Senator booted off budget panel over privatization

[Judi Lynn]

Senator booted off budget panel over privatization

By JAMES L. ROSICA and GARY FINEOUT
Associated Press
Published: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 7:34 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 7:34 p.m.

Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos on Wednesday removed a veteran GOP legislator from a budget panel after he fought a plan to privatize prisons, saying he had lost confidence in the lawmaker's willingness to cut government costs.

Haridopolos said he was stripping Sen. Mike Fasano of his chairmanship of the Senate budget subcommittee that oversees spending on prisons and the courts. He was also removed from the main budget committee.

"I had lost confidence in him to build (on) the mission" of cutting the cost of government, Haridopolos told reporters. "It was a very difficult decision, but I just felt he was not rowing in the same direction. He was not ready to make the tough choices. He couldn't handle the responsibility."

~snip~
The Florida Education Association and Florida AFL-CIO, which represents many public workers, were swift in firing off press releases criticizing the move as "political payback" for privatization interests.

More:
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120201/APN/1202011286

[lostnote12]

2. If I recall correctly....

.....didn't the FL teachers union lose a ton of money in the Enron debacle.....of course a Bush was involved with the manipulation of the funds into a risky investment...you gotta love it when the "adults" are in charge....

[newspeak]

8. yeah, I remember that. Public pensions losing money invested on enron

So, how does private prisons save money? They're in it for a profit. they cut workers' wages and cut costs to make that profit. And then, we have the corruption factor. Like putting people in prison who don't belong there so they can make even extra money off of the backs of taxpayers. And while they are making mega profits off of our money, they are spending that money on politicians against our interests. Privatizing public departments not only screws the taxpayers, but encourages corruption and allows less representation for the people.

These repugs in florida have shown their true colors, greed and corruption over country. "Fascism is business and government against THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE."

[eyewall]

3. It is rather incredible that anyone in the GOP

was against privatizing prisons.

"He was not ready to make the tough choices. He couldn't handle the responsibility."

GOP code for "He wasn't doing what he was told".

[slay]

4. Private prisons - aka Prisons For Profit - aka The Prison Industrial Complex - must be made illegal

FUCK THE GOP. private prisons have an incentive to keep people locked up - they get paid by the prisoner. It's time to put an end to the prison industrial complex and its exploitation of people/prisoners once and for all.

End the drug war and we will never have to build another prison ever.

[2pooped2pop]

6. it would seem the plan

is to put the poor in prison, then have them work for them for free. Now I see they are promoting child labor as well, so I can only imagine that they plan to use the poor prisoner's children for child labor too.

That and the way they are trying to kill the public school system tells me they feel there is no need to educate the poor, you know, since they are just going to be prison yard workers when they grow up and all.

Plus kill the unions under the guise of "Right to work" doesn't bode well for the American family who is not born to wealth does it?

[newspeak]

9. I smell fascism in the air.

Oooh, you people be afraid of those soshhhhhlists. Be very afraid. They might make you take a decent wage, have a nice pension, afford a doctor if you're sick. Be very afraid. They're gonna destroy the predatory capitalist spirit, and ya'll know that's what america is based on-greed and screw the weak. Those corporations have your best interests at heart, it was an accident, they didn't mean to put poison in your food, or contaminate your water or disregard the safety of that mine. They really care about you, really.

[Blue_Tires]

11. +1000

[Art_from_Ark]

5. Every day it seems like the GOP

is trying to break their previous day's record for "how low can they go"

[Roland99]

7. Wonder how much money Haridopolos is making from corporate lobbyists?

[newspeak]

10. yeah, well just like the big pharma screw the elderly bill under little boots

any repug who has an ounce of ethics, morals left is like chum to their fellow sharks. This country is going down the greedy, corrupt, immoral rabbit hole and these corporate, thugs have led the way.

Can we all just pool our money together (what little we have left) and give them a ticket to paradise, somalia?

[Roland99]

12. better yet...since they love religious rule so much....

Iran.