Sewer Socialism For English Water-Works!

The argument for privatizing infrastructure was that (supposedly) the private sector could run these utilities more cheaply and efficiently than a state-owned enterprise. While I have yet to become a red banner-waving socialist, it’s become clearer that while such MIGHT be possible if the enterprise was overseen by an unfriendly, activist regulatory body that saw to it that client safety and environmental protections overrode higher profits to the stock holders and debtors, it is increasingly clear that in practice, increased payouts to stockholders and debt-holders come before any responsibilities towards clients and the folks who live downstream from these outfits. In short, the idea of privatized utilities seems to be failing as badly in practice as state-ownedMarcist-Leninist socialism.

If the idea is a dud, the people and their representatives should throw it out. Sewer socialism seems to work better in practice, and real-life practice ought to trump tweety-bird blue-sky theory.