How Privatization Hurts Taxpayers

First, an anecdote from rumproast:

In the ‘90’s the town of Rye Brook, New York decided to experiment with privatized firefighting services.  The private firefighting corporation cut corners with wages, ensuring that the workers were poorly-trained and had a high turnover rate, and they refused to engage in a mutual assistance agreement with neighboring municipalities, and the result was disastrous.  Imagine how poorly a private corporation, with an eye towards maximizing profits, would handle a disaster of the magnitude of a Sandy.

Next, the evidence, from Under the Mountain Bunker:

A new backgrounder brief, Six Reasons Why Government Outsourcing Hurts the Middle Class, describes how the public sector provides quality middle-class jobs, and details extensive research showing how privatization eliminates these good jobs and increases economic inequality.

Here’s the six reasons.

1. Contracting out often ends up costing more and lowering service quality
2. When governments contract out public work, many good jobs disappear – wages, benefits, and hours decrease.
3. Contracting out creates hidden costs for government and taxpayers.
4. Government outsourcing disproportionately impacts African American workers.
5. Contracting out hurts families and communities
6. Contracting out leads to greater economic inequality.

Privatization proponents claim that handing public services over to private contractors will save taxpayer money. The evidence shows otherwise. Contract costs often are higher than promised and turning middle class jobs into low wage jobs without benefits simply shifts costs to hospital emergency rooms and public income support programs.

Repugs want to privatize public service because doing so enriches their corporate buddies at the same time that it undermines public faith in government.  It's a huge step on the path to the Lords and Serfs economy the plutocrats demand.