Today there are so many articles out there that make general statements about the goal of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to privatize everything. Many of us that have researched ALEC take for granted that everyone knows the history behind those general statements and we forget that people haven’t seen and read – what we have seen and read.
In this entry I am going to give you some historical background on ALEC’s goal of privatization of public goods and services.
It’s long – but if you finish it – you too, will understand.
The government should not be in the business to compete with private sector services.
1995
PUBLIC-PRIVATE FAIR COMPETITION ACT
Summary
This act prohibits government from engaging in any commercial activity of any goods or services to or for government agencies or for public use which are also offered by private enterprise. It establishes a Private Enterprise Advisory Committee to act in conjunction with the state auditor to review and make determinations concerning state agencies engaged in or proposed to be engaged in activities which unfairly compete with the private sector. It also establishes a system to resolve complaints from the private sector regarding unlawful government activity established in this Act.
Model Legislation
{Title, enacting clause, etc}
Section 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Public-Private Fair Competition Act.
Section 2. {Statement of purpose}
The Legislative Assembly finds and declares that the growth of private enterprise is essential to the health, welfare, and prosperity of this state and that government competes with the private sector when it provides goods and services to the public. It is the intent of the Legislative Assembly and the purpose of this Act to protect economic opportunities for private industry against unfair competition by government agencies and enhance the efficient provision of public goods and services. It is also the intent of the Legislative Assembly that issues and complaints regarding competition between government and the private sector be addressed by the state auditor, with advise from the Public Enterprise Advisory Committee created by this Act.
OOPS, might be typo there – That bolded line in the summary should probably read:
It establishes the ALEC Private Enterprise Advisory Committee to act in conjunction with the state auditor to review and make determinations concerning state agencies engaged in or proposed to be engaged in activities which unfairly compete with the ALEC Corporate private sector members.
As an ALEC legislator – in case you are too slow to understand the bill as written above – they give them a summary to work off of.
Public-Private Fair Competition Act.
The intent and purpose of this act are to protect economic opportunities for private industry against unfair competition by government agencies and enhance the efficient provision of public goods and services. This act prohibits government from engaging in any commercial activity of any goods or services to or for government agencies for public use which is also offered by private enterprise. It establishes a Private Enterprise Advisory Committee to act in conjunction with the state auditor to review and make determinations concerning state agencies engaged in or proposed to be engaged in activities which unfairly compete with . the private sector. It directs the state auditor, in consultation with the committee, to adopt rules necessary to govern the public bidding process & by the private enterprise, It also establishes a system to resolve complaints from the private sector -. regarding unlawful government activity established in this act. (Sourcebook, Vol. 1, p. 115)
OOPS, might be typo there – That bolded line should probably read:
This act prohibits government from engaging in any commercial activity of any goods or services to or for government agencies for public use which is also offered by ALEC Corporate private enterprise members.
Thae “Public-Private Fair Competition Act” evidently wasn’t working too well for them – so they re-worked it and renamed it.
They introduced this one also in 1995 and reintroduced it again – in 2002
Efficiency in Government Act
Section 2. {Legislative Intent.}
(A) It is the public policy of the state to provide the highest quality services at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers. Efficiency cannot be achieved, however, if government is permitted to act as a monopoly, with no competitive incentive to reduce costs or improve services. In order to achieve competition and efficiency, decisions about how services should be provided must be governed by three fundamental principles:
(1) The government should not be in the business to compete with private sector services. Government should look first to the private sector to provide the goods and services that the public needs.
(2) Certain functions are inherently governmental. These activities are intimately related to the public interest.
(3) When activities are not clearly governmental functions, the government should conduct a rigorous comparison of private sector costs and in-house costs.
OOPS, might be typo there – the statement in item (1) – should read:
The government should not be in the business to compete with ALEC private sector members.
Again they had to put a summary of the bill out there for their ALEC legislators that were a little slow and maybe couldn’t understand the entire 5 page piece of “model legislation”.
EFFICIENCY IN GOVERNMENT ACT
This bill establishes the framework for streamlining government and promoting efficiency in government. Efficiency cannot be achieved if government is permitted to act as a monopoly, with no competitive incentive to reduce costs or improve services. According to the bill, in order to achieve competition and efficiency, decisions about how services should be provided must be governed by the three following fundamental principles: (1) the government should not be in the business to compete with private sector services. Government should look first to the private sector to provide the goods and services that the public needs; (2) Certain functions are inherently governmental. These activities are intimately related to the public interest; (3) When activities are not clearly governmental functions, the government should conduct a rigorous comparison of private sector costs and internal costs. A process is set up to evaluate current activities, call for petitions of interest, and implement make or buy analyses. In addition, competitive contracting provisions and rules for cost analyses are established. (sourcebook p.l2l)
And then you have this from Inside ALEC May 2011
This is in keeping with ALEC’s commitment to free markets and limited government. Unfair competition between private companies and government subsidized enterprises is dealt with specifically in our Public-Private Fair Competition Act.
So almost 20 years later, they are still trying to push the good old “Public-Private Fair Competition Act”, even though they also have the "Efficiency in Government Act" - so evidently things weren't moving fast enough for them - after the 2010 elections.
And all this has to STOP!
OOPS, might be typo there – that paragraph from May 2011 should probably read:
This is in keeping with ALEC’s commitment to free markets and limited government. Unfair competition between ALEC private sector member companies and government subsidized enterprises is dealt with specifically in our Public-Private Fair Competition Act.
And if you didn't catch the gist of ALEC's obsession with "government monopolies" - here are some, of many other, additional quotes from other ALEC publications that will help you better understand ALEC's fixation on this topic.
1996 ALEC Business Plan
Report Card on American Education ALEC will publish the fourth annual Report Card on Education in 1997. It is our most quoted work and makes the compelling case for revolutionary change in our monopoly education system .
From a 1997 ALEC Annual Meeting Seminar Description on Education Reform
The basic problems are a centralized governmental education monopoly and teacher unions that assess dues and then utilize them for political purposes … True reform is possible if we can curb the teacher unions, implement charter school legislation, and get school voucher programs passed.
From the 2002 ALEC publication Tax Crisis in the States
The cash infusion from asset sales gives states a breathing period until revenues start rising again at normal rates. Turnpikes, liquor stores, prisons, state buildings, highway maintenance operations, college dormitories - the list of possibilities is endless. To be sure, care has to be taken not to create private monopolies as invidious as the existing public government monopoly, but there are ways this can be done.
Synonyms for invidious: abominable, calumnious, detestable, discriminatory, envious, envying, obnoxious, offensive, repugnant, undesirable
From the 2002 ALEC publication Report Card on American Education: A State-by-State Analysis, 1976-2001
And finally, by forcing the veritable monopoly that is our public school system to compete in an open educational market, we can harness the immense power of the free market system to bring about improvements in our nation’s schools.
From the 2007 ALEC Report Designing School Choice
Any state constitutional provision that, like the failed amendment to the federal Constitution of the same name, prohibits providing public funds to “sectarian” schools. These amendments were designed to retain a monopoly on state education funds
Inside ALEC May 2007 in aan article promoting tax credits for organ donation they state:
The United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS)— the government-contracted monopoly that maintains the organ waiting list—
Inside ALEC Article from October 2007
Lawmakers in Iowa should look to Michigan
Inside ALEC 2008 in an article on higher education accreditation
The accreditors have been allowed to carve up the country into regional cartels, giving institutions virtually no choice in the accreditor they can use. And given the monopoly they exercise, accreditors have been able to apply intrusive, prescriptive standards. Sadly, Congress has allowed them to get away with it.
And, oh yeh – at one point they had to take a jab at the other side of the aisle. In the ALEC Rich States Poor States published in 2009 you will find this statement:
Today, Republicans control a grand total of zero U.S. House seats in all of New England .
And what are they in charge of? A region consisting almost solely of tax consumers sows the seeds of its own destruction.
The good news is that the left’s monopoly status in this region is almost inconsequential.
And to end the quotes – from the 2009 edition of the ALEC report Rich States
ALEC is governed by a Board of Directors of state legislators, which is advised by a Private Enterprise Board representing major corporate and foundation sponsors.
AKA - LOBBYISTS
So you see folks -
It appears that the ALEC privatization agenda is all about making sure their Corporate Profit Sector DONORS get their monies worth.
To ALEC it’s like playing that board game
– the one with Park Place
– and ALEC and their ALEC corporate profit sector members
always get Park Place and Boardwalk
– and ALEC has always picked the "get of jail free" card and always collected $200.
And all this has to STOP!
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