United States
German vice chancellor says talks on US-EU free trade agreement have failed
By Christoph Vandreier, 30 August 2016
The discussions on the agreement demonstrate that transatlantic conflicts are growing.
The socioeconomic basis of identity politics: Inequality and the rise of an African American elite
By David Walsh, 30 August 2016
A sharp polarization has emerged among African Americans over the past four decades. The privileged layer that has been produced forms an important basis for racialist politics.
Nothing revolutionary about Sanders’ “Our Revolution”
By Patrick Martin, 29 August 2016
The rollout of the new organization founded by Sanders and his campaign makes crystal clear that its purpose is to direct young people and workers into the blind alley of the Democratic Party.
US torture victim Abu Zubaydah given “hearing” at Guantanamo
By John Burton, 29 August 2016
Zubaydah, one of 41 inmates still not cleared for release or transfer eight years after Obama pledged to close Guantanamo Bay, made a brief, silent appearance on video.
Boston teachers face contract fight over job security, working conditions
By John Marion, 29 August 2016
The schools district’s attack on teachers will be accompanied by a November ballot initiative to increase the cap on charter schools across Massachusetts.
Cleveland teachers threaten walkout as school year begins
By Jerry White, 29 August 2016
More than 5,000 teachers have voted to strike over “performance pay” and other attacks in America’s second poorest big city.
“Political art” in New York City this summer
By Clare Hurley, 29 August 2016
While much of the artwork is as yet unsatisfying, it is welcome that many of these visual artists are registering awareness of the social and political crisis.
Closure of Appleton, Wisconsin abortion clinic leaves state with two centers
By Catherine Long, 27 August 2016
With the closure of the clinic, the two remaining centers will serve 1.3 million Wisconsin women.
West Virginia Supreme Court to weigh independent ballot access
Ruling to impact independent candidates statewide
By Naomi Spencer - SEP candidate for West Virginia House District 16, 27 August 2016
The case is a microcosm of the undemocratic maneuvering that goes on in American politics, largely out of sight of the public.
Clinton highlights Trump’s ultra-right ties to curry favor with establishment Republicans
By Patrick Martin, 26 August 2016
The Democratic presidential candidate used a speech in Reno, Nevada to step up her right-wing appeal for support from Republicans and conservatives.
Indiana study finds high rate of opiate addiction in newborns
By Jessica Goldstein, 26 August 2016
The disturbing findings of the Indiana study point to the impact of the economic crisis on working people.
“There is going to be a civil war in this country”
SEP presidential candidate Jerry White campaigns at Detroit auto factory
By a WSWS reporting team, 26 August 2016
An SEP campaign team encountered widespread hostility to the establishment candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and openness to a socialist alternative.
Socialist Equality Party (US) 2016 Congress Resolutions
The fight for socialism and the tasks of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality
25 August 2016
This resolution was passed by the Fourth National Congress of t he Socialist Equality Party (US), held from July 31-August 5 in Detroit, Michigan .
Haiti: What the Clinton e-mails reveal about US election-rigging
By John Marion, 24 August 2016
The e-mails released by the US State Department give details of the imperialist intrigues that installed Michel Martelly as president of Haiti.
Obama offers pittance to flood victims in Louisiana
By David Brown, 24 August 2016
In perfunctory remarks in Louisiana, Obama told victims to look to private charities and volunteers.
“I don’t expect the government to do a damn thing”
Louisiana flood victims speak out
By Aaron Asa and Tom Hall, 24 August 2016
WSWS reporters traveled to Livingston Parish, Louisiana and spoke to flood victims who are stranded at an emergency shelter after historic floods destroyed more than 40,000 homes.
New York politicians maneuver to support charter schools
By Steve Light, 24 August 2016
Democrats and Republicans are aiding the privatization of public education by seeking to exemptions for charter schools from state regulations.
SEP presidential candidate Jerry White on impact of “Welfare Reform”
24 August 2016
SEP presidential candidate Jerry White issued this statement on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of "Welfare Reform," signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996.
Twenty years since the Clintons gutted the federal welfare system
By Shelley Connor, 24 August 2016
The embrace of “ending welfare as we know it” marked a fundamental shift to the right in the Democratic Party and capitalist politics as a whole.
US-South Korean war games inflame Asian tensions
By Peter Symonds, 23 August 2016
While nominally aimed against North Korea, the exercises consolidate Washington’s military alliance with Seoul as it makes preparations for conflict with China.
Clinton campaigns among the millionaires and billionaires
By Patrick Martin, 23 August 2016
The Democratic presidential candidate has only two public events for the rest of August—and 54 fundraising events with the wealthy backers who are her real base of support.
Majority of New York City residents cannot afford to buy their own homes
By Philip Guelpa, 23 August 2016
The rising price of homes coupled with stagnant or declining wages in the wealthiest city in the country means that only those with the highest incomes can afford to own their homes.
Twenty years since Clinton’s welfare “reform”
By Jerry White, 23 August 2016
The Clintons’ welfare bill marked the complete abandonment by the Democratic Party of the policy of liberal reform associated with Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s and Johnson’s War on Poverty in the mid-1960s.
More anti-Russian propaganda from the New York Times
By Barry Grey, 23 August 2016
Precedents for such exercises in state propaganda in the guise of journalism have ended with mass killings, the toppling of governments and, in many cases, the murder of government leaders portrayed as the incarnation of evil.
International Socialist Organization promotes Jill Stein, Green Party as “anti-capitalist”
By Evan Blake, 23 August 2016
What the ISO describes as an “anti-capitalist” amendment to the Greens' platform is in fact a tactical maneuver and a declaration of hostility to socialism.
Media, Democrats cover up Trump’s fascistic politics
By Patrick Martin, 22 August 2016
Last week’s reshuffle has put the Trump campaign under the leadership of an ultra-right publisher linked to “white nationalist” and other fascistic tendencies.
Mosquito-borne Zika virus spreads to Miami Beach, Florida
By Matthew MacEgan, 22 August 2016
The CDC has issued a travel advisory, warning pregnant women not to visit the area.
New video shows Los Angeles Police Department officers kill 56-year-old man in jail
By John Andrews, 22 August 2016
A recently released video depicts six officers Tasing and choking to death 56-year-old grandfather Vachel Howard in a Los Angeles jail in 2012.
In bid to quash anger, Chicago cops face firing over Laquan McDonald murder
By Alexander Fangmann, 22 August 2016
The seven cops are among ten recommended for termination in a recent city inspector general’s report issued even as police violence continues.
Minnesota nurses authorize open-ended strike against Allina
By Matt Rigel, 22 August 2016
The MNA has refused to call a strike, even though nurses have once again overwhelmingly rejected Allina Health’s demands for cuts to health care benefits and heavier workloads.
The Obamacare counterrevolution six years on
By Kate Randall, 22 August 2016
The Obama administration’s signature domestic “achievement” stands exposed as a plan concocted by and for the insurance companies and corporate America to slash their costs and increase their profits.
“Obama has only helped the wealthy”
SEP campaigners speak to residents in Washington, DC about social crisis and the US elections
By our reporters, 22 August 2016
SEP campaigners spoke to workers in a section of the city that has been plagued by rising homelessness, poverty and efforts at gentrification.
Government indifference in the midst of historic Louisiana flooding
By Tom Hall, 20 August 2016
The federal government has promised only paltry sums to compensate flood victims, while Obama has delayed any visit until after his lavish vacation in Martha’s Vineyard.
Trump chairman Paul Manafort resigns amidst campaign shift to the right
By Patrick Martin, 20 August 2016
Paul Manafort has been displaced by Stephen Bannon, chairman of the ultra-right Breitbart News, giving the Trump campaign its third chief in three months.
Green Party candidates at CNN town hall: Promoting illusions in the capitalist system
By Evan Blake, 19 August 2016
At the town hall meeting, Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka presented a liberal reformist program, combined with demagogic criticisms of war and the promotion of identity politics.
Cisco to cut 5,500 jobs, adding to wave of US tech layoffs
By Barry Grey, 19 August 2016
So far this year, American technology companies have eliminated 63,000 jobs.
Sexual assault accusations used to oust leader at Tor Project
By Adam Mclean, 19 August 2016
The Tor Project, a network and tool for anonymizing one’s internet traffic, has been a repeated target of attacks from US intelligence agencies.
“The union signed away their rights”
Verizon strikers remain victimized 12 weeks after end of strike
By Shannon Jones, 19 August 2016
Since the Communications Workers of America sold out the seven-week Verizon strike in May, the union has said nothing about the fate of some two dozen workers victimized by management in the course of the walkout.
West coast dockworkers’ union to discuss contract extension
By Hector Cordon, 19 August 2016
Discussion on a contract extension demanded by shippers and the Obama administration opens the door to further concessions on the part of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Blue Cut fire quickly engulfs tens of thousands of acres in Southern California
By Dan Conway, 18 August 2016
An incredibly strong brush fire has rapidly swept through more than 30,000 acres near the Southern California city of San Bernardino.
Huntington, West Virginia sees 26 heroin overdoses in four hours
By Naomi Spencer, 18 August 2016
Emergency responders revived 26 people Monday afternoon after an adulterated batch of heroin hit Huntington, West Virginia.
Affordable housing shortage in Detroit creates dire conditions for seniors
By a WSWS reporting team, 18 August 2016
WSWS reporters uncovered landlord neglect at a government-subsidized retirement building in Southwest Detroit.
The Louisiana flooding—a failure of American capitalism
By Patrick Martin, 17 August 2016
Eleven years after Hurricane Katrina, the social infrastructure and the US political system are no more prepared for a natural disaster.
Aetna pullout highlights pro-corporate, anti-working class character of Obamacare
By Kate Randall, 17 August 2016
Even as giant insurance firms are reducing their participation in the Obamacare exchanges, they are implementing gargantuan premium hikes on their remaining policies.
Residents speak on the impact of education cuts in Boone County, West Virginia
By Clement Daly and Naomi Spencer, 17 August 2016
After twice rejecting directives from the West Virginia Board of Education to slash its budget, the Boone County school board voted to cut salaries for educators.
“If something doesn’t happen, Boone County will cease to exist”
Resident of West Virginia coal mining community speaks on economic crisis
By Naomi Spencer, 17 August 2016
A mother of public schoolchildren in Boone County, West Virginia spoke to the WSWS about the impact of budget cuts and the collapse of the coal industry in the region.
Facebook livestream
SEP US vice presidential candidate Niles Niemuth discusses the police killing in Milwaukee
17 August 2016
SEP US vice presidential candidate Niles Niemuth spoke in a live interview with WSWS reporter Andre Damon about the class issues behind police violence.
Trump and Democrats compete on militarism and war
By Patrick Martin, 16 August 2016
The Republican presidential candidate called for a war of extermination against ISIS, while Democrats responded that Vladimir Putin’s Russia was an equally significant enemy.
Federal report slams Washington DC Metrorail maintenance program
By Alex Gonzalez and Brad Dixon, 16 August 2016
The dilapidated state of the commuter rail system in the nation’s capital is a stark reflection of the crisis and decay of American capitalism.
The social roots of unrest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
By Niles Niemuth, 16 August 2016
The growth of poverty and inequality, the eruption of social anger and the build-up of the police forces are interrelated components of the same class dynamic.
Wisconsin governor mobilizes National Guard after eruption of protests over police killing
By George Gallanis, 15 August 2016
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker declared a state of emergency in Milwaukee after protests Saturday night over the killing of 23-year-old Sylville Smith by Milwaukee police.
The real issues in the 2016 US elections
By Patrick Martin, 15 August 2016
Regardless of who wins in November, the ruling class is preparing a vast expansion of militarist violence and an intensification of the assault on the social and political rights of the working class.
White House seeks to cover up Central American migrant crisis
By Andrea Lobo, 15 August 2016
The new deal with Costa Rica, which will temporarily receive 200 of the 140,000 seeking asylum in the US, is intended to give a humanitarian face to an inhumane policy.
At least four dead, 18,000 rescued in historic flooding in Louisiana
By Tom Hall, 15 August 2016
A slow-moving weather system dumped record levels of rainfall on southern Louisiana, flooding thousands of homes and forcing thousands to flee to temporary shelters.
UFCW agrees to meager “pay raise” for Southern California grocery workers
By Jake Dean, 15 August 2016
After workers have been without a contract for over three months, and while many scrape by on part-time and meager wages, the union is pawning off the contract as a victory.
The impact of financial parasitism
Record US share prices amid economic slump and social decay
By Barry Grey, 13 August 2016
The surge in stock and bond prices has come amid mounting indications of stagnation in the real economy and a worsening social crisis.
The provocation in Crimea and the threat of world war
By Bill Van Auken, 13 August 2016
The terrorist attack in Crimea and ratcheting up of the war threat in Eastern Europe have exposed the real purpose of the anti-Putin hysteria in both the US election campaign and the Rio Olympics.
Tax return places Clintons in the top 0.02 percent of Americans
By Patrick Martin, 13 August 2016
Only 30,000 US families had incomes as high as the $10.6 million raked in by Bill and Hillary Clinton in 2015—and even that was a significant drop from the previous year.
Illinois community college drops racially segregated courses after public criticism
By Matthew Brennan, 13 August 2016
The decision by Moraine Valley Community College to drop segregated college-readiness courses, after an initial defense by school officials, came amid criticism from students and parents.
Gas explosion at Maryland apartment complex kills two, injures dozens
By Brad Dixon, 13 August 2016
Officials believe the explosion was caused by a gas leak.
The Justice Department’s whitewash of police violence in Baltimore, Maryland
By Niles Niemuth, 12 August 2016
The DOJ report on Baltimore is another in a series of investigations that will do nothing to stop the violence meted out by police on a daily basis.
Wall Street celebrates mass layoffs by Macy’s
By Patrick Martin, 12 August 2016
The largest US department store chain announced it would close 100 stores, which will likely eliminate more than 12,000 jobs.
WikiLeaks offers $20,000 reward over murder of DNC staffer linked to email leak
By E.P. Bannon, 12 August 2016
Rich was in charge of DNC voter expansion data and had access to a wide range of information about the inner workings of the Democratic Party.
Police violence in Los Angeles continues unabated
By Alan Gilman, 12 August 2016
An unarmed man mistaken for a carjacker, an unarmed homeless man on a bicycle and a 14-year-old youth allegedly engaged in graffiti are the latest victims.
Mosquitoes infect pregnant Florida woman with Zika
By Matthew MacEgan, 12 August 2016
Eight more people in Florida, including a pregnant woman, have contracted the Zika virus directly from mosquitoes.
US price of EpiPen for allergic reactions skyrockets
By Brad Dixon, 12 August 2016
The price of the EpiPen, relied on by millions to treat severe allergic reactions, has increased by 450 percent in the United States since 2004.
Illinois officials prepare all-out assault on state workers
By Alexander Fangmann, 12 August 2016
Republican governor Bruce Rauner is preparing to impose sweeping concessions on state workers with the complicity of AFSCME.
After the Sanders debacle
“Socialist Convergence” meets to prepare a new trap for the working class
By Gabriel Black and David Brown, 12 August 2016
The conference, which ran concurrently with the Democratic National Convention, promoted the Green Party presidential campaign of Jill Stein as the continuation of Bernie Sanders’ so-called “political revolution.”
Democrats, media seize on Trump pro-gun comment to step up right-wing campaign
By Barry Grey, 11 August 2016
The Democratic presidential campaign has evolved into an effort to forge a bipartisan consensus on the basis of right-wing militaristic policies.
What CIA Director Michael Hayden told President-Elect Barack Obama
By our reporter, 11 August 2016
Among other things, Hayden’s column in the Times demonstrates that Obama and Biden knew about the CIA program of abductions and torture from day one and kept their mouths shut.
New emails shed further light on Hillary Clinton’s corruption as secretary of state
By Evan Blake, 11 August 2016
A set of emails released Tuesday highlights the influence of the Clinton Foundation during Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state.
Justice Department investigation of Baltimore police finds rampant abuse
By Nick Barrickman, 11 August 2016
The investigation was requested by Baltimore city officials in the wake of widespread social unrest in the aftermath of the April 2015 police killing of Freddie Gray.
Chicago Public Schools announces 1,000 layoffs, threatens new cuts
By Kristina Betinis, 11 August 2016
In pressing teachers for major concessions, Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel is relying on the Chicago Teachers Union to suppress opposition.
US maternal death rate soars by 27 percent since 2000
By Kate Randall, 10 August 2016
The growing rate of death in childbirth is just one manifestation of the human toll taken by the vast and all-pervasive inequality and mass poverty that dominates American society.
The battle for Aleppo and the hypocrisy of US war propaganda
By Bill Van Auken, 10 August 2016
Fifteen years after launching a “global war on terror” in the name of wiping out Al Qaeda, Washington is arming and funding its associates in Syria to counter Russia.
Trump speech in Detroit: Tax cuts for the wealthy combined with nationalist demagogy
By Patrick Martin, 10 August 2016
Both Clinton and Trump are fully committed to increasing the wealth of the corporate and financial elite at the expense of working people.
Unsafe levels of carcinogenic chemicals found in drinking water of 6 million Americans
By James Brewer, 10 August 2016
A report from a Harvard University research team warns of the widespread impact in the US of particular unregulated industrial chemicals.
Unions seek to block struggle against education cuts in Boone County, West Virginia
By Clement Daly, 10 August 2016
The teachers unions are promoting illusions that the courts and the Democratic Party will defend public education and school employees.
Ten-year-old boy killed, three girls injured in separate US amusement park accidents
By Shelley Connor, 10 August 2016
Happening within a day of each other, the accidents shine a light on the dangerously under-regulated amusement park industry in the United States.
The United Steelworkers, economic nationalism and the US drive to war
By Evan Winters and Jerry White, 10 August 2016
The USW's calls for tariffs against “foreign steel” and its nationalist agitation against China are aimed at dragooning workers into supporting US imperialism’s preparations for war.
The national security state and the US elections
By Patrick Martin, 9 August 2016
A letter against Trump from 50 former top military-intelligence officials of Republican administrations is an unprecedented intervention into a presidential campaign.
Washington escalates covert backing for Al Qaeda militias in Aleppo
By Thomas Gaist, 9 August 2016
The CIA has aggressively funneled weaponry to Al Qaeda militias in Aleppo, enabling the US proxy forces to temporarily break the Syrian government’s encirclement of the city.
Massive Delta Airlines computer failure creates worldwide havoc
By Shannon Jones, 9 August 2016
The chaos is a product of the absurdity of the capitalist profit system, where four major airlines and about a dozen smaller rivals compete for air service in the US.
West Virginia coal miner killed in explosion
By Naomi Spencer, 9 August 2016
A coal miner died August 4 from burns sustained after a spark from his welder caused a massive ignition of the shaft on July 29.
Green Party convention: Left rhetoric in the service of pro-capitalist politics
By Evan Blake, 9 August 2016
In the aftermath of Sanders’ endorsement of Clinton, the Greens are posturing as a party opposed to austerity and war in order to keep workers and youth within the framework of bourgeois politics.
White House releases “guidance” for targeted killings
Obama’s drone-missile machinery of murder
By Patrick Martin, 8 August 2016
The document provides essentially unlimited authority to the CIA and Pentagon to conduct assassinations with drone-fired missiles, subject to review only by the White House.
Low-income retirees in the Detroit-area face abysmal housing conditions
By Debra Watson and Catherine Long, 8 August 2016
An acute lack of affordable housing along with deplorable conditions in existing housing stock has left tens of thousands without a safe and healthy place to live out their retirement.
New York City police commissioner Bratton resigns
By Philip Guelpa and Fred Mazelis, 8 August 2016
The abrupt resignation of the NYPD commissioner comes amid a counteroffensive in response to protests against police brutality and police killings over the past several years.
After the Paul O’Neal murder
Stop the police killings! Unite workers and youth of every race and nationality!
By Jerry White—SEP candidate for US president, 8 August 2016
Socialist Equality Party presidential candidate Jerry White issued the following statement after the release of video showing the brutal police murder of 18-year-old Paul O’Neal.
As Clinton seeks support from Republicans, Sanders hails her role in the “political revolution”
By Isaac Finn, 8 August 2016
Following the Democratic National Convention, Sanders has remained silent about leaked DNC emails as he seeks to bolster Hillary Clinton as a progressive candidate.
Chicago police warn of unrest after murder of teen
By Kristina Betinis, 6 August 2016
The July 28 murder of Paul O’Neal is the latest in a series of police killings around the US that have claimed the lives of nearly 700 victims so far this year.
Why the CIA is for Hillary Clinton
By Patrick Martin, 6 August 2016
The Clinton campaign is seeking to direct all anti-Trump sentiment in a right-wing, pro-war direction.
Clinton, Obama tout tepid US jobs report
By Shannon Jones, 6 August 2016
A closer look at the employment numbers for July reveals many indications of continuing economic stagnation and deepening hardship for wide layers of the population.
Purdue Pharma and the opioid epidemic
By Brad Dixon, 6 August 2016
Purdue Pharma’s marketing of the painkiller OxyContin has made the company billions, while contributing to the opioid epidemic in the United States.
International Socialist Organization calls for Greens to support US-backed “revolution” in Syria
By Marcus Day, 6 August 2016
The ISO, while formally endorsing the Green Party’s presumptive presidential candidate Jill Stein, criticized her for an insufficiently aggressive foreign policy towards Russia and Syria.
Clinton steps up right-wing appeal to Republicans and billionaires
By Tom Eley and Patrick Martin, 5 August 2016
The Democratic presidential campaign is using appeals to patriotism and militarism to woo Republican officials and the super-rich.
As strike enters second month
Owners announce plan to close Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort next month
By E.P. Bannon, 5 August 2016
Despite the owners’ claim that the strike caused the casino’s closure, the shutdown was planned far in advance.
New York Times covers up Obama administration’s role in Turkish coup
By Bill Van Auken, 5 August 2016
The combination of propaganda and disinformation makes it impossible to know where the CIA ends and the Times editorial board begins.
US homeownership rate falls to lowest level in 51 years
By Gabriel Black, 3 August 2016
Declining household income and rising rent prices are preventing workers and young people from owning homes.
Michigan Obamacare insurers request 17 percent premium hikes
By Kate Randall, 3 August 2016
Any premium increases will affect 345,000 people in Michigan, including Detroit city workers who have been forced onto the Obamacare insurance marketplace.
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