Wednesday, June 15, 2011

America's privatized future is now a sick board game

America’s future is just a game to the people behind ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC puts Republican state lawmakers together with Koch-funded think tanks and corporations to draft “model legislation” that can be cut and paste into a bill, legislation like Wisconsin’s anti-worker law.

The “ALEC Publicopoly Board” on the ALEC website gives the option to “Select your game square” to find out how to privatize education, prisons, health services, wastewater treatment, even state government.

ALEC claims “privatization is a useful tool that has been proven successful around the world.” Successful, perhaps, for those reaping the benefits of continual U.S. outsourcing.

Today, the HuffingtonPost started a new feature with Dylan Ratigan called “America For Sale”:
While the trend is worldwide, privatization of public infrastructure only came to America en masse in the 2000s. It is worth discussing, because where it has happened it has sparked deep and intense anger.
In Chicago, it's the sale of parking meters to the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi. In Indiana, it's the sale of the northern toll road to a Spanish and Australian joint venture. In Wisconsin it's public health and food programs, in California it's libraries. It's water treatment plants, schools, toll roads, airports, and power plants. It's Amtrak. There are revolving doors of corrupt politicians, big banks, and rating agencies.
There’s no roll of the dice here. They've clearly stacked the odds in their favor.