Headlines
In privatizing liquor, states hope to drink down deficits
Paul: Privatize TSA,
MI: Flint Manager: Selling city water and sewer can’t be ruled out
NH: Private prison interest strong for NH
NH: Prisons: Real costs to privatization – letter to editor
FL: Prison privatization push raises a stink
CO: Gov recommends Pinnacol privatization with tweaks
News summaries
In privatizing liquor, states hope to drink down deficits
The move is being aggressively supported in some states by big box retailers like Costco, which are hoping to get a cut of the liquor market. But opponents say the onetime cash infusion that would come from selling off liquor licenses would sacrifice the revenue generated by state monopolies on liquor sales or distribution. Ohio this week announced details of how it will transfer control of its state-owned monopoly on liquor distribution to a private non-profit. In nearby Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett (R) would like to privatize the state’s control over liquor stores. So far, opponents have managed to derail recent efforts at privatization in Virginia and North Carolina, while discussions are ongoing in Idaho, Oregon and Utah. Washington State is moving forward with a privatization plan approved by a voter initiative in November…Privatization backers like Corbett argue taxes on private sales could make up for revenues lost from state liquor stores, veritable cash cows that are among the few public enterprises capable of making a profit. Libertarians, meanwhile, say states simply shouldn’t be in the business of liquor distribution or sales. They would like to see state governments get out of the game, whether or not it means they lose money. Huffington Post
Paul: Privatize TSA,
Presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, decried the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) airport security procedures as ineffective security and a violation of the Fourth Amendment, as he argued that private forces should protect airports…Paul, who has called for the end of the TSA since his son — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. — was prevented from passing through airport security because he refused a pat down, said that private companies could secure airports more effectively than the TSA. “You know, the people who protect very dangerous chemical plants, they’re private sources, you know . . . they do a very good job,” he observed, adding that “the assumption that the government has to do this is the wrong assumption.” NewsOK.com
MI: Flint Manager: Selling city water and sewer can’t be ruled out
The city’s emergency manager is considering selling off Flint’s water and sewer plants to the highest bidder, potentially generating a one-time windfall of millions of dollars to help steady the city’s shaky finances. Emergency Manager Michael Brown confirmed that a sale of the plants is among the options under review by his office and said he is “nowhere near a decision on that.” Flint Journal
NH: Private prison interest strong for NH
Representatives from more than 20 national and international companies have converged on the Granite State to assess the state’s Request for Proposals for a private prison, even as local residents and some officials have voiced opposition to the idea. The Union Leader
NH: Prisons: Real costs to privatization – letter to editor
I have spent the past six months studying the privatization of medical care in prisons. I found a 40 percent increase in inmate medical negligent lawsuits nationwide and a 20 percent increase over past six years in death of inmates due to medical negligence. And this is just for starters. The quality of staff won’t give the level and quality of care we inmates currently receive. Concord Monitor
FL: Prison privatization push raises a stink
A Senate committee pushed a hotly contested plan to privatize 29 South Florida prisons one step closer last week to becoming a reality. Backers of the move — mostly Republicans — estimated the state could save up to $40 million by getting the prisons off the state’s books. Opponents — mostly law-enforcement unions — argue that safety could suffer and that the bill has been given only two committee stops, which equates to lawmakers trying to ram through the proposal…The proposal failed last year because lawmakers used fine print in the state budget to make the change instead of a stand-alone bill. Tallahassee Judge Jackie Fulford ruled that was unconstitutional, a move Attorney General Pam Bondi is appealing. The same rationale also is at the crux of a lawsuit filed by the Florida Nurses Association last week. They charge it was unconstitutional for the state to privatize prisoner health care using the state budget. The Department of Corrections is currently seeking vendors for the job. Florida Times-Union
CO: Gov recommends Pinnacol privatization with tweaks
Gov. John Hickenlooper is recommending the privatization of Pinnacol Assurance, the state-chartered workers’ compensation insurance fund, despite the ongoing concerns of business groups…Despite those policyholders telling Hickenlooper they support the deal, a number of business groups have been skeptical about the proposed privatization, saying it presents new risks with unclear rewards. Many say they like the present system — under which Pinnacol is a quasi-governmental entity — just fine. The Denver Post