Where was Ford Nation Tuesday night when Toronto city council voted on the controversial 2012 city operating budget?

Where was Ford Nation inside council chambers to ram through the mayor's $20-million budget cuts to city pools, arenas, day cares, TTC service and homeless shelters?

Where was Ford Nation outside City Hall, the throngs of fiscally conservative citizens demonstrating their pro-mayor stance?

Nowhere.

Ford Nation collapsed.

What are some of the forces that are driving the current crisis? How is it pushing forward the agenda of business and governments to get working people and our organizations to tighten our belts and accept their calls for austerity? What forms is resistance taking around the world? What are the strengths and limitations of that resistance and what can we learn from it? With the Ford administration's plans to cut social services, dramatically increase privatization and attack the rights of municipal workers, what do we have to do to resist? How must we change the way we have been doing things in our communities and unions in order to prevent our isolation and loss of our livelihoods and key services?