CCDS Statements

"Crisis in the Gulf of Mexico – How Shall We Respond?"

Statement by the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism

June 2010

The Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico can only be characterized as horrendous. But what can be done about it? The immediate issues are

• Stopping the volcano of oil spewing from the wrecked well a mile beneath the Gulf.
• Emergency action to prevent any more oil from reaching the wetlands and shores of the Gulf states.
• Repairing the economic and ecological devastation that has been produced.

It seems all but impossible. We can blame BP for putting their super-profits ahead of the lives and welfare of the people of our country, which they did. We can blame the U. S. government for failing to enforce laws intended to protect the environment, which it did. Ultimately we can blame an energy policy that feeds our addiction to fossil fuels spewing toxic substances into our air and water and threatening the survival of civilization through catastrophic climate change. But none of that will stop the oil or clean up the disaster. Unless serious measures are proposed and taken on an emergency basis, none of that will prevent another disaster either. The solution depends on politics and science coming together. We need science to chart a course of action and we need politics – political leadership and political will – to make it happen. New laws and action by the Executive Branch are required, and that will not happen without a massive and united demand by the people to make it so.

This is what needs to be done to stop the oil volcano

• The U. S. Government must declare a national emergency and take charge of arresting the flow of oil into the Gulf based on the best science available and sparing no expense.
• Masses of people should be deployed in the containment and cleanup effort, based on the best science, to minimize the destruction of the Gulf environment and economic life. First priority for hiring in the effort should be given to those hurt most directly by the crisis.
• These measures must be implemented transparently, with full accountability to the people, and the full cost born by British Petroleum Corp.

What happened in the Gulf?

The Deepwater Horizon disaster was predictable. It was a governmental and corporate crime. It was an inevitable result of the failure to adequately evaluate hazards and oversee oil company operations. It has been exacerbated by the corporate monopoly on technology for carrying out these operations at depths of 5,000 feet or more. (read entire statement) (Download PDF).

Click here to download "Gulf Leak Spill Meter" for your web site.

Article of the Week

What States and the Economy Lost When the Senate Jobs Bill Failed

by CBPP (Center on Budget & Policy Priorities)

The Senate’s failure to pass its version of jobs legislation, which would have extended federal assistance to states, will force the states – which are struggling with an unprecedented drop in revenues due to the recession – to make even deeper spending cuts and raise taxes even more than otherwise in order to balance their budgets. These actions will slow the economic recovery and raise the risk of a double-dip recession as the loss of spending power ripples through the economy.

Due to the deep and long recession, states are about to begin a third consecutive year of severely depressed revenues (fiscal year 2011 begins July 1 in most states). Under the Recovery Act (ARRA) passed last year, states received additional federal funding to support their Medicaid programs. This additional support is scheduled to expire on December 31st of this year, right in the middle of state fiscal year 2011. The legislation that the Senate defeated this afternoon would have provided a 6-month extension of the additional support. (Read entire Report)