasted hundreds of tons of rock, cut and set it in winding retainer walls, pathways and generally built a testimony to the dignity of working life in America and the love of one's family.

(Click thumbnail image of flags to enlarge.)

Flying over the family home are three tattered flags -- the American flag, the big blue marble planet earth flag, and the missing POW flag. Testimony to the belief that we can still be a worthwhile nation, the earth's sanctity and memory across generations. The home itself is pretty much a play world for the grandchildren, Todd's kids, Marley and Toliver, whom grandma dotes upon while Todd and his dad play music together in the combination shop and soundproof jam room during those hours he is not busting his ass on some construction job. Every day there I could not help but remind myself, a working man's life was meant to be as satisfying as this household's.

Regardless of how his campaign goes, Todd is a fortunate man. And I am fortunate to have shared in his effort, conviction and family life.

Thank you Todd Vachon.

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Here is Todd Vachon's campaign web site: www.VoteVachon.com

Click here to send an email to your friends with this page's headline and link.

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Email Joe Bageant at joebageant@joebageant.com
Joe is the author of "Deer Hunting With Jesus: Dispatches From America's Class War"

HOMELESSNESS IN CAPITALIST AMERICA:

A Socialist Perspective

By Todd Vachon ,

The Socialist Vol. 34, No. 2, Summer 2008

What’s the Problem?

Homelessness, as defined by Wikipedia, refers to “the condition and societal category of people who lack fixed housing, usually because they cannot afford a regular, safe, and adequate shelter.” According to The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, 2.5 to 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness each year.

In its annual report on homelessness, HUD reported that on any given night an estimated 754,000 persons will experience homelessness throughout the U.S., leaving approximately 300,000 more people homeless than the total number of shelter beds. At the same time the latest census report for the first quarter of 2007 estimates that 10% of rental apartments are vacant and 2.8% of privately owned houses are vacant…. in other words, there is far more than enough housing available for every person in this country.

What’s the Cause?

Why is it that some people are unable to afford housing? The answer lies within the system itself…capitalism puts profit before people, Always! Don’t believe the corporate media hype, it’s not just a few greedy bad apples, it is the nature of the beast. Larger than any individual player, capitalism is like a giant profit-seeking virus that lays waste to any and all that falls in its path, especially those most vulnerable…the people at the bottom of the economic spectrum. These are the very same people that experience or are at risk of experiencing homelessness at any given moment.

Why Point the Finger at Capitalism?

Isn’t it the person’s own fault for becoming homeless? Don’t we all start on an even playing field of opportunity? Aren’t they all just drug addicts and alcoholics anyway? If they wanted to work they could get a job and afford a home, right?....right?.....Wrong.

Lets Look at 3 Major Causes of Homelessness:

Number One: The Lack of Affordable Housing. As defined by HUD, affordable housing is housing that costs less than 30% of annual income. One third of Americans spend more than 30% of their income and 13% of households spend more than half their income on housing. More than 1 million households are awaiting HUD assistance and only 27% of eligible families are actually receiving housing assistance. Recent news coverage has exposed the practice of predatory lending by mortgage companies that leave working class Americans with enormous payments they could not make on homes they could not afford. Why isn’t there more affordable housing? Because there is far greater profit in building and selling brand new 3, 4, and $500,000 luxury homes, which in turn artificially inflate the value of everything around them, including rents. This price ballooning makes it even more difficult to find affordable housing, even with a full time job, which leads us to reason number 2 for homelessness:

Number Two: The Lack of Living Wage Jobs. As capital is constantly moving from industry to industry in search of greater profit, competition constantly drives prices down ever closer to production cost. This process of accumulation forces wages down and jobs to be eliminated to ensure “reasonable” profit margins. With minimum wage at an abysmal $5.15 /hr and part-time jobs replacing full-time employment poverty and homelessness are “on the march.” At current minimum wage a full-time worker will bring in $10,300 annually. The Federal Poverty level for an average family is $16,800, which would require a full-time wage of $8.29 hr. The real value of min. wage is 18% less than it was 25 years ago, while CEO’s have seen a 300% increase in salaries over the same period. (The SPUSA calls for a minimum wage of $15 per hour, indexed to the cost of living).

Capital and workers are always at odds: Just watch the stock price rise when a company lays off a few thousand workers. How many of these now unemployed eventually end up on the street? The landlord is not going to let them slide, and most “homeowners” don’t actually own their homes, the bank does. The recent changes in the bankruptcy laws, enacted immediately after Bush “won” the 2000 election (with enormous campaign contributions from MBNA), ensure that creditors and lenders get their money back first. And even worse yet, what if this laid-off person or a family member comes down with a health condition? That leads us to the other major cause of homelessness:

Number Three: The Lack of HealthCare. A National study in 2004 showed that 13% of homeless individuals became homeless due to health problems. Approximately 4% of all Americans have serious mental illnesses, that number is 5-6 times greater for the homeless population. As recently highlighted in the mainstream media a growing number of returning Iraq veterans are becoming homeless. This is attributed to a combination of unaffordable health coverage, exorbitant bills and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Approximately 1/3 of returning vets suffer from PTSD and lack the necessary health treatment. The current privatized health care system generates enormous profit for pharmaceutical and insurance companies. These same companies gouge prices and waste resources to make big ticket designer prescriptions for privileged customers, but leave the poor, working middle-class and many veterans lacking basic treatments for real health problems.

What’s the Solution?

(Excerpts from the 2006-2007 Socialist Party, USA Platform)

Housing:

The Socialist Party recognizes the right of all people to high quality, low cost housing. We call for a vast increase in Section 8 housing subsidies as one element of major public investment in the construction of low cost, scattered site, community-based, high quality housing. We call for rent control for all rental units, and the right of tenants to organize. We support the formation of non-profit land trusts and of socially owned, tenant controlled housing cooperatives. We call for the organization of a housing rehabilitation program aimed at renovating and remodeling existing homes to bring them up to housing and safety codes, as part of a broader public works program. We call for an end to home foreclosures.

Health Care:
The Socialist Party stands for a socialized health care system based on universal coverage, salaried doctors and health care workers, and revenues derived from a steeply graduated income tax. We support a national health program with full standard and alternative medical, dental, vision, and mental health coverage for all, publicly funded through progressive taxation and controlled by democratically elected assemblies of health care workers and patients. The National Health Program should extend, and replace, Medicare and Medicaid. We call for a health care system that emphasizes preventive care. We call for public ownership and worker and community control of the pharmaceutical industry. We call for educational programs to help prevent drug addiction; for voluntary treatment programs for addicts and alcoholics; and for the availability of free, sterile needles for those still using IV drugs. We call for the reinstatement of funding to community mental health services so that low-cost or no-cost treatment is available on a voluntary basis, with clients' rights respected.

(For the complete platform visit www.sp-usa.org or contact your state or local party)

Conclusion

Homelessness is a major problem in the United States. It can be attributed to three main causes, all of which are derivatives of a capitalist economy. The quest for profit leaves many people out in the cold. In this, the richest country in the world; healthcare should not be a privilege, the minimum wage ought to be a living wage and housing should be a basic human right. There is a large systemic problem, namely our political/economic system, which fails to ensure justice and equality. And until these root causes of homelessness are addressed the problem will continue to get worse.

Sources:

The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (www.cohhio.org)

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (www.hud.gov)

National Coalition for the Homeless (www.nationalhomeless.org)

Socialist Party, USA (www.sp-usa.org)

Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com)

Grassroots Politics & Direct Action: Let's Make The Alternative

Dear unaffiliated voters who vote for Democrats, or just don't vote:

It's election season again. Let's ask ourselves: Who represents our interests? Who stands up for the working middle class and the poor? Is it the Democrats? The Republicans?

Hmmm…Neither. So why bother voting?

Well, by not voting we’re obviously not changing anything and simply handing more power over to the wealthy folks who already have a monopoly on it. But at the same time, by voting for one of the two parties we’re simply affirming their lousy policies. After being elected they can go on to claim that they were chosen by the people to carry out their crumby liaise fair programs that funnel all of the wealth upward . So what is our alternative?

We must make the alternative. Either run for office ourselves, encourage others we know to run, or stand behind one of the minor parties like the Socialists or the Greens.

If we really respect democracy as voters we need to vote for the candidates that we agree with the most. It is in fact anti-democratic to limit our spectrum to the two parties and choose the “better” of the two candidates. The “lesser of two evils” strategy has obviously gotten us nowhere fast.

I know your thinking that if you vote for a third party you’ll help to “throw” the election to the Republicans. That is nonsense. The minor parties cannot be blamed for the inadequacies of the Democratic party. If the Democrats keep losing, one of two things will happen: 1. A third party will begin to gain prominence as the real “left” party, or 2. the Democratic candidates will be forced to shift their policies to the left in order to regain votes. Either way, the progressive policies that we all want will finally begin to see the light of day.

Real change is a very slow process. Are we down to create a movement? We can’t expect instant gratification, we must be prepared to struggle. When armed with the knowledge that we are helping to make Real change for the future of our country and our world We Will Persevere!

Our ideas are plentiful and, despite the corporate propaganda, they have Not been tried and they have Not failed. If we really want universal non-profit healthcare we have to stand up for it. If we really want peace we have to stand up for it. If we really want to develop alternative energy sources we have got to stand up! Governments always represent the interests of the most powerful and wealthy within the society. In our case this is the military industrial complex, the insurance companies and the oil companies. We have got to demand change because it’s not just going to be handed to us by some fundraising politician. He/she owes a lot more to the corporations that helped get him/her into office than to the citizens of the country.

Let’s not be afraid. Let’s vote for what we believe. Let’s make a better world for our future generations.

Thank you,

Todd Vachon
Candidate for Congress
CT 2^nd District

www.votevachon.com

May Day Address

May Day Greetings brothers and sisters of labor. On May 1, 1886, nearly 1 million workers throughout the US went on strike in support of the eight-hour workday. The events that followed led to the Haymarket massacre on May 4^th 1886. Today, as I speak before you, the Longshoremen’s union in California is shutting down all ports for the day in protest of the war and occupation abroad, and we are here today in New Haven honoring all of the struggles and accomplishments past and present of labor from the days of primitive accumulation up to this May 1^st, the one true labor day- International Worker’s Day.

I would like to thank all of the groups who helped to organize this great celebration and particularly the New Haven May Day Celebration Committee who has been organizing this event on the green for 22 years! Long before it’s resurgent popularity.

For those of you I haven’t had the pleasure to meet, my name is Todd Vachon and I am the Socialist Party candidate for congress in District 2, East of the River.

I am not a politician. I am not a lawyer. I am a union carpenter, a public school teacher, a father of two and a concerned citizen who loves democracy and believes in self-governance. I unfortunately see plutocracy and corporate governance today in our beautiful country.

The one political party, with it’s right-wing and it’s far-right-wing, is the party of business. Both the Democrats and the Republicans are bought and paid for by the same wealth. Unfortunately, the corporately owned media is content to have us think that they are dynamic opposites.

As a member of the working class majority I am tired of going to the polls year after year and having to select the “lesser of two evils” knowing damn well that this party is no friend of labor except when it comes time to get some votes and foot soldiers.

They, the Democrats, as well as the Republicans represent the interests of big-business capitalism. Most Americans are not capitalists. Most can’t afford a lobbyist. The only inherent goal of capitalism as a system is the accumulation of capital. That is, the never-ending pursuit of profit at everyone and everything else’s expense.

No where does it say guarantee meaningful work and a quality life for all. No where does it say preserve the environment, produce in a sustainable way and conserve resources. Nope.

It just says make more profit. Get that money. Profit, profit, profit.

So Let’s take a second to review where this quest for profit has brought us to in 2008:

- The U.S. is still illegally occupying Iraq in year number 5 – a war built on lies and manipulated intelligence. $3 Trillion spent and 40% of the money sent to Afghanistan has come back to the U.S. in the form of corporate profit. This must be the biggest fleecing in history.

- Tens of Millions of Americans still live without health care and a hundred million more are breaking the bank just to keep their families insured.

- Our economy is in recession, part of a regular capitalist cycle every 10-15 years. –

-Property taxes… sky high. –

-Homeowners are losing their homes at levels unseen since the great depression.

-The middle class has been steadily eroding for 30 plus years under both Democrat and Republican administrations and congresses.

-Good Paying Manufacturing jobs? Outsourced and replaced by low paying, part-time and temporary service sector jobs, due in part to bi-partisan, pro-business trade deals like NAFTA.

- Our public education system is slowly being privatized. Our children and public school teachers being hung out to dry to accommodate the desires of the for-profit education industry and it’s incredibly flawed NCLB policy.

- Our roads, bridges, schools and other collectively owned assets are in complete disrepair due to never ending budget cuts. This conscious neglect will likely lead our congress to determine that this infrastructure should also be privatized.

- Our most basic ideals about law and justice have been tossed out and the two parties continue to pass bills that further erode our civil liberties and even legitimize torture.

-Our privatized prison industrial complex imprisons more people per capita than any other nation in the world.

-We are among the top 5 nations for state executions.

-We are among the worst of industrialized nations for deaths by treatable causes, due to our private health care system.

-We rank 139^th out of 171 democracies for voter turnout. Roughly 50% of eligible voters don’t bother to vote. When asked why, they say that it doesn’t matter. I guess a whole lot of people do understand that we haven’t really got much of a democracy at all.

We live in the times of “jobless recoveries” and “market-based solutions”, which both have that same distinct stench that I remember from “Reagonomics” and “Trickle Down” economics.

As members of the working class, which constitutes 80% of America, the only thing that trickles down to us is instructions and orders from way up the hierarchical ladder of corporate organization.

Class is not about income, it is about power. There may be a formula to calculate a particular income bracket that constitutes the so-called “middle-class”, but the truth of it is this:

The boss determines what we do during our 8 hours, which is the majority of our waking time on work days.

The boss determines how much to sell the fruits of our labors to other workers for.

The boss determines how much we get paid, unless we organize and demand more.

The boss decides when he doesn’t need us any more because we are hurting profits.

Whether we go to work in an office wearing a shirt and tie working at a computer or we go to a construction site wearing a hard hat and swinging a hammer we are all working class.

And the #1 source of wealth for working-class Americans is their home. However, Homeowners are really debtors, the bank owns our homes and likely our cars as well. Even ignoring this, our percentage of the national wealth is merely 16%!

That’s right, the bottom 80% of Americans share 16% of America’s wealth. The top 1% owns 33% of the wealth and the next 19% own 51%. Giving that top Fifth of society control over 84% of all privately held wealth.

So, not only do the capitalists enjoy empowering work and the access to information to make well-informed decisions, but they also get paid 500% more than their average worker.

I know I’m ranting a bit, but it’s my specialty.

The question is this: “what can we do about all of this?”

Well, Grassroots politics and Direct action are the only way that we have ever accomplished anything. We can’t count on fundraising politicians to hand out National Health Insurance and Living wages. They only throw us a bone when we make the alternative worse.

The driving force behind change and progress has always been class struggle, and this still holds true today.

This is why I am running for congress as the Socialist candidate, to get out and speak to people and help raise class awareness.

No candidate from either of the capitalist parties will acknowledge the systemic nature of the problems we are all facing collectively and they will do little to slow the current destructive pattern, the wholesale privatization, or Milton Freidmanization of every remaining public entity, this modern day primitive accumulation.

No, the Democratic Party, as Edwin Laing said, is “where social movements go to die.”

And the Republican Party is where CEO’s go for tax breaks.

The capitalist two-party monopoly and it’s corporate media networks offer us up two options that are both acceptable to them and let us think that we have some kind of democratic choice.

As Howard Zinn so aptly stated more than 30 years ago: “Totalitarian states love elections, they get the people out to the poles to register their approval for the government. I know there is a difference, they have one party and we have two parties, we have one more party than they do you see.”

Well I’m here tonight, and running this campaign in general, in an attempt to activate that 50% of voters, mostly low income, to stand up with a real alternative to the same old wage-slave-driving parties.

While one congressional representative cannot change the entire system, he/she can fight for reforms that will improve our daily lives and, more importantly, develop the political consciousness/solidarity among the people who will collectively make the real changes in the long run.

I strongly agree with the statement that capitalism cannot be reformed, but am faced with the dichotomy of a socialist candidate. As a socialist running for office within a capitalist system my policy objectives may seem reformist or social democratic at best: real universal health care, graduated income taxation, socialized energy and expanded public transportation.

Such simple taxation and funding of social programs does not constitute socialism. However, fighting together for such reforms can help to generate the necessary class solidarity to bring about a truly participatory economy.

A sustainable form of production for human use and not for profit that replaces hierarchy with equality, cut-throat competition with solidarity, free-trade with fair trade. A complete democracy that extends from the political sphere of electing representatives to the economic sphere of making decisions about production, distribution and consumption. A society where every human being has food, housing, healthcare and employment. Where full civil rights and liberties are guaranteed to all. Where every individual is able to fulfill his or her full potential.

As Eugene Debs said nearly 100 years ago:

“The Earth is for all people, this is the demand.”

The ruling class already has 500 plus congresspersons representing their interests in both houses of the congress. It’s time that we stop voting for their representatives and start running and voting for our own.

Thank You.