Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s 2021 State of the State Address: An algorithm for “Precarity Capitalism” despite a global pandemic
In her October 2020 article, Viral Insurgencies: Can Capitalism Survive COVID? Albena Azmanova diagnoses the underlying conditions of America’s economic and political systems. She outlines a political logic that serves as algorithm for the precaritization of society, “a state of economic and social insecurity that ails not just the most vulnerable…but the great majority, irrespectively of class, revenue, education, race or gender.” In this post, I use excerpts of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s January 11, 2020 State of the State Address as demonstration of Azamova’s code.
First, a reminder of context. This speech was given five days after the US Capitol insurrection, where proud Arizona public school graduate, and QAnon spokesperson Jake Chansley-Angeli – horned, half-naked, tattooed, and appropriating the dress of cultures that are not his own – was photographed playing Rocky on the Capitol dais and is believed to have left an ominous note for Vice-President Mike Pence. This was also one week after Arizona’s second COVID-19 wave made the state the world’s hottest transmission spot, when the virus took the life of the mom of my close childhood friend, one of 253 deaths in the state that day. And, this speech was given four days before Arizona recorded the world’s highest 7-day case rate for the second straight week. So I can try to remain focused on political theory and school reopening, I’ll share Ducey’s punchline here, “The critics can say what they want, but the path I’ve outlined is the right path for Arizona.” Clearly.
Step 1: Political logics: Use democratic tools to promote profits over people.
“If there’s an upside to the unique circumstances, it’s that for this year’s address we have more people than ever watching us live from across the state. What we’ve lost in ceremony, we’ve gained in citizen engagement.”
In his 6th year as AZ Governor, Ducey’s priorities include Educational Excellence, 21st Century economy, Protecting our Communities, Fiscal Responsibility, and Happy & Healthy Citizens. His website explains the importance of “ensuring government regulations don’t prohibit or delay hardworking Arizonans from making a living,” his commitment to “being responsible with our budget, investing in the future, and allowing the people to keep more of the dollars they earn,” and the necessity of a “strong, innovative, economy” where healthy citizens have access to “clean water and lands to safely roam, work and play.” Here, he forgot to explain his commitment to school choice and privatization of public schools, choosing instead to remind readers that, “A great economy requires great public schools.”
In his address, Ducey only highlights economic factors in his response to, “Why not more and longer lockdowns? Why not more aggressive lockdowns? Schools, businesses, parks, weddings, funerals, church services – why not ban all gatherings and just lock everything down?
It’s a question that only makes sense if you forget about everything else – all the other troubles that lockdowns set in motion. The rest of life doesn’t stop in a pandemic, least of all our basic responsibilities. People still have bills to pay, children in need of schooling, businesses to run and employees who depend on them. There are lots of men and women who don’t have the option of remote work and don’t receive uninterrupted direct deposits. To make a living, they have to show up somewhere. And if the doors are closed, then at a certain point they are never going to open again.”
Forgetting, or ignoring, the fact that the government could choose to enact measures that protect Arizona’s most vulnerable citizens from eviction and foreclosure, and that those with the most money have profited during the pandemic, he explains, “If we’re really all in this together, then we have to appreciate that for many families “lockdown” doesn’t spell inconvenience; it spells catastrophe… zero income, inability to make a payment, eviction, foreclosure, and real personal anguish.”
Calling on Arizonan resilience and work ethic, he continues, “Our independent spirit, after all, is one reason why so many people feel drawn to Arizona. They see that spirit as well in our respect for hard-working taxpayers. And for Americans tired of living in states with high taxes, heavy regulation, low-growth, and fading opportunity, Arizona has become the destination.
And they’re still coming to Arizona in 2021 because during the pandemic, we never took our small businesses or their workers for granted. As bad as things got, we’re recovering fast. New businesses and residents have been added by the thousands. At this time last year, we were ahead of 45 other states in job creation and personal income growth. Today, we’re still top-five. But some Arizonans are struggling. And it’s got to be our priority to help them with a growing economy and more jobs.” The 11,248 struggling in their graves are encouraged by the prospect of new jobs. “My goal has been to make Arizona the best place in America to live, work, and do business – by letting Arizonans keep more of their hard-earned money. And having come this far, as other states chase away opportunity with their new taxes, why on earth would we ever want to follow their failed and depressing example?” One can only imagine.
Step 2: Government shifts responsibility for social accountability to individuals.
Azmanova posits the notion of “socially irresponsible rule,” where leaders dismiss the negative long term impacts of their economic policy pursuits. From the environmental degradation of increased production and consumption to the deleterious effects on social support networks caused by an ever increasing competitive environment, leaders in “precarity capitalism” often dismantle social services because maintaining them in case of emergency is seen as too costly. Globalization traps both the employed winners and unemployed losers of “precarity capitalism” through “fear of physical insecurity, political disorder, cultural estrangement, and employment insecurity.” COVID-19 and the political pandemic response have exacerbated all four.
Perhaps because it resonates and perhaps as a reach across the aisle, Governor Ducey includes in his speech, a nod to neoliberalism’s “notion of individual self-reliance,” as he makes heroes out of essential workers while completely ignoring the failures of the public health system, especially for Black and Indigenous Arizonans.
“We’ve also had reminders – as if any were needed – of why medicine and nursing are so respected among life’s great callings. I think of Edmond Baker, a doctor and Army veteran who for years has cared for patients in the medically underserved parts of Arizona. Like so many other doctors, he has stayed on call and has never relented, so that no matter who you are or where you live, you can get the care you need.” You, too, can be a hero if you join the military and then participate in the always-on economy.
“Then there’s Regina Villa, a nurse at Valleywise Health Medical Center. The mission, says Nurse Villa, “is truly to care for all people. It doesn’t matter who you are.” It’s been a time when COVID patients can’t even see their families, and nurses can feel like the only friend at their side. Nurse Villa is one of the thousands who have met this crisis with courage, grace, and kindness.” And, you, young woman, just have to be kind.
“And we can never overlook the incredible service of the Arizona National Guard. Consider just the single example of Will Smith, a medic who in 2019 came home from deployment in Iraq. With the pandemic, Will found himself back in a Blackhawk helicopter delivering COVID testing kits to tribal nations. That was Will’s idea of a break from his regular job at Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center.” And, you, too, can drop swabs and bombs in the name of our great country!
| COVID-19 | AZ | WA |
| Population | 7,424,805 | 7,656,200 |
| Cases/100K Last 7 Days | 121.6 | 32.6 |
| Cases Last 7 Days | 61,935 | 17,363 |
| Total Cases | 658,186 | 285,970 |
| Cases/100K | 9,043 | 3,755 |
| Deaths/100K | 151 | 51 |
Speaking of our great country, Ducey paints the social distancing and lockdowns as the root of substance abuse and suicide, forgetting to mention these were also endemic prior to the coronavirus. Interestingly, his website details public safety as the number one responsibility of governments (here I was starting to think it was the economy!) and highlights his “new investments in child safety, an enhanced partnership with local and federal law enforcement, and initiatives to combat human trafficking, drug smuggling, and the scourge of drug addiction.” But, the picture included there (of him standing over crosses in the desert) seems to imply illegal immigrants and not lockdowns are responsible for this despair.
“Often these past ten months, likewise, I met in this office with public-health experts who were describing the broader impacts of COVID-19, beyond the disease itself. Opioid abuse, alcoholism, addiction, mental-health issues, the sheer loneliness of isolation, suicide: there has been no daily count of these human costs, but they are real and they are devastating. And extreme measures by well-intentioned people have unintended consequences that actually do far more harm than good…
And by the way, look at the experience of the other states that did lock down. What do they have to show for their strict mandates and orders? They’re still dealing with the worst of it. Just as we are.” Yes, we all are; however, worst is always relative.
Finally, education – that pillar of democracy and economic vitality that Arizona in 2019 could claim ranked last in per pupil spending – Governor Ducey’s website explains, “He remains committed to ensuring kids and teachers get the resources they have been asking for while realizing that spending is not the measure of success.” Supporting his stance, US News & World Report ranks Arizona’s PK-12 system a much more impressive 44th in the nation. “By necessity during this emergency, many parents have been more engaged than ever in the daily education of their children. Quite a few have found temporary educational options they want to make permanent. It’s their right. Public policy should keep pace, and empower them to make that choice.” Pause for virtual applause for the privatization of social services. “In all of this, we’ve proven that our government can fulfill every obligation, and answer the unexpected needs of a growing state, without raising taxes.”
A new idea, state employees can continue to work efficiently from home, if their kids can go to school, thus the state will sell off buildings in order to fund schools, once. “With remote working by many state employees, we also have the chance to further limit the size, cost and footprint of government. Let’s truly “shrink” government, by eliminating unnecessary state buildings and saving taxpayer dollars, so we can prioritize areas of need, like educating our kids, taking care of our sick, and keeping our neighborhoods safe.”
Finally, all in one sentence for my a clip during his next campaign, “Despite everything 2020 threw at us, in the face of a global pandemic, everyday Arizonans have demonstrated the true state of our state– from our frontline medical workers; teachers, moms and dads; public safety and first responders; small business people; election day workers; grocery store employees, and national guard – we’ve seen heroism, sacrifice, service and acts of kindness, large and small. The state of our state is not only strong – it’s resilient.”
Step 3: Enforce social order through policing bodies; discipline symptoms rather than treat causes.
With this step, Azmanova connects “precarity capitalism” and neoliberalism commodification and/or degradation of social support systems to autocratic rule.
At this point in the speech, President Trump simply repeats the words Law & Order until his base is fired up enough to attack pol– uh, oh? However, Governor Ducey is more nuanced, asserting new policy directions that deny funding for those who do not follow direction. “With every public-health professional, from Dr. Fauci and the CDC on down, saying that the safest place for kids to be is in school, we will not be funding empty seats or allowing schools to remain in a perpetual state of closure. Children still need to learn, even in a pandemic.”
Governor Ducey later invokes a language of equity and care, to require the students (along racial and economic lines that define the “achievement gap”) most underserved by the pre-pandemic school system, and most policed within their school buildings, to spend increased time (50-80 hours) in schools addressing a gap that is the product of racist and failing social systems, not individual efforts. “But still, other kids have fallen behind. There’s been severe learning loss. Kids have missed out on so much. So let’s put our resources on getting them caught up. Before COVID, we had an achievement gap in our schools. And it’s only gotten worse. It’s a problem detailed in a report just last week from one of the state’s leading business organizations – with data showing the gap in student achievement often falls squarely down economic and racial lines. Distance learning has not been good for these students, who often don’t have wi-fi or a laptop available. So starting now, let’s direct resources to helping these children catch up. Summer school, longer school days, one-on-one targeted instruction, tutoring. It should be our goal that every student graduates high school on time and at grade level.”
Without recognizing the fact Arizona unemployment insurance ranks 49th in the nation and that one-third of families are facing food insecurity, Governor Ducey identifies upcoming legislative actions, prioritizing law enforcement equipment and training over funding for health care, housing, or education. “In the coming weeks, legislators and I will have a lot more to talk over. There’s general agreement, for instance, on COVID liability protection, so that a statewide emergency doesn’t line the pockets of trial attorneys with frivolous lawsuits [**What constitutes a frivolous lawsuit in a case where the Governor requires schools to open despite the world’s highest infection rates?]. There’s also an opportunity for a modernized gaming compact that will bring in more revenue for our tribal nations and our state budget [**The state is forcing tribes to settle water disputes as part of the negotiation process, a strong arm approach that decreases tribal decision making power]. Among other agenda items requiring our attention, let’s work on broadband expansion . . . greater access to telemedicine . . . better roads and bridges… continuing to be a global leader on water innovation… better equipment and training for law enforcement . . . criminal justice reform [**Transfer 2,700 inmates to private. “I believe that people have gone through the justice system, they’re in prison, they’re going to serve their time and pay their debt,” Ducey told reporters two days prior]…. and guarding against wildfires, so we stay on top of that ever-present risk.”
While subtle, his speech follows the algorithm of fear based “precarity capitalism,” intentionally ending this list with three fear invoking topics. Ducey closes with a call for hope and unity, “We must all do our part, by doing what we know works: Following public health, wearing a mask, and practicing personal responsibility. With resilience and compassion, we move forward, allowing nothing to get in our way, and showing in the end the best kind of unity there is – the unity of caring about one another.” Of note, in an interview this week, he continued to refuse to order a statewide mask mandate (90% of the state has local mandates), but called on health authorities and elected officials to hold people accountable for mask wearing and social distancing. Perhaps he can make money selling them to a privatized prison?
Edu-speak 