Million Student March at Cornell: ‘Retaking our democracy from the subversion of capitalism’
On Thursday, Cornell students and some faculty members took to Ho Plaza to protest issues like the minimum wage and student loan debt as part of the national campaign called the Million Student March.
The protests began their demonstration outside Willard Straight Hall, taking turns to deliver speeches. Some carried signs reading “No justice, no peace! No racist police!” and “Abolish the Board of Trustees” as well as a large banner reading “Total Liberation From Domination.” Afterwards, the protesters marched to Day Hall while reciting chants calling for divestment from fossil fuels and against so-called poverty wages.
One unidentified student said that “intense competition and ruthless individualism has replaced shared humanity” and that “this is about retaking our democracy from the subversion of capitalism.” Quoting Matt Taibbi of the Rolling Stone, he called capitalism “the great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.”
Another said that a $15 minimum wage was a step in the direction towards the “abolishment of the wage system.” This rhetoric shouldn’t be entirely surprising given the overwhelmingly one-sided political leanings of the campus. There was also extensive discussion and condemnation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, with students noting the lack of transparency surrounding its origination and terms and criticizing the potential loss of American jobs as a result of its adoption.
The protestors here at Cornell and on campuses across the nation specified four demands: tuition-free public college, cancellation of all student debt, a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers, and immediate divestment from all fossil fuel companies. These demands echo the national economic agenda of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who has similarly called for tuition-free public colleges and a national $15 minimum wage. Like Sanders, the protestors failed to mention how to pay for all of their demands.
In reality, these proposals are very expensive. As of now, there is about $1.3 trillion in outstanding student debt. Free public college is estimated to cost about $750 billion over 10 years. In addition, it is hard to predict the costs and other negative consequences of a $15 minimum wage, and fossil fuel divestment has been shown to be a complete sham. Such a high minimum wage is sure to put many low-income Americans out of work and increase the barriers to getting entry-level jobs, making upward social mobility even more difficult. Given all of this, how exactly do these students propose to pay for the trillions of dollars their demands will cost and justify the undue negative social repercussions?
The answer is that they have no idea. It is extremely easy to demand free stuff, but hard to figure out how to pay for it or work to earn it. Demanding freebies is a road that leads to nowhere.
