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If you are not a parent with children in school, you don’t know much about Opt-Out. If you are a parent with children in school, you are very much aware about Opt-Out….
Essentially what is now called crony capitalism simply took over American education during the recession when money was very tight. They immediately tried to classify all children into little corporate boxes which they designed to provide a continuous incoming revenue stream (for themselves)…
Parents knew that children should be learning more about what’s important in life and less about how to act like corporate schill, and so parents looked for a way to stop it. Since all the corporate actions depended on having this one single test show beyond doubt that American children were more stupid they they really were, parents realized that if they could disable the credibility of these test results through not testing their children, then and only then would their requests have merit on boards overseeing education now staffed with crony capitalists. Crony capitalists are those who preach the benefits of capitalism, but get their money from governmental handouts because of who they know in government.
The only way parents would get their wishes heard (they rightly concluded), was to refuse the test which if done on a massive scale would render the published results untrustworthy, costing Capitalists lots of money, and therefore to the crony capitalists, the act of fulfilling the parents’ demands would appear the cheaper option.
And at this point this article is going to leave the topic of education. Because I want to talk about the bigger issue at play here and it basically involves the future of every Americans’ economic freedom.
Throughout out years of history there is something uniquely America about the way we opt out. Back when Britain’s Parliament decided that the Thirteen Colonies must pay some of their costly governance (Stamp Act), most Americans chose to opt out. When the Brits relented and said, “ok, since you don’t drink very much tea, we’ll drop our tax on everything else”, the Americans opted out of drinking tea.
America was founded on opting out…
When the Pullman company said “no” to workers asking for a livable wage, workers opted out of working until those demands were met. Not willing to succumb to that loss of profits, the Pullman company reverted to violence to force people to work, and when that didn’t work, they convinced President Cleveland to force them back with a decree and he did. They returned to work disappointed but the strike movement was born and would soon sweep across almost every industry.
It had to, because Opting Out is the only power (other than anarchy)people really have when things are stacked against them. Although our nation is often deemed a representative democracy, under the surface enough representatives kow-tow to powerful interests, so the will of the powerful becomes the law of the land.
And that shuts the major door which working people have to implement their requests. As long as democracy continues as “majority rules”, you really don’t need “opt out” … Instead, you opt not to return an official you despise and replace him with one more inclined to follow your wishes.
Now with Citizens United in play we are not even in the same world politically, as we were only one year into the Iraqi War (2004) .. As plainly seen by today’s Republican Party, very strange people as candidates are propped up by hidden money and it appears that with so much money, even without popular support weird candidates could still win.
So in those times when government and your bosses business are allied against YOU, you have to take non-governmental action to express your sentiments in a costly enough ways, so you too become part of the discussion….
Talk is cheap; money isn’t.
So if they don’t talk to you sincerely about your money, you hit them in their money…. You opt out of working for them. “Nope, not taking this today”
As Americans we tend by our altruistic nature to put other people’s interests above ours. Not all of us, but most of us really do feel that way. It is why the rest of the world likes us. But the time to worry over your bosses profits before raising the prices for your services, has probably past…. Statistics show so much money in the top 1% came from YOU, because our Republican Congress this past decade let them run their hands through money which should have been yours. You are working far shy of your income potential just because they are paying you much less for your services than they could easily afford. External factors have all been ruled out. The reason you are not seeing your income grow, is because THEY don’t want you to see your income grow.
The simplest way to get more money in today’s world, is to opt out of working for that boss, either permanently or on a strike. Every billionaire sports franchise has suffered a player strike in this century. The owners first balk at not meeting players demands, and the players opt out of playing in their events.
No one can argue that NHL, NFL, MLB, or the NBA employees are impoverished. Players strike because the owners’ profits comes solely from their labor and as profits rise, they certainly are entitled and deserve a cut in on the action. So do those who make cars. So do those who work for airlines. So do those who cook your fast food. So do those who teach.
Strikes are simply about “cuts and percentages of profit”… as in do we cut you in on our huge profit, or on the other side, do we cut you out of your huge profits until you let us in on the action?
Today corporate overreach is so big, it is eating our public schools. Most likely that means it already owns your life…pinched between your bills and your bosses demands. But don’t you really deserve better? Don’t you wish you were paid more for the amount of work you do? Why should you roll-over and resign yourself simply to settling for basic survival, instead of really enjoying your short time on this planet? Don’t the rules businesses use against each other, apply to you too? And the sad answer is that up to now, you DO settle for subsistence because you have been trained “not to rock the boat” or you’ll lose your job. Your obligatory duty has been to keep the charade of normality continuing at your bosses pleasure, an action which plays directly into the hands of the 1%.
“Look at these fools, performing at the highest productivity America has ever seen and doing it for peanuts, while I’m beach-partying.”
For just a little bit more each week, you too could be partying… Which is why I think that the opt out movement is going national here in the US… jumping the confines of education to spread through out the workplace.
It is already prevalent among the millionaires. They’ve been opting out of taxes for years now. They opt out of regulations they don’t like implemented to protect the health of citizens. They opt out of zonings they don’t like. They opt out of environmental regulations. They opt out of following OSHA requirements. They have been opting out a long time, which is why they are so afraid you will too. They know its effectability.
Today, at no harm to your kid, you can opt him out of testing knowing full well that only then will changes get made. Once you succeed, apply that philosophy to the rest of your life… HB 50 is nothing less than preserving YOUR right as an American Citizen, to opt out. Imagine if asking for higher wages put you in jail. It may one day. It has in corporate-run societies of the past. But it will not happen here if your government preserves your basic American Right…. to opt out.
Last nights meeting dominated the talk show circuit this morning. Even Nancy got on (lol)… Where was Liz?
Roughly there were 200 people there against the power plant, and 4 for. How do we know this? After one speaker who was a plant from the boilermaker union asked it be approved, one Tea Party type standing in the back row, shouted “YEAH” and clapped with two hands over his head. It was ridiculous, Really. His spouse clapped loudly, she was sitting in the back row, and one other person midway up the right, clapped once or twice tepidly.
it really made the Tea Party type look bad… He looked a little like Dr. Singleton formerly of the CRI, except he wore a facial hair arrangement that went out of style after the Civil War. Of course he was wearing a green shirt with a tie. K-mart deluxe. He should have just clapped and no one would have noticed how few supporters in Newark were behind the power plant. But his loud explosion drew everyone’s attention to him, and not that he minded, he probably like Ted Cruz thought playing the brave unflinching forward marching dork was one that would enhance his reputation.
Like Ted Cruz, he was wrong.
The ratio was 200 to 4. If any politician is supporting the building of the power plant on the grounds it creates jobs, if that ratio corresponds, he can count on 2% of the vote.
The bottom line is this needs to be Newark’s decision. No one else’s. Newark has to live with the consequences of their decision. Do they want a power plant next to them for 75 years? Any agreement made now with these owners, will be switched as soon as the first outside buyer takes over. What is promised now, will not last, We saw with the Bain Capital revelations last year….
The noise will be constant, The pollution will be never ending, The toxic chemicals brought in, will have to go somewhere…
The accurate number of jobs that will be created will be 23. Roughly 7 on three separate shifts. Of course those out of state personnel hired to build the plant may buy a McDonald’s sandwich or two, but is this really worth all the negatives…. ?
I have my own opinion. But those who live there, need to decide. (Why should I decide for everyone? WTF am I?)….
Whatever Newark itself decides, needs to stick.
Top secret footage smuggled out of a recent DOE meeting showing what corporate education has planned and is planning for this year’s tests.
(Teachers, if you have similar experiences, send your stories under untraceable names to any of these addresses… Just drop the story in the comment tray at the bottom of any article and share your story….. This is not time to be vindictive or name names; we’re just trying to channel the information past those on top who are damming the natural flow….)
In alphabetic order:
http://kilroysdelaware.wordpress.com/
http://mindofmrmatthews.wordpress.com/
http://transparentchristina.wordpress.com/
Send us your stories and we’ll mainstream them…. Looking forward to some good writing! …
Although the year is barely out, we do have our first nomination for the spot to be announced in December 2013. With the Kinder Morgan Deal now on hold semi-permanently, even they are pointing to our hero of the year as the man most responsible for allowing the port to remain state owned….
I can say it was Julius Cephas who was behind almost every move to combat the loss of good jobs at our port. He is being pointed out as the villain by the capitalists at Kinder Morgan. In Delaware’s eyes, that elevates his hero’s stature even more…
In truth, he is no villain and knowing him, he will probably shun the acclimations being made by us common folk as being our hero. In his eyes, he was just doing what needed to be done because no one else was there at that very moment to do it, and as that task swelled, it took a lot out of him….
Capitalists always need a villian. But it was the “truth” which actually is what killed this deal. Kinder Morgan WAS going to cut back on jobs, and their change of heart and blaming Julius instead of others, points exactly to the core of their problem with our port… …
People in Texas, do not understand unions. They simply can’t fathom or understand how there can be an actual law that lets people strike and shut you down, whenever you try to pay them less.. In their eyes, you work for what they want to give you and if it is too little, ..humph. go elsewhere….
The second culprit (after the “truth”), was our office of economic development. We gave Kinder Morgan too many “eager” signals that set us up as being seen as an easy pick. They truly thought they could waltz in, pick up a top notch East Coast Port for a song, and we would eagerly give it up… Again, that was because everything was done in secret. Had a meeting been forthcoming in the very beginning, Kinder Morgan might have moved on earlier when it became readily apparent, that southern Texas practices do not bode well in the Northeast…
Of course, being a corporation, they will blame the whistle blower. (Ironic since the whistle blower of Enron works for them).. Of course. It is not like they find anything immoral in taking a state asset for a song, in firing those skilled dock workers, and replace them with some Spanish speaking Texans who never even heard of a union….
And Julius did blow that whistle. . Like Rose on the Titanic, he took the whistle off of Jack (pun intended), and blew softly at first, then harder, and harder. Gradually the sound registered on others ears….
Without Julius, Bob Marshall would not have pushed through Senate Bill 3. Without Julius, most of the links showing up in everyone’s blog, would have not been found. Without Julius, the case for protecting workers would not have even made the rounds of the Norman Oliver show….
There were many helpers. Bob Marshall, Nancy Willing, Norman Oliver, Norinda, Helene Keeley, Al Mascitti, Liz Allen, John Kowalko, and (an other blogger too shy to be mentioned here). When one looks back through all of them one sees from everywhere, there in the center of the universe, stands a normal human being just like us, known to most … as Julius.
There will come a time when a better deal will arrive. Could even be this year. There will come a time when a suitor who does care about Delaware, who does care about unions, about human beings, about those businesses on the outside, and who will want to upgrade the port for everyone’s interest, not just their own… And that suitor in this day and age, could even come from abroad. Germany is very committed to union labor, to the environment, to being a good neighbor…. There are a great many possibilities out there that are immeasurable…. We definitely dodged a Texas bullet with this one….
When that suitor arrives… Julius’s stature will be set in cement…. For he did nothing really Herculean, except argue the truth… He didn’t lie. He didn’t connive, He didn’t threaten….
That was done by our office of economic development. Instead and unlike them, Julius told the truth. He told the truth to anyone who would listen. He told the truth enough, so many “did” listen….
And that is why, he deserves this nomination as Delaware’s Man of the Year. I know it is early into 2013, but great things just do not wait!!….
You will hear smears that Julius tubed the deal… I saw the letter and it is already out on WDEL and the Delawareonline’s News Journal… But as an impartial blogger, I can tell you exactly what killed this deal.
It was “the truth”. The truth of what this deal would cost us Delawareans….. is what turned the tide and caused the outcry that rose up against it….
If Kinder Morgan really wanted this deal, they could have easily said… “we are expanding and putting 5 new berths out into the river. We are buying the port for the bargain price of $5 billion. We need those businesses outside the fence because the jobs we get, will soon be too big, we can’t do it ourselves. We will keep the union just as it is; Wilmington needs good jobs and we are going to do our part…. We are also going to contribute into an emergency fund to be used for any spill or environmental accident that takes place under our tenure….
Kinder Morgan could have done any of those things, … and didn’t…. The blame doesn’t lie with Julius after all…. Especially when you consider the following…
This Economic Council erred on Fisker Automotive. Then it erred on Bloom Energy. Then it tried to Kinder Morgan us out of our port….. Someone rushed in with a save to make sure that last one didn’t happen.
That person is now hereby nominated for Delaware’s Person of the Year…….
Assuming the world doesn’t implode on 12/21/12 that is…
I’m usually against General Strikes, having seen them diluted over the course of 20th Century European history… One national strike is significant, after that, people learn how to navigate around them, and they lose their punch. But one giant nationwide strike, that is something to live for.
Of course there has to be a reason. The reason is that we need a credible threat to hold Congress’s feet to the fire. Sure they may come to an agreement anyway, but the threat of a nationwide strike can force both sides to come together a little more quickly. For no one wins in a strike. All lose. So for the nation to say we are willing to lose one full day of GDP to show our displeasure, may be enough for both sides to realize games cannot be played. And when they do get played by some individuals, it is obvious to all that they are being played against the entire electorate….
The fiscal cliff is January 1st. January 2nd is the first standard workday back… If we’re going to fall off a cliff that day, isn’t it better to do it while at home?
Besides, who wouldn’t want another recuperation day for New Year’s Eve?
If Congress fixes the issue before then, we call off the strike. Simple. The sooner the better… But as any congressperson will tell you when you beseech them. ” Make it so I have no choice but to do something about this…”
That is exactly what we are going to do….
kavips 