Disaster Capitalism

Sometimes it's informative to fall behind in your reading. I recently picked out, from a stack of unread publications, the May issue of "The Nation." Thumbing through it, I was stopped by the title of an article by Naomi Klein -- "The Rise of Disaster Capitalism." Since this was written many months before the one two punch of Katrina and Rita, Kline could not have known about this current disaster. What was she writing about?

The following quotes are from the above mentioned article with my snide comments added:

"On August 5, 2004, the Whitehouse [actually the silly folks IN the Whitehouse] created the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization [OCRAS ?], headed by former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Carlos Pascual." Wasn't Pascual formerly head of the Oklahoma Hog Association? In any case, shouldn't he be down on the Gulf Coast coordinating reconstruction and stabilization? Nope, wrong country. Here's Pascual's mandate: " ... to draw up post conflict plans for up to 25 countries that are not, as of yet, in conflict. According to Pascual, it [OCRAS] will be able to coordinate three full-scale reconstruction operations in different countries at the same time, each lasting five to seven years. " Wait it gets better.

"... Pascual's office keeps high risk countries on a watch list and assembles rapid-response teams ready to engage in prewar planning and to mobilize and deploy quickly after a conflict ..." I know, that's a hoot isn't it? Where was the rapid response team for Katrina? So, that's the Disaster part of the title; what about the Capitalism aspect. You'll recall the rapid response teams. Well, "the teams are made up of private companies, big NGOs, and members of think tanks." So that's what's been missing in the post hurricane disaster zones -- members of think tanks.

To see if OCRAS can do a better job than FEMA I guess we'll have to wait for a foreign country to need reconstruction and stabilization. Oh, wait, we already have one -- Iraq! I guess adding members of think tanks doesn't help.

Beat Lyric

Bring back Jack Kerouac
With his notebook and his old rucksack

Bring back Neal Cassady
With his Hudson and his LSD

Bring back ol' Al Ginsberg
And let him howl the word

We need their souls today
Because we've lost our way.


lyrics copyright 2005 Wes George

Indecent Exposure

The disaster in New Orleans has acted as a harsh filter separating the classes. Yes, this tragedy forces us to admit to the dreaded "C word." Those with cars and cash were able to heed the evacuation order. Those without were left on their own at the bottom of the New Orleans bowl to die or swim for their lives to the shelter of last resort, the ironically named Super Dome. There they found little water and food; few toilets; no plan, and no dignity. Even worse off were those who languished for searing days and nightmarish nights on street islands or rooftops. This tragedy once and for all exposes the stark reality of our callous disregard for the poor. But lately it has even been worse than disregard. The wealthy class has seen their wealth increase at the expense of the poor. Tax cuts for the richest. Job losses and assistance cuts for the poorest.

Here are are startling examples of America's huge gap between the wealthy class and the poverty class: In 2000, the top 1 percent of American households had financial wealth greater than the bottom 95 percent! To those who say it's always been this way, one more statistical fact: In 1976 the lower 90 percent of the population owned half the wealth. By 1997, their share was down to 27%. It strikes me as dangerous to let this huge wealth gap continue. Perhaps the only good that will come from the Katrina tragedy is the stark exposure of indecent poverty in the richest country on earth. We can and must do better. To start we have to elect leaders and legislators dedicated to serving the people rather than big corporations and wealthy donors. For detailed data about "money in U.S. elections" visit www.opensecrets.org.

Note: Statistics are from the book "Unequal Protection" by Thom Hartman.

Not Time to Blame

It may not be the proper time to place blame for the horrific disaster in New Orleans, but it is time to start gathering information. Here's one piece of data that I've come across:

In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. Nevertheless, the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent.