Word: meats
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...latest unrest was sparked by the government's abrupt announcement two weeks ago that food prices would soon triple or even quadruple- and the simultaneous word that meat rations would be cut by 20%, allotting each person only 6.6 lbs. per month (average U.S. consumption: 12.5 lbs.). That decree was one too many for the Poles, who must line up as long as 14 hours for basic foodstuffs. Moreover, between 30% and 50% of those standing in the queues go away empty-handed because of shortages of virtually everything. Even in the relatively well-supplied city of Cracow, window...
What he is doing, of course, is playing cold warrior. He cares little whether the men and women in Poland have enough meat to eat at night, whether or not they breathe dangerous chemicals on the job, whether or not they live with some measure of pride. Reagan does hope very much that they can beat down his rivals, the communists, for that would be good for Ronald Reagan, and good for business. But his support of capitalism and his opposition to communism are obviously not predicated on support for common people's happiness; that is something he and others...
...Solidarity is what Big Bill Haywood meant when he talked about "one big industrial union," able to bring a repressive, exploitative government of the bosses to its feet by the threat of a massive work stoppage. The Poles want a free press, mass on television, a full ration of meat, new faces in the cabinet, and the government knows it has no choice but to give in, or face absolute, unrepressible chaos. And by the same token, the workers are disciplined enough to know they cannot ask for the sky, because, quite simply, it cannot be produced...
...government will not be raising wages. The squeeze could turn out to be intolerable-and create even more unrest than before-although low- and middle-income Poles would be partially shielded from these increases by state subsidies. At the same time, the government announced a 20% cut in meat rations...
Foremost among them is a sick economy, currently groaning under a $27 billion foreign debt and a projected drop of 15% in national income for 1981. Wages have risen 20% in the past year, but there are far less consumer goods to buy. Meat, butter, sugar and cereals have been rationed for months, and still the queues grow longer. In Silesia, some miners reportedly have fainted because of malnutrition, and doctors report more ailments linked to poor diets...