It Can't Happen Here... Except It IS.

     I actually put off this post for a day or two, trying to organize my thoughts, conquer my terror, and find a way to be reasonable about it.


     That didn't work, so here I am.  I'd like very much for you to check this out.

       In my mind, this amounts to a couple of different things.  First, and foremost, I agree with Ms. Maddow that this is a blatant power-grab.  See Wisconsin, see Ohio.  These are the people that "we" voted into office; as we say down here in the Islands, "what you will not hear, you will feel".  Imagine there was NO recall effort, or "move your money" effort in Wisconsin right now.  Please see this.  If this latest deal finishes itself, and it seems apparent that it will, what then?  It's the inevitability of it that makes me nauseous.  


     The idea that a conservative state governor, or legislature, could actually remove elected officials in the name of a so-called "budget emergency" makes my gut churn.  To add a little salt, the idea that those same entities could then replace those officials with their own hand-picked leaders fills my heart with terror.  This is, literally, in my twisted mind, the Tea Party on crack.


     Problem is, it's WORKING. Jesus Christ, already. 


     Okay, on down the slippery slope: Your Town is now declared to be in a Budget Emergency.  Your Town no longer gets a council, no longer has a mayor, no longer has a taxation authority, courtesy of Big Brother Governor, who sees that you are in trouble and can't possibly take care of yourselves in this "time of crisis".  


     Who's in charge, then?  Well, somebody your Benevolent Benefactor sees as fit to be in charge, that's who.  One person.  Hired person.  Not elected, not subject to recall, basically a "President For Life" of Your Town, USA.  And, who shall it be?  You won't know until they show up for 'work'.  You won't be told, you won't have a voice, you won't have a CHOICE; Governor-Daddy's gonna do all that 'hard thinking' for you, and pick a "winner" for Your Town.  


     Whether you like it or not.  Did I mention Governor-Daddy's gonna cut off all your local and county funding to make sure this happens?  See the link above, or Google the latest and greatest on this event.  Governor-Daddy's gonna pick someone really 'cool' in his eyes to 'help you out', and make the painful decisions that you just couldn't face.


     Your Town is gonna 'take some medicine', 'mend its ways', or otherwise toe the governor's line until he says stop.  Yeah, Democracy!


     Important side note: the Federal Government has recently denied individual states the ability to declare bankruptcy, in ANY form.  So, you're a conservative governor, your state is broke, and you're left with the bills from the counties, and cities, of your state to fill in the checks for.  You don't have the cash.  You and your predecessors have failed to put aside money for all the needs of the cities and counties during the boom times, and now those times are gone, and revenue has gone down the tubes.  You MUST, by law, present a balanced budget, somehow.  What better way to do this than to cut off funding and fund-matching to all the little cities and towns in your state?  Let's face it, it's a no-brainer (a specialty of the right-wing, IMHO).  Guess what that makes for?  You guessed it, a Budget Emergency, and here we are, back at the beginning of this whole mess.


    Or, as I think of it, the end of the Great American Democracy Experiment.


    Okay, so here we are: who's gonna 'clean up' Your Town?  And here's where the wording of the bill gets dicey, even for this Draconian bullshit:  the legislation itself does NOT delineate between a "person" and a "corporation" in naming the 'entity' who will 'clean up' Your Town.  Could be Bob Evans, or George Soros, or it could be Verizon.  Imagine, you grew up in Avon Lake, Ohio, and now it's been re-named Verizon Lake, Ohio.  Or Boeing Lake, Ohio.


     But, why stop there?  What about Sony Lake, Ohio?  Or Toshiba Lake?  Or Samsung Lake?


     And this brings me to my second point:  Why has America lost so much of its manufacturing base?  Wages.  Benefits.  Retirement.  Why pay someone $25.00 an hour to make those oven mitts you use every day, when you can pay some poor slob in Thailand $.25 cents A DAY to make fifty pair?  Who needs paid holidays?  These hard-working Asians don't.  They just want to EAT, and food prices are through the roof these days, so they'll work until they drop over, and send their kids to work for themselves if they're sick.  


     Sorry to have to break it to you, but Ross Perot was right... out-sourcing, although he only saw it in limited scope, has been the scourge of the American manufacturing base, and the fact is, we don't "make things" much here anymore, unless you count bizarre and byzantine financial instruments designed to strip you of any wealth you can possibly accumulate.  All legal and taxation incentives to prevent out-sourcing have been gone since the late 90's, and yes, I was a Clinton fan, but DAMN, he helped screw us over, too.


     So, I want to tie this together for you: we have two problems, and they can be bundled together all nice and neat by this new wave of Non-Democracy.  One: the states are broke (thanks to the Fed, bought and paid for by the corporate oligarchy).  Two: the states are using their unallowed bankruptcy to qualify them for basically selling off their contiguous parts: their cities and counties.  If you don't like it, screw off.  By putting the Your Town's of their states up for bidding, they can not only pay off their bills, they can set the stage for the last, final equalizer to out-sourcing:


    Wage parity.


    With Third World Countries.


    How?  Think of all the folks who 'couldn't' leave New Orleans during Katrina.  In 2005.  Sure, if you've got the means, and you have a job, or a job to go to (where?), you can leave 'Verizon Lake, Ohio', but what if you don't?  What if you can't? And, there you have it, a built-in, captive work-force.  What about your mortgage?  No problem, says the new Manager of Verizon Lake, we'll take care of that; our subsidiary works with Bank of America, and we'll take over payments for you, as long as you sign this Work Agreement.  Wages?  Well, we can't pay you much, since we're paying for your housing, but hey, that bill's off your plate, right?  Can't afford groceries?  Hey, we'll help with that; you can have unlimited credit at our grocery store; whatever it takes to keep you fed... and working.


    Car payment?  No problem; but you realize we won't be able to pay you much after we negotiate a payment with your dealership.  We want you here; you're a 'great worker'.


     Realize that, once those little 'things' are taken care of by the Emergency Financial Management Company, that minimum wage laws no longer apply.  And there you go, unable to move, having "finally" found work, but work that brings its own poison into your home, your car, your family.


     This, in its rawest form, is the end of the America, the USA, as we know or knew it.




     Do you have the means to move?  Who is in your village?  Can you save your family, or yourself, from this latest, most blatant, attack on your ability to survive?  What are you willing to contribute, to another country, or another village, to earn your new citizenship?  Because this is what it all boils down to, one way or another: where can I be a citizen with basic freedoms?  Not in Michigan, apparently, or anywhere in the midwest.  How long till it spreads?  How long till Arizona runs out of assets to sell and lease back?  How long before the new Emergency Financial Manager of "My Town" sends me a notice of my new 'job' and the money I will be making?


     It is NOW, and I do mean, NOW, time to stand, and be true.  To yourselves, to the ones you love, to the country you remember.  


     Will you stand?


     Will you be true?


     Brutal Truth