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Bill would privatize IRS debt collection. The Internal Revenue Service would be required to turn over millions of unpaid tax bills to private debt collectors under a measure before the Senate, reviving a program that has previously led to complaints of harassment and has not saved taxpayers money. The provision was tucked into a larger bill, aimed at renewing an array of expired tax breaks, at the request of Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.); New York is home to two of the four private collection agencies that stand to benefit from the proposal. Newsday
Don’t Turn Over IRS Debt Collections To Private Contractors – Opinion. . . For many taxpayers, these private debt collectors would become the public face of the IRS. And I’m not sure they are quite the people who should be playing that role. The agency already must deal with incendiary congressional rhetoric about jack-booted thugs. Imagine the possibilities when the service has only limited ability to oversee private tax collectors who are working in its name—and on commission. . . . Privatization has been an on-gain off-again fad in Congress and the White House for years. And outcomes have sometimes been less than optimal. . . . I’m not suggesting government contractors are always incompetent or unreliable. Indeed, they have become an integral part of government and are far more effective at doing some tasks than federal or state employees. But based on past experience, it’s pretty clear that collecting taxes is not one of them. Forbes
Video: McCain Continues His Push To Privatize The VA. Senator John McCain interviewed on FoxNews about privatizing the Veterans Administration. Crooks and Liars
Postal union targets Staples over mail services program. The announcement last year drew little notice: The long-troubled United States Postal Service was teaming up with equally distressed retailer Staples Inc. to offer mail services in 82 of its office supply stores. Initially pitched as a modest public-private partnership, the deal has blown up into a major confrontation between the Postal Service and its main union. The postal workers contend the Staples deal amounts to privatization of a basic government function, and they have run protests outside the company’s stores. “We have no problem with Staples staying in the office supply business,” said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union. “We have a big problem with Staples trying to become the postal service for the people of this country.” Boston Globe
How Teachers Are Fighting to Change One of the Most Segregated School Districts in the Country. . . . The ideological backbone of the high-stakes testing frenzy is a neoliberal school reform agenda backed by Silicon Valley philanthropists and the educational product industry. This marketized educational model that promises to close achievement gaps by managing schools like tech startups, measuring intellect with data and firing teachers deemed underperforming. Yet for all the hype around “innovation” and “standards,” schools remain plagued by racial and economic inequality that speak to the unfulfilled promise of Brown v. Board, sixty years on. . . Many progressive educators are wary of the boosterism surrounding charter schools, especially because many are geared toward “underperforming” poor Black and Latino communities. These are the schools that tend to be targeted for shutdowns because they are labeled “failing.” They’re also the schools that are being squeezed by the expansion of charters, which are known for hogging scarce facilities and resources in impoverished neighborhoods. Brian Jones, a former teacher and now an activist and Green Party candidate, warned, “Our schools are more segregated than most in the nation, and it’s the charter schools and the privatization… that are causing that.” The Nation
NE: Child welfare money Nebraska owes reduced to $15M. State officials have reduced the amount that Nebraska owes the federal government for child welfare services that weren’t properly documented, but could still end up paying $15 million. . . Federal officials called for reimbursement in January after noting that Nebraska failed to properly track payments made as part of its troubled effort to privatize child welfare services. Nebraska didn’t require its child-welfare contractors to give a breakdown of how much money was going to foster parents versus other services for neglected and abused children, federal officials said in a January letter to Nebraska DHHS officials. A review of 40 foster-care payments in fiscal years 2011 and 2012 found that the state didn’t comply with federal rules in at least half of the cases, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 99WRAL.com
State officials have reduced the amount that Nebraska owes the federal government for child welfare services that weren’t properly documented, but could still end up paying $15 million. . . Federal officials called for reimbursement in January after noting that Nebraska failed to properly track payments made as part of its troubled effort to privatize child welfare services. Nebraska didn’t require its child-welfare contractors to give a breakdown of how much money was going to foster parents versus other services for neglected and abused children, federal officials said in a January letter to Nebraska DHHS officials. A review of 40 foster-care payments in fiscal years 2011 and 2012 found that the state didn’t comply with federal rules in at least half of the cases, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 99WRAL.com
TX: Toll roads: a tax on roads you’ve already paid for – Opinion. . . It’s a metaphor for how our state government is charging Texans twice for fixing the awful highway system in North Bexar County and beyond. Throw in federal tax subsidies to fix our state’s misuse of taxes dedicated to Texas transportation infrastructure needs, and it’s a trifecta of state financial and political malfeasance. mySanAntonio.com