Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Gov. Paterson and the Shock Doctrine

Gov. Paterson and The Shock Doctrine______________________________
Gov. Paterson is applying the Shock Doctrine.
Naomi Klein's bestseller, The Shock Doctrine, is a good read. Her thesis is that the Milton Friedman radical economists use natural and political crises to impose radical private market policies. These radical policies would never be supported by the mass citizens under normal conditions.
Klein uses the examples of New Orleans, Iraq, Chili, and the current Bush call for off shore oil drilling as examples of the Shock Doctrine in practice. Post-Katrina New Orleans has become the petri dish for radical Friedman shock therapy.
Gov. Paterson is using shock to possibly impose Friedman-type radical private market solutions.
Selling off state bridges, roads, and other assets is radical.A property tax cap is radical and can have long-term negative consequences . Why not propose a circuit breaker instead?Projecting budget deficits three years out is radical and not realistic.Even calling the Legislature back 3 months before an election is radical. And could benefit the Senate GOP Conference.
One thing is for sure and that is the state is far too dependent on Wall Street revenues.
cannonruminations.blogspot.com

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