Final final push

This just came from Marilyn Baird, co-chair of the Greensboro Minimum Wage Committee:

Last night at the City Council meeting, Mary Rakestraw made a motion to rescind the previous vote to accept the minimum wage petition. It passed by a vote of 5-3. Robbie Perkins was not at the meeting because he was hospitalized. We had heard a couple of weeks ago that Mike Barber was trying to solicit a councilperson to make a motion to rescind. Mary Rakestraw agreed to do just that.

On 1/8/2008 four (4) members of the minimum wage committee met with City Attorney Terry Woods. We were advised that over 2,000 signatures weren't valid and that we had ten (10) days to get the required signatures. The ten days would be up on Friday, January 18th at 5:00pm. This was stated to us verbally as well as in writing.

We cannot let this stop us!!

Here's the plan:

1. Continue to get signatures!! If you have petitions that need to be notarized a notary will be available at Faith Community Church tomorrow from 3p-7p. If you have a petition that needs to be picked up, please call us at 456-1309.

2. Rep. Alma Adams is in support and feels we need to move forward. We'll be at Bennett College tomorrow starting at 10am. We'll be there all day.

If you can help us at Bennett please call Debra Compton-Holt at 987-7869.

If you have any questions or suggestions please call us:
Marilyn @ 456-1309
Jim @ 681-2890
Ed @ 549-7810
Fahiym @ 987-4029

Campaign Update

Not being in Greensboro anymore, I've just learned about the City Council's decision last night to rescind its acceptance of the minimum wage petition. Perusing local blogs, it seems like Yes! Weekly's Jordan Green gives the most in depth coverage here.

I don't know anything beyond what Jordan writes, but will keep the site updated if I learn more.

Anyone interested in seeing exactly what happened can watch the council meeting here.

Pres. Bush supports minimum wage hike in Greensboro?

Nah, probably not. But I did run across a quote from him today that echoes an argument our committee has been making in support of a wage hike:

"When consumers have less purchasing power, it could cause the economy to slow down," Bush says.

To be fair, he made his remarks urging OPEC leaders to put more oil supply on the market and not in support of a minimum wage hike (you can see the full story here). But it is refreshing to find some common ground in our otherwise polarized political arena.

Final push - petition drive

After reviewing the signatures on our petition, the board of elections determined that we are still short 1,000 valid signatures. (Several of the signatures we had originally were of people not officially registered to vote or who have since moved away.)

So if you are still interested in signing the petition, you can do so until Thursday, January 17 at 1103 West Lee St. (The building looks like a small house, but is a business.) It is open from 10:30am until 6:30pm. You just need to walk in and ask to sign the petition.

If you've already signed the petition, good for you! Encourage your friends to do so, too.

Cornel West on "Free Market Fundamentalism"

From Democracy Matters (2004):

"The first dogma of free-market fundamentalism posits the unregulated and unfettered market as idol and fetish. This glorification of the market has led to a callous corporate-dominated political economy in which business leaders (their wealth and power) are to be worshipped - even despite the recent scandals - and the most powerful corporations are delegated magical powers of salvation rather than relegated to democratic scrutiny concerning both the ethics of their business practices and their treatment of workers. This largely unexamined and unquestioned dogma that supports the policies of both Democrats and Republicans in the United States - and those of most political parties in other parts of the world - is a major threat to the quality of democratic life and the well-being of most peoples across the globe. It yields an obscene level of wealth inequality, along with its corollary of intensified class hostility and hatred. It also redefines the terms of what we should be striving for in life, glamorizing materialistic gain, narcissistic pleasure, and the pursuit of narrow individualistic preoccupations - especially for young people here and abroad.

"Free market fundamentalism - just as dangerous as the religious fundamentalisms of our day - trivializes the concern for public interest. The overwhelming power and influence of plutocrats and oligarchs in the economy put fear and insecurity in the hearts of anxiety-ridden workers and render money-driven, poll-obsessed elected officials deferential to corporate goals of profit, often at the cost of the common good. This illicit marriage of corporate and political elites - so blatant and flagrant in our time - not only undermines the trust of informed citizens in those who rule over them. It also promotes the pervasive sleepwalking of the populace, who see that the false prophets are handsomely rewarded with money, status, and access to more power. This profit-driven vision is sucking the democratic life our of American society.

"In short, the dangerous dogma of free-market fundamentalism turns our attention away from schools to prisons, from workers' conditions to profit margins, from health clinics to high-tech facial surgeries, from civic associations to pornographic Internet sites, and from chidren's care to strip clubs. The fundamentalism of the market puts a premium on the activities of buying and selling, consuming and taking, promoting and advertising, and devalues community, compassionate charity, and improvement of the general quality of life. How ironic that in America we've moved so quickly from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Let Freedom Ring!" to "Bling! Bling!" - as if freedom were reducible to simply having material toys, as dictated by free market fundamentalism."