News summaries
National Security Inc.
What started as a temporary fix in response to the terrorist attacks
has turned into a dependency that calls into question whether the
federal workforce includes too many people obligated to shareholders
rather than the public interest -- and whether the government is still
in control of its most sensitive activities. In interviews last week,
both Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and CIA Director Leon Panetta
said they agreed with such concerns....The privatization of national
security work has been made possible by a nine-year "gusher" of money,
as Gates recently described national security spending since the 9/11
attacks.
The Washington Post
NY: Possible cause of death: Privatization
When a branch fell from a tree at the Central Park Zoo in New York City
last month, killing a 6-month-old baby and severely injuring her
mother, who had been holding the infant, Mayor Michael Bloomberg
declared it “an act of God.” But in all likelihood it was the act of a
mayor. The Central Park Zoo is public, but its management has been
contracted out. Surely the mayor should be familiar with the repeated
failures of contracting out in New York City over the past two centuries.
The City Council ordered an investigation of these failures in 1825, and the
investigation concluded: “The contracting system has not given satisfaction
to the public.” In 1826, a follow-up committee decreed that contracting out
should be discarded and explained why: “Private interest is too frequently at
variance with public convenience and therefore ought to be abandoned.”
The problems are the same now as they were then: Contracting out diminishes
the level of know-how of the government on the one hand, and contractors
save money by cutting corners on the other....The problem with contracting out,
and the reason it so frequently fails, is that it gives an advantage to the unscrupulous
minority. The body that awards the contract is not a private party acting on
its own behalf but officials acting on behalf of the public, and the level of vigilance
is not the same as that which occurs between private parties. As a result, the
contractor who has no compunctions about cutting corners is more likely to get
the contract both because his price is lower and because he can afford to spend
more money lobbying for the contract. Contracting has been known to fail for 200
years now, yet Bloomberg insists on continuing the practice. In April, he appointed
Stephen Goldsmith, a former mayor of Indianapolis known as a preacher of
privatization, as deputy mayor. The death of an infant is too high a price to pay
for an ideological commitment to privatization. Enough is enough.
Truthdig.com
FL: State overhauling care for former foster youth
The Florida Department of Children and Families and its private
contractors have spent more than $100 million in the past three years
preparing foster care graduates to live on their own and paying monthly
stipends once they turn 18 with little oversight of the program. The
agency is overhauling the Independent Living program under a
legislative mandate after outcomes among foster graduates show dismal
education levels and slight increases in homeless and jobless rates.
DCF is scheduled to announce proposed changes Wednesday....Since
privatizing foster care about five years ago, DCF has had little
knowledge of how much money private contractors are spending on that
population and if the programs are even helping....The "program is
broken and the (local providers) have not been able to demonstrate
successful outcomes," Miami-Dade County Judge Jeri Cohen wrote in a
letter to DCF Secretary George Sheldon. She also chairs an alliance for
providers.
Miami Herald
GA: Battle heats up over Briscoe Field plan
A proposal is underway to privatize an airport in Gwinnett County. The
plan would bring in major commercial airlines. The Gwinnett County
Board of Commissioners proposed that Briscoe Field become private. The
developer says the move would create 20,000 jobs and make it both
cheaper and more convenient for people in the area to fly. Opponents of
the move say that allowing the airport to provide commercial and
passenger jet service instead of just serving private and corporate
traffic would be devastating to the surrounding area. Those against the
plan said that the area surrounding Briscoe Field suffered two fatal
airplane crashes from aircraft departing Briscoe and argued that if one
of the crashes been a commercial jet the potential loss of life would
have been tremendous. Opponents also argue that the move would mean
more noise and cause the property values for homes in the area to fall.
MyFox Atlanta
IL: Mayor Daley's drop
A Tribune poll finds 53 percent don't want to see him re-elected, with
68 percent disapproving of his handling of city corruption...But there
are other drags on the mayor's performance for which he can blame only
himself. One is a sagging reputation for efficiency. The city's parking
meter privatization deal led to soaring rates and malfunctioning
machines that infuriated motorists.
Chicago Tribune
NJ: Senate president urges caution on privatization
Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney released the following statement on
the release of the Governor's Privatization Task Force Report earlier
today: "Certainly state government needs to operate in a more
cost-effective way, but our history with privatization is dotted with
instances where we've had to go back and spend more just to clean up
mistakes. "We cannot rush into privatizing just for privatization's
sake. We need to make certain that we're doing what's best for
taxpayers over the long-run. It would be a mistake to enter into any
agreement that might clear money off the state's books now, but will
end up costing residents more because of new fees put in place by a
profit-driven private firm.....[W]e need to make sure that government services
are operated in our residents' best interests, and not a CEO's."
PolitickerNJ
WV: Technology employees protest outsourcing
About 75 state Office of Technology employees rallied outside of their
Capitol Complex offices Wednesday evening to protest plans to outsource
information technology operations. The move could not only eliminate
their jobs, but also could jeopardize the privacy of West Virginians'
personal data, speakers warned. "Do you want your tax data, your
driver's license information, your health information being made
available to people in other states, or possibly overseas?" asked
Carolyn Saul, a systems programmer..."Privatization has not been a
panacea, but rather a way to plunder public wealth," said Pam Schwarz,
president of West Virginia Public Workers Union UE Local 170, which
organized the rally.
Charleston Gazette
MI: Detroit schools security officers rally
Dozens of Detroit Public Schools security officers rallied today
outside the Teamsters union offices near downtown, protesting the
district's privatization of the school-based security detail....Some
officers said today that they received notices that their jobs will end
Sept. 1....Officers complained that they were not given the opportunity
to apply for jobs that will pay $10 to $11 an hour under the
privatization, about $2 less than the current starting wage.
Detroit Free Press
CA: San Diego landfill privatization raises questions
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said he wants to sell the Miramar
Landfill, but some people say privatizing the landfill may create an
environmental problem...Murtaza Baxamusa with the Center on Policy
Initiatives in San Diego said the city's request for proposals does not
include the same environmental operating standards the city has used.
"We are quite significantly concerned about the quality of how the
management of that landfill will result in a deterioration of our water
and our air," said Baxamusa. The City Council has the final say whether
any proposals are accepted. Councilwoman Donna Frye said she likes the
idea of selling the landfill, but she's not happy with the possibility
that environmental standards could be less stringent under private
operation. Frye also said the council was not briefed and there was not
an opportunity for San Diego residents to comment on the idea before
the city posted the RFQ.
KPBS
FL: Brevard county checks out private option for libraries
Brevard County leaders are researching whether to hire a private
company to manage the Space Coast's 17 public libraries...In June,
Commissioner Andy Anderson and County Manager Howard Tipton met with
officials with Library Systems & Services. The Maryland firm
manages more than 60 public libraries in California, Tennessee, Kansas,
Oregon and Texas...Ken Previti, advocacy chairman for Friends of the
Libraries, dislikes the proposal. "They're going to run it for the most
money they can receive. The assumption that privatization is helpful is
unfounded," Previti said. "Do you want a quick short-term buck? Do you
want to look good to your constituents? Privatize it."
Florida Today
