Partisan Number 26

by Steve Zeltzer; this article was originally published in Partisan issue no. 26, printed September 2008.

The rapidly escalating housing crisis and financial panic is the direct result of the policies of both the Democrats and Republicans. These two pro-capitalist parties have supported deregulation of the airlines starting with President Carter with his FAA commission Alfred Kahn. This was continued with deregulation in telecom, housing and in the financial sector. Democratic congressional leader and millionaire Nancy Pelosi supported trashing of the Glass-Steagall Act, removing the wall of separation between the banks and stock brokers. This allowed Citigroup and other banks to become brokers and speculators, selling securities that were ended up defrauding the public.

The capitalists are now speculating in oil with the collapse of the US dollar, and this is adding to massive inflation at the same time that millions of workers face the loss of their jobs from shut-downs.

The Peace and Freedom Party supports placing the entire energy under public ownership and democratic control. We support using the profits from the public oil and energy industry to develop and build a mass transportation system that will allow working people to be able to get to their jobs, and intensively develop such non-polluting energy sources as wind and solar.

As a result of the massive capitalist speculative bubble caused by the deregulation policies of the Democrats and Republicans, and the housing collapse, major brokerage companies and banks are going broke. They are being propped up by the printing of money further adding to inflation.

The Peace and Freedom Party does not support using public funds to prop up brokers and banks. The financial institutions need to be placed under public ownership, under worker and community control, with loans going to public housing and the reconstruction of this country. We need elected boards of working people and people from the community running these institutions instead of stock manipulators and Republicrat politicians who do damage control for these thieves.

If you believe that we need a real program for working people we urge you to join the Peace and Freedom Party and fight for a program that will defend our families, our jobs and our communities.

Steve Zeltzer is a member of the San Francisco Peace and Freedom Party Central Committee.