Rania Khalek has written a great article on privatization that appeared today (May 30, 2011) in Firedoglake titled FOR SALE: THE DESPERATE STATES OF AMERICA
I commented and commend the article but this is such an important and critical issue–the selling of our infrastructure–that I want to call you, yes YOU, to action.
First of all understand that the conservatives have had a plan in place for at least 40 years to bankrupt the federal government. That is there intention and they have done nothing but sabotage the civil service system of this nation for decades. If you want details on the Conservative Wrecking Crew, I know of no better writer than Thomas Frank to recommend to you. If you want more shocking reading of the privatization schemes of the rich, here are a few from my website:
START NOW! RUN FOR OFFICE IN 2012!
QUESTION ALL POLITICAL CLICHES AND MYTHS
THE RICH WANT TO END PUBLIC EDUCATION
Short term solutions sought today by city and state governments will make serfs of the majority in the future
The Evils of Privatization of Public Institutions
______________________________________________________
BUT MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL! TAKE ACTION AWAY FROM YOUR COMPUTER! BECOME A 360 DEGREE ACTIVIST! LET MORE THAN YOUR FINGERS DO THE WALKING!
YOU CAN DO THIS:
Make several copies of this booklet and take them to your mayor/city manager and city council. Talk to them. Tell them that you are concerned regarding steps that they might take to privatize public institutions in your municipality.
See if there are steering committees that you can join. Let them know that you are watching. Let them know that you know there are better solutions out there than privatization.
In response to the fiscal crisis, many cash-starved state and local governments are considering privatizing core public assets, potentially costing thousands of jobs and decreasing the quality of service to the public.
A new report shows workers and interested community leaders how to make sure the public interest is protected and advanced when officials propose privatization schemes. A Guide to Evaluating Public Asset Privatization, published by the research group In The Public Interest, gives basic information about privatization deals, and provides examples of important questions that should be asked when officials propose privatizing public services.
MORE
___________________________________________________________
QUEENS COMMENTS
Remember that Privatization is one of the cornerstones of the economic ideology of the rich.
PRIVATIZATION. Sell state-owned enterprises, goods and services to private investors. This includes banks, key industries, railroads, toll highways, electricity, schools, hospitals and even fresh water. Although usually done in the name of greater efficiency, which is often needed, privatization has mainly had the effect of concentrating wealth even more in a few hands and making the public pay even more for its needs.
For a concrete example of how well it does NOT work, look no further than how the conservatives of Arizona are managing their economy
______________________________________________________
AND ONE FINAL BLAST: PRIVATIZATION IS NOT JUST A REPUBLICAN ECONOMIC IDEOLOGY.
It is the ideology of WALL STREET CORPORATE CENTRIST DEMOCRATS and WALL STREET CORPORATE CENTRIST REPUBLICANS.
and no finer example of a privatization cheerleader in action than Bill Clinton.
Neither Reagan nor George H.W. Bush aggressively pursued the privatization agenda. However, Bill Clinton went at it like a starving dog. At the end of Clinton’s first term, more than 100,000 Pentagon jobs had been contracted out. By the end of his second term, he had cut more than 360,000 jobs from the federal payroll. Over his presidency, he increased federal spending for contracting out from the beginning of his term (1993) by 44 percent. The right-wing Heritage Foundation labeled Clinton’s 1996 budget the “boldest privatization agenda put forth by any president to date.”
SOURCE: Chalmers Johnson, “The Military-Industrial Complex,” 7-28-2008, URL.
