African-American Female Worker Jobless Rate Under Obama Regime: 13.1 Percent

The official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for African-American female workers over 20 years-of-age under the Democratic Obama Regime jumped from 11.7 to 13.1 percent between June and July 2009; while the official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for African-American male workers over 20 years-of age was still 16.1 percent in July 2009, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The official “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all African-American workers (which also takes into account the jobless rate for African-American youth between 16 and 19 years of age) increased from 15.3 to 15.9 percent between June and July 2009.

The official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white female workers over 20-years-of age also increased from 7.1 to 7.6 percent between June and July 2009. For all women workers in the United States over 16 years of age, the official “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate increased from 8.9 to 9.2 percent between June and July 2009.

Between June and July 2009, the official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Hispanic or Latina women workers over 20 years of age increased from to 11.5 to 11.8 percent, while the “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Hispanic or Latino male workers over 20 years of age increased from 10.7 to 11.2 percent. For all Hispanic or Latino workers over 16 years of age (which takes into account the jobless rate for Latino youth), the official “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate increased from 12.1 to 12.5 percent between June and July 2009. The official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Asian-American workers also increased from 8.2 to 8.3 percent between June and July 2009.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ August 7, 2009 press release:

“Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in July (-247,000)…

“In July, the number of unemployed persons was 14.5 million. The unemployment rate was 9.4 percent…

“The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) rose by 584,000 over the month to 5.0 million. In July, 1 in 3 unemployed persons were jobless for 27 weeks or more…

“The number of persons working part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed in July at 8.8 million…

“About 2.3 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force…These individuals…wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey…

“Among the marginally attached, there were 796,000 discouraged workers in July…Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them….

“Employment in construction declined by 76,000 in July…

“Manufacturing employment fell by 52,000 in July…

“In July, retail trade employment declined by 44,000…Employment in wholesale trade fell by 19,000 in July, with the majority of the decline occurring among durable goods wholesalers.

“Employment in professional and business services continued to trend down in July (-38,000)…Within professional and business services, employment in the temporary help industry edged down in July…

“Transportation and warehousing lost 22,000 jobs in July…

“Financial activities employment continued to trend down in July (-13,000)…Employment in information declined by 16,000 in July, including losses in Publishing and telecommunications….”

`Folk Revolution' lyrics

(chorus)
For years we’ve all been slaves
Trapped in the Age of Rock
But can’t you see the dawn
As we enter the Age of Folk?

(verses)
They’ve pushed their loveless music
And pounded their soulless drums
They expect us to live like robots
And obey their Pentagon
They’ve poisoned the minds of rockers
And made some slaves think they’re free
But it’s time for the Folk Revolution
And time to end Rock Tyranny. (chorus)

They’ve stolen to the tune of millions
And tried to drown us in the sea
Their ugliness is what they call beauty
And they don’t want equality
They’re a bunch of moral cowards
A decadent aristocracy
But it’s time for the Folk Revolution
To create the world of your dreams. (chorus)

Every folk person shall be an artist
And by day all folk will have liberty
Love and peace will rule the world
And equal will be all who breathe
No one man will be the top dog
And folk will no more be lonely
All folk will own the world in common
Folk Revolution is the key. (chorus)

The “Folk Revolution” protest folk song was written in the 1980s to protest against the corporatization of rock music and against the hip rock capitalism of the 1980s. In retrospect, I probably overestimated the revolutionary potential of folk music as a tool for revolutionary democratic social change and I probably underestimated the revolutionary potential of rock music.

To listen to some other protest folk songs, you can check out the “Columbia Songs for a Democratic Society” music site at the following link:

http://www.myspace.com/bobafeldman68music

`Hands Off Iran' lyrics

(chorus)
The martyrs killed by Savak
Killed by U.S. machines
The martyrs shot down in the streets
Gave their lives so Iran could be free.
The martyrs killed in war
Plotted by the C.I.A.
The blood of all the martyrs
Is on the hands of the U.S.A.

(verses)
The criminal U.S. banks still try to rule Iran
Their murderous C.I.A. draw up invasion plans
And that is why the people from Berkeley to Boston
Must tell the U.S. government: "Hands off Iran!" (chorus)

Exxon and Texaco want the Persian Gulf oil
And they don't care how many young people they must kill
And that is why the workers from Berkeley to Boston
Must tell the U.S. government: "Hands off Iran!" (chorus)

ABC it lies each day and every night
It tries to poison minds so Big Business can dominate
And that is why the students from Berkeley to Boston
Must tell the U.S. government: "Hands off Iran!" (chorus)

The "Hands Off Iran!" anti-war protest folk song was written in 1980. For more protest folk songs from the 1970s and 1980s, you can check out the following music site link:

http://www.myspace.com/bobafeldman68music

Time For Some More Protest Folk Songs?

If you feel like listening to some protest folk songs that you're not likely to hear over the corporate media monopolies' radio airwaves, you might want to check out an anti-war protest folk site.

For-Profit Insurance Companies & Health Care/HMO Business In 1990s Revisited

No Benefit: Crisis In America’s Health Industry by Lawrence Weiss indicated in the 1990s that the giant Prudential, Aetna Life Casualty and CIGNA insurance companies then had a special interest in the Health Care/HMO Business:

“Commercial insurance corporations in particular are purchasing a large portion of HMOs. For example, in 1990 Aetna Life Casualty agreed to shell out up to $34 million to purchase Partners National Health Plans, which is among the five largest health maintenance organizations in the United States. CIGNA Healthplan, Inc., also ranks among the top five. Prudential recently expanded its HMO, ProCare into the hot California market…”

And Hoover’s Handbook of American Business noted in the early 1990s that “Prudential’s health plan offerings, enrolling 2.5 million people [1991 sales of $791 million] include PruCare HMO and PruCare Plus” and “The American Association of Retired Persons is its largest group-health client.”

The Canadian plan and/or Single-Payer health care reform proposals would apparently create a less costly plan than the kind of health care reform programs that were developed by for-profit Big insurance companies over the last twenty years. As No Benefit: Crisis In America’s Health Insurance Industry revealed as long ago as the 1990s:

“A study in the state of Washington by Washington Citizen Action indicated that `it cost commercial insurance companies like Prudential and Aetna $148.9 million more to provide Washington residents with insurance than it would have cost the Canadian system or the Medicare program to provide the same benefits.’ The Washington researchers estimated that 126,000 uninsured Washington residents could be provided health insurance with the money wasted by commercial health insurance overhead in their state…”

(Downtown 10/13/93)

Time For Universal Medicaid In USA?

Instead of simply cutting the Pentagon’s military budget by 90 percent and simply providing free health care for the millions of people in the United States who now lack health insurance by ordering the Department of Health and Human Services to immediately start issuing federal Medicaid cards to all U.S. citizens, the Democratic Obama-Clinton Administration’s complicated health tax scam will only probably provide health insurance cards to the uninsured in exchange for more U.S. worker paycheck tax deductions.

In countries like Russia, the UK, the Netherlands and Cuba, ironically, health care has long been free. According to National Health Insurance, in Russia “personal medical services are available to the entire population at no direct costs,” in the UK “the professional attention of a general practitioner is made available free of charge to everyone” and “no charges are made…for clinical examinations” of teeth, and in the Netherlands “an insured person generally receives free care for any medical services needed” and “dental treatment is also provided free of charge.” In Cuba, according to The Complete Travel Guide To Cuba, “should you become ill from any cause, you will be entitled to the same free health care as Cuban citizens” and “this means hospital and physician services…will be provided at no charge.” (Downtown 10/13/93)

Nader's 1974 Warning On National Health Insurance Revisited

In his July 1974 testimony before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Public Citizen Health Research Group spokesperson Ralph Nader stated the following:

“To take the worst features of what now passes for a health care system in the form of billions of dollars in annual retentions (profits and expenses) for private health insurance companies, billions wasted on unnecessary hospitalizations, inappropriate and useless drugs, and thousands of excess hospital beds—and then to add to this a so-called national health insurance plan which requires low-wage earners to pay far more of their income than the rich through payroll taxes, deductibles and coinsurance—is to perpetuate a fraud on the American public.

“There is no room in taxpayer funded national health insurance for private insurance companies. They have already proved they are far more concerned with their over $5 billion profits and retentions than with providing low-cost comprehensive preventive health care.

“You only have to look over the history of Metropolitan, Prudential, and other health and life insurance companies…to see how little attention is being paid to preventive health care…

“Congress should reject any plan designed to massively subsidize a private corporate insurance system whose primary objectives are increasing their wasteful ways and increasing profits.

“What is needed…is a federally administered publicly accountable financing mechanism with revenues derived from progressive taxing mechanisms.

“This is also an important point. The taxing system to fund these plans should not be regressive. It should be progressive in fact…”

(Downtown 10/13/93)