Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPrivate government was the logical next step, of course
JobsOhio is back in the news:
Theyre not elected, theyre not subject to public records laws, theyre not subject to any outside audit or ethics review yet theyre directing public policy in Ohio and spending millions of public dollars. Arent public-private partnerships great? The public has absolutely no information or power other than that which the board members deign to give us. Theres no public role in this at all.
I love the assumption behind these privatization schemes-that private entities spending public money are much more ethical and honorable than public employees so require no oversight at all other than self-policing on ethics questions by JobsOhio board members. The people who represent wealthy business interests and sit on this board arent just smarter than public employees or the rest of us dopes in the cheap seats, theyre better people. Has that been your experience in the private sector? It certainly hasnt been mine, on either smarter and better. Its self-perpetuating, too, because the more privatized government boards hand out tax breaks and public payments to private entities, the less money there is to fund public entities and public government, leading to still more demands for privatization from the same cast of characters. Nice racket they got going.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2013/08/15/private-government-was-the-logical-next-step-of-course/
Kasich defended his administrations privatized economic-development agency in the wake of a complaint filed last week with the Ohio Ethics Commission by Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the likely Democratic nominee for governor in 2014. FitzGerald requested a thorough ethics investigation by the commission of possible conflicts of interest by JobsOhio board members.
But the commission could not take the case because it has no authority over JobsOhio. Kasich signed a bill in June exempting the nonprofit agency from scrutiny by the state auditor and from the purview of the ethics commission, subjecting it instead to annual audits by a private firm it hires and self-policing on ethics questions by JobsOhio board members.
Theyre not elected, theyre not subject to public records laws, theyre not subject to any outside audit or ethics review yet theyre directing public policy in Ohio and spending millions of public dollars. Arent public-private partnerships great? The public has absolutely no information or power other than that which the board members deign to give us. Theres no public role in this at all.
I love the assumption behind these privatization schemes-that private entities spending public money are much more ethical and honorable than public employees so require no oversight at all other than self-policing on ethics questions by JobsOhio board members. The people who represent wealthy business interests and sit on this board arent just smarter than public employees or the rest of us dopes in the cheap seats, theyre better people. Has that been your experience in the private sector? It certainly hasnt been mine, on either smarter and better. Its self-perpetuating, too, because the more privatized government boards hand out tax breaks and public payments to private entities, the less money there is to fund public entities and public government, leading to still more demands for privatization from the same cast of characters. Nice racket they got going.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2013/08/15/private-government-was-the-logical-next-step-of-course/
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 651 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (12)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Private government was the logical next step, of course (Original Post)
phantom power
Aug 2013
OP
atreides1
(16,091 posts)1. A government of the people...as the saying goes!
Isn't this what the majority of the voters in Ohio voted for? This i what the "people" wanted, granted they're very stupid people...but most Republican/Tea Party supporters are stupid!
Baitball Blogger
(46,756 posts)2. Glad to see that people are catching on to this con job.
This fits in line with the expose I'm writing about.