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Austerity in America: The Fall of Camden, NJ

Monday, May 16th – 7pm
The A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave., Philadelphia, PA

Camden, New Jersey went from a diverse and mighty industrial city–home to 55,000 of good paying industrial jobs–only to become the one of the nationʼs most segregated and poorest

In 2002, the New Jersey state government claimed it needed to take over nearly all of the cityʼs functions–legally disenfranchising every resident–only to leave a trail of failed development schemes and enough financial ruin that the city recently laid off half of its police and fire departments.

Join us for an intriguing discussion about capital flight, severe austerity, urban development, and political corruption.

Panelists include:
Dr. Howard Gillette – Professor of History at Rutgers University-Camden and author of Camden After the Fall: Decline and Renewal in a Post-Industrial City.
Tom Knoche – Community organizer, Camden activist, and author of Common Sense for Camden: Taking Back Our City.
Dan Sidorick – Adjunct Assistant Professor of History at Temple University and author of Condensed Capitalism: Campbell Soup and the Pursuit of Cheap Production in the Twentieth Century.

Part of the Philadelphia Industrial Workers of the World’s Philly Labor Talk Series.
Contact walt.weber.iww@gmail.com with questions. This event is FREE!

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Capitalism IS Charity?

On the Neoliberal Attack on Philanthropy
Bill Gates with Muhammad Yunus

You would understand it if you heard a right-wing libertarian like Ron Paul or Paul Wolfowitz say:

I believe that ‘government,’ as we know it today, should pull out of most things except for law enforcement and justice, national defense and foreign policy, and let the private sector, a social-consciousness-driven private sector, take over their other functions.

But Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, and recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, wrote that in his book Banker to the Poor. Continue reading “Capitalism IS Charity?”

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The Plan to Gentrify DC

Last week, This American Life featured a segment on gentrification in Washington, DC. Gentrification in DC, residents say, is not led by market forces, but is rather an orchestrated plan to displace blacks from neighborhoods to make way for rich whites.

“The Plan” is incredibly moving and persuasive. It highlights gentrification signs like local government closing public schools, libraries, and hospitals to replace them with condos and, among other things, sushi restaurants. Others, from around the country, discuss how their cities purposely allowed neighborhoods to deteriorate so developers can buy land for cheaper prices.

Is “the plan” a conspiracy theory? Maybe. But the results are striking.

Full Episode: 350: Human Resources