Those of us who spend our days bashing the public sector have been giddy at the news that the budgetary standoff between Governor Paterson and the New York legislature may force the state government to shut down next week. But over at the Center for a Stateless Society, columnist Darian Worden throws cold water on the notion that it’s going to be all anarchist fun and games next week if the legislators take their marbles and go home.
Officials intend to continue funding “essential” services, like the State Police (who disrupt highway traffic) and prisons (which mostly house those who commit victimless non-crimes). What will close are bureaucracies like the Department of Motor Vehicles, a government monopoly that people only need to use because essential government workers force them to. State-controlled parks would close, and the computer system that processes Medicaid claims would probably not be operating.
Read the rest here.
And if you haven’t seen the latest print edition of Serf City, Darian Worden wrote one of the front page articles about how the subways would be safer in a free society.