Privatization Nation

Once upon a time, We the People understood a noble purpose of government was to “do” projects and programs we could not undertake individually or at the local level.  Building roads and bridges, providing emergency management, carrying out national defense, caring for our veterans, providing for seniors, educating the next generation of leaders, delivering our mail, supporting the arts, housing our prisoners – these were all things deemed necessary by the social contract and an appropriate use of our resources.

It has been so for many generations.  It could be argued that it has been so throughout human history.  Kings, Caesars and Pharaohs built great things, created institutions of higher learning, developed transportation networks, commissioned great works of art, improved sanitation, and the like.

ALEC, and the elected whores of Big Business have been chiseling away at what We the People “should” believe about the role of government.  They have been whispering lies in the ears of the electorate – inciting riot in the name of lower taxes in order to privatize government programs and service.  Instead, they offer a vision of a Privatization Nation, which serves to line the pockets of capitalist cronies who worship at the altar of the bottom line.   They don a cloak of faux-patriotism, swearing allegiance to a literal interpretation of the Constitution to justify this sinister plot worthy of a Ludlum Novel and the Illuminati.

The GOP uses the Constitution as holy writ, picking and choosing pieces, often out of context, to follow and obey in a literal interpretation.  Just because your “Holy Bible” is taken as sacred, immutable fact requiring dogmatic obedience, our Founders never envisioned their living document to be akin to scripture.  So stop all the “literal interpretation” of the Constitution nonsense.  

So, ALEC, what about oversight?  YOU people have proven repeatedly that you do not excel at self-policing, oversight, transparency, accountability, and reinvestment.  

YOU people come crying to Uncle Sam when you can’t cover your bets on the Corporate Craps Table that is Wall Street.  

YOU people come crying to Uncle Sam when you’ve had an “oopsie” that requires immediate assistance – even though you understood the risk but chose to proceed in order to chase the almighty dollar.  

YOU people are responsible for the necessity of a SuperFund because you poisoned the land around the plant you made billions of dollars on.  

YOU people cry poor and appeal for assistance from Uncle Sam when you could not manage you money, and now hold the financial security of your retirees in your soiled hand.

Ms. Underpants will not bore you with stats. You are smart people and can use the Google machine.  Suffice it to say, the privatization thing really isn’t working.  Costs are higher, oversight is lower, and government contracts with private providers are over budget.  They only people this arrangement is “good” for are the Executives providing the service to the government and the whores what brung them.

ALEC, you do know that Rome fell.  Privatizing an army and dysfunctional governing weren’t the only reasons, of course, but it might be worth a look-see.

I smell smoke and I hear Grover’s fiddle.