Florida Gov. Rick Scott is dead set on proving privatization is the answer to taxpayer problems with government. The 18-county region in South Florida is about to see its government-run prisons, privatized.
In the Miami Herald, "Corrections Secretary Edwin Buss said ... “This is going to be some of the most competitive bidding the country has ever seen for private prisons."
But for such a massive transfer of public responsibility, there are only two likely bidders. That's not the "free market" at work: that is a group of insiders who have corralled the resources to underbid, at a cost savings of at least 7 percent, a government service.
Rick Scott did the same and made a fortune; underbidding government reimbursable medical costs to patients through his Hospital Corporation of America. It is a clear parallel and begs the question: who would you trust to deliver the best medical services to the underserved-- who include the middle class? Do you trust a businessman, who shaves a hair off the inefficient government service, or, do you empower public health care experts to devise the best plan to serve the most people? And if you have no expectations of the political system-- namely, Congress-- to do the right thing, is it then automatically right to default to the profit motive of a few savvy investors?
It would be interesting, of course, to know whether either of the two eligible corporations to privatize South Florida prisons have made political contributions to Scott or to Scott- related activities. If that were proven to be the case, it would no doubt be defended as the rights of corporations to free speech. It is as ridiculous as entrusting the execution of our foreign policy to mercenaries and private support armies.
The question arises: what is government good for? Why stop at privatizing prisons? Why not privatize schools or armies, why not privatize water supply and the judiciary? I'm not serious about this, of course, because the sum total of America has to be more than making a nation safe for business.
Businesses are inherently selfish: they represent, first and foremost, the needs of shareholders as expressed through management. It makes no sense to believe that just because government has failed, that privatizing government services is the answer. If half as much private energy were put to making government work instead of tearing it down-- as it is today, from the GOP--, ours would be a much nation much closer to the hopes and aspirations of our Founding Fathers. That, sadly, is not to be in Florida.
6 comments:
They already are privatizing schools, if not, what are charter schools? Private schools paid with public money.
They are also privatizing the Miami Marine Stadium.
The question is which services should government provide? The answer should be those that cannot be provided by the private sector.
Armies and police departments have proved nearly impossible to privatize over history, though the use of private, quasi-militaries an security is common around the world.
Schools were provided by private parties for many centuries. Having universal access is often confused with a requirement that the state hire teachers and manage schools. Any parent with kids in our schools, even the supposedly good ones, knows how many problems those schools have.
The fact is that you will be hard pressed to find a situation where the public sector provides a service at a lower cost and higher quality than what is provided by the private sector.
Haiti has private roads, schools, low taxes, corruption, limited government, high debt, low GDP. Shall I go on. The whole privatization thing resonates with Miamians who remember slippery AIrport deals, scams, theft and cronyism. We are the kings of that. When you privatize, you take things out of the sunshine. It doesn't make it better and it doesn't even make it cheaper. Take a look at private prisons if you want to see a specific example of what does not work. Scott has to go.
Haiti?
Have you ever been to Haiti?
Haiti is an over-regulated, socialist state in which only the ruling class prospered.
Try to open a business in Haiti then come back to me about how it is a "Free Market" paradise.
Why does everyone assume that Governor Scott means well? He isn't privatizing because he thinks it will improve anything. It just brings more profit to him and his friends and he has no concern at all for the quality of the service he is privatizing.
Privatizing never improves anything that is privatized. How can it? If you add a profit margin to any service, it is bound to cost more, and the service quality always drops. Additionally the providers have less oversight.
Why even keep arguing this? It should be proved and journalistic effort should be spent on disproving the claims of crooks like Scott who want to privatize. He certainly would benefit. Research that instead of whitewashing his actions and pretending he means well.
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