in one of the later chapters of Naomi Klein's book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, she tells of the situation in Malaysia (I may have the country wrong) in which wealthy developers had their eyes on a wide stretch of beach they wanted to develop. The only problem with their plan is that the beach was home to people who engaged in subsistence fishing and they weren't willing to uproot their livelihoods for some rich developers.
So, the developers were forced to bide their time. They continued angrily to twiddle their thumbs until a great tsunami hit. The tsunami cleared the beach of the shantytown and, before anyone knew it, the government decreed that the beach was available for development. In short order, construction began on high-priced resorts for the rich and famous. The subsistence fishing people were forced into refugee camps.
Okay, you say, that's a bad situation, but nothing like that could ever happen in the good 'ol US of A. Think again.
The above example could well be the blueprint for what is happening in Benton Harbor, Michigan!
It can happen anywhere in the world...like Benton Harbor, Michigan!
So, the developers were forced to bide their time. They continued angrily to twiddle their thumbs until a great tsunami hit. The tsunami cleared the beach of the shantytown and, before anyone knew it, the government decreed that the beach was available for development. In short order, construction began on high-priced resorts for the rich and famous. The subsistence fishing people were forced into refugee camps.
Okay, you say, that's a bad situation, but nothing like that could ever happen in the good 'ol US of A. Think again.
The above example could well be the blueprint for what is happening in Benton Harbor, Michigan!
The take over of Benton Harbor has been linked to a commercial development plan, backed by Whirlpool and the very legislator who introduced the EFM bill, Rep. Al Pscholka. Pscholka is a former aide to the grandson of Whirlpool's founder, Rep. Fred Upton, and former vice president of one of the companies involved with the Harbor Shores development and also on the Board of Directors of a non-profit involved with the development. The plan is to build a high-end lakeshore housing development and golf course, taking over the city's sprawling public park and beach, Jean Klock Park, gifted to the city in 1917...You see, this is how disaster capitalism works. You either wait for disaster to happen or you manufacture one. While the people are trying to regain their balance from the initial shock, the capitalists swoop in to take whatever it is that they've been eying for some time.
It can happen anywhere in the world...like Benton Harbor, Michigan!
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