News

Study: Privatizing Medicare Spikes Overhead Costs

The traditional Medicare program allocates only 1 percent of total spending to overhead compared with 6 percent when the privatized portion of Medicare, known as Medicare Advantage, is included, according to a study in the June 2013 issue of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.  EurekAlert

College Lets Students Cheat, Prof Says

To “maximize revenue” by ensuring that students don’t flunk out, profit-seeking Carrington College posts test questions online so students can memorize them, and it fired a nursing professor for complaining about it, the nurse claims in court. Courthouse News

Attendance ‘scrubbing’ tempts low-ranked schools

In Columbus, a student’s father alleges in a lawsuit that a series of improper withdrawals of low-performing students caused his daughter’s home school to rise in academic status, making her ineligible for a state voucher that allows students in failing institutions to attend better schools. Losing the voucher meant that 15-year-old Kailey Beard’s $9,000 tuition to a nearby private school was no longer covered — and that she couldn’t play sports. BusinessWeek

GA: Lawmakers make step toward privatization at MARTA

MARTA, the backbone of public transit in metro Atlanta, on Thursday moved a step closer to privatization in an effort to put the troubled agency on a firmer financial footing. Legislation was passed by state representatives that required the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority to privatize major functions — from payroll and cleaning to paratransit services. Atlanta Journal Constitution

WI: Critics say Scott Walker’s plan to sell heating plants will cost taxpayers

Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to put the state’s 37 power plants up for sale to fund road projects might bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, but it would short-change taxpayers in the long run, critics of the plan say.  “The whole idea of selling has to do with short-term money gain because we sell the right to bleed the taxpayer in the future,” says Peter Carstensen, a professor at the UW Law School who specializes in utilities regulation. Capital Times (blog)

TX: Internal review rejects idea of privatizing county jail

Privatizing the Harris County jail would be risky and may not result in savings, according to an internal county memo recommending that Commissioners Court keep the state’s largest lockup in Sheriff Adrian Garcia’s hands. The confidential Feb. 11 memo, obtained by the Houston Chronicle, comes after more than a year of study by staff from the county budget office, purchasing office and County Attorney’s Office. Commissioner Steve Radack had suggested the county consider privatizing the jail in 2010, and the court voted to accept proposals in April 2011, when the county had begun laying off scores of staff in a lean budget year. Houston Chronicle

AZ: Rally against toll roads at Arizona Capitol

Arizona is one of a dozen states that have no toll roads. But this is no time to fall asleep at the wheel, warns the Arizona Automobile Hobbyist Council. That could change in the near future, taking a big bite out of Arizonans’ pockets and our freedoms, a council spokesman said. “A little bit of tolling is like a little bit of pregnancy. It’s only going to get bigger and more expensive,” said Bill Gilmore, a legislative liaison for the council, which has championed the interests of the collector-car and hot-rod community for 40 years. To blow the horn about possible tolls and user fees on Arizona roads, the council has called a rally at the state Capitol for next Wednesday. Arizona Republic

KY: Bill would permit public-private partnerships

A bill filed in the Kentucky General Assembly would permit unique arrangements between private companies and state government to pay for roads and bridges. Courier-Journal

 

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FL: Florida to Take Health Law’s Medicaid Expansion

Shortly before his announcement, the governor received word from the federal government that it planned to grant Florida the final waiver needed to privatize Medicaid, a process the state initially undertook as a pilot project. Mr. Scott, who is running for re-election next year, has heavily lobbied for the waiver, arguing that Florida could not expand Medicaid without it.  New York Times

PA: Editorial: Corbett gambles, loses on lottery deal

From the reasoning for turning over the 41-year-old lottery — one of the largest in the country — to an outside, foreign manager, to exactly how that company plans to boost profits, the process has been shrouded in secrecy. . . Perhaps Corbett thought it was going to be a slam dunk; he certainly didn’t seem to be bothered by the criticism. . . If lawmakers want to expand services for seniors, they will have to come up with a plan themselves, debate it in their chambers and sell it to their constituents. That’s the way it should have been done in the first place. York Dispatch

TX: Editorial: A public equation for state lands

Slow down. Think about what you’re doing and work with others before you commit the state to building something it will come to regret. That was the basic message the Sunset Advisory Commission delivered recently to the Texas Facilities Commission, the state agency that’s shown an eagerness to develop state-owned property in partnership with private interests. Concerned about the Facilities Commission’s rush toward development, and critical that plans were being put together without transparency or consultation with other state agencies, sunset commissioners recommended legislators revisit a 2011 law designed to facilitate public-private partnerships. Austin American-Statesman

TX: University may accept proposals regarding outsourcing

If the University accepts proposals to outsource on-campus dining, parking and housing services, it would be the latest step in a long history of outsourcing at UT stretching back through the early 1990s. President William Powers Jr. appointed a 13-member Committee on Business Productivity last year, which spent almost $1 million in University funds to perform an efficiency study of the University and to identify potential untapped sources of revenue. The committee claims that by reorganizing the University’s administrative functions, assets and commercialization practices, the University could save $490 million in the next decade. UT The Daily Texan

WI: Daniel Golden: Privatization is the problem, not the solution

If you really believe the Republican dogma that the sale of well-run and properly maintained state assets such as these power plants is in the best economic interests of the citizens of Wisconsin, you probably also believed Mitt Romney when he said the reason he hid hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign banks had nothing to do with avoiding taxes.  The Cap Times

UT: County union defends suit over mental health services

The union’s lawsuit alleges that the county’s bid to privatize its mental health services is an “illegal attempt to funnel public dollars to a private entity, and to improperly shed its responsibility for the welfare of its residents.” Ukiah Daily Journal

Where Should Colleges and Sports Teams Draw the Line in Selling Naming Rights

Companies often pay big money for the right to attach their name to a sports stadium, college football bowl game or even athletic team (think New York Red Bulls). But does corporate naming ever cross the line? This week, Florida Atlantic University announced its plan to rename its football stadium after a multibillion-dollar private prison corporation. What do you think? New York Times (blog)

 

 

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Another former public education official working for Murdoch

Cozy. Justin Hamilton, who recently left the U.S. Department of Education, where he served as press secretary for Secretary Arne Duncan, has gone to work for Amplify, the online education company owned by Rupert Murdoch and run by Joel Klein….In December, Klein described Amplify’s business strategy at the UBS Global Media and Communication Conference, saying that it was up to the private sector to save public education with technology.  Washington Post

A Company That Runs Prisons Will Have Its Name on a Stadium

On Tuesday . . . the Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton, firmed a deal to rename its football building GEO Group Stadium. Perhaps that pushed stadium naming to its zenith, if only because the GEO Group is a private prison corporation. For this partnership, there is no obvious precedent. The university’s president described the deal as “wonderful” and the company as “well run” and by a notable alumnus. But it also left some unsettled, including those who study the business of sports and track the privatization of the prison industry. To those critics, this was a jarring case of the lengths colleges and teams will go to produce revenue, of the way that everything seems to be for sale now in sports — and to anyone with enough cash.  New York Times

AZ:  Coalition Opposes New “Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2013”

Said Don Steuter, Conservation Chair for the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter, “This bill is nothing more than special interest legislation for a foreign mining corporation.  It allows Rio Tinto to privatize public, sacred lands, including Oak Flat, which are of incalculable value to Native Americans, birders, rock climbers, and endangered species.  And it does this by sidestepping a cornerstone of our environmental laws – the National Environmental Policy Act.  We strongly oppose this bill and we are disappointed that some in our congressional delegation are once again trying to bypass the public and push through this bad deal. This legislation will harm our lands and provide little return to the American public.” Sacramento Bee

PA: Deadline Is Extended for British Firm Bid to Run Lottery

The Corbett administration persuaded a British firm to keep alive its bid to run the Pennsylvania Lottery past a Saturday expiration deadline, gaining time to try to overcome a ruling by the attorney general rejecting the privatization deal as unlawful….The ruling by the Democratic attorney general was a blow to months of efforts by the Republican governor to close the lottery deal.  Governing

PA: Panelists hear concerns about Allentown water, sewer lease

Environmental standards, rate increases and protections for city employees were among the concerns raised by Allentown residents Tuesday night during a public forum on the city’s proposed lease of its water and sewer systems.….But residents and anti-privatization advocates have raised many questions about the proposal, including the effects that it would have on Allentown residents and others in municipalities that get their water from the city’s system. Panelists fielded questions from about 75 people in attendance. Allentown Morning Call

WI: Voucher plan likely to spark fierce fight

Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to expand the private school voucher program statewide, while not allowing public school spending to increase, drew a raft of angry responses Monday from those who fear his budget leaves public school students behind. The debate over Walker’s public education funding proposal and desire to grow alternatives such as private school vouchers is likely to be one of the fiercest in the Statehouse this year, even dividing Republicans who control the Legislature. Beloit Daily News

MI: MSU Professor To Governor: Don’t ‘Privatize Michigan’s Public Schools’ With Vouchers

MSU Professor David Arsen lays out in academic style why he’s alarmed by a Republican push for “legislation to profoundly change funding for Michigan’s K-12 schools….“HB 5923 explicitly seeks to undermine local school districts as the providers of education services. But most Michigan citizens like their local public schools, and they like having democratic control over school boards. Their communities are defined by their local school districts. . . .Community is real. We know that it matters for health and happiness. And people are willing to pay for it. Real estate markets reflect the value people place on local school districts in home prices. Identical homes on opposite sides of a district boundary can differ in price by tens of thousands of dollars. Destroy the districts where people have paid extra for their community schools, and property values will fall.” Deadline Detroit

NY: Online petition to save NYC public libraries

An online petition is underway to push-back on Mayor Bloomberg’s efforts to tie funding of the city’s public libraries to the selling off of library assets—including the crown jewels of the system. SignOn.org

News

WI: Wisconsin’s state power plants may be privatized

Gov. Scott Walker is seeking to sell off hundreds of millions of dollars in power plants or other state assets to help pay some of the borrowing he is proposing as part of his two-year $6.4 billion transportation plan unveiled Friday.  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

IL: Chicago in an Uproar Over Privatized Parking

Chicago illegally privatized four downtown parking garages in a 99-year lease to a private company – which is demanding $200 million because the city approved another parking garage, a government watchdog claims in court. Courthouse News

WI: Walker’s voucher plan angers public school backers

Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to expand the private school voucher program statewide, while not allowing public school spending to increase, drew a raft of angry responses Monday from those who fear his budget leaves public school students behind.  San Francisco Chronicle

FL: Florida’s Prison Privatization Isn’t Paradise

The governor isn’t waiting for state lawmakers to make this move to privatization. In January, the state’s Department of Corrections signed a $48 million annual contract with Wexford Health Sources to outsource medical care to more than 15,000 inmates in South Florida. A month earlier, Corizon Health Inc.’s five-year, $230 million contract to provide services for inmates in central and northern Florida prisons was blocked when a judge ruled the state entered into the deal illegally. Both companies have battled lawsuits in federal and state courts and have been fined in states where the for-profit companies run health services for prison systems. In Escambia County, we have seen how for-profit companies can botch health services for inmates.  FloridaVoices

Professor: Why Teach For America can’t recruit in my classroom

The organization’s facile circumvention of the grinding, difficult, but profoundly empowering work of teaching and administering schools has created the illusion that there are quick fixes, not only for failing schools but for deeply entrenched patterns of poverty and inequality.  No organization has been more complicit than TFA in the demonization of teachers and teachers’ unions, and no organization has provided more “shock troops” for education reform strategies which emphasize privatization and high-stakes standardized testing.  Michelle Rhee, a TFA alum, is the poster child for such policies, but she is hardly alone. Washington Post (blog)

 

 

 

News

Privatizing Roads, Bridges, Schools and Energy Grids? Corporatism Pervades SOTU

While the President pledged to reel in corporations, his grand plans for the U.S. proposed just the opposite…. Obama’s proposed public-private partnerships went far beyond public school classrooms. They also include the country’s most essential infrastructure: roads, bridges, rails and even energy grid… Couched as a way to save taxpayers’ money, the President actually just dangled a considerable carrot in front of corporations: construction grants and partial ownership of nearly all of the United States’ infrastructure. AlterNet

US toll roads get ‘negative’ outlook for fifth straight year

For the fifth straight year, a global rating agency has given U.S. toll roads a negative outlook. Moody’s Investor Service predicts modest growth for toll roads in 2013, but it won’t be enough to land a “stable” rating without a boost in traffic. In its 2013 outlook published Feb. 6, Moody’s said a weakened economy, flat traffic counts and “potential fiscal tightening” by the U.S. government will keep a thumb on toll-road performance in 2013.  Land Line Magazine

Mica Won’t Let His Grudge Against Amtrak Die, Revives Privatization Scheme

Rep. John Mica (R-FL) no longer chairs the House Transportation Committee, but that doesn’t mean he’s eased up on his crusade against Amtrak. Calling the company a “Soviet style monopoly,” Mica used his afternoon address to the U.S. High Speed Rail Association to announce his plan to revive his despised and defeated measure to privatize parts of Amtrak. Mica plans to introduce legislation to end Amtrak’s “monopoly” by allowing “open competition to provide intercity passenger and high-speed rail service.”  Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Letter: The For-Profit Tutoring Experience

I am a teacher in a Catholic school and I work for one of these for profit tutoring companies in Chicago. I provide small group instruction to children in math and reading….The company is squeezing teachers more and more so that the company makes lots of money for their shareholders (because they are paid by the head)… If more people understood what these companies are doing, they would be outraged! Diane Ravitch’s Blog

IL: BGA Urging Open Process For Any Deal To Privatize Midway

The Better Government Association has been putting pressure on the Chicago City Council as city officials weigh possible privatization of Midway International Airport, in an effort to make sure it won’t turn out like the disastrous parking meter lease deal. “That has been the biggest single fiasco in Chicago contracting history,” BGA President and CEO Andy Shaw told WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger. CBS Local

OH: Prison privatization huge flop by governor – opinion

When Corrections Corporation of America spent $72.7 million for one of Ohio’s facilities, Gov. John Kasich thought this would serve as a model for other states stuck in a financial slump. However, it seems that Kasich’s privatization solution has only worsened conditions inside and outside of the barbed wire. Central Florida Future

 

 

News

SC: SC could privatize program for sexual predators

The state Department of Mental Health could privatize its program for sexually violent predators under a proposal that state lawmakers endorsed Monday. South Carolina is one of about 20 states that has a program that allows the state to keep sexually violent predators in prison past their release dates if a judge rules they pose a threat to the community. That program is growing and expensive. MyrtleBeachOnline.com

MS: Mississippi House approves bill to privatize child support collections

House members narrowly approved legislation Tuesday that would let the state Department of Human Services turn over child support collections to lawyers or other private vendors. DeSoto Appeal

PA: Corbett: School grants need liquor privatization

Gov. Tom Corbett said Tuesday a proposed block grant program that would funnel a projected $1 billion to state schools over four years would disappear if lawmakers don’t approve his liquor privatization initiative. Corbett singled out his proposed Passport for Learning initiative as he lobbied for his $28.4 billion state budget plan at a Capitol news conference and a separate economic summit sponsored by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and the Pennsylvania Bankers Association.  SFGate.com

CA: Students plan to rally against privatization

Students will rally today at noon at the Memorial Union (MU) to speak about “blowing the whistle” on privatization and to address the alleged ongoing privatization of the University of California. “If we do not seriously reverse track, we are going to end up with a system of higher education public only in name — because fees will be so high that more and more students will be unable to afford to attend, lest they want to go into even more outrageous debt than many currently are in. By taking this action, we are refusing to be commodified.” The Aggie

OR: Bill to support toll road advances in Oregon

A bill (HB2696) is advancing in the Oregon state legislature to support a proposed investor-financed 12-mi., 2×2 lane toll road — the Coastal Parkway — on the southwestern part of the Portland metro area. Fleet Owner

OH: Privatizing Prison Food: Cutting Costs and Irking Inmates

But a common concern for this time of move is the fact that private contractors don’t have to yield to federal nutrition guidelines. Furthermore, there’s the ever-looming notion of *profit* that hangs in the air. Last year, a deadly riot broke out at a Mississippi detention center following similar turns in food quality and health. Cleveland Scene Weekly

The collateral damage of cutting postal service – Katrina vanden Heuvel

The collateral damage of shutting down Saturday delivery and hours will be extensive — particularly in inner cities and rural areas, where small businesses and working families rely on local post offices, many of which are already scheduled to be shut down. Americans increasingly vote by mail — particularly workers on strict schedules, and increasingly seniors and the disabled. But that works only if the mail delivery system is secure. Kate Brown, secretary of state in Oregon, a leading vote-by-mail state, argues that eliminating Saturday delivery and other cutbacks in the USPS will create delays, increase burdens on election officials and threaten to disenfranchise voters in Oregon. Donahue seems intent on killing the postal service with those proverbial thousand cuts. The private companies would like nothing better than to carve up pieces of USPS. And without it, watch rates soar — as in Germany, where a letter costs 78 cents.  Washington Post

 

 

News

OH:  How Ohio’s Plan To Privatize Prison Food Could Lead To Deadly Riots

Ohio’s taste for privatization is likely to make prison food even less appetizing than it already is. Private vendors can skimp on food quality, quantity, and staff in order to make a profit. Unlike state-run cafeterias, private vendors servicing juvenile detention facilities can skip the federal nutrition guidelines for school lunches…. Poor food quality and sanitation have sparked multiple deadly riots at private prisons run by corporations like CCA and GEO Group. In one prison, inmates were fed soup filled with worms, while other prisons served burritos and brownies contaminated with human feces. The cost-saving claim of the plan is also dubious; Ohio’s last flirtation with Aramark in 1998 ended because the company insisted on being paid by daily inmate count rather than by actual meals served, which drove up costs by $2 million. ThinkProgress

OH: City’s plan to privatize parking key debate of mayoral race

The owners of nearby Cappel’s, the venerable accessory and party supply store, don’t want the city to sell the meters to a private company.  “It’s really going to discourage customers from coming to town, and I’m sure the enforcement is going to be significant, so that – that makes it even worse,” said business owner Diane Cappel.  The issue of leasing street meters to a private company is helping define this year’s campaign for mayor.  WLWT Cincinnati

PA: Researchers: Easier access to booze has a downside

So say public health researchers, who point to a body of evidence that suggests making alcohol easier to purchase and less expensive — goals of Gov. Tom Corbett’s plan to end Pennsylvania’s system of state-owned liquor stores — will lead to more consumption and an increase in a host of social and health problems. “I think in the research world, you never have 100 percent consensus,” said Traci Toomey, a professor with the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health who sits on the board of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “But among those of us who do alcohol policy research and alcohol research in general, there is a strong agreement that as we increase availability of alcohol, we see a corresponding increase of a wide range of problems.”  Allentown Morning Call

DE: Board overseeing Wilmington port gets presentation from Kinder Morgan amid privatization talks

Representatives of energy giant Kinder Morgan are giving a presentation to the state board that oversees the Port of Wilmington. Dimond State Port Corporation comes as the Markell administration continues negotiations with Kinder Morgan over privatizing operations at Wilmington port. Last month, lawmakers approved a bill giving the General Assembly a say before any privatization deal is signed.  Gov. Jack Markell signed the measure even though his administration opposed legislative interference, saying it could upset delicate negotiations and even torpedo a deal. Washington Post

TX: Editorial: Money misspent on prisons is money better spent elsewhere

There was a time not all that long ago when Texas prisons were jam-packed. Now, because of falling crime rates and a move away from trying to incarcerate as many convicts as possible, about 10,000 bunks might be going unused in Texas’ 111-prison system. There are hundreds of additional empty bunks in the state’s six prisons for juvenile inmates. Even with all this empty state-run space available, Texas pays $123 million a year to lease beds from private prison companies, as the American-Statesman’s Mike Ward reported last week. This is money poorly spent that could be redirected elsewhere. The number of unused beds in state prisons gives legislators the opportunity to consolidate Texas’ prison system and close more prisons beyond the one they agreed to close in 2011. Additional money can be saved by ending contracts with private prison companies. Austin American-Statesman

The Postal Service Outrage

You are probably hearing that the Post Office is “in crisis” and is cutting back Saturday delivery, laying people off, closing offices, etc. Like so many other “crises” imposed on us lately, there is a lot to the story that you are not hearing from the “mainstream” media. The story of the intentional destruction of the U.S. Postal Service is one more piece of the story of crisis-after-crisis, all manufactured to advance the strategic dismantling of our government and handing over the pieces to billionaires. OurFuturel.org

 

 

News

Privatising the oceans

One key measure proposed by the EC to resolve over-capacity in the current climate of economic austerity, was the creation of transferrable fishing concessions (TFCs) — quotas that fishermen can sell on the market. These would cost the EC nothing, but there was serious concern that their widespread use would lead to the privatisation of the contents of the oceans, allowing quotas to fall under the control of the financial markets and would mean the programmed end of small-scale fishing.…In legal terms, the content of the oceans is what the Romans referred to as res omnis, the property of all. For months, the NGO coalition Ocean2012, small fishermen and some politicians had been warning MEPs that “as soon as you privatise access, you privatise the resource”, and on 18 December the introduction of TFCs was rejected by a large majority. LeMonde

David Kolb: Don’t let the GOP kill the Post Office

Let’s be clear: This “crisis” is entirely preventable, and was brought on by Republicans to weaken, and then kill off, a great government service in order to allow their pals, the privatization vultures, to consume the carcass. The Muskegon Chronicle

Global education market reaches $4.4 trillion — and is growing

Good news for those who see school reform as a way to make big bucks: A new report says that the global education market is now worth $4.4 trillion — that’s TRILLION — and is set to grow a lot over the next five years….And in the United States, the education policies of former president George W. Bush, and now President Obama, have spurred a trend toward privatization of of public education. For more than a decade now, market forces have been driving school reform. Are schools any  better? The real question is how much worse have they become. Washington Post

DC: D.C. debates growth of charter schools

It’s the latest sign that the District is on track to become a city where a majority of children are educated not in traditional public schools but in public charters: A California nonprofit group has proposed opening eight D.C. charter schools that would enroll more than 5,000 students by 2019.,,, Rocketship’s charter application — which is the largest ever to come before District officials, and which might win approval this month — arrives on the heels of Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s decision to close 15 half-empty city schools, highlighting an intense debate about the future of public education in the nation’s capital. Washington Post

FL: Cashing in on state contracts becomes growth industry

Florida’s two-decades-long push to shift state services to contract vendors has meant big business for a burgeoning industry of lobbyists….No one is keeping track of the total, but Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater last year estimated the total contract expenditure for Florida’s 2011-12 budget cycle at $50.4 billon — 72 percent of the budget. The bulk of it, nearly $42 billion, was for healthcare contracts and service sector grants that often are never competitively bid. “We probably privatize, or outsource, more than some of the Northeastern states — and we have a lot more volume,’’ said David Wilkins, a retired business executive who was tapped by the governor to review the state’s byzantine contracting process. He also is secretary of the Department of Children and Families. Miami Herald

FL: Public schools lose millions to crooks and cheaters

Florida’s Department of Education doesn’t screen backgrounds of the people who profit from subsidized tutoring, and it seldom cracks down on companies accused of improper billing, illegal marketing and low-quality tutoring. Overwhelmingly, the state has allowed these companies to continue earning tax dollars year after year….The state was set to shut down the program when lobbyists for the tutoring industry stepped in. They convinced state lawmakers to keep the money flowing…. The companies are paid at a dramatically higher rate than conventional public schools. In the 2009-10 school year, the most recent period for which numbers are available, the state spent $9,981 per student — about $11 an hour. Florida spent $58 an hour, more than five times as much, on private tutoring. Tampa Bay Times

PA: Public education the focus of Pittsburgh rally

American public schools have leveled the playing field for poor children and provided opportunities for children of all backgrounds for more than a century. But their ability to continue to do so will continue to erode unless the community works to establish adequate, equitable and sustainable government funding for public education, local education activists said Sunday. Pittsburgh Post Gazette

NY: Be Our Guest: Fix LIPA and keep it public

It’s true, LIPA is a mess. It is saddled with debt that comes from bailing out shareholders from the last failed effort to privatize the utility, then LILCO. But the bank-like private utilities to whom LIPA would be sold are not to be trusted. They have a long record of lining their pockets at the expense of New Yorkers. State regulators should not sign off on the deal. After three decades of moving ever deeper into privatizing public infrastructure, regulators should insist that essential public infrastructure should be managed for the public, not for profit. In the aftermath of Sandy, as we’re examining the failure of our infrastructure, regulators should call for a responsible, public approach to infrastructure.  New York Daily News

 

 

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PA: Convention Center board votes to seek privatization proposals

The board of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority voted Thursday in favor of seeking proposals from companies to privatize certain functions of the Convention Center…. “As a public agency, federal tax rules prevent us from fully privatizing with a for-profit venture,” Fox said. “There are some limitations. Philadelphia Inquirer

OH: Council should heed the red flags from Chicago – opinion

While a large lump sum to lease Cincinnati’s parking meters, lots and garages might sound like a sweet deal, we must consider potential pitfalls and hidden costs that often accompany privatization deals. Chicago is now suffering from buyer’s remorse, and Cincinnati is in a position to learn from its mistakes. In particular, there are three common problems with privatization that should make City Council think twice about its privatization plans.  Cincinnati.com

OH: Kasich plans to privatize food service at prisons

Up to 456 state jobs could be lost, but many employees could be offered positions with the private contractor, officials at both agencies said. Exactly how many jobs that would be is unknown. The proposal, included in Gov. John Kasich’s budget released Monday, is vigorously opposed by the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, the union representing 33,000 state workers, including prison staff. Columbus Dispatch

IL: Chicago Midway Plan Draws Interest From Ferrovial, GIP           

The leasing of Chicago’s Midway International Airport is drawing investor interest from Global Infrastructure Partners LP to Ferrovial SA, London Heathrow’s biggest shareholder, as privatization efforts advance.  Bloomberg

NH: House Hears Bill To Ban Prison Privatization

The bill to ban private prisons comes as the state continues to evaluate bids from private contractors for three potential projects: a 1500 bed facility for men; a 200 bed facility for women and a third co-ed prison. The lead sponsor of the proposed ban, Keene Democrat Tim Robertson, says NH needs to stay far away from letting for profit companies run NH prisons. “There is no evidence that they can actually save you money and the incentive is for them to get more money out of us by keeping people in longer and in longer and treating them worse.” NH Public Radio

Background on the $15.9 Billion Loss by the Postal Service

Congress has put the Postal Service in an impossible situation. It has imposed restrictions, like the requirement that all assets in its pension and retiree health fund be invested in government bonds that substantially raise its costs relative to competitors. It has also prohibited USPS from getting into new lines of business that take advantage of its resources in order to protect private sector companies from competition. However it still expects the USPS to be run at a profit. Clearly the Post Service would face difficulties in any case as technology has led to a shift away from first class mail, the system’s main source of revenue. However the restrictions that Congress imposes makes it impossible for USPS to adjust to changing economic conditions.  CEPR

The post office can still be saved, but its grave has been dug

Elaine C. Kamarck of Harvard Kennedy School of Government has observed the essential contradiction in Congress’ attitude toward the post office from the very beginning of its new life as a corporation. “Congress wants it to be self-sufficient but doesn’t want it to make money.” Kamarck continues: “For example, in the mid-1970s, the post office was told to remove copy machines from post offices under pressure from lobbyists representing office equipment stores who feared that USPS was taking away its business…”Years later, when Internet shopping took off, the delivery of packages to individual households should have resulted in a dramatic increase in USPS business. But parcel shipments were generated by large organizations and the USPS was not allowed to negotiate discounts and thus lost business. It was forbidden by law from lowering prices to get more business. This resulted in the entirely incredible situation in the 1990s where the United States government negotiated an agreement for the delivery of U.S. government package services with Fed Ex because the USPS was not allowed to negotiate for lower prices!”  Alternet

 

News

PA: Voter poll pulls losing numbers for Corbett’s lotto plan

A Daily News/Franklin & Marshall College Poll released Thursday shows that registered voters strongly oppose Corbett’s plan to privatize the Pennsylvania Lottery and don’t like the way he’s pursuing that goal. And, as with a long-running series of polls, Corbett’s job approval numbers are anemic as he turns toward a campaign for a second term in 2014. Sixty-four percent of the voters polled said they oppose his plan to turn over control of the lottery to a British company, Camelot Global Services. Just 18 percent support the idea, which Corbett announced Jan. 11. Nearly one in five voters, 18 percent, didn’t have an opinion.  Phlly.com

NM: NM Schools Chief Overrules Panel, Clears Path for Virtual School

New Mexico state schools chief Hanna Skandera has overruled her state’s public education commission and approved a new statewide online provider, arguing that the panel’s rejection of the virtual program relied on faulty logic and a misreading of the law. The online provider, Connections Academy, seeks to operate a full time, virtual charter school in New Mexico. The state’s public education commission, an elected body, in September rejected the academy’s application by a 6-3 vote. Education Week News

OH:  City Councilman petitions to stop outsourcing

Sittenfeld, who has been a vocal opponent of a proposed plan to lease Cincinnati’s parking meters and garages to a private company, said the petition has been circulated in business districts including Oakley, Mt. Lookout, Clifton and Hyde Park…. Mark Rogers, The only reason a business would be interested in buying the right to lease parking is if it expected to make a lot of profit, said Rogers. “If there is that much profit on the table why would we give that away?” Cincinnati.com

MS: Miss. considers privatizing child support collections

The Mississippi Department of Human Services could hire private companies to handle child support collections under a bill that passed the state Senate on Wednesday. Jackson Clarion Ledger

IL: Privatizing Chicago – opinion

On the surface, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is taking great pains to assure the public that any Midway transaction will not be a sequel to the parking meter fiasco…. While such good intentions are welcome, the public’s comfort level would be much higher if there were a law that established a clear set of rules to ensure an open, transparent and accountable process for every privatization transaction. Unfortunately, the City Council, charged with keeping a watchful eye on such dealings, has not rallied to that important cause. The council has buried a proposed privatization disclosure act in the Rules Committee, where it cannot get a full public hearing.  Chicago Tribune

Study: Private Prison Growth Can Impede Local Job Growth

Researchers at Washington State University are challenging the widespread belief that private prisons can help job growth in rural counties…. “What we found is that when a new prison opens in a rural county, they tend to have fewer jobs instead of more,” says Gregory Hooks, a WSU sociology professor. “There is no evidence of private prisons being statistically significant in terms of job growth but we did find that states embracing privatization went the other way.” The Skanner

Taking a Stand Against Water Privatization in Our National Parks

One of the strategies corporations like Coke employ to undermine our faith in the public water system is using our national parks to promote and sell bottled water—one of the most environmentally destructive products on the market. That’s why Corporate Accountability International, the membership organization working to protect human rights, public health and the environment from irresponsible and dangerous corporate practices, is working to compel Yosemite National Park and Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) to buck the bottle. We want these parks to join the tens of thousands of people, businesses, public officials, universities and fourteen other national parks in declaring freedom from bottled water. Beyond Chron