The Privatization Scam: 5 Horror Stories of Gov't Outsourcing to Greedy Private Companies

[unhappycamper]

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/dave-johnson/55952/the-privatization-scam-5-horror-stories-of-govt-outsourcing-to-greedy-private-companies

The Privatization Scam: 5 Horror Stories of Gov't Outsourcing to Greedy Private Companies
by Dave Johnson | May 16, 2014 - 11:24am

Here’s the scam: For decades we’ve been subjected to constant propaganda that government is inefficient and bureaucratic and expensive. We’re told that the answer is to “privatize,” or “outsource” government functions to private businesses and they will do things more efficiently and everyone comes out ahead. As a result we have experienced decades of privatization of government functions.

So how has wave of privatization this worked out? Has privatization saved taxpayers money and improved services to citizens? Simple answer: of course not. If a company can make a profit doing something the government had been doing, it means that we're losing out one way or another. It’s simple math. And the result of falling for the privatization scam is that taxpayers have been fleeced, services to citizens have been cut way back and communities have been made poorer. But the companies that convinced governments to hand over public functions have gotten rich off of the deal. How is this a surprise?

~snip~

2. Toll Roads

Some states are considering privatizing their roads with “public-private partnerships.” The deal is that private companies maintain the roads and in exchange can charge a toll and make a profit. How is this working out?

~snip~

3. Prisons for Profit

Imagine a system where someone makes a profit if more and more people are put in prison. This is known as a “perverse incentive.” Really, can you think of anything worse than getting a profit to get people put in jail? What you think could go wrong is exactly what does go wrong. These companies want profits, so rehabilitation becomes a “cost.”

[Enthusiast]

1. Kicked and recommended!

Where are your recommendations?

This isn't alarming to you?

[bvar22]

6. I don't think anybody is here.

In a Democracy, there are certain things that should NEVER be "Privatized".

*Prisons

*Roads, Bridges, Transportation grid

*Voting Machines & Vote Tally Machines

*Private Military Contractors

*Schools

*Police & Firefighters

*Health Care

*Administration of Public Lands & the CommonWealth

In a Democracy, Alarm Bells should RING LOUDLY if an attempt is made to privatize any ONE of the above.
Privatizing EVERY FICKING THING has been a Bi-Partisan obsession since Reagan.
It will take decades (if ever) to undo the damage done by the Republicans and their privatization partners in crime, the "Centrist" 3rd WAY DLC "Democrats".

[Enthusiast]

8. I'm with you on all those.

And I am especially concerned about water resources. Water seems to be a target of the greedy.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. That the President is pushing a policy that includes tolled highways

goes to show how invasive this privatization notion is.

The President seems to be incapable of being 'King Log' and feels he must always be 'King Stork'. (For those not familiar with Aesop, it means he cannot leave things alone, and feels he must personally find a way to 'solve' problems, even if the solutions he comes up with will make other things worse.)

The nation faces a myriad of problems, but by coming up with half-assed solutions because Republicans are blocking real, good solutions, voters are left assuming that there is no real point in changing what we've got. That we can 'survive' with governmental gridlock, and that both parties are partly to blame.

But things only 'break free' when crisis arrives. Rather than a system where we actually fix things that are broken by replacing an exhaust system, for instance, when it breaks, we have instead a system where the driver buys cheap 'spray seal' to 'fix' the holes, because he can do that without having to bring in a real mechanic. So we limp along, on an ever more inefficient and dangerous system, rather than coming to a point of crisis and demanding that a real fix occur.

Dems need to stand up for real solutions, not just kick the can down the road and 'hope' that voters will feel that it's better to vote for 'the lesser evil'. Far too often, those who aren't driven to apathy by this setup are those who would rather vote for the greater evil.

[djean111]

3. Shades of the TPP - corporations can sue if their profits are threatened.....

To top it off, the city not only gave up 75 years of revenue for not nearly enough up-front cash, it had signed a contract prohibiting the city from interfering with Morgan Stanley’s ability to profit from the deal. This means the city can’t build parking structures where they are needed and can’t even give out disabled parking permits. The city can’t even close streets to have street fairs or festivals without paying Morgan Stanley for lost meter profits.

In 2007 Colorado leased its Northwest Highway to a Portuguese/Brazilian company for 99 years. The company raised tolls 50% and taxpayers have to pay the company if too many carpoolers use the high-occupancy lanes. The contract includes a “non-compete” clause that "requires payments to the foreign corporation if certain roads or facilities are built in the area that would compete with the toll road." In other words, if traffic gets really bad Colorado is not allowed to do anything to solve the problem for its citizens – mass transit, congestion-relief arteries, etc. -- instead forcing citizens to use that highway and pay whatever the toll is. For 99 years.

In addition, some private prison contracts bind governments to pay if the occupancy rate is below a certain percent - thus the need to keep filling those cells, and the pushback on legalizing marijuana.

[historylovr]

4. K & R

[pscot]

5. Wow. No on could have predicted this.

[CrispyQ]

7. Excellent article.

Wish more people would read it. I'm curious what the anti-government crowd on the other site thinks, but not enough to post it.