Unless progressive reforms are undertaken (Chris mentions some in a later comment in another section, like investment in infrastructure, let firms fail, and criminal prosecutions, ets.) we are headed towards increasing privatization of society. This IS part of a grand scheme. Local, state, and federal govs will feel obligated, no matter the party in power, to sell assets to cover some of the debt accumulated in these buyouts. I see things like public school management, fire dept, and possibly police depts being partially or even fully privatized. There has already been the larger political social agenda since the 1970s to make marketization the conventional wisdom (false wisdom). So there will be less public resistance, especially if things like pensions supposedly depend upon these transfers. This has happened all around the world…stress the financial markets, demand gov bailouts, which in stresses the solvency of the gov and makes it ripe pickings for privatization. This has happend all around the world and at other scales in the US under this long-term neoliberal agenda.I work in higher ed. If lending stops, student loans stop and students no longer can attend college. Of course this has long term effects. The immediate effects are that there is suddenly a large working age population added to work force competition. At the same time, academic and othe professionals are put out of work. This has reverberations in absolutely every industry since it was all propogated by easy lending. EEK!
shudder
What a horrible image. While nationalizing various industries in an ineffective and destructive way turning around and ‘privatizing’ all the ‘industries’ that absolutely shouldn’t be. Worse, it is entirely plausible, as it matches everything that has happened in the last 10 years.
It should scare the hell out of anyone. Unfortunately, most Americans have been spoon fed so much pro-Capitalist anti-Communist propaganda (Curtsy the era called the Cold War) that few of them will really grasp what the big deal is. So I’ll explain it:
Socialism and capitalism are two separate tools. Somethings things work better socialized: Military, Policing, Roads, Fire Departments, Medicine – as proven by most of the world. Somethings are better left to a free market: Investment banks, Retail stores, Television.
Its not a matter of socialism or capitalism being ‘better’ in general. It is more a matter of which is better for the specific job. Pure idealism, as usual, breeds pure stupidity.
On the bright side though, who we going to sell our roads to when all the companies are out of cash. =)
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Steve