The past week was perhaps the splash of cold water that sobered up many of us who watch U.S. politics and our national status in the world. It is embarrassing on one level and enough to wake up those of us who prefer to sleep through the political and economic debates raging through our nation.
The heroes of the week are the laid off workers of the Illinois Republic Windows and Doors Company.
“No justice, no peace!” shouted activists, union members, religious groups, and youth outside the Republic Windows & Doors manufacturing plant on Division and Halsted Streets on the north side of Chicago.
Since Friday, Dec. 4, about 240 workers, supported by the United Electrical Workers Union (EU), were stationed inside the factory, peaceful but resolved.
These men and women demanded that the company compensate them with the vacation and severance pay owed to them after their abrupt lay offs. Pink slips had been sent to their homes three days earlier, in violation of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.
This small group of workers proved that Americans can still have a voice when united for a common cause.
Representatives of the union, the company, the bank [Bank of America], the workers and JP Morgan Chase bank, which owns 40 percent of the company, sat down to negotiate for nearly three days and 20 hours and finally reached an agreement on Wednesday night.
The workers who had remained inside the factory came to a unanimous agreement stipulating that they will be paid $1.75 billion in compensation, vacation and two months of expanded health insurance.
These workers are the heroes of the American system that otherwise has failed the country across the board. While blue collar workers have to fight for every penny, compromise at every turn, and find their collective voice in order to demand justice, such as it is, the white collar artistocracy is free to fleece America at every turn, even stooping to steal from their own to make a dollar.
As if our economic woes were not sufficient to take unemployment to new heights for the 21st century and demonstrate a new low in the ethics on Wall Street. If the Wall Street downfall had not shaken us to the core, Bernie Madoff’s earthquake announcement almost finished us off. This once well-respected icon of Wall Street proved that no one should be above suspicion, although most believe they are above the law.
The arrest of the 70-year-old Madoff, widely considered to have the magic touch as an investor, is another serious black eye for the hedge fund industry and all non-transparent investment vehicles. Investors across the New York area have clamored to be in Ascot because of the stability of double-digit returns and the reports of serious wealth creation. The scandal is bound to reveal the inner workings of the hedge fund industry, whereby intermediary feeders bring in their clients and take fees for putting clients with an investment manager.
If Madoff hadn’t faced $7 billion in redemptions, this Ponzi scheme might not have been discovered. What’s astonishing is that he got away with it for so long with nobody discovering it. What his four family members in Ascot knew is a puzzle that everyone wants answered, but one thing is certain: It’s virtually impossible to have returns like Madoff reported, and it should have been a major warning signal.
Aside from the impact on stocks overall, the exposure of fraud on a massive scale is also devastating to individuals who trusted Madoff with their fortunes and to nonprofit organizations like Yeshiva University, which counted on Madoff’s purported secret trading system to help operate its institutions. Sterling Equities, the investment vehicle of the Wilpon family, which owns the New York Mets baseball team, had $300 million reportedly invested in Ascot. So did some wealthy investors who had money in related hedge funds who were never informed of ties to Ascot. Another private bank executive placed $10 million from a client just two weeks ago. He knew of another family that had $100 million with Madoff. A woman in California told us that she had lost everything with Madoff and another hedge fund.
Everyone in New York wants to know how Madoff could have pulled off this Ponzi scheme whereby these new investment funds were apparently used to pay double-digit returns to some of the older investors. A charitable account that operates institutions in Israel received a 12% return recently. Other individual investors report that they got nothing.
In fact, there are several disturbing factors beyond the $50 Billion in losses. First, with warnings from those who had asked Madoff to explain his program going unanswered, over the past ten or so years several people had reported to the SEC that Madoff’s hedgefund needed to be examined. The warnings went unheeded. As a regulator of the industry, the SEC seems somewhat culpable for negligence in doing its job, at the very least.
However, once Madoff said, “I lied” the SEC was among the first to file a complaint. Once again, the SEC did nothing until Madoff was caught when it was partially its responsibility to catch him.
For all the talk of the Madoff Ponzi scheme and his sudden confession before his directors, I believe there was a method to his madness. Madoff apparently knew that the scheme had peaked and it would be far better to confess his sins while he still has time to receive a pardon from the lame duck president. Checkmate.
While Madoff had the established name and means to fleece the rich, Governor Blagojevich of Illinois was attempting to gain some funds by selling the Senate seat vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama. Blagojevich appeared to be trying to take Illinois politics to an all time low.
The arrogance of the above the law governor stunned even the most cynical among us. However, we are left to wonder if there is a case to be built. The Feds may have jumped the gun by arresting the governor before he engaged in anything more than Windy City talk. Time will tell. However, whether a substantial case is awaiting the disgraced governor or not, he will be left to sit in ruin.
While blue collar workers braved the cold to get a measley $6000 benefit, the rich and infamous were squandering billions of dollars and respect for the American political system. As if that is not enough to wake up the average American citizen I am continually shocked by the rhetoric of Washington politicians.
This morning on This Week with George Stephanopoulos John McCain came out of the shadows and faced the questions. Not to pick on McCain by any means, but he made a statement that reflects the politics of our nation. When asked about Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of War that McCain disdained from the beginning of the Iraqi war, McCain suggested that Rumsfeld need not be held accountable for the war crimes and torture of prisoners under American supervision in Iraq and Guantanamo, but we should look forward.
John McCain is not original in this concept. Politicians across the board are willing to excuse the crimes of the Bush administration, citing the need to “move forward” or “look forward.” The Washington insiders are remiss in punishing their own for misdeeds and crimes. It is always the position to look forward, not backward.
And, let’s face it, no one would be surprised if Bush pardons his entire administration, including himself, before any indictments. W is certain to be looking forward, too. We must certainly expect Karl Rove to be among those to be given the “get out of jail free” card. Rove’s suspected involvement in the Don Seigelman case in Alabama will become a moot point. Dick Cheney… well, the list is too long. And, for all the bumbling, misstatements and mispronunciations, Bush knows that much of America is lying in wait, hoping for accountability for the lies and misdeeds he perpetrated from the Oval Office. I can only picture W signing pardons across the board as he prepares to hand the reins over to the Obama administration. No disrespect intended, but I feel certain that if it were within his power Bush would resurrect his deceased friend, Ken Lay and pardon him for one of the biggest scandals to hit American corporations.
Corruption is a part of the American system from top to bottom. The most notorious among us seem to be granted the “get out of jail free” card. It comes as no surprise that they are welcomed back into the fold, possibly as a mentor for the corrupt in training. Others who are not only clever in perpetrating their crimes but in their timing for confession and repentance make the headlines for a day and become yesterday’s news. Remember, we don’t want to look back and hold anyone accountable. We look forward… always forward… unless…
Unless you are one of those everyday American “criminals” who make up 25% of the world’s criminal population. Think about that number. While we talk about injustice in China and denounce human rights in other countries, America stands proud of the simple fact that across the entire world we hold in custody 25% of the world’s incarcerated. What is more astounding is that 25% of black men in America will spend time in jail. That’s one of every four.
We have become a nation of vengence on those in poverty. After all, justice in America has become the revenge on the poor who cannot afford to defend themselves or do not have access to blanket pardons.
And to that end, we have seen taxpayer dollars flow into the pockets of those at the top, i.e. AIG, Citigroup, and the list goes on. It is imperative that we save our financial institutions. With somewhere around a trillion dollars allocated to bail out of the banks and their buddies, we have seen Congress fail to pass a $14 Billion bill to help the Big Three Automakers. There is no love lost on the CEO’s of the Big 3. They have led their corporations down the path of self-destruction. However, the $14 Billion requested to keep them in business for a few months to give them and the Obama administration time to restructure the corporate operations cannot pass muster. Their is no concern for the 2 or 3 million jobs that will be lost across America when these automakers file bankruptcy.
While it was not only possible to hand the rich $700 Billion (actually quite a bit more) to keep afloat, no strings attached, it is out of the question to feed the automakers $14 Billion to keep millions of American blue collar workers on the job. The sticking point was not the lack of leadership or corporate performance. Instead, the failure is being attributed to the UAW who refused to give up more workers’ rights and income.
It is evident that we are a nation divided, not by good and evil but by rich and poor. It is evident that justice in America, in the workplace or in the courts, is dependent upon wealth and power. However, if there is one ray of hope in America we need look no farther than a small band of men and women, 240 in all, who moved into the Republic Windows and Doors building, taking turns standing watch while others slept, holding firm on their demands until the bank and the corporate entity folded, if not in full at least in part.
The displaced workers of Republic Windows and Doors are the heroes of the week. They have proved that united we can stand face to face with corporate America. They proved that average American citizens speaking in unison can have a voice that is heard across America.
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