The Pirates of Privatization

Matt Rothschild's astonishing expose of the FBI's decision to "deputize" 23,000 representatives of private industry reflects a frightening alignment of authoritarian forces, as well as another apparently deliberate flouting of constitutional norms. The sad thing is, we can probably expect an almost total silence from the loyal opposition party, which once again suggests we have reached the near-total corporatization of government over the past few decades.

It also represents the logical extension of the conscious corporatization of the federal government over the past seven years:

In 2002, the Bush administration openly announced its plansto corporatize 850,000 government jobs.

It was, of course, just part of a broader ideological agenda that extends back decades (and not just in the Republican Party, as has been mentioned) -- an agenda that has not come close to being entirely concluded (e.g. after overreaching too early, we can expect they will come back later to try to privatize social security).

This observer has spilled a lot of bile criticizing the growth of crony contracting, which doubled during the Bush era from 200 to $ 400 billion per year. The epidemic of waste, fraud and no-bid contracts may have become epidemic, but the seeds were planted long before that -- in no small part during Al Gore's "reinventing government" project, which cut back on the number of contract oversight specialists in places like the Pentagon.

The result was not just the looting of the treasury, but the loss of life and the gutting of government services.

But the corporatists don't mind. They're the ones who make a killing and, when government fails, it only continues to feed popular cynicism about the legitimacy of government, thereby reinforcing the ideologues' ability to propose "more efficient" and "less costly" answers -- brought to you by the folks in the private sector. And so, the vicious cycle of corporate cronyism continues.

Yes, the problem goes far beyond mere questions of cost. Just ask the families of the Iraqi civilians gunned down by Blackwater security back in September, who are probably willing to bet that no one from Blackwater will ever be brought to justice.

Yet the real "Blackwatergates" may be yet to come. (What else could you expect when "shoot to kill" orders are given to corporate employees here in the U.S. Next up: "tort reform" to gut anyone's ability to sue for the loss of a family member or loved one. Paul Bremer's CPA orders might yet turn out to be the new models of corporate constitutional immunity.)

But law often follows reality as a way to codify the inevitable. As investigative reporter Tim Shorrock has reported, so much of the national security apparatus already has been handed wholesale over to the corporations that there's very little real government oversight left. At least 70% of the U.S. Intelligence budget goes to pay contractors like SAIC, Lockheed Martin, CACI and other taxpayer-bilking bureaucracies.

And it's not as if the FBI is coming late to the table. Recall how their FISA surveillance work has been conducted with the complicity of Sprint and other telecom companies, for whom the administration is also seeking statutory immunity. Talk about blowback.

I've said it before, but it's worth restating. Corporations already:
* Write the president's daily brief
* Conduct Government Security Clearance Background Checks
* Process FOIA Requests
* Started to collect taxes for the IRS (until Congress stopped that).
* Oversee other corporate contractors
* Are increasingly taking on law enforcement duties, from criminal profiling to the management of private prisons (Corporate Crime, of course, is "off the table", even though it costs society far more).

And the madness is not limited to the federal government. As their budgets suffer from federal cutbacks, the recession and lower taxes assessments, state governments are bound to see a solution in public-private partnerships.

Take Mitch Daniels -- who headed OMB when the Bush administration announced its plan for corporatizing the federal government. After getting the ball rolling, Daniels went back to Indiana, where as governor he has given corporations control over a wide variety of state assets -- including a major cross-state highway, prisons, hospitals and welfare case management. Although Daniels doesn't like the term, his rabid pursuit of the ideological agenda led the New York Times to dub him "Governor Privatize."

And Daniels is hardly alone. State, county and municipal governments across the country are entertaining the notion of privatizing toll roads, water utilities and other essential services, as well as many non-essential services traditionally managed by state and local governments. For example, the Boston Globe reports that more than a dozen states are being pushed to privatize their lotteries.

Observers say the touted benefits of privatization and state-private partnerships have been way oversold (not surprising, given the corporatization of the media itself): Blogger Bill Tieleman recently pointed out that when Calif. Gov. Schwarzenegger cites British Columbia's public-private partnership projects as a model, he omits significant cost overruns: "In the vast majority of examples here in BC and elsewhere, the costs are higher as the public gets hosed to provide private corporations with substantial profits."

Let me stop and say that I would be remiss to not mention that when and where people get organized, it's possible to stop this insanity. E.g., according to the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), Congress effectively ended Bush administration efforts to outsource thousands of natural resource and environmental protection jobs. In no small part due to the efforts of PEER and labor unions.

But at this point, the good news is scarce and relatively minor compared to the rampant ongoing looting of our public assets.

But perhaps that's what we get for electing and re-electing an incompetent "MBA" president and CEO VP with so much "gravitas".

After seeing Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, Adelphia, Tyco and other companies go bust after their superstar CEOs left, we should expect to find out that a lot more was being stolen than the W's off the office keyboards when these crooks leave office in 2009.

And so, of course they know just how angry the rest of us will be when the bill arrives. Which is probably why they decided to deputize their friends at Blackwater and other companies: So the hordes can't simply descend upon their mansions in Greenwich and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and take back what is rightfully that which belongs to future generations.

Comments

[BCr8]

For another example of well-informed talk about the likes of social security privitizatization you should check out Froma Harrop's new column at www.creators.com/opinion/froma-harrop.html

[BCr8]

For another example of well-informed talk about the likes of social security privitizatization you should check out Froma Harrop's new column here

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

And THIS is why I want to own guns again, and move back to a state, a BLUE state, that allows gun ownership. I can't do anything about the government screwing me continually through its law breaking ways..... but I can do something when "deputized" scumb like blackwater tries to take what is mine...or endangers the life of my family.

That time, I believe, is coming... I truly hope I am wrong, but I don't think I am.

[jackpinesavage]

This is exactly why they put the 2nd amendment in, at least if you read the contextual arguments written by the framers. Its a damn good time to live far away from urban centers, with space to grow food and raise a little livestock, and own guns.

Funny how we all laughed at the militia movement in the 90's; even funnier how close to being right they actually were...only it wasn't the UN that they should have been afraid of...

[drkazmd65]

I have never owned a gun, never fired a gun, and never figured I even wanted to own a gun. I am still convinced the idiots in charge of the NRA are,... well,... idiots.

But I am seriously thinking about starting to use my 2nd Amendment right and getting myself one and learning how to use it properly.

[kdeen]

Come to Oregon, the Bluest of Blue states. B5 miles to the ocean, 85 miles year 'round skiing, from Portland, lovely town..And we REALLY dislike Dubya..

[isis]

These things need to be said and repeated until the public gets it.

[WIpatriot]

aka, until you're blue in the face.

[joja]

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's going on.

Big Business has been trying to re-establish its dominance in the political arena for decades -- this is just one way in which to accomplish that feat.

Once they are firmly in control, it's very simple to make willing slaves of the masses. Under-educate them, make their health -- and even their very lives -- dependent on the whims of Big Pharma and the insurance industry mafia, feed their children to distant wars for natural resources, and throw them out into the streets to die when they are no longer able to participate in the consumer-oriented economy.

Yes, it's a very social-Darwinian approach to achieving their goals -- and one they're quite comfortable with. Rather than lifting everyone up, it's so much easier to race to the bottom.

[swift goat pet for truth]

Socialize costs. Privatize Profits

[WIpatriot]

Conservatism revealed.

[outnow]

Protecting valuable infrastructure by means of private contractors is basically standing private militias dedicated to protecting property under corporate ownership, not upholding the constitution. When the constitution has been ordered suspended, i.e., martial law has been declared, you have no constitutional rights.

Bail bondsmen hire bounty hunters who have extraordinary powers to arrest and detain suspects. The Supreme Court has long upheld this power. Private investigators and private security companies operate in an extraordinary fashion, too. There are entire security and investigative companies world-wide.

Off-books CIA agents have operated in a plausible deniabilty mode for decades; vigilantes and self-appointed posses, privateers, buccaneers, and the deputized key-stone cops or lynch mob types are famous.

Defense of property is a legal justification for the use of force. So if someone is breaking into "your" for example, you may use reasonable force. If you are being car jacked, you might even use deadly force and be justified. In fact, I know people who have shot attempted carjackers in the process and called the police. Deputizing makes the killing more "justified."

[Veri]

Hey, you elect the bought and paid for politicians to privatize and loot the government. Look in the mirror for the reason of this insanity. Wake up and smell the rose. On your grave.

Vote Democrat for more of the same! Vote Republican for more of the same!

American Peasants! Buying and Dying is all you are good for!

[realitytrumpsbull]

Say it in a word, say 'fraud'.

[WIpatriot]

Treasonous.

[10ghostcommander]

In 2003 there were 3500 private contractors in government. In 2006 there were 115,000. Privatization costs more, not less. Bush will have increased the National Debt by about 50% by the time he leaves office. Of the money that goes to pay for the Iraq War, 40% goes to no-bid, inflated contracts for Bush/Cheney's crony contractors. They are committing 'The Largest Robbery in History' of present and future taxpayers. They are CRIMINALS!!

[Veri]

You don't have the power or wealth to do anything. Except your fate.

[flatus]

or put another way...

How is overpaying someone for a job worse than paying less for an underperformer?

[Veri]

Because they are paying with your tax dollars to bend you over and use you like a cheap prostitute. At least with government, something could change. Higher standards, maybe.

At least you knew the government was screwing you. Now, both the government and a corporation are screwing you. Do ya like it?

Getting screwed twice does not make it pleasurable.

[LeftRight]

Because when you pay more for it, and still have an underperformer... Or worse, since most of the "contracted" work was not being underperformed in the first place, when you overpay for NOW underperfo­rmance....

[flatus]

Anyone who has had to deal with their local DMV knows how slowly things can move when employees do not fear the loss of job.

In this light, how is privatization bad?
(just playing devil's advocate)

[Veri]

Hmmm... because corporations are responsible to no one but their shareholders. Their primary focus being the profit motive. If it is profitable to provide reduced services, so be it.

And, oh, say I need a fat contract, just bribe.. I mean contribute, to the local Democrat or Republican prostitute. After all, you elect them.

Congratulations. If you think the way you post, America is truly doomed. I thought we lived in a Democracy, not a Oligarchy (read Russia or the old Soviet Union).

[runswithscissors]

Quite a few ways...

1. Corporations are basically totalitarian regimes existing within a larger society. The higher-ups basically do as they please. The only rules at all are the minimal gov't regulations put on them, hence the frantic corporate push to deregulate everything and increase their own power. As of now there are still some options (i.e. quit your job, buy from another company, etc.), but when the infrastructure of a nation is privatized, all options are taken away.

2. Corporations run for profit only. This means that all decisions are made with cost not only in mind, but as highest priority. If it was determined tomorrow that maximum profits could be achieved if trash was only collected once a month, and the company that now performs this task under government contract put the plan into action, what do we do? Or any even more disturbing scenario...what if our soon to be privatized military and/or intelligence industry gets a better offer from China?

3. Unfettered capitalism ALWAYS leads to a massive gap between a small rich class and a massive poor class. The middle class is a product of regulation, and overprivatization will inevitable lead to near complete deregulation. Markets also tend to be far more volatile.

4. Private industry appears more efficient than it actually is because it is often subsidized by tax dollars. The great selling point that free market champions use is that more privatization means lower taxes. This is simply not true, and overall cost of living will almost certainly increase, not decrease.

[LeftRight]

umm.... let's see here:

As I posted earlier, the FAA is contracting out major portions of it's responsibilities. First, they contracted out their land based communications. That used to be phone lines owned by the gov't, maintained by the gov't, and with all the proper rules regarding backups, etc. Now it belongs to one of the corporations that helped the bush administration spy on you. They don't have all the backups, they often just take out a phone line, without realizing that they've done so, and at least once a month I hear from a friend that works with the FAA who says that they've lost this radio circuit or that one, meaning that the planes and the Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) cannot talk to each other.

Then they contracted out the ATCs who are in charge of General Aviation (GA). GA is everything that flies that's not an airline. The pilots are now constantly having to go to their local tower and file a flight plan over the radio with them, since the 800 number that Lockheed Martin set up to allow them to file doesn't have enough lines, or enough operators. I've ehard of planes calling after 3-4 HOURS trying to get through, and finally they get sick of waiting, and call the FAA ATC at the local tower, and file their flight plan that way.

Privatization doesn't work, since the corporations who are getting the contracts are looking simply to line their own pockets, and they are willing to cut costs just to make a larger profit margin (lead paint, anyone?)

[itmaybetoolate]

Let's see:

Fallacy #1 - Hasty generalization: You assume that your DMV experience serves as a model for all governmental services. That is open to debate. I actually have a DMV office in my area that is quite efficient and the folks who work there have always been professional and friendly. Why can't we use MY DMV as the model instead of yours?

Fallacy #2 - Begging the question: You assume that governmental officials cannot be fired. That is not true. They are employees like anyone else. They may have different protections (grievance procedures) in place than in corporations (like the one that without warning laid off my friend who had worked for them for 30 years), but that doesn't mean they cannot be fired.

Also, government is not trying to make a profit so they can offer services more cheaply.

[amberglow]

this is appalling--and neither Clinton nor Obama will stop it--even if they wanted to (and i have my doubts about that--they didn't get so many millions for their campaigns from little old ladies), we're in such giant deficit spending that there is no official money to spend on actual govt services we need, and privatizing costs tend to be hidden by using years-long contracts or other obfuscations or off-budget things.

Congress is wholly beholden to corporations too, and the Supremes are already enormously pro-corporate and anti-citizen.

[Veri]

Both are bought and paid for. So, obviously painful, are the Republicans. Why do you think they have been fronted by The Democratic Party, Inc.

[LeftRight]

Yeah, the part of Air Traffic Control that handles the flight plans for private airplanes was sourced out. Now, the local towers are all having to flie the flight plans for the pilots, since the company handling it can't seem to hire enough phone operators (read: refuses to hire enough!)