Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 14:12:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: Nathan Newman <newman-AT-garnet.berkeley.edu>
Subject: [SOLUTIONS] A LEVER AND A PLACE TO STAND (fwd)



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 12:27:26 -0800
From: "R. Anders Schneiderman" <pcomm-AT-ix.netcom.com>
To: newman-AT-garnet.berkeley.edu
Subject: [SOLUTIONS] A LEVER AND A PLACE TO STAND

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  ===========================================================        SOLUTIONS:  Ideas for building a new economy
                VOL. 1, NUMBER 1

A LEVER AND A PLACE TO STAND
     -- Anders Schneiderman, pcomm-AT-ix.netcom.com


       On February 3rd, Judge Laurence H. Silberman let the world in on a
little secret.  The Clinton Administration had issued an executive order
barring strike breaking companies from winning government contracts over
$100,000.  The Judge said the Administration couldn't take this action
using an executive decision (they needed to pass a law instead).  The
reason?  It was too momentous a change to carry out through an executive
order because it would affect too many people: _one quarter_ of all U.S.
workers.

        One quarter of all U.S. workers.  Let me say that again.  When our
government changes the way they buy things, one out of four of us are
affected.    In other words, we've got power we're not tapping.

        Most of us don't feel very powerful.  We feel like we're caught by
economic forces beyond our control.  We're afraid we'll lose our job to
"downsizing," we're afraid we may not have enough health insurance when we
need it, and we don't know what the future will hold.  We're told by
politicians and pundits that that's just the way it is: the Good Old Days
are gone and we better get used to it.  Like someone facing a twister, the
best we can do is hope to get more advance warning when disaster is headed
our way.

        But as Judge Silberman told us, we aren't as powerless as we seem.
The economy is not a force of nature.  It's just millions of people making
decisions every day.   As individual consumers, we can't do much more than
decide whether New Coke lives or dies.  But when We the People buy
together, we are a force to be reckoned with.

        We already use our buying power to help the environment.  The
government promotes conservation by buying energy efficient computers and
recycled paper.  If we can use our buying power to save trees, why not
people?

        For example, we could decide that if a company wants to rely on the
government as a customer, it had to:
* Give their workers a share in the good times as well as the bad; when
productivity and profits go up, so should salaries.
 * Provide flexible hours and provide or help obtain affordable child care.
* Use affirmative action or other aggressive policies to ensure equal
access for all.
 * Let their employees join a union if they want to, without the threat of
being fired.
* Not lay off workers just to push up the company's stock price.

If the corporation didn't want the government "on its back," it could just
decide not to sell to Uncle Sam.

        Setting up these rules wouldn't be simple.  However, we wouldn't
have to do it overnight, and we wouldn't  have to use D.C. bureaucrats to
develop them.  Throughout the country, we could bring together community
groups, unions, churches, and businesses to come up with incremental steps
that would have the most impact for the least hassle.  If nothing else,
these meetings could kick off a public dialog about the workplace.

        In fact, the only reason we aren't already using this power is
because we've been suckered by a scam I like to call, "Governments Who Love
Conservatives and the Conservatives Who Hate Them."  Newt and his Hordes
scream about how worthless government is, but at the same time they fill up
corporate coffers through military contracts, tobacco subsidies, and bank
bailouts.  It's time to end this charade.  Our economy is heavily dependent
on the government, and it has been since World War II.  It's time to deal
with it and start talking about getting more Bang for our Buck.

        In the next few months, I'll talk about other strategies we can use
to get some control over our lives using the resources we already have.
Behind these strategies, there's a simple message: we are not helpless.  We
have more power than we realize.  It's time we start using it.

============================================================================SOLUTIONS: a twice-monthly electronic newsletter promoting policy ideas
for building a progressive economy for the future.  Send a "subscribe"
message to solutions-AT-garnet.berkeley.edu to automatically receive
Solutions twice a month.


ABOUT SOLUTIONS:

With the Gingrich Congress's assault on everything from social programs to
unions, progressives need to begin promoting positive alternatives to
address the economic and social problems facing the multi-racial community
of working families in the new economy.

SOLUTIONS is our modest effort to contribute to this debate.  If you have
comments or ideas, please feel free to write us at pcomm-AT-ix.netcom.com

SOLUTIONS is produced by Nathan Newman and Anders Schneiderman of
Progressive Communications.







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