News

PA: Challenges to lottery privatization plan add up for Corbett

With challenges mounting to the proposed privatization of the Pennsylvania Lottery’s management, Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration is trying to counter negative publicity and make the case that a British firm’s $34 billion bid is the best option to satisfy growing demand for state services for the elderly.  Tribune-Review

PA: Editorial: Why the rush on Pa. lottery privatization?

It would be understandable to push privatization of the lottery if Pennsylvania had been doing a poor job managing it. There are certainly things government does not do well. This newspaper has been critical of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. But by just about any measure, our state’s lottery is pretty good.  The Patriot-News

IN: Indiana’s rocky road to welfare reform

In 2006, Gov. Mitch Daniels privatized the management of the welfare-benefits system with a project led by IBM….It was, by Daniels’s own admission, a failure. Critics accused him of ignoring the lessons of a failed privatization effort in Texas. People were wrongly denied benefits and documents were lost, according to a lawsuit the state filed against IBM. Daniels canceled the IBM contract in 2009…. This July, a Marion County judge awarded $52 million to compensate IBM for cancellation of the contract, castigating the state for “misguided government policy” and IBM for “overzealous corporate ambition.” In an interview, Daniels said the current, revised system – a public-private hybrid – is a success.  Reuters

NC: Toll road pits saving time versus spending money

The completion of North Carolina’s first toll road means area drivers have to balance the cost of driving on the new highway against a savings in time and money, officials say. WRAL.com