Commentary: Privatization Bad for the Public
Pretending to be "efficient," it transfers property and economic rights from the public to the big investors.
(PRWEB) June 30, 2005
Commentary by Rev. Bill McGinnis (http://www.loveallpeople.org/privatization.html)
"Privatization"
is nothing more than the systematic transfer of property and economic rights
from the Public, which is all of us, to the Big Investors, who are the small
percentage who already own most of the wealth.
By its very nature, it
takes ownership and control from the Public and gives it to the non-Public.
Takes away from "us" and gives to "them." Thus privatization causes the dominant
corporations and large private investors to become even more wealthy, and
everyone else to become less wealthy. "They own more; we own less."
Sometimes, privatization begins by transferring ownership to small
investors - the mom-and-pop operations, or other small businesses. But soon, if
they are successful, they are bought out by the larger corporations and
investors; and the end result is exactly the same as if the Big Investors had
taken the ownership in the first place.
Note: Many Americans, including
myself, are now "small investors," because we have a 401(k) plan or own a few
shares of stock or a small business. But we are not Big Investors, and we never
will be. Our true interests lie with the Public, not with the Big
Investors.
With ownership come the rights of ownership, which determine
who has the rights to use that which is owned. This is the essence of economic
control. The private owner usually sets the price and other conditions of use,
unless there is some kind of Public regulation. Thus Public beaches become
private beaches; Public roads become private roads; Public hospitals become
private hospitals; Public schools become private schools; Public parks become
private parks; Public armies become private armies; Public police forces become
private police forces; Public information becomes private information, protected
by unconstitutional expansion of the copyright laws; the Public airwaves become
private airwaves, controlled by a handful of giant media owners, who allow only
the content they choose to allow. And on and on and on . . .
Here's a
good concept to remember:
"PRIVATIZATION ALWAYS SCREWS THE
PUBLIC."
There are two ways by which the Public interest can be served by
private ownership of businesses: and these are, (1) Public regulation and (2)
income taxation. Public regulation forces the private owners to act in a
responsible manner toward the Public; and income taxation gives the Public its
fair percentage of the profits gained by allowing the private owner to conduct
his profit-making business within the Public economy, enabled and protected by
laws and courts and other Public institutions. Without the Public economy, the
private owner would not be able to function. The income tax is a fair and
reasonable way for the Public to obtain its proper share of the profits.
"Deregulation" is the fraternal twin of privatization. It is the
systematic attempt to remove Public regulation from private ownership of
businesses. And income tax reduction is the systematic attempt to deprive the
Public of its fair share of the profits derived from private owners' businesses
operations in the Public economy.
Another concept to remember:
"DEREGULATION ALWAYS SCREWS THE PUBLIC."
Capitalism works fine as
long as the capitalists are properly regulated. Without proper regulation, they
go crazy in their frenzied attempts to get the best of each other, and they harm
everybody in the process.
The supposed justification for both
privatization and deregulation is efficiency. Their supporters like to say that
Public ownership and Public regulation are inherently inefficient and wasteful.
They like to talk about "bloated bureaucracies" and "incompetent employees
slurping at the Public trough," and "petty bureaucrats imposing needless
burdensome regulations which hurt business."
And sometimes these
criticisms may be true. But the remedy is not privatization and deregulation,
because privatization and deregulation lead to murderous competition and
ultimately to monopoly control, which efficiently steals as much as it wants
from the Public by setting prices artificially high! This is very efficient for
the monopolist, but not for anyone else!
No, the remedy for these
bureaucratic inefficiencies is not privatization and deregulation, but better
government. In our country, the People control the government. If the government
is sloppy and inattentive and unresponsive, it is our fault! We need to fix it.
How do we fix it? Please see our page at http://www.loveallpeople.org/democraticprocedures.html.
Privatization
and deregulation are two of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated by the Far Right
Wing, the very wealthy Big Investors who form the natural heart of the
Republican party. (Income tax reduction for Big Investors is another favorite
fraud of theirs.) Pretending to be "efficient," privatization and deregulation
transfer ownership and economic control from the Public to the Big Investors.
But, yes - the Big Investors are right about one thing: Privatization
and deregulation do improve efficiency - the efficiency of transferring wealth
and power from your pocket to theirs!
Blessings to you all, no matter
what your views may be. May you thrive and prosper in all things.
Contact:
Rev. Bill McGinnis, Director
http://www.LoveAllPeople.org
http://www.CivicAmerican.com
Bio at http://www.loveallpeople.org/revbillmcginnis.html
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb256653.htm