Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Warning: You are about to enter the Twilight Zone.
Imagine, if you will, that you live in a state where a governor wields extraordinary power over its residents. Imagine, if you will, that your governor has the legal
authority to appoint an “Emergency Manager” to oversee the local government in the town where you reside. Imagine that the monetary compensation for the Emergency Manager of your community has no cap. Imagine that your Emergency Manager declares that there’s a financial emergency in your town and then takes over control of it. Imagine that the Emergency Manager can break contracts, seize and sell assets, eliminate services—and can also fire duly elected public officials who serve your community. Imagine, if you will, that the Emergency Manager empowered by your governor to run your town has the right to dissolve your school district and to disincorporate your town. AND imagine that you and your fellow residents have no say about what is going on! Just imagine how you might feel if you lived in a state where that kind of thing was going on. Well, the people who live in Michigan may not have to imagine much longer.
Who, you might ask, will be responsible for transforming the state of Michigan into a Rod Serlingesque otherworldly undemocratic Twilight Zone right here in the United States? Why, Governor Rick Snyder and his bold band of Republican state legislators–that’s who. In January, Governor Snyder called for “Emergency Manager” legislation—and the Republican state legislators were more than happy to comply with his request.
This all seems hard to believe, doesn’t it? I’m not making it up. Karen Bouffard of The Detroit News reported the following: Legislation that would allow emergency financial managers to throw out union contracts and overrule elected officials in financially distressed municipalities and school districts was approved Wednesday by the state Senate. Similar legislation passed in the House in February, and the two chambers are working on a final version to send to Gov. Rick Snyder.
In an article published in The Michigan Messenger, Eartha Jane Melzer wrote:
Under the law whole cities or school districts could be eliminated without any public participation or oversight, and amendments designed to provide minimal safeguards and public involvement were voted down.
An amendment to require Emergency Managers to hold monthly public meetings to let people know how they are governing was rejected by Senate Republicans, along with proposals to cap Emergency Manager compensation and require that those appointed to run school districts have some background in education.
Critics say that Republicans are manipulating concerns about budget problems in order to consolidate power by undermining unions.
According to E. D. Kain: Snyder’s law gives the state government the power not only to break up unions, but to dissolve entire local governments and place appointed “Emergency Managers” in their stead. But that’s not all – whole cities could be eliminated if Emergency Managers and the governor choose to do so. And Snyder can fire elected officials unilaterally, without any input from voters. It doesn’t get much more anti-Democratic than that.
Mark Gaffney, Michigan State President of the AFL-CIO said: This is a takeover by the right wing and it’s an assault on democracy like I’ve never seen.
Do you agree with Mark Gaffney? Do you think what’s going on in Michigan is an assault on democracy?
SOURCES
Rachel Maddow Exposes Michigan Republicans Secret War On Democracy (Politicus USA)
Michigan Governor Plays Fast and Loose with Democracy, Invokes Radical New Powers (Forbes)
Michigan Republicans Use Budget Crisis to make Outrageous Assault on Democracy (AFL-CIO)
Michigan Senate passes emergency manager bills (Daily Tribune)
Emergency managers bill sweeps toward final approval (The Michigan Messenger)
Conyers: Emergency Manager bill ‘raises serious constitutional concerns’ (The Michigan Messenger)
Financial manager bill passes Michigan Senate (The Detroit News)
Michigan bill would impose “financial martial law” (CBS News)
please let me know which words I have a problem with? Seems to me you yocals have the problem with definitions.
What is that you guys do, um, oh yes, I think they call it dissembling. You are very good at it too. Although there is the possibility that you actually believe the crap you wright. Maybe you are just puppets on a string being pulled by Marx, Prudhome, Fourier, et. al.
Hmmmmmmm?
By the way, Maury, only an idiot would think that “free trade” means “a total absence of regulation”.
Or to quote President William McKinley, “Under free trade the trader is the master and the producer the slave. Protection is but the law of nature, the law of self-preservation, of self-development, of securing the highest and best destiny of the race of man. [It is said] that protection is immoral…. Why, if protection builds up and elevates 63,000,000 [the U.S. population] of people, the influence of those 63,000,000 of people elevates the rest of the world. We cannot take a step in the pathway of progress without benefitting mankind everywhere. Well, they say, ‘Buy where you can buy the cheapest’…. Of course, that applies to labor as to everything else. Let me give you a maxim that is a thousand times better than that, and it is the protection maxim: ‘Buy where you can pay the easiest.’ And that spot of earth is where labor wins its highest rewards.”
And McKinley was no idiot. Whereas, you, Maury, are demonstrably not very bright to say the least.
Just a reminded. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was one hundred years ago. If Maury and his ilk had their way, I suspect this is what their vision of modern society and the workplace would look like.
Story below at the link:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/25/959747/-The-Triangle-Fire:-Still-Burning-Before-Our-Nation
Mike Spindell:
That is not a bad idea, but if they just opened up some of the land to development and started freeing the market we wouldnt have to do any of that.
Although the US government ought to sell some military bases, get out of power generation and privatize more roads.
Maury, would it help if we all pitched in a bought you a dictionary, and maybe a thesaurus to go with it? You have made it abundantly clear you have a problem with word definitions and do not know what some of the terms you throw out mean.
Or, you could look here:
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/thesaurus/
Awww.
Isn’t that cute! Having his teeth kicked in by the facts once again, Maury resorts to simple name calling. Including using words he clearly doesn’t know the meaning of in his futile attempt to rationalize his common ordinary greed and selfishness.
OOPS!
Uh, meant Mike, not BIL. Still working on that first cup of coffee mself.
Since collectivism is always charecterised by top down rule you are the one who is full of crap and not very well read.
Marx himself said the proletariat wasnt smart enough to govern itself and needed to be ruled. The Soviets sure put that model into good use.
I would say if someone wants to be paid to be healthy to donate a kidney or a lung to someone and they are of sound mind then they should be able to do it.
Only a lefty would want to prevent free trade. Friggen totalitarians. Always worrying about the “little” guy and screwing him every chance you get. Wet dream wannabe commisars, everyone of you.
blah, blah, blah, collectivist, progressive trolls.
BIL: “…emphacize…”
Sounds painful. Have you seen a doctor about it? Maybe they make an ointment for it? 😉
And “you’re”.
First cup of coffee not complete yet.
Maury as usual thinks small as he grasps for ways to avoid having to pay his fair share of taxes and betrays his absolute lack of the ability to emphacize with those less fortunate than him. Now we should have a free market in organs. I could see people finding work as healthy organ donors for the rich. They could be paid, a low pay scale of course, to keep themselves available to donate to those wealthy in need. Actually, this could be a new business model, akin to the modeling agency concept. Now as to the national government i’m sure the solutions below would please Maury in his chasing the chimera of a free market.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/how-to-pay-down-the-federal-deficit-sell-americas-icons-asset/19882453/
More accurately . . .
Full of crap.
Not very well read.
Or both.
In literature, the economics of dystopian worlds varies widely. Sometimes it’s not even mentioned at all. The key unifying features of dystopian literature are usually primarily political. They include brutally repressive social control systems (usually totalitarian regimes emphasized by brutal militaristic police – which is reflection of top down rule, the exact opposite of collectivist rule which is bottom up as seen in a true democracy), a lack or total absence of freedom of expression and individuality, a perpetual state of warfare and violence, and usually crushing poverty. These characteristics of dystopian literature can all be traced to oligarchical or dictatorial political systems. And the kind of free market uber alles fascism that your lot endorses clearly leads oligarchical political structures – where the wealthy few get everything and screw the rest of society.
So once again, Maury, your full of crap.
AY, I think Maury missed the section of the law that specifically forbids selling organs. THERE IS NO PROFIT OF ANY KIND ALLOWED! You either do it for free or you cannot do it. There is no third choice.
You also cannot buy and sell humans, but the industrial oligarchs and crime families are working hard toward that end. Jack Abramoff just got caught before they could repeal the 14th amendment and make it legal again.
Anoy Yours:
No, I am not advocating for the company to be in control. Isn’t that sort of like Fascism?
I want the individual to be in control, to be free. I want our Constitutional Republic back with limits on governmental power and abuse. I want a free market where individuals engage in mutually beneficial transactions without government telling them what they can and cannot do. I want to be able to keep most of the money I earn, God only wanted 10% that should be enough for government.
In other words, I want to be left alone to live my life as I see fit and I want to live it for myself and my family, not for my “brother”. People should own their lives, your life does not belong to the state, to a god, to a collective. It belongs to you and that is our birthright as citizens of the United States. Jefferson and Madison and others gave us that right through their brilliant work. They freed humanity from thousands of years of slavery-“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. That pretty much sums it up.
And progressives want to take it back.
OS,
You are missing the point here….we should…we could make all sorts of money….both on the spotting part and the selling….and if he didn’t pay for it in full….then charge interest….and well…repossess it….
Repo Men
Set in the near future when artificial organs can be bought on credit, it revolves around a man who struggles to make the payments on a heart he has purchased. He must therefore go on the run before said ticker is repossessed.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053424/
It has a typical segal ending…
OK, I will sign up for your heart. Ummmmm…..never mind, I do not deal in defective organs. Heart has to both exist and be of normal size. I doubt you qualify.
Dr. Scribe:
that is why we need a free market in organs. Then we will have more than enough to take care of people who need them.
You probably think that is a horrible idea, but if you own your own life you should be able to sell your organs.
This would increase the supply and help a good number of people on both sides of the transaction.
Yep, that is what we need; a free market in vital organs.
That would do more good for humanity than Obamacare ever could or will do.
And you think I don’t care for humanity?
Well Screw em’ maury,
Is that not what you are advocating? a socialist society in reality….but the company is the leader….isn’t it really?
Elaine, congratulations. This is comment #601. Good job on stimulating discussion with your excellent posting.