Need solid examples of disastrous results of privatization of public works...

[badtoworse]

53. How about citing some specifics

I'm only awaye of one privately owned toll road in the US (at least I think it's private) and that is in the Houston area. As I've posted before, if the privatization creates a monopoly, than safeguards need to be put in place to prevent overcharging. (BTW, I believe that should apply to government owned monopolies as well but for slightly different reasons.) Failure to do that is grossly negligent on the part of the government entity in question.

Another point I've made before is that you have to look at the big picture. If the privatization offsets the need to borrow substantial amounts money to fund other things, you need to net out the cost of servicing that debt from any increased cost of service. If the privatization prevents a bankruptcy or lessens its impact, that also needs to be considered in deciding whether the privatization is good or not.

What baffles me is the attitude on DU that if a private entity is making money serving the public that is inherently bad. I'm fine paying a private company a reasonable cost to get quality service. There is no guarantee that a government owned operation is well run. A bloated, inefficient government operation is just as bad as a private company gouging consumers - both are rip-offs.