Illinois Citizens for Public Banking

Five Ways Privatization Is Ruining America

From Salon and Alternet, a concise summary of the ways privatization is draining America and strop-mining public assets.

“A grand delusion has been planted in the minds of Americans, that privately run systems are more efficient and less costly than those in the public sector. Most of the evidence points the other way. Private initiatives generally produce mediocre or substandard results while experiencing the usual travails of unregulated capitalism — higher prices, limited services, and lower wages for all but a few ‘entrepreneurs.’

With perverse irony, the corruption and incompetence of private industry has actually furthered the cause of privatization, as the collapse of the financial markets has deprived state and local governments of necessary public funding, leading to an even greater call for private development. As aptly expressed by a finance company chairman in 2008, “Desperate government is our best customer.”

The author, Paul Buchheit teaches economic inequality at DePaul University. He is the founder and developer of the websites UsAgainstGreed.org, PayUpNow.org and RappingHistory.org, and the editor and main author of “American Wars: Illusions and Realities” (Clarity Press).  

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