Forum Post: Corporations Create the Problem, Co-Ops Offer the Solution

Corporations Create the Problem, Co-Ops Offer the Solution

Wednesday, 19 September 2012 09:20 By Brian Van Slyke and Taliesin Nyala, Truthout | Op-Ed

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/11618-corporations-create-the-problem-co-ops-offer-the-solution

Cooperatives offer a means by which to change the economic and social landscape and directly tackle issues of wealth inequality, outsourcing of jobs and high unemployment. Our current economic and political systems benefit the wealthy. Change will not come from the top down, but from building over and replacing these systems with organizations that directly advance, and are responsible to, the communities they are a part of. By bringing democracy to our communities - in our workplaces, grocery stores and beyond - we can transform society and the economy.

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FreeDA/CES

The FreeDA Cooperative Employment Service is the 501(c)4 organization that would assess the skills of the unemployed individuals to patronize it and match them with a suggested cooperative business plan. Upon acceptance or rejection of the plan for an alternative plan, the FreeDA/CES would facilitate the crowdfunding of the new cooperative business. Of course, each municipality of cooperative communities should have their own branch of a nationwide Cooperative Credit Union to handle both cooperative and personal accounts. With the FreeDA Cooperative Employment Service and FreeDA Cooperative Credit Union established nationwide, the unemployed of each city would be consistently channeled into either newly or already established worker-owner cooperatives, modifying the economic well-being of society at a fundamental level.

http://occupywallst.org/forum/free-democracy-amendment/

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Our Disgraceful Minimum Wage

Wednesday, 19 September 2012 13:37 By Jim Hightower, Truthout | Op-Ed

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/11638-our-disgraceful-minimum-wage

In natural terms, our economy is a giant sequoia. Unfortunately, our present corporate and governmental leadership can't seem to grasp one of the basic laws of nature: You can't keep a mighty tree alive (much less have it thrive) by only spritzing the fine leaves at the tippy-top. The fate of the whole tree depends on nurturing the roots. Recent studies show that increasing the minimum wage even during hard times is good policy, providing higher pay but no loss of jobs.

Sadly, we're led by a myopic crew of leaf-spritzers.

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Ten Huge Issues Being Ignored in the Presidential Campaign

Wednesday, 19 September 2012 11:27 By Zack Beauchamp , ThinkProgress | Report

http://truth-out.org/news/item/11632-ten-huge-issues-being-ignored-in-the-presidential-campaign

The media focus on political minutiae in the presidential campaign can often crowd out the substantive issues that the winner will have to deal with once taking office. And while the candidates themselves occasionally talk about these issues, there’s a number of critical concerns that get no attention, including some of the worst problems (in terms of the harm they cause to people’s lives) in the United States and the world. To address this lamentable state of affairs, ThinkProgress has compiled a list of ten of the most significant problems being severely underserved by the campaign and American political discourse more broadly. In no particular order:

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Economists Identify the 100 Top Air Polluters and Highlight the Economics of Environmentalism

Wednesday, 19 September 2012 00:00 By Mike Ludwig, Truthout | Interview

http://truth-out.org/news/item/11624-economists-identify-the-100-top-air-polluters-and-highlight-the-economics-of-environmentalism

What do General Electric, Koch Industries, Bayer, Dow Chemical and ExxonMobil all have in common? They all rank in the top ten of the Toxic 100, a list of the top 100 corporations that produce the most toxic air pollution and put human health at risk. The list, recently released by economists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, tracks toxic chemicals emitted into the air by top polluters and ranks the companies based on the toxicity of the pollution and other factors such as smokestack size, prevailing winds, and the number of people exposed to the pollution.

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French Study Finds Tumors and Organ Damage in Rats Fed Monsanto Corn

Wednesday, 19 September 2012 13:36 By Mike Ludwig, Truthout | Report

http://truth-out.org/news/item/11639-french-study-finds-tumors-and-organ-damage-in-rats-fed-monsanto-corn

Rats fed a lifetime diet of Monsanto's genetically engineered corn or exposed to the company's popular Roundup herbicide developed tumors and suffered severe organ damage, according to a French study released on Wednesday.

The study could have a big impact on the battle over a California ballot proposal that would require groceries containing genetically engineered ingredients to be labeled as such. Monsanto has already donated $7.1 million to the campaign to defeat the proposal, known as Proposition 37.

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Cartoons in French weekly fuel Mohammad furor

By Nicholas Vinocur | Reuters – 2 hrs 41 mins ago

http://news.yahoo.com/french-weekly-publishes-mohammad-cartoons-075449808.html

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Afghanistan Today and Tomorrow

Wednesday, 19 September 2012 00:00 By Paul Buhle, Tom Hayden, Ellis Rosen and Sam Marlow, Truthout | Graphic Journalism

http://truth-out.org/news/item/11273-afghanistan-today-and-tomorrow

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Who’s Sabotaging Iran?

By Eli Lake | The Daily Beast – 1 hr 30 mins ago

http://news.yahoo.com/sabotaging-iran-nukes-084500157--politics.html

The chief of Iran’s nuclear program says the power lines to his nuclear facilities were sabotaged. U.S. Special Forces have trained for operations inside Iran for years. Do these latest disclosures suggest they are already on the ground?

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Rachel Corrie Responsible for Own Death, Israeli Court Rules

Wednesday, 19 September 2012 00:00 By Richard Silverstein, Truthout | News Analysis

http://truth-out.org/news/item/11606-rachel-corrie-responsible-for-own-death-israeli-court-rules

The Israeli dismissal of a civil lawsuit by the family of slain American activist Rachel Corrie against the Israel Defense Forces sends a chilling message to non-violent activists worldwide.