Save Money: Let State Employees Do the Job

Kentucky's last attempt to let a private corporation run essential public services * ended predictably - said corporation stole/wasted millions of taxpayer dollars - so I'm glad to see the state lawmakers are at least skeptical about the state's newest attempt to waste money by paying a corporation to do work state employees used to do and should still be doing.

We've all been so brainwashed by 30 years of "government is the problem" bullshit that we've forgotten that the sole and entire purpose of privatizing government responsibilities is to enrich corporations at the expense of middle-class taxpayers.

It is always cheaper and more effective to pay public employees to do it, and do it right.

Case in point, from Firedoglake:

The new Sheriff of Hernando County, Florida, is continuing in the ways of his predecessor. After Sheriff Nugent uncovered widespread neglect of maintenance at his county jail, which had been run for 22 years by CCA, he took over operations and estimated he could save more than $200,000 per year by operating it as part of the department (which should have been operating it all along).

New Sheriff Al Neinhuis went a step further. He is actually http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/hernando-sheriffs-proposed-budget-cuts-less-than-county-requested saving the county more than a million and a half dollars just this year, compared to what CCA would have charged to operate the facility. And he’ll do it better.

* Edited for clarity.