Ed Pearl: Corporate Coup d'état, and Some Good News

From: Michael W. Hathaway: mykhalis@gmail.com

How can one be shocked anymore?? But this new grossly antidemocratic has not only been imposed on Benton Harbor and the Detgroist school district---the corporate agents plan to use it widely.

NOTE especially the Turnaround Management Association --- already in place to help dismantle democratic local government (parags 5 & 6 )

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/20-5

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

by Rania Khalek

CommonDreams.org:, April 20, 2011

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.

And, it gets worse. Michigan has joined with the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) to develop a training program for prospective emergency managers. According to their website, TMA members are a professional community of turnaround and corporate renewal professionals who share a common interest in strengthening the economy through the restoration of corporate value. Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon, while speaking about the new program during a seminar on municipal distress, said that mayors and school superintendents are essentially running big businesses that, in many cases, are more complicated than private companies. It’s no surprise then, that Wall Street investors are thrilled about the potential impacts of the EFM law.

An estimated 400 accountants, lawyers, school employees, and city workers began classes offered by the program in Lansing, Michigan this week on topics including “Dealing with the Unionized Workforce,” navigating municipal bankruptcy and negotiating contracts for sewer, water and other utilities. ”Dealing with the Unionized Workforce” is code for destroying unions and has nothing to do with balancing the budget. Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) in an appearance before the House Oversight Committee, under questioning from Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), admitted a key provision in his state budget proposal to curb union rights had no fiscal benefit, putting to rest the notion that union-busting governors like Rick Snyder have any intention of actually solving their state’s economic woes. As for “negotiating contracts for sewer, water, and other utilities”, this is code for privatize, privatize, privatize!

This so-called financial emergency is really a democracy emergency. Local governments are NOT corporations, nor should they resemble them. The true purpose of emergency financial management is the conversion of a democratically elected government into a hierarchal business entity through economic “shock therapy”, which would be impossible if workers, elected representatives, and residents had any say. Michigan has become a laboratory for ~~CEO~~ Governor Rick Snyder to impose disaster capitalism onto his state. If we allow what is taking place in Michigan to continue unabated, it won’t be long before disaster capitalism finds its way to a city, town, or school district near you.

Rania Khalek is a young, progressive activist with a passionate dedication to social justice. Check out her blog at http://raniakhalek.com.

* * *

From: Romi Elnagar <bluesapphire48@yahoo.com>

--- On Wed, 4/20/11, Nuclear Information and Resource Service irsnet@nirs.org wrote:

A LOT OF GOOD NEWS!

URGE YOUR REPS TO CO-SPONSOR HR 1242, Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act of 2011

ANTI-NUCLEAR ACTIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

....AND A LOT MORE

April 20, 2011

Dear Friends,

Even while the tragedy of the Fukushima disaster continues and our thoughts and prayers remain with the people of Japan, there has been a spate of good news on this side of the Pacific.

*NRG Energy has pulled out of the South Texas Nuclear Project and is taking a $481 million loss--essentially ending that dangerous and unnecessary project.

*An NRC Licensing Board, saying that UniStar Nuclear is not eligible to build a reactor in the U.S. has ordered UniStar and the NRC Staff to show cause as to why they shouldn't rule in NIRS' favor, deny a construction license for Calvert Cliffs-3, and end the proceeding.

*A new Washington Post/ABC News poll confirms earlier polls: 64% of Americans now oppose new reactor construction--59% strongly oppose.

*An effort in Missouri to institute a Construction-Work-in-Progress (CWIP) bill to support Ameren UE's efforts to license their proposed Callaway reactor failed in the state senate.

And Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has introduced a nuclear bill that is worth supporting. HR 1242 would:

* Ensure that nuclear power plants and spent nuclear fuel pools can withstand and adequately respond to earthquakes, tsunamis, strong storms, long power outages, or other events that threaten a major impact.

* Require nuclear power plants to have emergency backup plans and systems that can withstand longer electricity outages.

* Require spent nuclear fuel to be moved into safer dry cask storage as soon as the fuel is sufficiently cooled to do so.

* Require the Department of Energy to factor in the lessons learned from the Fukushima meltdown when calculating the risk of default on loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants.

It's not a perfect bill; it's not all we want by any means. And given the nature of the current Congress, even this is unlikely to pass. But we believe it is important for this bill to garner as many co-sponsors as possible to help set the tone for real changes in the next Congress.

Please send a letter to your Representative now and urge him/her to co-sponsor HR 1242.

And more news...

*Many anti-nuclear actions are planned for the coming days and weeks. We've listed those we know about on our new Actions page. Take a look and join the action nearest you! Or, if you know of an action not listed, send us the info to nirsnet@nirs.org. And don't see an action near you? Start one and we'll list it and help publicize it.

*The ten-point Grassroots Post-Fukushima Program for Nuclear Safety and Security, to which many activists contributed through conference calls and e-mails, will be formally unveiled in a full page ad in The Nation being published on April 26--the 25th anniversay of the Chernobyl catastrophe.

It's not too late to sign your organization on to this program. You can read the program and see the current list of organizational signers here. If your group would like to sign, please send your name, organization, city and state to us at nirsnet@nirs.org.

If you'd like to support the statement as an individual, please sign the petition here.

We remind you of two important ongoing actions--especially because this e-mail list is growing so fast (thank you!) that many new people haven't seen these:

*we are continuing to urge letters to Congress to end taxpayer funding of new reactors. You can take action here. More than 40,000 letters have gone in so far--let's keep it up!

*we are continuing to urge the permanent shutdown of the 23 GE Mark I reactors in the U.S., which suffer from the same fundamental design flaws that contributed so greatly to the Fukushima diaster. You can support this campaign here, more than 6,500 people have done so already.

*Finally, NIRS is hiring a new Activist/Organizer/Campaigner to provide greater support for regional, state and local anti-nuclear campaigns. You can check out the job description and application instructions here.

Thank you all for your support these past difficult six weeks. You've truly been an inspiration to all of us at NIRS. We ask for your continued support and contributions (maybe you received a tax refund recently?)--they are essential to our being able to continue our work and to our being able to hire a new person to better serve all of you. In other words, your support makes what we do possible. Thank you so much.

Michael Mariotte

Executive Director

Nuclear Information and Resource Service

nirsnet@nirs.org

www.nirs.org

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