With the advent of COVID-19 and an unprecedented economic shock, measures that were a month ago far outside the mainstream policy debate have moved to center stage. One of the most startling—at least to those unfamiliar with the history of US federal policy responses to previous crises—is nationalization. For instance, New York State governor Andrew Cuomo—hardly known as a champion of the radical left—has taken to Twitter to demand Donald Trump nationalize the supply chains for essential medical supplies. Meanwhile, demands from the grassroots are getting bolder—environmental group Food and Water Watch, for instance, has gone public with a demand to use public ownership of the fossil fuel industry to protect workers while winding the sector down. As more sectors of the economy stagger or rush towards collapse in the COVID shock, calls for nationalization are only going to get louder.
Join us for a one-hour webinar roundtable sorting out the surprising history of nationalization in the US, the demands currently on the table, and what we need to know in order to make sure nationalization is used to make a more democratic economy, not set up a post-crisis reconsolidation of corporate power.
With:
• Kate Aronoff, staff writer at The New Republic, and author of “A Moderate Proposal: Nationalize the Fossil Fuel Industryâ€
• Thomas Hanna, Director of Research at The Democracy Collaborative, and author of “A History of Nationalization in the US: 1917-2009â€
• Robert Hockett, Edward Cornell Professor of Law at Cornell University School of Law, Visiting Professor of Finance at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, Fellow with New Consensus, and author of “How to Mobilize the Military to Produce the Supplies America Needs to Fight Coronavirusâ€
• Alexander Sammon, staff writer at The American Prospect, and author of “It’s Time to Nationalize the Airlinesâ€
Organized by The Next System Project at The Democracy Collaborative
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** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) **
Has there ever been a crisis that governments didn't make worse? Govts are inherently incompetent and corrupt, and require constant close monitoring and correction. Bureocrats should always be distrusted, and never given power of any kind.
The United States Corporation Company is a for profit entity ,doing business as a corporate state of_____, a municipal corporate entity operating out of and as a extension of a corporate body politic, under a municipal charter out of the District of Columbia…..It is not a sovereign state government clothed with and granted constitutionally protected powers. Therefore, any attempt of this for profit munici🙊🙉🙈pal corporate – State entity to nationalized anyting is a act in futility.
nobody is being really critical here, when the PLANDEMIC arose, its only governors like cumo in NYC that APPEAR to be doing good, but infact many reports show cumo is directly responsible for receiving trumps aid of ventilators, and keeping them in warehouses and not giving them to hospitals! We have so many investigative journos no vlogging exposing the truth about NYC and we all know cumo is a rabid socialist, what might be his agenda? fear porn and creating a fiasco to offer up the solution of 'socilaism' thats is a breeding ground for dictators for a good reason.
US is a lost cause.
At a time in the distant past, almost all of the land area and the natural resources found there were part of the claimed national commons, although physically occupied by perhaps a million people living in tribal societies. The state and federal governments rather quickly began to sell this commons to the early land companies, other business interests and to individuals. Selling off the land was a means to raising needed revenue and also of stimulating migration into the frontier. From the very start of this process, the politically influential benefited most at the expense of future generations. Much of the personal fortunate amassed by George Washington and others of the founding generation came from speculation in so-called "Western Lands." It is rather interesting that today when the public needs to acquire privately-held land for a public purpose, the "taking" requires compensation be paid at current full market value, despite the fact that taxes imposed on the land each year are likely far below the full market rental value. Had this been the case, economic theory tells us that the selling price of land would be very low (theoretically the selling price could fall zero). It may be impractical to nationalize all of the land privately held; it is entirely practical to require those who control land to compensate society fully for the privilege of having exclusive control over some portion of the commons.
Some have talked about Venezuela… you cannot point to such countries… Venezuela and Cuba, amongst others, were sabotaged by US sanction for decades as in the case of Cuba, Venezuela is currently being crippled by US sanctions. Bolivia was doing very well under Morales, until crazies, assisted by US spooks, helped overthrow Morales.
To help the honestly interested, read here to understand why economies that would be an alternative to the US model are not permitted to succeed and have been consistently sabotaged by the US for the reasons outlined in this document… it is for fear of the threat of a good example, it is to make sure the rot doesn't spread (you can't have ANY economy that is not controlled by the US succeed, else it will serve as example for other countries that systems other than the US's could work, and that is NEVER permitted):
https://chomsky.info/the-us-believes-it-has-an-inalienable-right-to-exploit-developing-nations/
A very instructive excerpt from Chomsky's book.
ALL 'essential services' should be under national control and not for profit. What are 'essential services'?
Water supply, electricity production and distribution, and roads and rail to name the basics. Other industries that end up so heavily regulated by government in order to ensure they do the right thing should also be considered. Air travel and medical services spring to mind.
Many Western European countries also nationalized their major industries after ww2. France nationalized the car manufacturer Renault, as well as electricity, coal mining, natural gas, oil production, airlines, banking and shipping and a few others. France's economy was actually very successful in the post-war era because it was planned according to rationality rather than pure profit and it gave the people a say into how things are run. People who think nationalization is the same thing as Venezuela are ignorant of history.
One option would be to take temporary control of certain industries, restructure and retool, and hand control to workers to produce what is most needed, like mass transit, high speed rail, etc. Obama should have done this with the auto maker he bailed out.
You are mistaken. Nationalizing would NOT make the process any better. The government was the first to know of the virus, and we are still in this situation. Nationalizing is not the answer.
They are nationalizing EVERY MAJOR CORPORATION.
Of course you think it's time to nationalize. You always think its time to nationalize.