Hurricanes, Capitalism & Democracy

Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the East Coast, but Naomi Klein says Sandy’s tragic destruction can also be the catalyst for the transformation of politics and our economy. The author of the international bestseller The Shock Doctrine joins Bill to discuss hurricanes, climate change, and democracy. Klein has been in New York visiting the devastated areas — including those where “Occupy Sandy” volunteers are unfolding new models of relief — as part of her reporting for a new book and film on climate change and the future. “Let’s rebuild by actually getting at the root causes. Let’s respond by aiming for an economy that responds to the crisis both [through] inequality and climate change,” Klein tells Bill. “You know, dream big.” In the same broadcast, former Federal Election Commission Chairman Trevor Potter — the lawyer who advised Stephen Colbert on setting up a super PAC — dissects the spending on the most expensive election in American history. Many voices are claiming “money didn’t matter, Citizens United wasn’t a factor,” but Potter disagrees. “Super PACs just upped the ante,” he tells Bill. “If you’re a senator and you have just been elected, or heaven forbid you’re up in two years, you’re thinking I don’t have time to worry about deficit reduction and the fiscal cliff. I have to raise tens of thousands of dollars every day to have enough money to compete with these new super PACs… And that means I need to be nice to a lot of billionaires who often want something from me in order to find the funding for my campaign.”