Vol. 74/No. 33      August 30, 2010

In the first quarter of this year some 8 percent of U.S. mortgage holders were at least three months behind in their payments or already in foreclosure. RealtyTrac estimates that more than 1 million will lose their houses this year. And rents continue to rise, taking a bigger and bigger chunk out of workers’ declining wages.

Access to inexpensive, attractive, quality housing is a right. But under capitalism it is a commodity produced to make a profit, not to provide shelter. Just as health care, education, and other social needs are turned into commodities instead of rights guaranteed to all.

Immediate measures are needed to protect the working class from the economic catastrophe we face. The labor movement should champion the fight for full unemployment insurance for as long as a worker is jobless; for a massive federal public works program to put millions to work at union-scale wages, building housing, schools, hospitals, and roads; for a raise in the minimum wage and automatic cost-of-living increases in wages and Social Security.

The only way to guarantee working people affordable, quality housing is to nationalize the land and housing stock so no landlord can evict them and no bank can foreclose on them. This would also prevent working farmers from losing their land.

The fight around these issues points in the direction of working people organizing to take state power, overturn capitalist rule, expropriate capitalist property, and establish state property. Then our class can use the wealth we create to meet the needs of the majority.
 
 
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Georgia: 30,000 try to get gov’t subsidized housing  
 
 
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