My fellow takepart blogger Nicole posted a great list of the most important news stories of the year a few days ago. In that spirit I am going to talk about some of the biggest stories related to my topics of “share” and “learn”.This first post will deal with the fun that is “share” - ie. economic equality (and inequality), poverty, wealth, workers, distribution and basically those who control who gets what.1. The Subprime Housing Crisis:
I believe Benjamin Barber said it best in his LA Times op-ed:
THE CRISIS IN subprime mortgages betrays a deeper predicament facing consumer capitalism triumphant: The “Protestant ethos” of hard work and deferred gratification has been replaced by an infantilist ethos of easy credit and impulsive consumption that puts democracy and the market system at risk.[LA Times]
he goes on:
The world teems with elemental wants and is peopled by billions who are needy. They do not need iPods, but they do need potable water, not colas but inexpensive medicines, not MTV but their ABCs. They need mortgages they can afford, not funny-money easy credit.
To serve such needs, however, capitalism must once again learn to defer profits and empower the needy as customers. Entrepreneurs wanted! With micro-credit, villagers can construct hand pumps and water filters from the clay under their feet. Pharmaceutical companies ought to be thinking about how to sell inexpensive retro-virals to Africans with HIV instead of pushing Botox to the “forever young” customers they are trying to manufacture here. And parents can refuse to relinquish their gatekeeping roles and let marketers know they won’t allow their kids to be targeted anymore.
To do this, we will require the assistance of democratic institutions and an adult ethos. Public citizens must be restored to their proper place as masters of their private choices. To sustain itself, capitalism will once again have to respond to real needs instead of trying to fabricate synthetic ones ” or risk consuming itself. [LA Times]
For a more detailed explanation of the subprime housing crisis you should visit my good friend Elliott’s website : http://www.linesblog.com and look @ this post And for information on some awesome folks in New York that are working to right the wrongs with housing learn more about the Neighborhood Development Economic Advocacy Project2. The Airwaves : Mine and Yours, but mainly The Advertisers and the Corporations.a) The Don Imus scandal - regardless of what you think of him, this little incident proved that the advertisers control what we hear.b) The FCC voted to axe the 30 year ban on media consolidation : lots of folks have asked Congress to overturn the vote, that would no doubt ensure that nothing controversial or damning to the powers that be will ever be reported on by any major news source3) Writers Guild of America StrikeWhile folks who make more money than most doing something that many people wish they could be doing going on strike might not seem like something that really deserves our attention, it should be noted that this is one of the most public and larger scale attacks on big corporations that we have seen in some time. And it isn’t just an attack on any corporation, it’s an attack on the people who control what you and I have access to in terms of television and cinema - and that is a big deal. Cinema and television are how most folks learn about the world, learn about life and on the other end of that stick, they are 2 of our largest exports and frame how much of the world sees us.It’s about time somebody stood up to them and made them accountable.For more on the strike, see what the writers are up to now, visit http://www.unitedhollywood.comand for some great entertainment (and a statement on SAG’s solidarity with the writers) watch the video below
Want to keep up to date on Sharing in 2008? Start by learning more about OneWorld and the Microfinance Gateway by clicking on their names!
What do you think the top Share stories of the year are? Leave a comment and tell us - no story is too big or too small (and often the small ones are larger than we think)
1) THE WRITER: Mel Miller
3) THE WRITER: Dixon Steele
The three-month old Hollywood writers strike could end as soon as next week, just in time to avoid disrupting the Oscars on February 24th. Sources say the WGA bargaining committee and studio executives are still haggling over the precise language in the contract. Neither parties were authorized to comment on the specifics of the negotiations, but the agreement is said to include significant increases in the residuals received for online use of film and television. For more from Breitbart on the contract negotiations, click 