by Naomi Klein
January 28, 2008

Do the free-market policies packaged as emergency cures actually fix the crises at hand? For the ideologues involved, that has mattered little. What matters is that, as a political tactic, disaster capitalism works. It was the late free-market economist Milton Friedman, writing in the preface to the 1982 reissue of his manifesto, "Capitalism and Freedom," who articulated the strategy most succinctly. "Only a crisis — actual or perceived — produces real change.

There's been a lot of talk recently about the need to
do something about repairing and upgrading the
country's infrastructure, including roads, bridges and
levees (another area where the Europeans and Asians are
way out ahead). But mostly it's lip service.

"Capitalism as we know it today is incapable of sustaining the environment." - James Gustave (Gus) Speth, in "The Bridge at the End of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability"

The cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have grown to staggering proportions. The Bush Administration was wrong about the benefits of the war and it was wrong about the costs of the war. The president and his advisers expected a quick, inexpensive conflict. Instead, we have a war that is costing more than anyone could have imagined.

Our Constitution is perilously close to being consigned to the valley of the shadow of death, betrayed by a powerful cabal of secrecy-obsessed authoritarians. Terms like "liberty" and "individual freedom" invoked by generations of Americans who battled to widen the 1787 promise to "promote the general welfare" have been perverted to create a government primarily dedicated to the welfare of the state and the political class that runs it. Yes, Virginia, there is a class war and ordinary people are losing it.

The following is an excerpt from Bill Moyers' new book, "Moyers on Democracy" (Doubleday, 2008). 

From Nygaard Notes Number 364, February 26, 2007 The headline in the February 8^th New York Times read: "Gaping Reminders of Aging and Crumbling Pipes." It was about the increasingly-frequent urban phenomenon of sinkholes. That is, big odd holes in the ground. And I mean, big enough to swallow trucks and stuff like that! The reason these things are increasingly common has to do with the part of our national infrastructure that handles water.

From Nygaard Notes Number 327, April 24, 2006

The day in question is April 6^th, 2006. On this day, as on so many days, Iraq was on the front page. The headline read, "In Bid to Rebuild Razed Bridge, Recovery and War Vie in Iraq." The first use of my imagination is to imagine that there are two sides (at least) in the conflict in Iraq; one side being the occupation forces and their allies and the other side being everyone else.

From Nygaard Notes Number 262, July 9, 2004

Last week I talked about the need for investment in the nation's bridges and other infrastructure. Apparently inspired by Nygaard Notes (HaHaHa), my regional paper, the Star Tribune, ran an article this week headlined "Crystal Clear is Costly for Small Towns; Outstate Areas Need $6.9 Billion in Water System Improvements, Foundation Says."

from Nygaard Notes #261, July 2, 2004

The bridge near my house, the one that passes over the freeway, is being rebuilt this summer. All the noise and the local street detours have made it a bit of a neighborhood event. I was talking to one of my neighbors about the project and he told me that the bridge was so far behind in its maintenance that it was in danger of collapsing at any moment. Who knew? This conversation started me thinking about the nation's bridges, and more.

When $ .43 cents of every $ 1 .00 goes to the military, the American debt stands at $9.4 TRILLION, our schools and teachers are under-funded, 46 million Americans have no healthcare, and our bridges are collapsing - our priorities are wrong," Ellison stated.