Headlines
The unfunded liabilities you love
NY: Suburbs cut public workers
PA: State store privatizing bill revived in House
LA: Louisiana  makes bold bid to privatize schools
OH: Highway repair to go private?
OH: OSU students, faculty unsure about pending $483M parking lease
OR: O&C act fails to guard public interest in forests – opinion

The unfunded liabilities you love
Here it comes: economic Armageddon. Reckless promises to finance the future costs of health care and retirement contribute to a crushing debt burden on American families that can be relieved only by cutting back on the size of government. Mr. Romney seems to believe that government spending cuts would simply reduce unfunded liabilities — projected commitments that are not covered by projected revenues. But they are likely to simply redistribute these liabilities, shifting them from government to individuals — especially those with children to educate, or sick, disabled or frail family members to care for…If public spending on health, education and retirement declines, private spending will increase, though probably not by the same amount, because some families won’t be able to afford the services they need and will go without. Family financial instability will increase. Growing debt among college students is largely a consequence of declining public support for higher education. Many families are only one job loss or medical emergency away from bankruptcy. New York Times

NY: Suburbs cut public workers
Still reeling from the effects of the 2008 recession, suburban governments across Greater New York are closing big budget deficits with a measure of last resort: public-sector layoffs..Suffolk County on Long Island is facing its largest wave of public-sector layoffs since the early 1990s, with more than 300 non-police positions set to be slashed on July 1. Yonkers is proposing the elimination of 112 police officers, firefighters and public works employees as it tries to close an $89 million hole in its $938 million budget.And across New Jersey, cities, towns and counties have carried out or are contemplating at least 1,000 layoffs, according to the state Civil Service Commission..The series of job cuts demonstrates how suburban governments are reckoning with rising pension costs and continuing to feel the effects of an economic downturn that ravaged local tax revenues. Having exhausted their other options—raiding rainy-day funds, taking advances in state aid and grasping at other one-time revenue shots—suburban officials are increasingly turning toward cutting jobs.  Wall Street Journal‎

PA: State store privatizing bill revived in House
Though June is crunch time for the state budget — and it’s nearly summer in an election year — Pennsylvania House Republicans are making another push for action on a bill to privatize the state’s Liquor Control Board. Philadelphia Inquirer

LA: Louisiana  makes bold bid to privatize schools
Louisiana is embarking on the nation’s boldest experiment in privatizing public education, with the state preparing to shift tens of millions in tax dollars out of the public schools to pay private industry, businesses owners and church pastors to educate children. Starting this fall, thousands of poor and middle-class kids will get vouchers covering the full cost of tuition at more than 120 private schools across Louisiana, including small, Bible-based church schools. The following year, students of any income will be eligible for mini-vouchers that they can use to pay a range of private-sector vendors for classes and apprenticeships not offered in traditional public schools. The money can go to industry trade groups, businesses, online schools and tutors, among others. Every time a student receives a voucher of either type, his local public school will lose a chunk of state funding. INDOlink

OH: Highway repair to go private?
State transportation officials are considering paying private contractors to plow snow, fill potholes and take over maintenance of I-270 in central Ohio and a 100-mile stretch of I-71 between Columbus and Cincinnati. The plans are part of a stepped-up effort to cut costs and produce new income that could shorten threatened delays for dozens of highway projects statewide. The Ohio Department of Transportation says it needs $1.6 billion to keep its construction schedule on track, and it has an additional $10 billion in work being planned with no current way to pay for its completion. “We cannot wait for Washington to send more money,” Director Jerry Wray said last week in an address to department employees, contractors, legislators and local officials. “We have to focus on what we control and what we can change now in Ohio.” Jim Riley, a deputy ODOT director hired in March to run a new division that will spearhead such revenue efforts, said he has just begun studying the idea of privatizing maintenance and couldn’t project how much money it might save. Columbus Dispatch

OH: OSU students, faculty unsure about pending $483M parking lease
Ohio State officials announced the highest bid for leasing university parking assets to an outside firm as $483 million, and many students and faculty are still unsure on the possible deal…If recommended to the Board and then passed, the private company, which has yet to be named, will take over operations of all permit sales, parking lots and parking garages for a 50-year period…Another Faculty Council member, Enrico Bonello, a professor in plant pathology, was not convinced the proposal was a good deal for the university. “This is tragic for Ohio State, because it shows a complete top-down control of the financial well being of the institution, one which, in this case, is based on a huge gamble,” Bonello said. Alutto said the administration has a number of meetings and planning stages set before making its recommendation to the Board at its meeting June 21-22. The Lantern

OR: O&C act fails to guard public interest in forests – opinion
The act is a political effort to achieve the de facto privatization of 1.5 million acres of public land. Its aim is to increase logging by decreasing citizen involvement and environmental protection. The act would privatize federal forestlands in Oregon currently managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. These forests are now subject to citizen comment and the scientifically astute management guidelines of the Northwest Forest Plan. Supporters try to convince us that this is the only practical way to increase and stabilize timber supplies, revenue and employment. They aren’t telling us how previous privatization schemes worked out. The Shelton Ranger District in Washington was privatized as a “sustained yield unit.” Logging, related employment and revenue boomed until the 110,000 acre district was quickly cut out. Taking the Shelton District out from under federal protection eventually resulted in denuded and eroded watersheds and lost salmon runs. Communities forfeited their future, forest and livelihood while Simpson Timber Co. made millions. The Register Guard