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A call to action Oct. 24-27

Bail out the people—not the bankers

Nationally coordinated, local mass actions

Published Oct 8, 2008 8:27 PM

The following call to action—initiated by the youth group Fight Imperialism, Stand Together and endorsed by the Ad Hoc National Network to Stop Foreclosures & Evictions, the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures & Evictions, Women’s Fightback Network & Troops Out Now Coalition—was raised and approved at an emergency meeting of 100 activists in New York on Oct. 4. To endorse, email [email protected].

Organize marches and demonstrations in front of banks—especially JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citibank—or at your local federal reserve bank; organize a teach-in or a public hearing on the Wall St. crisis.

These are some of the growing list of demands that activists will be raising at events between Oct 24-27:

Emergency moratorium on home foreclosures and evictions
No budget cuts in education, heath care and all social services
No layoffs—extend unemployment benefits
No utility shutoffs
Debt relief for students, poor and working people
Protect public and private pensions
Jobs at a living wage

We are outraged Congress has approved a $700-billion bailout of the banks.

At a time of massive home foreclosures, job layoffs, rising food prices and cutbacks in social services, including education, how dare these politicians hand out billions of dollars to the filthy rich!

Students and youth have seen their jobs and student loans disappear, while we and our families scramble to make ends meet. An Associated Press writer noted that $700 billion could pay the average wages of 22 million people in the U.S. for a year—or pay off the total outstanding student loan debt, which is currently at $550 billion—or cover universal health care for six years.

We know that NOW is the time to ACT. These politicians, in the pockets of big business, have only their interests in mind. It’s up to us to fight for our rights and needs.

With that in mind, we are calling for nationally coordinated, local days of action on the weekend of October 24 through 27.

We are asking for grassroots, community and youth organizations, trade unionists, anti-racist forces, the anti-war movement and everyone who’s just mad as hell about the “bailout” to both endorse this call and take ownership of it—plan actions during this time in your cities across the country.

During this unprecedented economic crisis, we must mobilize, organize and fight back until the demand becomes reality—bail out the people, not the bankers!