The Economic Models of Government



Posted: Tuesday, July 19, 2011

by Walter Rhett
Charleston Perlo

What I learned: states are not necessarily facing a liquidity trap or bound by national macro-trends. As independent polities, under certain conditions, states can have countervailing economic patterns.

What I want to share: A Model of Olgarchy, Designed Around State Political Economy.

If Texas delibrately supresses wages, limits education, restricts workers rights, but offers opportunities for crossing its international borders, it can guarantee a steady supply of workers whose moral culture and current circumstances make them motivated and willing to accept limits on their opportunities under the threat of being returned across the border. This creates a labor force modeled after a work farm. Skills, wages, and opportunity are restricted in exchange for basic needs, modest creature comforts and infra-structure amendities. Note: Texas has avoided the Arizona model of intimidating, criminalizing, and deporting Hispanic resident workers.

The Texas model of political economy provides the oligarchs with a whole hosts of economic and political incentives: low taxes, both personal and corporate; low crime, political access, a two tier educational system, expanded political power that can be distinctively crafted to custom fit needs and demands, reduced regulation, and a host of other oligarch political perks. Contrast the Texas model to the Illinois model where influence is purchased and sold, or the SC model, which still sustains the remmants of the plantation system, in which the community of the poor still depend on each other, with miminal help from the state.

Ohio and Wisconsin are both developing extreme models of a command and control political economy, with an organized party seizing power for the growth of the oligarchy: Ohio proproses to lease 241 miles of government built interstate toll roads for 3 billion, and is willing to reviews bids for the state liquor business beginning at 1.5 billion. Wisconsin has acted forcefully to reduce wages and benefits for public workers.

Mississippi? Think Nina Simone.

Walter Rhett Walter Rhett attended Ohio State and writes from Charleston, SC. He writes about national and global affairs with an eye on Southern history and culture and enjoys listening to his readers.

This Article has been viewed 163 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Christofer French
 286 days 19 hours ago.
73 fans.
I love the breakdown. Had no idea there was this kind of style and political and organizational differentiations. Wow. The long term impacts of these kinds of "styles" would seem to bear consideration. Thanks for the article.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.