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There are many similar stories around the world. A government, usually a center-right one, sells some critical public infrastructure for relatively little money
by jltsiren 4y ago
There are many similar stories around the world. A government, usually a center-right one, sells some critical public infrastructure for relatively little money. The new owners then raise prices as much as they can and make major profits. I believe the reason is more likely ideology than corruption.
Certain kinds of pro-business politicians tend to think that privately run services are morally superior to government services. Because this is an ideological argument, they are unwilling to listen to empirical counterpoints. As politicians they are also prone to teleological thinking: because the purpose of privatization is to benefit the public, it will benefit the public. Hence they care less about the details of the privatization deal than they should.
- gotoeleven 4y agoAhh yes that famously center-right chicago government.
- katbyte 4y agoThey did say usually.
- tptacek 4y agoThe government that signed this deal was in fact a centrist government (the Richard M. Daley administration), if not a center-right one. Chicago is a Democratic stronghold, but that history dates back to the old 4-party system when we had liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. Daley was one of the last vestiges of that system.
- dragonwriter 4y ago> the old 4-party system when we had liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. A two-party system with misalignment between the axis between the parties and the main axis of political variation (as often happens for a short time during realignment periods, and happened for an unusually extended time in the US from about 1932 to about 1994) is not a four party system, its just a two-party system with ideologically incoherent parties.
- tptacek 4y agoWhatever you want to call it, "Democrat" did not mean "center-left" or "left" in the Daley party machine.