A New Way Forward – Restore the Economy in the Public's Interest

A couple years ago, Naomi Klein wrote a book called, The Shock Doctrine. Basically, she documented the global pattern of the last few decades where a nation hit with a crisis — natural, financial, political — would become open game for Randian, Friedmanite, University of Chicago sociopaths, who would insist on fire sales for public assets, placing the society further under the control of mega-corporations and the local looting class. Asia, Russia, South America, and Africa the paradigm and documentation was distressing. Today’s Wall Street Journal article on the fire sale of local government assets across the US demonstrates the Shock Doctrine remains alive and well, while the dominant economic doctrine of the past three decades, the worship of sociopaths, remains firmly entrenched.

The Journal’s story begins:

Cities and states across the nation are selling and leasing everything from airports to zoos—a fire sale that could help plug budget holes now but worsen their financial woes over the long run.

California is looking to shed state office buildings. Milwaukee has proposed selling its water supply; in Chicago and New Haven, Conn., it’s parking meters. In Louisiana and Georgia, airports are up for grabs.

About 35 deals now are in the pipeline in the U.S., according to research by Royal Bank of Scotland’s RBS Global Banking & Markets. Those assets have a market value of about $45 billion—more than ten times the $4 billion or so two years ago, estimates Dana Levenson, head of infrastructure banking at RBS. Hundreds more deals are being considered, analysts say.

Let’s not forget who is in the middle of all these deals — Wall Street. Here you have a list drawn-up by the Royal Bank of Scotland, one of the biggest pigs in the pen, recipient of one of the largest bailouts in history, now listing US public assets on the block for cheap. Follow the whole story-line folks. Wall Street, with a great deal of criminal fraud, tanks the US and global economy, gets bailed out by your tax dollars, and continues to survive largely through Fed cheap money and other public subsidies. Instead of anyone going to jail, they go on a shopping-spree, using your money, buying your public assets made cheap by the economic collapse they engineered. There you go folks, that is the US economy 2010. If you can tell me how its any different than Mob activity, aside no one goes to jail and it’s much much more lucrative, let me know. Don’t forget, all this is aided and abetted by YOUR elected officials.

In one of the better notes of our public officials’ culpability, a must watch interview(tx zerohedge) with former Fed Governor Fred Mishkin, who was paid $124,000 to write a paper on how Iceland was the picture of financial stability a year before the whole thing crashed — good work if you can get it.

Finally, Doug Noland has a good piece in the Asia Times on the last bubble, sovereign debt. John Hussman has good piece on whether the Fed can tank the dollar with their next round of QE, remember the Royal Bank of Scotland said a couple months ago, it needed to be ten trillion dollars. That should do it! My advise, hold-off on purchasing US public assets, the deals haven’t even started.

Let it Rock.