WATTENBERG AT LARGE: Frost Belt
WATTENBERG AT LARGE: Frost Belt
POV travelling on empty South Mall Arterial toward Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza.
WATTENBERG AT LARGE: Frost Belt
High angle view of Ben Wattenberg standing at Empire State Plaza; zoom out to wider view of the Plaza. VS of the plaza featuring Cultural Education Center, high-rise buildings, "the Egg". Tilt up from Empire State Plaza plaque dedication to surrounding buildings. Panning overview of Empire State Plaza. Wattenberg, in voiceover, says the mall became a symbol of government that had lost touch with reality. He notes the museum on the mall that provides history of government in the state, when they provided essential services.
WATTENBERG AT LARGE: Frost Belt
Ben Wattenberg, sitting on an antique fire engine in the New York State museum in Albany, says that essential services provided by government began to change in the Frost Belt in the 1960s. Wattenberg: "Domestic liberalism was in full flower," and that government decided it should do more.
WATTENBERG AT LARGE: Frost Belt
Pan down high-rise building; Ben Wattenberg, in voiceover, says that between 1960-1975, the number of state government employees grew by fifty percent.
WATTENBERG AT LARGE: Frost Belt
Close-ups of government agencies, departments listed on boards.
WATTENBERG AT LARGE: Frost Belt
"The Egg"; performing arts venue.
WATTENBERG AT LARGE: Frost Belt
Adult Caucasian male and female ballet dancers practicing at "the Egg".
WATTENBERG AT LARGE: Frost Belt
A sock puppet in a performance for children given by a clown to teach nutrition.
WATTENBERG AT LARGE: Frost Belt
VS of state government buildings intercut with ballet dancers, female clown, and government department directory; Ben Wattenberg, in voiceover, noting government's increased involvement in peoples' everyday lives led to an increase in government budget by 500%.
WATTENBERG AT LARGE: Frost Belt
Ben Wattenberg, sitting in chamber of the New York State Legislature in Albany, swivels chair to face camera, and explains how continued government growth forces more taxation and borrowing, and when businesses complain, government will attack them for being either heartless or caring only about profits. It's a strategy that only temporarily works. Wattenberg swivels back and gets up.