They are trying to privitize water resources in Australia, too?
One of the Bush brothers (Neil?) is into doing that. Last I heard it was in other countries, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time...
Before we moved a few months ago we were on a community well run by a private company, but still regulated by the state.
If water resources fall to privitization and so called market forces you can bet there will be scenes like NO all over the place. What a horrid idea!
BTW, anyone finding the release of this information poorly timed? Given the coverage of Katrina, I doubt many will hear about it.
They have done it, here. In my state.
No government oversight or regulation at all?
They have a tightish contract.
It has been nothing but trouble.
First, they didn't know how to operate the sewerage palnt - and it went awry, and they didn't fess up until the city had been drowned in a stench for months.
Now - the contract does not allow enough for infrastructure, and the system is breaking down.
The government can pretend it is not their problem - but it will be.
The privatised electricity is a total nightmare.
They (the conservative previous government) had just given up on privatising health - after wasting millions on it. They had people wasting hours and months working on bidding for their own jobs (which they were unlikely to get, for ideological reasons) - they would have been re-hired by the private operators. They DID privatise one hospital - which promptly went bust.
They were privatising anything that moved.
Now we will pay and pay.
Edit: Liberal (conservative) governments had it as a religion all over at one point.
In Victoria they did the same. The railays ended up back in government hands, when the private company, realising it had ordered billions of dollars worth of stock - which was near delivery - FOR THE WRONG GUAGE - cut and ran when they saw what was coming.
I mean, I think some things can be reasonably privatised - but this was like an outbreak of jungle fever.
