Five Looming Curses of Privatization

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/17-0



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1. Public treasures sold off for short-term budget needs

In his 2006 budget President Bush proposed auctioning off 300,000 acres of national forest in 41 states. This followed attempts by both the Reagan Administration and Clinton-era Republicans to privatize public land.

***SNIP

2. Infrastructure decaying in the hands of profit-seekers

David Cay Johnston describes the deteriorating state of America's infrastructure, with grids and pipelines neglected by monopolistic industries that cut costs rather than provide maintenance. Meanwhile, they achieve profit margins of over 50%, eight times the corporate average.

***SNIP

3. Water no longer available for the common good

According to Food and Water Watch, "The finance industry is promoting water privatization as a way to help local governments pay for budget shortfalls and improvement projects." The chief economist of Citigroup concurred: "I expect to see a globally integrated market for fresh water within 25 to 30 years."

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4. Our children put at risk with unproven educational methods

The few charter schools with good reviews have functioned with limited enrollments, retention policies favoring likely-to-succeed individuals, and an absence of special needs students. This violates a precept underscored by Chief Justice Warren in Brown vs. the Board of Education: "Education...is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms." Charters aren't even close to that. The Louisiana Believes project, for example, which will eventually be the country's most extensive voucher system, has only 5,000 slots available for about 380,000 eligible students.

[liberal N proud]

1. Great information

Greedy bastards look to any public asset and see ways they can soak a profit out of it.

But that profit is never for the good of the people, only the greedy bastard.

[xchrom]

2. +1

[abelenkpe]

3. K&R nt

[Starry Messenger]

4. k&r

[el_bryanto]

5. 1 and 2 are big problems

And often times they sell those properties for a pittance compared to what they are actually worth; a short term budget hole plugged at the cost of losing years of funding.

Bryant

[CrispyQ]

6. People fell for the "private industry can do it cheaper & better" bullshit.

snip...

In another ominous note for the future, the House passed the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011, which would deny the Environmental Protection Agency the right to enforce the Clean Water Act. Our water is getting dirtier and scarcer. But a hedge fund advisor put a capitalist spin on it, noting the "serious profit opportunities" in water. "If you play it right," he added, "the results of this impending water crisis can be very good."

The repubs planted seeds of distrust & hatred of government & we are experiencing it's fruition. They are going to create a water crisis to make profit from. In the meantime, Apple reports that iPhone 5 preorders topped 2 million in 24 hours.

[annabanana]

7. k&r . . . .n/t