Bush Claims to Denounce Slavery

I suppose I can say I was pleased to read that George W. Bush took the time during his August 8 visit to Senegal to make a speech denouncing slavery. I know it's not exactly a bold policy statement, but I try to be fair and give credit where credit is due. Most of the things that come out of Bush's mouth are so misguided, ignorant and occasionally truly evil, so it is refreshing to hear him get one right. He came right out and said it: Slavery is bad. Way to go, George. Of course, denouncing slavery is sure to anger a lot of your rightwing supporters, but give them a few more tax cuts and I'm sure they'll return to the fold.

Unfortunately, every time I pick up the newspaper, I read something that leads me to believe that Bush's heart wasn't really in that denunciation of slavery. If he and his corporate cronies have their way, people will be forced to work harder and longer for less pay and fewer benefits. Not slavery, exactly, but as close to it as you can get away with.

Take, for example, the new rules on overtime pay being pushed by the Bush administration. By reclassifying many job categories to ones which don't require overtime, the new rules will free employers to demand more hours out of their workers without having to worry about paying them anything extra.

As a letter written by Senator Edward Kennedy and signed by 42 other senators pointed out: "Our citizens are working longer hours than ever before -- longer than any other industrial nation....At least one in five employees now has a work week that exceeds 50 hours. Protecting the 40-hour work week is vital to balancing work responsibilities and family needs. It is certainly not family friendly to require employees to work more hours for less pay."

Not that corporate bigwigs lose much sleep worrying about having to pay their workers too much. A June 11, 2003 Wall Street Journal article makes clear the anti-labor hubris currently reigning in the business world: "New Recipe for Cost Savings: Replace Expensive Workers." (Sorry...no free link to the article.) That's right. The article details how more and more companies have simply started to lay off or fire long-term employees, wiping out those pesky years of accumulated pay raises. They then start out fresh with a new batch of people at entry-level pay. More and more, our working lives will consist of a series of entry-level jobs--if you are lucky enough to find a job--until you retire on your eaten-away retirement funds and bankrupt Social Security.

And that's assuming you remain able to serve the purposes of the corporate masters. If you should falter, don't expect much sympathy from the overseers. As the July 14, 2003 Wall Street Journal explains, "To Save on Health-Care Costs, Firms Fire Disabled Workers." The article details how more and more companies are now simply firing workers as soon as they qualify for long-term disability, whether from illness or job injury. Goodbye paycheck, goodbye health insurance, goodbye company-sponsored life insurance. Tough luck, so long, get out of here.

Well, George Bush, I really am happy you had the courage to stand in the ruins of a slave-trading port in Senegal and declare slavery to be a bad thing. I only wish you had the guts to say the same thing standing in the White House Press Room.