From Tim Cook's "Speaking up on racism," an open letter posted Thursday:
Right now, there is a pain deeply etched in the soul of our nation and in the hearts of millions. To stand together, we must stand up for one another, and recognize the fear, hurt, and outrage rightly provoked by the senseless killing of George Floyd and a much longer history of racism.
That painful past is still present today — not only in the form of violence, but in the everyday experience of deeply rooted discrimination. We see it in our criminal justice system, in the disproportionate toll of disease on Black and Brown communities, in the inequalities in neighborhood services and the educations our children receive.
While our laws have changed, the reality is that their protections are still not universally applied. We’ve seen progress since the America I grew up in, but it is similarly true that communities of color continue to endure discrimination and trauma...
This is a moment when many people may want nothing more than a return to normalcy, or to a status quo that is only comfortable if we avert our gaze from injustice. As difficult as it may be to admit, that desire is itself a sign of privilege. George Floyd’s death is shocking and tragic proof that we must aim far higher than a “normal” future, and build one that lives up to the highest ideals of equality and justice.
Full text here.
My take: As a pale-faced male, I've struggled with what I could possibly say of any value about the events of the past 10 days. What Cook came up with ain't bad for a white dude.
“…capitalism may yet redeem itself…”
Is it capitalism that needs to redeem itself, or our particular form of democracy? I’d say our problems stem from the reality that our form of democracy isn’t sufficiently insulated from capitalism.
He said the same thing a few days ago, but it’s a message that bears repeating.
“Normal” and “sane” don’t necessarily mean the same thing. We can’t afford to “get used to” the idea of racial injustice. Indeed, we have become overly complacent on many fronts. Reminds me of the old adage: “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”
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Other democracies have strong healthcare, social security, protection of workers’ rights, lifetime educational opportunities, new baby home-time, taxing the rich fairly, generous vacations, humane policing, and the thoughtful licensing of personal weapons.
Maybe, someday, we’ll care for each other enough that a small portion of the great wealth and income of our country will be spent on using our assets and revenue to ensure opportunity and a safety net for all of us.
‘He’ = ‘One blogging economist”
NZ “normal”
* Healthcare free for all, we squabble over waiting lists, special care, but it is free. We have a single desk purchasing drugs, pissing off US corporates, but making drugs affordable.
* Social Security is available for all, on experience Lawyers can get it.
* Workers rights – we have long had protection for workers, including minimum pay rates (~$20ph), leave (3 weeks, plus two public hol weeks), redundancy rights
Lifetime education – this was removed under the last government, but returned recently – free.
New Baby time – available by legislation
Taxing the rich, a progressive tax system, people on the minimum wage usually pay no tax, but we have a top tax rate of 33%
Vacations – usually 4 weeks
Humane policing – our police do not carry arms – although they are also prone to racial profiling so we have a way to go
Personal weapons – we used to be like the US, but the Christchurch massacre changed that, rules were changed a lot.
May I suggest the opposite (with a slight modification)? That our capitalism is not sufficiently insulated from our government. In other words, the cost of a good or service should be determined by the will of the people (those willing to supply a product, and those willing to buy it), as opposed to a committee of people of power telling us what we should want or allowed to buy and at what price (control demand) or what we should do or allowed to do (control supply). Obviously the process can be very complicated, and I’d be the first to agree that the process needs governmental oversight. But oversight is not controlling and determining the outcome, but making sure the process is just and fair. The outcome should be determined by the will of the people.
If we amended the ADA & the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to include individuals from social, cultural, economic, educational & environmentally deprived backgrounds so that Federal/State Rehabilitation Services Programs could provide needed vocational counseling, guidance, training & job placement services then this would be a critical step in streamlining individuals chained by society’s benign neglect into the mainstream of our capitalistic fraternity.