Note: There is some controversy in the comments. Why not view the program yourself? It is replaying today, Sunday, at 3:00 pm. Eastern on CNN. It's a two-hour program, where they show the film and engage in a panel discussion.
I wrote this diary yesterday.
I'm glad to hear that it was not just me. I wasn't the only one who was shocked by the I.O.U.S.A. documentary and panel discussion that appeared on CNN yesterday.
Here's what Digby says:
I can't believe what I saw yesterday: CNN showed the Shock Doctrine documentary I.O.U.S.A. It is an amazing piece of propaganda, which, if it isn't designed to destroy any chance of enacting a necessary stimulus, will persuade more than a few Americans that the biggest problem we face at this moment is long term debt caused by entitlements --- and nothing short of massive spending cuts can save us.
...
I say this is a shock doctrine documentary because it is nearly impossible for me to believe that it is a coincidence that the deficit hawks have put together this slick "non-partisan" documentary and well financed campaign to cut spending at the moment of what many people believe is America's greatest economic peril since the 1930s. They are, quite obviously, attempting to use the crisis to dismantle the social safety net and avoid doing the real work of reforming the financial system. Shock Doctrine 101.
...
One would think this message is so dissonant that no one could possibly find it persuasive. After all, they are worrying about some potential future catastrophic event while we are in middle of a current calamity. But it's actually very clever ---you can see by the press release that it sounds like they are talking about the current problem, even though their prescription is exactly the opposite of what is required . Indeed the diabolical effect of this project and its timing is that it's designed to make people believe that government spending is the cause of the current economic crisis.
This is some great commentary. Read the whole thing.
(Digby also has some choice words for "liberal" economic Alice Rivkin and others in the post.)
I have to wonder if the appearance of this particular piece of propaganda does not signal that the Social Security battle is once again on the horizon.
Even when we're still clearing bodies from the field from the current devastation -- dwindling wages, expanding unemployment, exploding costs for housing, education and medical care ...
Not to mention the billions lost by average Americans who invested as instructed in their 401(k) plans and watched their private retirement funds vanish over the last year.
It's going to get interesting.