Seasons' Greetings from La Raza Unida 2011

We have been told that war, poverty, homelessness and more is "inevitable" as if they are natural. They are not and let's rest and re-dedicate ourselves to a better world in the new year!

You might find inspiration from "When the World Outlawed War."

PEACE, LOVE & REBELLION FOR 2012!!!

1/2 of people in the US now Poor or Low-Income!

Health and Justice

Here are some articles on health and politics. Privatized politics is keeping us from having universal health care. Yet many advocate for this without dealing with the political context. It is like taking some aspects of socialized medicine from another country and placing it a US context.

Our political system narrows the political choices in the US. This narrowness in political parties also limits the possibilities for policies. Policies which impact health are many. Income inequality is a primary factor in health. Education, housing, and jobs are other things that impact our health. Segregation is bad for our health as well.

It is time to focus on how politics and health relate. We need a change in our political system to create more choices. Without working-class oriented parties willing to fix the maldistribution of resources and power in our country we'll keep getting the results we're getting.

MLK on Poverty (9/28/11)

"There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we have the resources to get rid of it. There is no deficit in human resources; the deficit is human will. The well-off and the secure have too often become indifferent and oblivious to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. The poor in our countries have been shut out of our minds, and driven from the mainstream of our societies, because we have allowed them to become invisible."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Politics of Poverty (9/26/11)

In 2009 David Brady wrote Rich Democracies, Poor People: How Politics Explain Poverty. This is a useful book for all seekers of social justice as poverty is one of the most pervasive forms of violence in a country like the US. He breaks it down into both academic and straight forward language.

He uses statistics to show that the biggest influences on poverty are the welfare state, Left politics, and proportional representation. He talks about other things that are necessary and shows why politics influences the reasons behind some countries having 5% poverty and the US having 15% or more.

As an independent political party we will continue to discuss the political approach on our blog.

Unemployment Kills

It has been known since the 1800s. Yet we allow government and corporations to promote the idea that there is a need for unemployment, that it - like poverty - is inevitable. Neither poverty nor unemployment is a natural phenomenon. They are created by policies and actions of those in power.

In the US we talk about nearing a 10% unemployment without talking about the people who have been hidden. In the 1980s President Reagan took out the "discouraged worker" (those who have given up looking for work) from the number of unemployed. Some estimates are that these workers are another 10%. So in reality close to 1 in 5 workers is unemployed.

That is why full employment policies are good for health. Full employment policies are good for families. And Full employment policies are good for the economy.

It is working people who drive the economy. They don't make enough to hoard money away like the rich, so their income goes into products and services that keep people working. That's a reality that our corporate news doesn't promote. Unemployment kills - literally.

Beyond Elections Part 14

Given that in Brazil the Worker's Party has elected Brazil's first female President this video becomes more important to understand. And given that it takes a Worker Party candidate to declare the goal of ending poverty while neo-liberal and neo-conservative parties take poverty as a permanent part of the landscape it will be interesting to watch how "liberal" countries (US, Canada, Australia, and England) respond to her and working-class policies!