On March 21 of this year, the immigrant worker rights movement was reborn with hundreds of thousands protesting in Washington, D.C. An “immigration reform” bill is being discussed in the halls of power, co-sponsored by Democrat Charles Schumer and Republican Lindsey Graham. While many immigrants’ rights activists are excited for the prospect of this bill passing, the legislation would leave many workers as indentured servants under a guest worker program while tax-payer money would be wasted on militarization of the border.

All around the country it’s the same story: state and local governments are short on cash and saying they have to cut spending on education, health care, and other social services. They have to lay off public employees or cut their wages and benefits. Devastating budget cuts are being implemented in almost all U.S. states, which are now running an estimated $375 billion combined deficit.

After the immense hopes placed by millions of Americans in Obama, the Democrats have again shown themselves for what they really are: a party beholden to the interest of big business.

According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2007, African Americans still can expect to live 6-10 fewer years than whites and face higher rates of illness.

Though restrictions on abortion got the most attention in the media, the recent health care bill fails women in a variety of ways beyond President Obama’s anti-abortion executive order.

In 2003, then Illinois State Senator Obama gave a speech before a union audience, laying out the potential for introducing real universal health care – a single-payer plan. “I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program. But … first we have to take back the White House, we have to take back the Senate, and we have to take back the House.”

President Obama and the Democrats have finally thrust aside the obstructionist Republicans and passed health reform. Declaring “a new season in America,” Obama has promised that coverage will be extended to more than 30 million people. Some repulsive practices of insurers will be curbed with new regulations. While most reforms will not be implemented until years down the road, some changes this year will benefit children, young people, and the elderly.

On March 4, 2010, coalitions of unions, student organizations, and community groups rallied around the country, staging strikes, teach-ins, and protests, as part of the National Day to Defend Education.

CORE - the Caucus of Rank and File Educators - is a group of teachers who work for the Chicago Board of Education and who recently put together, through a democratic internal election process, a slate that is challenging the incumbent leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union in the elections this May.

Oregon has a history of rejecting sales tax and other regressive tax increases, but now the state faces a large budget deficit. To cover $727 million of this deficit, measures 66 and 67 increase the corporate minimum tax, paid by two thirds of corporations that do business in Oregon, to $150, and an increase on income tax paid by the highest 3% of earners.

In February, the school board in Central Falls, Rhode Island, the poorest and most densely populated city in the state, voted to fire all 93 teachers and staff at the city’s only high school because it is allegedly “failing.” On March 1, speaking before the US Chamber of Commerce, President Obama cited this mass firing as a model of how to hold schools and teachers “accountable.” The local school board was actually following one of four “turn around” models the Obama administration has put forward for districts to get a share of the $3.5 billion School Improvement Grant.

There is a palpable feeling of euphoria that extends beyond Washington over the passage of what is known as the Obama Health Care bill in the House of Representatives. The US Health Care Act passed with a narrow majority of 219-212 with not a single Republican vote in favor – despite Obama’s and the Democrats’ efforts to make the bill as attractive as possible to the conservative Republican base. There is something to be said about scoring a victory against the Tea Partiers and the frenzied right-wing demagogues that seemed to have captured the airwaves the last few months. But, sadly, it’s a hollow victory.

The nation-wide protests of students and education workers against budget cuts to schools on March 4 was the most significant day of resistance to the economic downturn since the crisis erupted in 2008. It is an important harbinger of bigger struggles to come.

In his State of the Union address, Obama boldly announced a three-year spending freeze starting in 2011 that will affect every area of the budget except the “Defense” budget, Veterans Administration, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. This threatens funding for education, transportation, fiscal aid to state governments, housing and food assistance, all kinds of regulatory agencies and many other as yet unknown essential social programs.

In 2009, Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire and the Democrat super-majority in the state legislature wrung out a $9 billion deficit through an all-cuts budget, hacking away at everything in sight from education and health care to services for children, the poor, and the elderly. Big business and the rich, by contrast, escaped unscathed – the state’s regressive tax system remained horrendously skewed in favor of corporations like Boeing, Microsoft, Weyerhauser, Amazon, and the rich who own them.