Chris Christie Poised To SIGN BILL Paving The Way For Corporations To CONTROL WATER IN NEW JERSEY [View all]

[Segami]

"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP" is the message being sent to all New Jerseyans from head capo Chris Christie:
With a stroke of a pen, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie could pave the way for corporations to control the state’s water supply without the consent of the voting public.

New Jerseyans are being hoodwinked by Christie.......What are they going to do about it?........





Passed by the state Senate by a vote of 21-16, The Water Infrastructure Protection Act would give local municipalities the power to unilaterally sell their water lines if they are deemed to be deteriorating. Unfortunately, the definition of deterioration in the bill is so broad that virtually all the water systems currently under public control would qualify to be put up for sale. Most egregiously, the bill would kill a current law on the books that requires the permission of voters before any such sales of water systems can take place. If Christie signs the bill on his desk, voters will no longer have that say and would have to gather enough signatures on a petition to force a vote. “This is such a bad deal for the citizens of New Jersey,” State Senator Bob Smith said of the bill. “This is crazy… just giving away our water supply.” Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, agrees:

“Today the Senate sold out New Jersey’s water supply. This bill is undemocratic, takes away public oversight and input, and allows deregulation of our water protection and rates.”

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/12/water_privatization_bill_removing_public_vote_requirement_moves_to_christies_desk.html

Supporters of the bill, on the other hand, claim that private investment is necessary to fix the aging water infrastructure that has been neglected for years. Of course, Chris Christie has gone to great lengths to make sure that state and local departments were unable to do their jobs to maintain the water infrastructure. According to a report by Aljazeera America:

Christie cut $85 million from the Department of Environmental Protection’s 2014 budget, limiting the amount the agency can spend on water infrastructure improvement projects. And he has offered property tax rebates and tax caps that critics say starve the state’s infrastructure budget.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/29/new-jersey-waterprivatization.html?utm_content=general&utm_campaign=ajam&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow

In short, Christie slashed the funding that would have otherwise been used to fix public water systems, thus manufacturing the appearance that corporations are needed to step in an solve the problems. If corporations are allowed to take over the water supply, New Jersey residents will pay dearly. The bill further “allows companies to factor the purchase price of the systems into the rates they charge customers, meaning taxpayers could ultimately be on the hook for the sale of their water systems.” It’s a sweet deal for corporations, no so much for taxpayers. Essentially, taxpayers would be paying the price of the sale, and the actual buyer wouldn’t have to pay a dime. In addition, corporations could then use the water supply for whatever they want and could charge whatever price they desire residents to pay. Water would no longer be a fundamental right, it would become nothing more than a commodity that people have to pay a high price for in order to have a drink or bathe.





cont'

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/12/29/chris-christie-poised-to-sign-bill-paving-the-way-for-corporations-to-control-water-in-new-jersey/