It is a marvel that during a time of budget crises and constraints and a steadfast refusal to raise taxes, or even spread them evenly, that privatizing public services is regarded as a cost saving measure. No business will undertake government services without factoring a profit into a business plan and if there is enough room in government budgets for profit then there must be enough room to keep providing the services already. The argument is always that governments are wasteful and employees are lazy but even the most anti government members of the structure committee acknowledge that Coos County has been cut to the bone and that staff do more than their fair share of work and are not lazy so how would privatizing these services and adding profit to the cost of payroll burden improve services to the taxpayer?
One committee member has suggested that Curry County will soon privatize many of its departments and be a “model” for other Oregon counties. In 2008, Governor Ed Rendell sought to transfer control of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a Spanish consortium, Albertis.
Rendell is not the first governor to trade off common property to private firms but the $12.5B, 75 year lease is considered the largest privatization deal in US history.
The deal was promoted as a way to bring in badly needed cash and to save the state money but the first thing Albertis planned was a 25% toll increase, giving rise to the question of why didn’t the state just raise tolls in the first place? In effect, Pennsylvania outsourced political will to a private entity whose primary mission is to its shareholders, not the taxpayer. Similar results have played out elsewhere, including Indiana, with the net result to the consumer being a rise in service costs without any improvement in the service.
Several states, including California, have established what is known as a “benefit corporation”. Theoretically, status as a benefit corporation enables the directors to redirect some funds to socially responsible investments or causes that might otherwise be mandated to shareholder returns. But even if Oregon had such an option for businesses, which it doesn’t, the only way a company can provide the same level of service without raising rates is to cut back on labor costs thereby reducing spending capacity and further damaging the local economy.
Theoretically, public assets should be managed for the public good rather than private gain and the complications associated with faulty government work performed by private companies, whose loyalties do not lie with the taxpayer may leave taxpayers wondering where they go for recourse. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if Curry County does become a model of privatization that could run side by side Coos County for long term comparison of both systems. After three years we can measure quality of life, cost of services, poverty levels, population, unemployment and income levels, and overall customer satisfaction amongst other measurement criteria.
except that ORCCA is a non-profit and uses a lot of volunteers
Duh, you realize orcca is privatized government? Other counties perform their function, we’re too lazy. You see what that’s gotten us. Research much?
You are right Dragon. We have to push back against these phony “job creaters” who haven’t produced a job other than their own in decades. Al is one of them. But Al is just a tool for Jon Barton, Barton is behind this and Fred Messerle. I suppose when you are a Messerle and among the three we know about suck up close to $300,000.00 a year from the taxpayers, they should explain themselves, don’t you think? Plus the Messerles suck even more from their farmland subsidies, then they have the nerve to come at us to destroy and privatize our local government? BS ! Grow cows and keep your fingers out of OUR pockets !
The selling off of public services, infrastructure, resources and institutions to private entities will make Bernie Madoff seem like Abe Lincoln.
What model are you using Al?
What examples of successful conversion of a county to Home Rule are you guys using?
Politicians have been buying votes since before I was born. This is not news. In this regard, Johnston and I agree. But Johnston goes a bit far (for my liking) by categorizing most corporations as inherently rife with malice. Why don’t we shut every one of those nasty businesses in America and see how the Government fares on its own? Wasn’t it Carter that deregulated trucking? I don’t hear anyone claiming that was a mistake (one of the few things Carter got right). Johnston strongly implies that lobbyists and Big Business “manipulated” government into bad decisions.
Maybe the real problem was that we had crooked or just plain stupid lawmakers sitting in the seat (a lot of both in the cases of Franks, Dodds and a host of others).
I begin to lose my concentration when authors start using broad strokes to define everything. For a person that hates “simple solutions to complex problems”, I’m surprised you’re a fan.
Now – back to the topic at hand: since maximizing property taxes won’t even begin to address the problem, what do you propose Curry County do to keep their County governance intact? Borrow? File bankruptcy? (Legally, I don’t think they can.) Try to merge with Coos County? (Requires 40% of both county’s residents to even get this on a ballot). I look forward to any and all out-of-the-box ideas you may have.
Politicians have been buying votes since before I was born. This is not news. In this regard, Johnston and I agree. But Johnston goes a bit far (for my liking) by categorizing most corporations as inherently rife with malice. Why don’t we shut every one of those nasty businesses in America and see how the Government fares on its own? Wasn’t it Carter that deregulated trucking? I don’t hear anyone claiming that was a mistake (one of the few things Carter got right). Johnston strongly implies that lobbyists and Big Business “manipulated” government into bad decisions.
Maybe the real problem was that we had crooked or just plain stupid lawmakers sitting in the seat (a lot of both in the cases of Franks, Dodds and a host of others).
I begin to lose my concentration when authors start using broad strokes to define everything. For a person that hates “simple solutions to complex problems” I’m surprised you’re a fan.
Now – back to the topic at hand: since maximizing property taxes won’t even begin to address the problem, what do you propose Curry County do to keep their County governance intact? Borrow? File bankruptcy? (Legally, I don’t think they can.) Try to merge with Coos County? (Requires 40% of both county’s residents to even get this on a ballot). I look forward to any and all out-of-the-box ideas you may have.
…in an blatant move for self-preservation, Oregon’s government unions have presented 13 new tax initiatives for consideration at the up-coming short session. Those initiatives, if passed, will result in Oregon having the highest taxes on individuals and small business by more than 20% over the current rates of the next highest states: California and Hawaii.
Al, you mean instead of the lowest as is the situation now?
AL? You can stop all this right now by simply posting here your models, the counties you have studied who have switched to Home Rule and how they are doing now, surely you have models, right?
If you showed the public the “information” you guys are using, perhaps it would help us understand your decisions.
You refuse to show us, why is that?
Just show us the communities, counties or states that are successful , thank you.
Al should read Pulitzer prize winning author and friend of MGx, David Cay Johnston’s best selling “Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and StickYou with the Bill) “, David devotes two full chapters to Coos County and the Bandon Dunes. By the way, David has a new book coming out soon (shameless plug)
“The parents who can move are moving,” says (Riley Creek School Principal Tom) Denning, who was appointed to the citizen’s committee. He says loss of county services will be more reasons for parents to leave. – OregonLive, December 19th, 2011
“It is gospel in Curry County that Mike Keiser, developer of the internationally acclaimed Bandon Dunes golf courses and resort, first wanted to build near Gold Beach. True or not, missed economic opportunity is a sour spot in the community memory.” – OregonLive, December 19th, 2011
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Curry County is losing over 60% of their general fund as timber payments dissipate. Even if they maximized property taxes they’d still be millions short. (The Federal government has purchased over 60% of Curry County and doesn’t pay a penny of property tax.) Curry County voters – in spite of a crumbling jail, a shrinking school and the possibility that law enforcement could become a 9-5 job – refuse to take on more taxes. Why? Well….
…in an blatant move for self-preservation, Oregon’s government unions have presented 13 new tax initiatives for consideration at the up-coming short session. Those initiatives, if passed, will result in Oregon having the highest taxes on individuals and small business by more than 20% over the current rates of the next highest states: California and Hawaii.
Props 66 and 67 generated less than 60% of the tax revenue original projected for 2011. Why? Because businesses have choices – and many businesses left Oregon as a result of those taxes. Any bets on how many businesses leave if they’re slapped with an additional 9.9% to 13.4% income tax increase? And that’s before the Feds roll out their new demands. (There’s a reason why D.C. is now America’s #1 per capita income city in the nation.)
The County needs money. The State is $1B in debt and the U.S. government debt now matches our entire annual GDP – placing the once strong and proud U.S. in the same, embarrasing company as Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Japan.
Raising taxes is a zero-sum game. At some point the pot becomes empty. Instead of arguing about who should be taxed more – or which services to cut or outsource – let’s pursue the obvious and simple solution to both issues: pursue investment and create jobs.
This is why I think the Occupy movement has so resonated with so many people and why there has never been a better time for third party or independent candidates to get elected.
One of the last things to privatize, county governments. The federal government has already sliced up the rest. Active military have been buying health insurance for their families, and paying rent to “private contractors” for base housing for quite some time. There was a time when active military families were given medical and dental, and base housing for free.
Those times are history, as will be your publicly owned county services, when profit is injected and those services will be managed by a corporation.
The democrats and the republicans both have this same agenda.