Corporate Coup d’état Coming Soon to a City Near You

[marmar]

Published on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 by CommonDreams.org
Corporate Coup d’état Coming Soon to a City Near You

by Rania Khalek


In her book The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein demonstrates how wealthy elites often use times of crisis and chaos to impose unpopular policies that restructure economies and political systems to further advance their interests. She calls these orchestrated raids on the public sphere in the wake of catastrophic events, combined with the treatment of disasters as exciting market opportunities, “disaster capitalism.”

Disaster capitalism is on display around the country, as legislators use the debt crisis afflicting their states as an opportunity to hollow out the public sector. In Michigan it’s being packaged as “emergency financial management” by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who is looking to exploit an economic crisis that has left his state with a severe budget deficit. In March, Snyder signed a law granting state-appointed emergency financial managers (EFM) the ability to fire local elected officials, break teachers’ and public workers’ contracts, seize and sell assets, and eliminate services, entire cities or school districts, all without any public input. He claims these dictatorial restructuring powers will keep Michigan communities out of bankruptcy.

Michigan currently has unelected EFM’s in charge of the schools in Detroit, as well as the cities of Pontiac, Ecorse, and Benton Harbor. In Benton Harbor, the city’s elected mayor and city commissioners were stripped of all power by unelected EFM, Joseph Harris. Harris issued an order saying the city commissioners have no power beyond calling meetings to order, approving minutes, and adjourning meetings. This decimation of local democracy is spreading. Robert Bobb, the EFM that has taken over Detroit’s public school system, sent layoff notices to all of the district’s 5,466 unionized employees. Bobb says he will exercise his power as EFM to unilaterally modify the district’s collective bargaining agreement with the Federation of Teachers starting May 17, 2011.

ACLU of Michigan Executive Director Kary Moss said the law raises concern about separation of powers, its impact on minority communities, collective-bargaining rights and privatization of services. She is absolutely correct. Faced with a deficit, emboldened EFMs can sell off public property to developers, close public schools and authorize charter schools, and void union contracts with literally no recourse for local, tax-paying residents or their elected officials to stop it. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/20-5

[cliffordu]

1. What is this governor going to do if the asshole he sends in to

dissolve a city council winds up in a 50 gallon drum at the edge of town?

Could be that some people in some municipalities won't stand for this bullshit.

[Angry Dragon]

3. People disappear everyday in this country

[Uncle Joe]

2. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, marmar.

[Auggie]

4. All I can add has already been said... Wake up America

[HereSince1628]

5. Tea-Party Anyone?

Amazingly the Tea-partiers don't understand the complaints the colonist had against the Crown.

If they did, they'd recognize that the Emergency Financial Acts are the very things the signers of the Declaration of Independence were complaing about--the dissolution of local government and appointed managers who enforced rules made withouth the input of the People.

Don't believe me, I'm nobody. Read the Declaration of Independence particularly the 5th, 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd grievances expressed there.

The Declaration is published in plain text here http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/ , so even t-baggers who cannot read cursive English -could- read and get a dose of eye-openning about what their misleaders are doing to all of us.

[Vinnie From Indy]

6. One would think that the local government could still make this extremely

difficult for the new manager. I can come up with a dozen ways to make running the city extremely difficult for an outsider. Everything from no trash pickup to unexpected utility work to hyper-vigilant parking and towing enforcement. The people that live in and care about Benton Harbor could make implementing drastic changes very difficult. Having an auction to sell public assets? Sorry, the streets are closed due to a leaky sewer, there was a bomb threat, rabid dogs are loose and some juvenile delinquents must have changed all the street signs last night.

I would propose that the local governments effected brush up on their Sun-Tzu and implement a "death by a thousand cuts" mentality.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

8. Benton Harbor was in economic shambles and admitied prior to this

The state has the obligation to step in and clean things up. What would you have them do instead?

[Vinnie From Indy]

11. To be honest, I anm not at all familiar with the nature of the financial problems in Benton Harbor

I guess we will have to wait and see how this works out. I fear it will not be good.

[marmar]

13. It won't be. The Republicans in Michigan don't give a damn about Benton Harbor.....

...... this is nothing more than a thinly-veiled attempt to sell off the Commons to corporate interests.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

15. You are most likely right about the repukes not caring...but the city was in a major mess

much of which appears to be self induced by incompetence in key positions. Also remember that the city started this process in 2009 with a request to the state by the city manager for financial review.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. Many do not realize that this process started at the request of the City Manager of Benton Harbor

http://www.bentonharborcity.com/CoBH%20Financial%20Plan%202010.pdf halfway down the first page. Skim the rest of it, it is enlightening about just how messed up the city is.

[fasttense]

21. Well, they can do what has happened in the past..

Assign a financial manager to work with the people and elected officials and not take over. That's what has been done in the past. The assigned manager is not given dictatorial powers equal to a king. He merely helps them set up a successful system.

And it would help if the $5,000 a day gulf course were not planned for the lake side park. If the park is attracting a development corporation for the rich it certainly must have something the city could exploit to help get them out of the financial hole.

How about working a deal with the development corporation to allow free access of the course by the citizens of the city in exchange for some fees or taxes.

There is a lot that can be done besides a hostile take over.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. The concern about the use of EFMs ignores that those cities/districts are in shambles

and subject to some kind of state takeover. Michigan uses EFMs, other states take other approaches. As I understand it, the EFM can also raise taxes.

While appointing someone with plenipotentiary powers is not something I like to see either, we need to remember that something had to be done.

[Vinnie From Indy]

9. Hmmmm.... what must be done?

Hey, let's sell the prime waterfront parkland to one of our wealthy land developing campaign contributors? After that we can look into busting the unions and finding a place to let one of our other campaign contributors open a toxic waste dump. Maybe we could tear down the library and put it there. Who will complain and who would listen?

Cheers!

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. Here are some background links worth reading on how bad Benton Harbor is

http://www.bentonharborcity.com/2010%20Audit%20Report.pdf
http://theblackbottom.com/?p=2704
http://www.bentonharborcity.com/CoBH%20Financial%20Plan%202010.pdf
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/sw_mich/Panel_Take_over_Benton_Harbor_finances
http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/benton_harbors_harris_holds_meeting_on_citys_finances_118624499.html

Some examples of note:
- $80,000 to $100,000 in overdraft fees
- Hundreds of thousands of dollars in misc unpaid debt
- owned nearly $500,000 to the IRS.
- $500,000 was owed to vendors
- $290,000 in property tax money the city had never distributed to schools and the library.
- 2 months behind on water billings

[fasttense]

22. You know an easy way to overcome all those debts

is to provide jobs for the citizens. People working at good paying jobs are more likely to pay their bills. How about developing an employee owned business? Why can't the city develop the lake side park themselves, employ the people and charge the $5,000 a day fee. The profits could then go to the city or the employees. It would take some investing but the city still has some revenues coming in. Or the city could form a partnership with the development corporation where they split the profits.

There is a lot that can be done, instead of abolishing unions and taking over their lakeside park and giving it away to a corporation of, by and for the uber rich.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

23. Have you actually read the plan?

[HereSince1628]

16. Frankly, appointment outside of a democratic process

Should be unacceptable to anyone who loves democracy.

This is not as benign as the appointment of a reciever during a bank failure. Counties with elected boards of supervisors SHOULD be the recievers of a township or municipality that is financially troubled.

What has been set up is a playground for corruption and pilfering of what is held in common trust FOR THE CITIZENS. Not for the Governor's cronies and pillaging bands of privateers.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

17. Never said I liked it, but we also should not ignore what appears to be wholesale mismanagement

the city. You are aware that this started in 2009 with a written request to the state from the city manager?

[HereSince1628]

18. It's not 'not liking it'. It cannot be accepted.

In a democratic world, because cities are chartered within counties, the elected representatives of the country should be taking on oversight when the elected leaders of the munincipality or township cannot.

I'm not in Benton Harbor so I can't say whether the elected leaders of Benton Harbor have gotten in above their heads. But in ALL cases, elected officials should be working the problem. Perhaps with the input of a special financial advisor appointed by the state, but all decisions about the dissolution of the common wealth MUST be handled by elected representatives or by a public referendum.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

19. The state of the Benton Harbor is pretty egregious

I posted links elsewhere in the thread, but http://www.bentonharborcity.com/CoBH%20Financial%20Plan%202010.pdf is a good summary. Mismanagement at all levels and I see no call for accountability.

In MI it is the state that steps in. They did at the request of the city manager. There is a process and it seems to have been followed. The law that defines the process and allows for EFMs passed in 1990.

Recently the Benton Harbor EFM published a plan and discussed it at a town hall style meeting with residents. From what I read, I did not see a plan that included wholesale sell off of public assets. http://media.graytvinc.com/documents/Benton+Harbor+2011+Strategic+Plan.pdf Also there appears to be no restraint against the EFM raising revenue either. However it should be watched closely to guard against the approach that you have brought up.

My concern about this is that this is not the first municipality to run aground and there seems to be no accountability for it. If we do not have effective public management on the local level, how can we ever expect to have it on the state and national level?

[Blue Meany]

10. The irony is Republicans would be outraged if a governor used this same tactics against

businesses in order to keep them from going bankrupt. Corporations often use bankruptcy as a business strategy, but they don't want democratically elected officials to have the power to make financial decisions in the interests of their community. Only businesses are to be afforded that right, apparently.

[NothingRight]

20. Mismanagement not an excuse to bypass democracy

It is fairly clear that this city was being mismanaged to an abysmal level, but the actions being taken by Snyder and his counterparts in WI, OH, NJ and elsewhere has nothing to do with sound business practices. It is far more about the suppression of rights and the opportunity to stand up for equality and justice.

It is simply a view of the new world order we will be dealing with if we continue to sit passively by and allow these people to be elected.

[bluedigger]

24. People have been known to revolt over taxation without representation.

They used to teach that in schools, I think.