The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.62/No.31           September 7, 1998 
 
 
The Great Society  

BY HARRY RING
Neurotic? - From Tokyo, AP reports: "In another bleak assessment of the economy, the Bank of Japan said...the ratio of job offers to seekers has dropped to an historic low and that incomes are falling as well." The Bank glumly observed: "Consumer sentiment seems to be turning cautious again."

Malcontents - If approved by a bankruptcy judge, the three top dogs at FPA Medical Management will collect handsome raises and bonuses. Meanwhile, the judge is getting noise from thousands of workers fired in Texas, Arizona, and California. They've been denied accrued vacation money and severance pay.

Thieves fall in - Al "Chain-saw" Dunlap, king of the downsizers, and Sunbeam appliances have joined forces to cope with a stockholder suit and a federal probe.

Dunlap was fired in June, apparently for cooking the books and juggling sales results. Sunbeam has agreed to pay him $52,000 accrued vacation pay, but it's still dodging his demand for $27 million severance pay.

A truly great society - Two million children continue to die each year because they're not vaccinated against measles, tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria, polio, or tuberculosis, reports the UN children's agency, UNICEF.

Besides, it's only kids - In selecting school sites the Los Angeles school district doesn't worry much about environmental risks. Like, for instance, the inner-city school built on the location of former furniture factories and a gas station. And across the street from a former chrome plating plant. Declared an official: "There are no good sites for schools in an urban environment. You can't chose bean fields."

No affordable housing, says who? - At the Beverly Hills Plaza Hotel, de luxe suites that usually go for $9,000 a month are now available for $5,500.

Modern Times - Milan jewelers are marketing a rosary shaped like a credit card. With multiclass appeal, its available in plastic, copper embossed, or diamond-studded gold. The card seems to have Vatican approval. Meanwhile, caution was voiced that some users might think "they can enter the Gates of Heaven by punching in their personal identification number."

Thought for the week- "The Caribbean leaders say their embrace of Castro is also pragmatic. In a region where the U.S. cuts its foreign aid by 90 percent between 1985 and 1995, Havana's advanced medical and educational resources have more to offer than Washington." - Report by Los Angeles Times on Fidel Castro's visit to Caribbean nations.

 
 
 
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