The End of Easy Oil
There’s lots of hand-wringing over the totally-surprising rise in gas prices in the press (I mean, who would have ever predicted that rising demand and limited supply would cause price increases?). USA Today unwittingly finds a silver lining:
As she folds clothes at a Laundromat near her home in San Pablo, Calif., Thamara Morales, 30, counts up the ways high gas prices have changed her life…Trips to Wal-Mart are out. The closest one is about 15 miles away. Just to get there and back costs more than she might save by going.
Yes, this might hurt Wal-Mart. It will also hurt the sales of behemoth SUVs and minivans, and certainly discourages the construction of more pre-fab “exurban” communities. This particular American Way of Life – a two car garage in an enormous shack in a white bread suburb of nowhere in the desert, an hour-long commute to an office park, and endless driving to work, school, mall – has always been a selfish, environmentally destructive waste of resources. Soon, it may not even be affordable.
Frankly, gas prices have been too low, for too long, subsidized by the federal government’s investment in research and oil reserves. This has allowed Americans to wastefully consume without regard for the planet or even the finite nature of the resource that we are exhausting. (The Times magazine had a good article on the diminishing returns for oil production this Sunday.)
So, as much as the recent spike in gas prices hurts (and, as a car owner who needs his car for work, I know), it is good that it forces us to begin to confront our extreme dependence on oil now, before it’s too late.
I, of course, advocate a massive program of affordable housing construction in our major cities, as well as huge investments in railroad infrastructure within those cities, and between those cities and their immediate suburbs. And, yes, we should recycle and invest in alternative energy and all the other things that the hippies call for. But big cities are probably the greenest solution for our large populations, and we should begin to prepare for the inevitable migration back to the cities that will result from expensive gas.
Wal-Mart No Way! Volunteers Needed! C’mon, Aspiring Extras!
Staten Island is not enough, Wal-Mart now has its eyes set on Coney Island. There’s a new community group fighting to keep Wal-Mart out of Brooklyn, Wal-Mart No Way. They’re raising money to put anti-Wal-Mart ads on teevee during the mayoral race. In fact, they’re having a fundraiser, um, tomorrow (details below). If you can attend, please do. If you can afford a donation, please be generous.
But there’s a far more fun way you can get involved in Wal-Mart No Way. They will be shooting their ad this coming Saturday afternoon, from about 4:00 pm until aboout 8:00 pm. If you can spare the time and want to wear a blue smock and scream and yell a lot, e-mail me for details.
Fundraiser to Stop Wal-Mart
Tuesday, August 2nd from 6 – 8:30pm
59 W. 12th Street #11C, between 5th and 6th Avenues
Wal-Mart wants to get into New York City – badly. They’re running television and print ads right now about how great it would be to have Wal-Marts in all five boroughs. So we’re answering with our own 30-second TV ad.
Although everyone involved in our group is volunteering their time and talent, we need your help to pay for everything from the lighting equipment to the air time on NY1.
For this event, we are asking for $50 – $100 per person, based on what you can honestly afford. You can donate here now: www.wal-martnoway.org. If you can come to the fundraiser, please RSVP to pete.sikora@gmail.com Thank you for your support – together we can, and will, stop them.
-Pete Sikora
Executive Director
www.wal-martnoway.org
Campaign of Neighborhood Impacts, Inc.PS: If you want to donate by check, and cannot come to the fundraiser, you can mail it to: Neighborhood Impacts, Inc. 152 Fifth Ave Apt 1B Brooklyn NY 11217. Thank you again.
The Wal-Mart Revolution is Bananas!!!
There’s a pretty good article in today’s Washington Post about legal efforts to block Wal-Mart from invading the region. These include a measure that would restrict the location of stores larger than 120,000 feet (the typical size of a Wal-Mart Supercenter) and one which would require employers to spend eight percent of their payroll on health care if they have more than 10,000 employees in Maryland (only one company employs as many people while paying far less than eight percent on health care; guess which one?).
Efforts like these, and our own Wal-Mart Free NYC, are having their effect. Wal-Mart’s stock price has been stagnant for years. Sure, they’re a huge corporation making billions of dollars in business, but Wall Street always wants more. Wal-Mart’s failure to expand into America’s large urban areas is hurting them, slowly but surely.
But, oh, how can we consumers resist all that cheap underwear? From the Post:
The results can be seen at the cash register. At the Wal-Mart supercenter in Spotsylvania County, which opened in March, a basket of 23 popular household products, including such brands as Jif peanut butter, Maxwell House coffee and Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil, cost $60.37. At the nearby Giant, less than a mile away, the same 23 products cost $75.55, or about 25 percent more.
…
Grover and Linda Wilson, both self-employed, drive 25 miles to the Spotsylvania supercenter from their home in Rhoadsville, Va., passing both Giant and Safeway on the way. The Wilsons don’t mind that Wal-Mart workers have no union.
“You can’t pay people $20 an hour and sell bananas for 33 cents a pound,” Grover Wilson, 62, said.
What’s funny about old Grover’s “observation” (not sure where he got that $20 an hour figure; the local union contract calls for $13 an hour in wages – even with healthcare and pension factored in, the pay is still not that high) is that it echos the complaints of socialists in the former East Germany. In the months following the fall of the Berlin Wall, as the political focus shifted from greater democracy and openness towards the West to welcoming international capitalism and dismantling the welfare state, German socialists would commonly complain, “We didn’t fight this revolution for bananas!”
But the Wal-Mart revolution is bananas. It’s about cheap underwear and $60 teevees. We’re not supposed to be worried about the social costs of all that crap – the sweatshops in China, the welfare payments that subsidize the company’s low pay, the discrimination against women and so on. We’re just supposed to be grateful that prices are falling almost as fast as our wages.
Baseball and Hardball
I saw my first Mets game of the season, a terrific 9 to 2 bludgeoning of the Reds. “Value” tickets for last night’s game were just $5 for the nosebleed seats in the upper decks. For $5, one can’t really complain. Actually, I rather prefer it way up there. All the games that I saw as a kid were in the upper decks, so that’s how I learned to follow the ball in play. Those box seats behind home plate are just a little overwhelming.
The Mets have a pretty good team this year. They actually win as often as they lose. All I ask is for a little excitement and suspense.
The next two nights are also “value” days, and tickets will be the same price. Tickets will obviously be much more expensive when the Yankees visit this weekend. “Value” days return on May 31 when the Mets face the Diamondbacks. I recommend organizing group outings for a nice day at the ballpark.
This is a rushed post because I am heading out the door to do some more leafletting at the Staten Island ferry. It’s on the Manhattan side this time, as it is all Tuesdays in May, from 4:00pm until 6:00pm. And, once again, leafletting on Thursdays is on the Staten Island side from 4:00pm until 6:00pm.
Finally, on Wednesday, the Writers Guild will be stepping up their public campaign against CBS, outside of Carnegie Hall, where the network is unveiling its new shows for the Fall, from 2:30 until 4:30.
From my friend Marija Kowalski:
Dear Union Brothers and Sisters,We are in a tough contract battle with CBS/ Viacom for 430 employees at CBS News. The affected employees are news and promotion writers, editors, graphic artists, desk and production assistants, and researchers. The company is trying to take many jobs out of the union. This would impact many members who’ve been in the union for decades. The company also wants substantial paycuts (up to 21%), to have automatic elimination of our contract in the case of any mergers, and allow managers to do unlimited amounts of work historically covered by our contract, to practically eliminate seniority protection from layoff, and many other outrageous attacks on our union.
As you know, Viacom is one of the five largest media conglomerates in the nation. We are counting on the support of our fellow union brothers and sisters to help us defend our contract against this giant corporation.
We have two events coming up– one tomorrow, and one next week. We realize it is a lot to ask. We would be very appreciative if even one person from your union came to the action tomorrow (an email about that event was sent out last week) and a larger group of people would come to the rally outside the Shareholder meeting. I would also love to hear from you to get an idea of the turnout. I would also appreciate if you would distribute this email to your lists.
Thank you very much!!
Taking On Viacom: WGAE at Viacom Stockholders Meeting Thursday, May 26 / 1:30 p.m.Join the WGAE on Thursday, May 26th as we tell Viacom that we will not sit quietly as CBS demands pay cuts from writers in order to line the pockets of its top three executives with over 150 million dollars.
All owners of Viacom A and Viacom B stock are entitled to attend and participate in their Annual Stockholders meeting. The Writers Guild of America, East will be there too, inside and outside, demanding that CBS withdraw its regressive demands for pay cuts and the removal of union jobs, and instead start working with us to negotiate a fair contract.
Marriott Marquis
Broadway @ 45th Street
New York CityWe are delighted to announce the New York City Labor Chorus will be performing at this rally.
We hope you will join us!
Working Harder for Les: WGAE Rally Out Front at the Upfront
Wednesday, May 18 / 2:30 – 4:30 p.m.WGAE Rally Outside Carnegie Hall!
This year, CBS shocked the industry by giving unprecedented compensation packages to its top three executives.
Meanwhile, CBS is demanding WGAE news and promo writers, graphic artists, desk and production assistants and researchers take paycuts of up to 21% and lose union jobs.
Les Moonves must be stopped. It’s time we receive recognition for our award-winning work.
For more information, contact Marija Kowalski at mkowalski@wgaeast.org
Carnegie Hall
57th Street & 7th Avenue
New York CityMarija Kowalski
Organizing Coordinator
Writers Guild of America, East
212-767-7808