Dr.Adrian Moore, Vice President of Public Policy of the Reason Foundation, is an
Advisor to the American Legislative Exchange Council's Commerce, Insurance
& Economic Development Task Force.[6] Reason Foundation representatives
have also advised ALEC Task Forces on issues such as state budgets [7], and
health reform. [8]
The
Reason Foundation's Director of Government Affairs, Mike Flynn, was previously
policy director for ALEC. [9]
Anyway - now that I have made the link to the nasties - here's another story of privatization failure.
Chicago parking meters will be US's most expensive
After the first of the year, the
cost of parking in Chicago's downtown Loop area will rise to $6.50 an hour.
CHICAGO — Chicago soon will have
the nation's most expensive downtown parking meters.
On New Year's Day, meters in the
city's downtown Loop area will begin charging $6.50 an hour — up from $5.75.
A report from the San Francisco
Municipal Transportation Agency says the rate change will make Chicago the city
with the most expensive metered parking.
The company that operates the
meters plans to have all machines set to the new rates by the end of February.
Former Mayor Richard Daley got the
City Council to approve the company's 75-year contract in 2008. In return, the
city got a $1.1 billion payment — much of which has already been spent.
Current Mayor Rahm Emanuel has
ordered an independent audit of the deal, which is now largely viewed as a
financial disaster.
Mayor Daley may get the blame for it in the article but everyone
knows – one person, all by themselves, does not make that type of decision..
The real blame
The real blame falls with the overall political opinion
pushed by organizations and politicians from ALEC that everything should be
privatized.
From a PFAW Report titled “Predatory Privatization” (my emphasis):
The American Legislative Exchange
Council and its corporate and right-wing allies promote antidemocratic
privatization of public assets and government services.
As the Huffington Post reported last
June, “The finances of Harrisburg, Pa., are so desperate that local officials
are considering a deal they fear will ultimately make the city more miserable.”
Part of the plan involved leasing or selling the city’s parking garages,
resulting in the long-range loss of valuable and leaving city residents
vulnerable to the whims of a private corporation. One proposal would have given
investors leasing garages the power to double parking rates twice a year. “This
is a situation where Wall Street will get paid, and the little guys on Main
Street, taxpayers, are going to get stuck holding the bag,” said City Council
member Brad Koplinski in June.
To accomplish these initiatives,
ALEC contends that “state governments can take an active role in determining
which products and services should be privatized.” ALEC advocates three
reforms: creating a “Private Enterprise Advisory Committee” to review if
government agencies unfairly compete with the private sector; creating a
special council that would contract with private vendors if they can “reduce
the cost of government”; and creating legislation that would require government
agencies to demonstrate “compelling public interest” in order to continue as public
agencies.
In 2009, the city of Chicago sold
the city’s parking meters to a group of companies led by Wall Street giant
Morgan Stanley, which includes an investment fund owned by the government of
Abu Dhabi.
The deal was, is and will continue
to be a disaster for Chicagoans. It allowed the private investors to massively hike
parking rates, which frustrated drivers and hurt downtown businesses by giving
customers a reason to stay away. In addition, the deal prevents the city from providing
any competition to the private investors – so decades from now, public
officials will still be unable to decide, for example, that they should build
new parking garages downtown. This is crony capitalism at its worst, creating
endless revenue streams for for-profit businesses under terms that protect
their profits from marketplace competition.
Privatization of government goods and services.
This is the ALEC way
This is a major ALEC policy failure
The corporations get all the power and all the money.
Taxpayers get screwed – twice
– once with taxpayer money
going to private industry and
– THEN having to pay more to corporations for
governmental goods and services that were reasonably priced before the
corporate takeover of the governmental services.
ALEC pushed privatization of government goods and
services is a failure
EXCEPT
for ALEC profit sector members.
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