Naomi Klein (Shock Doctrine) shows what is happening to California now

[Nikki Stone1]

http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2009/06/schwarzenegger-s-shock-therapy-poor-pay-sins-rich

Watch the video on line

Video: Schwarzenegger’s Shock Therapy--The Poor Pay For The Sins Of The Rich
By Avi Lewis - June 16th, 2009

Now that Washington has ruled out an immediate bailout for California, we know who will pay the ultimate price for the crisis born on Wall Street: the state’s most vulnerable citizens. And with many states facing similar crises, this could be a preview of where the country as a whole is headed.

California is facing a $24.3 billion dollar budget gap, and the governor wants to attack it with cuts to social programs alone. If Schwarzenegger has his way, the price will be paid by 1.9 million people who lose their health care coverage, 1.3 million who lose basic welfare, thousands of state workers who get fired, schools that lose $5 billion in funding, having already survived brutal cuts earlier this year.

I just spent a week in LA and Sacramento filming a documentary on the crisis for Fault Lines, the show I co-host on Al Jazeera English Television. We interviewed teachers who are on hunger strike against the cuts, students organizing protest marches, health care workers and their patients, politicians from both parties, undocumented immigrants and the talk show hosts who demonize them (Californians will know the John and Ken Show…) Yes we do, and they're awful.

What we discovered (beyond some priceless video of Arnold Schwarzenegger introducing Milton Friedman’s TV series on PBS in 1990, is that thanks to the quirks of California’s system, the state is a Petri dish for some of the most virulent strains of American political culture.

Around the world, government is seen as the last hope to stimulate a comatose economy. In California, anti-tax, anti-spending, and anti-government sentiments are converging: California is facing a de-stimulus package of epic proportions.

[dana_b]

1. California - we are killing ourselves but

especially the weakest amongst us. I'll watch it of course. Naomi Klein is one of my newest heroines.

[Nikki Stone1]

2. Thank you for the recommends

I think we can get these videos on the video forum.

[Blackhatjack]

3. What We Are Seeing In Calif is "Wealth Protection" for The Richest/Corp Interests...

Of course it is the most politically powerless who will suffer the most as all the stops have to be pulled out to protect the status quo of the wealthiest members of society and corporate interests.

You cannot expect the wealthiest members of society(who benefitted the most from Bush's tax cuts and deregulation) to pay higher taxes in order to protect their own income and holdings from declining in value.

That is for the 'little people' as Leona Helmsley stated.

[Nikki Stone1]

4. You have got to watch the interview with Clear Channel's John and Ken on the first video

Unbelievable.

[dana_b]

6. oh yes..

those damned immigrants!It's all their fault!! :sarcasm: They talk about the $13billion that they take out but they don't mention the more than $13b that they put INto the state. Just another veil for racism.

[Nikki Stone1]

7. Easiest thing in the world to blame the people at the bottom

John and Ken have a million listeners though. :(

[defendandprotect]

32. And the billions in FICA that they pay and never collect !!

[Nikki Stone1]

5. Now in the video forum

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x367093

[democracy1st]

11. thanks

[midnight]

8. After Enron jacked around with the flow of California's energy

the summer before Bush took over, I wondered what was happening out there? Sounds like the attorney general Jerry Brown is doing some digging into the high rate of insurance denial claims.

[Nikki Stone1]

9. Enron skimmed off the California surplus of 1 bn. Public money into private hands through a scam

That was what happened.

[glitch]

12. They robbed CA of 9 billion, CA sued and that is why Schwarzenegger was called in

to settle the suit for pennies on the dollar.

9 billion dollars was scammed from Californians, the first hit to an economy deliberately sacked.

[Nikki Stone1]

15. Yep.

Hence the recall.

[defendandprotect]

25. Why is Schwarzenegger, the pervert, in office anywhere ... leave alone CA????

Don't get it???

[defendandprotect]

24. Tens of billions of retirement funds were invested in Enron -- !!!

I well remember Barbara Boxer's statements on all of this --

And, I don't know what the final figures were -- ???

[TomCADem]

10. Sadly Its True - 2/3 Vote Requirement For Budgets and Taxes Means...

That there is no realistic way to deal with economic cycles, because once a tax is cut, it is now impossible to increase, and even Republicans are dead set against cutting services like law enforcement, so it is all passed on to the poor. Of course, this is a recipe for long term disaster, as education and programs targetted at the middle class and poor are cut, and infrastucture spending dries up.

Somehow, this amazingly anti-democratic system where 1/3 of the legislature can dictate the budget and taxes has persisted on borrowed time. Worse, with term limits, you also have a legislature that has no interest in the long term fiscal health of California. So long as they get through their term limit having voted no on taxes, they don't care.

We should just go ahead and abolish the legislature, since we have already crippled them through propositions to the point that we cannot even hold them accountable for the decisions we made with mandated spending and tax cuts.

[ourbluenation]

13. Calif, my state, has turned it's back on victims of domestic violence with the 100% elimination

of the battered women's shelter program. Remember - often when a woman goes to a safe house, she has a few children with her. Calif - the state that doesn't care.

[Nikki Stone1]

16. This just outraged me when I heard about it.

OF all the programs to cut...

[ourbluenation]

17. Thx. I run a dv shelter. It's been devastating in more than economic ways too.

staff is demoralized, morale is in the shitter. It's terrible having your livilhood totally beholden to one person.

[Nikki Stone1]

20. I don't understand why that program of all the ones to cut....

Arnold is just misogynist.

[defendandprotect]

26. You've got that right . . .

and how did all the "swiftboating" of Gray go on . . . just more Repug thugism!

[Nikki Stone1]

29. And money from Daryl Issa

SOB

[defendandprotect]

30. Is he wealthy? You mean Issa in Congress, right?

And, you can't run a patriarchy if women and children are safe -- !!!

[Nikki Stone1]

34. Yep. Issa used a lot of his own funds fpr the recall thinking that he would be the candidate

Issa was also the guy whose office that Irv Rubin, the JDL head, tried to break into. Rubin was put in jail for that and committed an usual form of suicide.

[defendandprotect]

33. Will any private corporations help?

Meanwhile, who could miss noticing how unpopular aid for women and children is

among GOP -- !!!

[OffWithTheirHeads]

14. AND, like in Washington, The Dems are in the majority

What does that tell you?

We are soooo fucked!

[defendandprotect]

28. Seems like Schwartzenegger has been in office forever... what Dem is running???

[BlueIdaho]

18. If this trend continues, what will the rich do when the poor come for them?

Eventually, millions of people will be out of work, out of money, and out of hope. With nothing left to lose, they will act. When they decide to take what they need from the people that have it all, what will the rich folk do?

[glitch]

21. First they'll hire Blackwater, I mean Xe, and when that doesn't work, they'll

RUN.

[defendandprotect]

27. They keep perfecting their methods . . . they killed JFK to ensure no new FDR arose . . .

and they've continued with political violence to eliminate any leader or rising

leader!

This time around -- unless Americans begin to move to take back the Democratic Party --

to oust the DLC from the party and the White House -- or move to more progressive ground --

they don't plan on losing the battle keep this system of capitalism going -- wealth for

the few, poverty for the many!

[cap]

19. California's economy is 1/8 of the US economy

California's population is 1/10 of the US population.

This is scary stuff.... The mortality rate is gonna climb. People will die unnecessarily. Children will not reach their potential. People will become much sicker. Homelessness will increase. This is too large a percentage of this country to do this.

[Nikki Stone1]

22. That's why everyone should care what happens here.

It's the harbinger.

[defendandprotect]

23. Bail outs for corrupt capitalism but not for California -- !!!

Look at all the harm done to NYC with MIHOP 9/11 -- !!!

And think odd things happened with the money promised to the city -- !!!

Naomi Klein is right -- and this is happening now!

GOP's "third world America" . . . they've been working on it for decades!!

Overturning the NEW DEAL regulations on capitalism was essential to doing it --

If Americans are dumb enough to think we can have a viable future while holding onto

capitalism/corporatism, then I guess this is our future!

[defendandprotect]

31. US should bail CA out, but only with proviso that the pervert steps down . . .