Another DC is Possible!
Why does the District of Columbia have such a high poverty rate, low life expectancy for its majority, and huge income gap between the wealthy and the rest of its community?
The process: urban Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), IMF style, in place for over a decade.
The policy and its impact:
Erosion of democracy, Privatization of municipal services and public property including schools, Tax cuts for the rich, corporations, DC's taxes now more regressive than ever, Cuts and inadequate funding of basic social services including education, gentrification and lack of affordable housing for our working class majority, Persistent poverty of a large fraction of our children, Shockingly low life expectancy and an infant mortality rate that is significantly higher than the national average for our African-American residents, Destruction of our only public hospital, DC General, Continued denial of quality medical care to a large fraction of our residents, Inadequate income security, The nation's widest income gap between rich and poor, and The heavy weight of corporate financing of our established political leaders, corroding our democratic process.
The instigators: Regional Corporate Elite, their arm the Federal City Council. Their political instruments: with few exceptions our elected government
The winners: the most affluent, especially the millionaires and multimillionaires
The losers: the great majority of DC, especially low income and working class residents
The remedy: Unity, Courage, Resolve; Organize and Fightback!
Our Victory: Justice and equality, the future that our children deserve, the other DC that is possible:
Living wage/income, Clean Air and Water, 21st Century Education and Jobs, a Green DC
Who is the Federal City Council?
(for more details go to their website: http://www.federalcitycouncil.org)
Frank Keating President (Former Republican Governor of Oklahoma, strong Bush supporter)
John Hill CEO (Executive Director, DC Control Board, June 1995 —April 1999)
Terence Golden Chairman (Chairman and CEO, Bailey Capital Corporation)
Donald Graham VP, Membership & Finance (Chairman of the Board of the Washington Post)
More on Structural Adjustment Programs:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/3/structural-adjustment-a-major-cause-of-poverty
Structural Adjustment—a Major Cause of Poverty
Author And Page Information
* by Anup Shah
* This Page Last Updated Monday, July 02, 2007
References cited in Wikipedia article, Structural Adjustment
* Chossudovsky, Michel. The Globalization of Poverty and the New World Order. Global Research, 2003
* Davis, Mike. "Planet of Slums". NLR, 2005
* Moore, David The World Bank: Development, Poverty, Hegemony", UKZN press, 2007
* Perkins, J. Confessions of an Economic Hitman. Random House, 2005.
* SAPRIN, (Structural Adjustment Participatory Review International Network) Structural Adjustment: The SAPRI Report. Zed Books, 2004
* Stiglitz, J. Globalization and its Discontents. Penguin Press, 2002.
* Desai, Manisha. Transnational Solidarity: Women's Agency, Structural Adjustment, and Globalization
* Juhasz, Antonia. The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time. HaperCollins, 2006.
