Alabama Poor Cut Off From Running Water

BBC News:

Banks stand to lose millions of dollars in debt repayments if the biggest municipal bankruptcy in American history is allowed to proceed.

But the real victims of the financial collapse in the US state of Alabama's most populous county are its poorest residents - forced to bathe in bottled water and use portable toilets after being cut off from the mains supply.

Read the whole story: BBC News

Comments

[stellaone23]

09:54 AM on 12/20/2011

this is what happens when the basic survival necessities are privatized and operated as a for-profit center. it creates yet another example of services the rich can afford and the poor cannot. utilities should not be owned by private companies - people need electricity, gas, water, and sewerage to survive and function in a civilized society. they should not be subject to the whims of the marketplace.

i don't know what the codes are in alabama, but in a lot of places, a residence that does not have running water is declared unfit for humans to live in and the people can be evicted. in which case, people would be forced to pay the water and sewer bills just to be able to remain in their homes.

sad that this is what america is like in the 21st century. slowly but surely, it seems that we are going back - to the 19th.

[procrustes13]

10:32 PM on 12/17/2011

Why is the water and sewage not financed out of general tax revenues? This is not a civilissed society over there that doesn't have this.

[yeti7]

10:48 AM on 12/18/2011

The gen, tax treasure didn't have the money. This is happening everywhere too.

[procrustes13]

07:22 AM on 12/19/2011

No, it's a question of philosophy. Some say take it out of revenues, others says "You, pay a flat rate for water no matter if you are a billionaire or have nothing". That's the Southern way.

[separatingwheatfromchaff]

07:08 AM on 12/17/2011

Funny how the folk who are making the real money off these deals just sit back and stay out of the fray.They're also the ones that will use our justice department to enforce the law against the people they're ripping off.

[jcaunter]

03:43 AM on 12/17/2011

1: buy local politicians

2: ?

3: Profit!

Well, I guess this story pretty much answers what goes on in step 2.

[Veri]

06:50 AM on 12/17/2011

Wall Street Guide to Profit and Prosperity

1. Bribe local politicians
2. local politicians make sh*tty deal
3. corruption uncovered
4. face small fine
5. politicians go to jail
6. sh*tty deal remains
7. KA-CHING!

[ok3apples]

03:20 AM on 12/17/2011

wow. This is way beyond sad. Does the 1% even understand the consequences of so much concentrated wealth? If we are to be a great country everyone needs to contribute. Otherwise, we are just another third world country.

[gtposse]

12:03 AM on 12/17/2011

We have 24/7 news media and yet none of the network deemed it important enough to cover the dispictable living conditions of the folks in this county. Instead, they spend endless hours bloviating about what other countries must do to feed the capitalist beast.

[Veri]

06:54 AM on 12/17/2011

The don't want Americans to know the truth.

Why are there two CNNs? One for America and one for the rest of the world?

Or this,
http://www.businessinsider.com/these-time-magazine-covers-explain-why-americans-know-nothing-about-the-world-2011-11

[Eserve1]

10:26 PM on 12/16/2011

Here is 1 instance where the argument of "living within your means" shows it's true nature.

[gsmp]

09:56 PM on 12/16/2011

What if we extrapolate this outward.

Public water becomes privatized, maintainence is deferred (in the name of cost-cutting/maximizing profit) and when needed repairs/updates become unavoidable, costs become 'socialized' to the public. Enter the privatized banks, skilled in finding the weak lindividuals WE have 'elected' (OUR responsibility), they offer 'don't worry about the fine print' deals greased with 'have we got a goodie for you' deals. Add in a few 'cost overruns' and here you are.

Solutions of 'put in a septic system (you'll need space for leachfield), get a portapot, drill a well (oops-there's that 'space' thing again) are workable if you discount diptheria, cholera and other probable epidemics.

Then we have 'pipelines' going through aquifers and how many companies that will profit from that also have significant investments in privateized water?

[yeti7]

10:49 AM on 12/18/2011

Septic are becoming illegal in this country.

[Vincent Gormley]

09:14 PM on 12/16/2011

I seem to recall that not too long ago water was declared a human right by the UN and the US was a signer. Sounds like another case for the Feds.

[jcaunter]

03:41 AM on 12/17/2011

In the US "human rights" only matter if rich bankers don't stand to take a loss.

[yeti7]

10:39 AM on 12/18/2011

case for the Feds ?? Didn't the cause this in the first place?

[Vincent Gormley]

11:08 AM on 12/18/2011

Didn't read the article did you?

[Dosadi]

08:45 PM on 12/16/2011

Where are the American reporters on this?

[papapj]

09:00 PM on 12/16/2011

It's not 'sexy' - it's shameful...

[Doug Yule]

09:53 PM on 12/16/2011

The reporters are mostly Democrats, so they find it uncomfortable that three of their own created this mess.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Langford

Interesting that Larry Langford did this to his own people, isn't it?

[Dosadi]

10:11 PM on 12/16/2011

Fail!

[separatingwheatfromchaff]

06:59 AM on 12/17/2011

Okay,you proved Larry Langford is a corrupt individual and he was tried and convicted.It's also a shame that he's a Democrat and hurt hurt so many of his constituents.But the people who are profiting from this fiasco are most certainly financial companies that support Republican deregulation efforts.They're the ones that paid the companies they hired to bribe corrupt politicians while keeping themselves an arms length from any any criminal charges.You can say they're just "smart business people" or you can admit they also knew what they were doing when they paid other folk to do their dirty work.The folks you like to portray as "Democrats who sold out their own people" are guilty of crimes and are serving prison sentences,but they're small time in comparison to the people that are profiting from this mess,the "smart business people".

[Common sense for all]

08:35 PM on 12/16/2011

Some serious examples needs to be made of the criminals that took the bribes and gambled public money on Wall Street. All those commissioners etc needs to be put into personal bankruptcy and any kind of net value they have needs to be forfeited to pay for the crimes they have committed.

That is a start once that is done send them all off for 25 to life where they can rot since scums like these are worse than murders imo since they make the lifes miserable for everyone around them.

[Artanis71]

07:57 PM on 12/16/2011

But the bill soared to $3.1bn after construction problems and a series of bond and derivatives deals that went sour in the financial meltdown of 2008. - This is typical of many counties that invested in WS under lies and payoffs. Look at Perry in TX, he fought hard to get his friend from WS to run the 300mill teacher pension, once they raid the rest of the funds they will do the same BS with SS.

[stargazer13]

07:23 PM on 12/16/2011

with out water humans can not survive

water company needs to turn on the water !

and stop endangering adult ,s and children's health

[SoutheastBeast]

07:21 PM on 12/16/2011

I am speechless. It's as if the business and political establishments want to incite social unrest.

[separatingwheatfromchaff]

07:02 AM on 12/17/2011

No,they just want to "earn"all they can and don't give a rats @ss who they hurt.

[kurtvb]

07:04 PM on 12/16/2011

Investment bank JP Morgan Securities and two of its former directors have been fined for offering bribes to Jefferson County workers and politicians to win business financing the sewer upgrade.

Maybe JPMorgan should pay the rest of the bill for the sewer system.

[yeti7]

10:46 AM on 12/18/2011

Agreed JP Morgan is 100% responsible for the illegal actions of their "employees" in case like these. Punishment should go all the to the top too. Not just a couple of fall guys.