About 30 people participated in the walk out. We demonstrated in a part of campus where lots of students passed by, so I was able to give away all of our leaflets in about five minutes. Students walking by, as well as some of the people participating in the walkout, showed interest in the perspective we shared in our leaflets. We need to keep agitating, finding more folks who agree with us, so that we can grow our movement against capitalism, imperialism and fascism!
– OS-FIU member
Wednesday, 11/29/17 – Students and faculty at Florida International University (FIU) walked out of work and classes in protest of the proposed tax bill that has cleared the House of Representatives.
One Struggle – FIU participated to bring attention to the fact that this version of the tax bill is not the problem. Republicans and Democrats aren’t the problem. CAPITALISM IS THE PROBLEM.
Below is the text from the leaflet they handed out. Check it out.
Here’s a link to the PDF version of the flyer – Tax break, grad school, debt – Feel free to use, share, or edit it.
STUDENTS UNITE!
This is not just about taxes — it’s about a toxic form of capital accumulation & the whole capitalist system.
The House of Representatives passed a bill that would tax graduate students’ tuition waivers and end deductions for student loan interest. If this bill passes, it means that students already sinking into debt as tuition and costs of living continue to increase, will find themselves buried even deeper.
FIU faculty members point out that the structure of universities heavily depends on underpaid graduate students to work as assistants for professors teaching huge classes. Their research is also often used to generate grants/funds for the university from corporations. Students were already being dominated by a capitalist education system, but as capitalism faces a structural crisis, this tax plan makes clear there is no room left for any progressive veneers. It must capitalize everything. Education and “tax plans” are both about capital accumulation for the capitalist class.
Let’s recognize these “tax cuts” for what they are – an assault on students as well as workers and the poor. The only beneficiaries are owners of national and transnational corporations who make a profit from the exploitation of labor. What we need to understand is that none of this is coincidental — and neither is it a mere dispute between Democrat and Republican politicians. This is a structural trait of capitalism.
As capitalism falls deeper into crisis, we will see the gutting of education, basic bourgeois democratic rights, and privatization of all elements of life… that is, unless we fight back.
WE NEED TO RESIST, ORGANIZE AND PLAY OUR ROLE IN BUILDING A POPULAR MASS MOVEMENT.
STAND UP. FIGHT BACK. ORGANIZE!
If this resonates with you, get in touch.
Email OS-FIU: OneStruggle.FIU@gmail.com
Email OS-MIA: OneStruggle.SouthFlorida@gmail.com
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