Why Anarchists Should Hurrah the Recession
Posted by Alex R. Knight III on Nov 17, 2009 in Feature Articles • 10 commentsAccording to Devin Dwyer of ABC News, “Enormous budget deficits in nearly every state across the country are “wreaking havoc” on government employees, the services they provide, and the residents who need them most, according to a new report by the Pew Center for the States. Dwindling state tax revenues during the recession have forced states to furlough workers, raise taxes, crowd more kids into classrooms, and trim social services. But experts say those measures and others can only go so far in keeping many states from going broke.”
This should have anarchists jumping for joy.
True, the part about raising taxes is no anarchist’s wish, but there is even some poetry involved there: Even when in extremis, the ability of governments to tax a populace is a limited one. With high unemployment, record home foreclosures, and failing businesses, bureaucrats and politicians soon learn that there is no blood to be drawn from stones. Meantime, such scum themselves shuttle into unemployment lines, public schools close doors, fewer cops are on the beat, and the rest of us all breathe just a little more freely.
Anarchists must capitalize on this situation. For what will be revealed for all to see is that, in spite of the state being forced to scale back its own activities for lack of funding, the world will conspicuously not stop turning on account of an absence of government.
But listen to the frenzified hysteria further in Dwyer’s article:
“Arizona lawmakers are staring down a $1 billion gap in their 2009 budget with no immediate solution in sight. Rhode Island, the smallest state, continues to post among the highest unemployment and foreclosure numbers in the country.
“Michigan is grappling with “a 1960s-sized budget,” while Nevada struggles to raise taxes in light of a provision that requires voters to first amend the state’s constitution.
“Oregon, which experienced the greatest drop in state revenue over last year, faces a similar dilemma as voters in January 2010 get the final say on new income taxes to close the gap.
“The Pew report lists Florida, New Jersey, Illinois and Wisconsin also among the top ten states facing the worst combination of foreclosure rates, jobless numbers, state revenue losses, budget gaps, legal obstacles to balanced budgets and legislators’ poor money-management practices.
“‘These are the worst numbers we’ve ever seen in decades,’ said Scott Pattison, director of the National Association of State Budget Offices. He says state budget crises have impacted every part of state government, including the employees and residents they serve.”
Novel idea for Pattison and the rest of his bureaucratic buddies: Stop “serving” people at the barrel of a gun. That would go a long way towards solving a lot of problems. But here’s more to make anarchists’ mouths water:
“‘The impact of plummeting tax revenues is really coming home to roost now,’ Steve Kreisberg of the American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees told ABC News.
“More than 110,000 state and local employees have been fired in the current recession, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research. That number includes over 40,000 teachers and 4,000 police and firefighters.
“Some states have opted against layoffs in favor of forcing workers to take furlough days, or unpaid days off.
“On Thursday, New Mexico became the latest state to implement furloughs after Gov. Bill Richardson ordered 19,000 workers to take five unpaid days off. The move is expected to help the state deal with a $650 million budget shortfall.
“‘It amounts to a 2 percent pay cut in lieu of laying off maybe 400 people,’ Kreisberg said of the New Mexico case.”
I don’t see civilization exactly ending, folks. In fact, the fewer government workers there are, the more civilized the world becomes. After all, governments can only exist by initiating and implementing violence on a mass scale. This improves, rather than degrades (as the government apologists would argue) the quality of life. I rest my case with the fearmongering below:
“But furloughs come with additional costs for workers and residents.
“In Hawaii, where school teachers have been furloughed for 17 days this year, students will receive less time in the classroom and parents will be forced to find and pay for childcare.”
Awww, imagine that? Parents actually having to pay for their own childrens’ care?
“Furloughs are also meaning longer waits for unemployment claims processing and other services, in some states, and reduced numbers of police and firemen to protect public safety.”
Protect “public safety”? Sorry, but the federal government and all 50 “states” have already declared that the cops are not required to do that. See Bowers v. Devito, 686 F.2nd 616 or Souza v. City of Antioch, California (1997) if you have any trouble believing that.
“‘What’s also overlooked,’ Kreisberg said, ‘is the tremendous increase in stress on the workforce at a time when workloads have increased and pay has decreased.’ Staffing reductions and increased demand for state services during the economic downturn are making it impossible for some workers to afford taking time off.
“‘Many state workers have said they simply cannot afford furlough days. They work from
home or sneak into the office out of extreme dedication and passion for public service,’ Kreisberg said.”
You mean, “extreme dedication and passion for public pillage,” don’t you, Kreisberg?
“Is there a light at the end of the tunnel for states in murky financial waters?
“Kreisberg says unless states can devise creative solutions, the coming year will be ‘absolutely disastrous not just for state workers but for the entire economy.’
“The Pew Center’s Urahn agrees. ‘It’s tough to continue to do across the board cuts in states like Michigan, where you’ve cut for years and years and years,’ she said. ‘I think it’s gonna be tough… the challenge is that it’s not a ‘this-year’ problem; it’s a structural problem with how states spend.’”
The “structural problem” is even worse than that. It’s that governments tax, spend – or even exist at all in the first place. Dwyer’s article concludes with this:
“National Governors Association director Raymond Scheppach predicts, ’states will not fully recover from this recession until late in the next decade.’”
Anarchists, freedom-lovers – let’s prove Scheppach wrong. Let’s kick these dogs while they’re down. Let’s keep spreading the word. Let’s make sure the “states” – which are really just one big violent usurper State – never recover. Not late next decade, not ever. We can do that by encouraging people to build an alternative economy outside of state control.
I disagree in the sense that just because it offers an opportunity doesn’t mean it’s categorically “a good thing”. People will suffer because of this recession the state has caused. There’s no getting around that.
I agree with Brad. Just because some localities are shrinking doesn’t mean we are better off. The recession means people will needlessly be suffering. And even though local governments are cutting back doesn’t mean the Feds are and, as far as any anarchist should be concerned, they are much worse. They do have the printing press after all.
this whole shite-storm is the best shot at liberty we’ll have in our lifetime. of course people will suffer. it was and is inevitable, and one could argue that suffering at the tasers and manacles of a bloated and “healthy” state is much worse.
why do newborns cry?
it’s either “this”, revolution, or status quo.
Thanks Negator. Folks, with all respect towards your view, we are engaged in hardcore guerilla warfare here, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Sure, the Fed can roll their printing presses, but note how as we speak Obama is kissing Chinese butt. If they start a run on U.S. Treasury certificates, it’s endgame, and the bankers know it. They can’t rely on paper & ink forever. Meantime, let’s do all we can to starve the hounds, and make starvation a permanent problem for them. Vladimir Lenin, in spite of his absurd philosophy, said it best: “The worse it gets, the better it gets.” I couldn’t agree more. ‘Nuff said. Anarchy full steam ahead!!!
@Alex — It’s a conversation worth having on an ongoing basis. You’re not completely wrong in my view. I just think a bright line has to be drawn that we’re not cheering bad policy. We don’t control the state. Those who do control it, rather than us, bear responsibility for its actions. The culture of tyranny is a culture of death. We can point to its self-destructive tendencies and celebrate the opportunities that offers, but we have to lay blame for the misery the State brings where it belongs and make it clear we don’t like that.
Hi Brad: I agree it is worthy of ongoing debate. Note however that I’m not cheering on the unemployed in the private sector, nor even the well-meaning but misguided. Just the violent
bureau-rats who now must find productive work or go hungry and broke. The pols will never, ever voluntarily downsize government. A “crisis” like this, coupled with our outreach and education efforts, can be extremely productive long-term. And it looks like this thing is going to be long-term, like it or no. Let’s make the best possible use of it. Anarchy Now!!!
Alex,
I found your article most interesting and even with all the “alleged political efforts” of the past to “limit the size of gov’t” down, nothing has in fact worked towards those ends. It therefore seemed evident to me that the only way for us to see a shedding of the State was for the State to begin an implosion process of some economic scale. That I do believe is happening and then right after seeing your comments, the big news story in Atlanta is a possible cut of $53 mil from the courthouse budget that according to some would cause the court house to shutdown.
http://www.wsbtv.com/money/21662912/detail.html
Now I don’t believe they will shutdown the courthouse as the judicial/police complex is the means by which the State convinces the masses of it’s need and purpose ie public safety but in order to keep the myth alive, the State (City of Atlanta in this case) will have to shift revenue from other areas which could mean say for example, less code enforcement officers out prowling around. Maybe more people can operate unlicensed businesses and these “off the book” operations grow and gain the trust of local communities in which they operate. Maybe others see the non-state community growing and decide themselves to dip a toe in the water as in some off books Part time self employment while still remaining plugged into the Matrix so to speak via their regular job. As the economics worsen, more job loss but then some people in small scale will begin to barter and trade just to get by.
Brad and Chris have a point in that people are gonna be hurt as this thing worses and my biggest fear is that as it all becomes inevitable of imploding, the power players will use imperial parrots (MSM TV & Radio) to frighten the masses into vast draconian measures to save the crumbling empire under the illusion of the goodness to the common folk. It will be vital for those of us who seek liberty and freedom beyond the State to be plugged in locally amongst friends and neighbors to offer options and calm voices as the schitt storm worsens to borrow from negator.
I’m coming more and more to believe after having found this website, reading opinions given (like this one) and going to other suggested and linked sites, that sites like C4SS and others are vital in information and idea sharing going forward.
Thanks Alex, Thanks Brad, Thanks to all!
mac
It’s also interesting to note that with the recession-induced budgetary problems, comes significant issues in funding of the State’s drone-squads.
The fact that Salinas (CA) has decided to take a counter-insurgency approach to its gang problem (i.e., the suppression of violence-dispensing agencies that compete with the State) is evidence of this: the next stop is troops in the streets (”we don’t need no steenkin’ Posse Comitatus… or none of your other French stuff”).
The other thing that shows how desperately short the tax-eaters are becoming, is the clampdown on tax shelters and havens – the US government is even willing to force the Swiss to hand over details of numbered account holders (although obviously the Ferengi will not have their accounts disclosed).
It is profoundly to be wished that the disgorgement from the CRU (East Anglia) of a volume of climate lies and data manipulations, will further erode public trust in the pronouncements of the tax-eating class; we must do everything possible to make folks aware that the problem is not due to corrupt or bad science, but corrupt politics (a tautology) that then suborns science.
We are within a generation of sloughing off the parasitic subspecies that attached itself to humanity when humans settled and developed the means to produce a surplus. If that sloughing off can be achieved without violence, well and good – but consider the nature of the beast: do you think that homo cheneyensis will ‘go quietly into that good night’? Do you think that the Rices, Wolfowitzes, Perles, Blairs, McChrystals, Bernankes, Geithners, Rudds and Howards will negotiate away the only means they have to earning a wage higher than the average?
Be realistic: in all likelihooed we will have to cull the parasites to whatever extent is necessary to chasten the rest: make the cost of parasitism much higher than it is now.
(And let’s not go too far with the invocation of “din rodef”: the wives and children of tax-eaters should be spared wherever possible: in that regard is disagree with Rabbis Shapira and Elitzur of “Torat ha-Melekh” fame).
Cheerio
GT
http://www.marketmentat.com/marketrant
I’ve recently been trying to make a similar point. Given our current economic system, recessions are necessary. It’s the only way the free market can shake off the loose money and other economic distortions the statists unleash on us. Check out my post on the topic here http://libertariancomment.com/whats-a-recession-good-for/
Prosperous people don’t rebel. As long as the system was providing the illusion of prosperity, there was very little reason to expect much change. Now that the system is failing, there will be many opportunities to establish new ways of doing things.