Privatization

Bottled Water Firm Steamed about Miami-Dade Water Ads

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:13:05 -0400

by Curtis Morgan

In the radio ad, a talking faucet extols Miami-Dade's tap water as cheaper, purer and safer than bottled water.

It may have sounded innocuous to most listeners, but the 30-second spot left the nation's largest purveyor of bottled water boiling mad.

Nestle Waters North America, which makes nearly $4 billion a year selling Zephyrhills and other brands, is threatening to sue if the county doesn't kill commercials the company brands as false advertising.

Beware 'Siren Song' of Privatizers, US Doctor Tells Canadians

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:11:44 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2008

Physicians for a National Health Program

Canada's publicly funded health insurance program known as medicare "is one of the best health care systems in the world," a leading U.S. health policy expert says, but is being threatened by government underfunding and by those who would partially privatize it under the guise of reducing wait times for elective medical procedures.

Dr. Marcia Angell, a senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School, writes in the Oct. 21 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) that Canada's health expenditures are half those in the United States - US$3,326 per person versus US$6,697.

Drinking at the Public Fountain

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:45:02 -0400

by Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman

In the last few years, the world's largest financial institutions and pension funds, from Goldman Sachs to Australia's Macquarie Bank, have figured out that old, trustworthy utilities and infrastructure could become reliable cash cows -- supporting the financial system's speculative junk derivatives with the real concrete of highways, water utilities, airports, harbors, and transit systems.

That Sucks You Into Feelin' Like This

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:06:18 -0400

by Christopher Cooper

Remember the Communists? The Red Menace? You young people won't of course, because as I sit here Monday night writing this sorrowful recitation Public Television is furnishing me with a gleaming, glowing, grand video hagiography of Ronald Reagan, by which I understand that The Great Communicator defeated those evil, dangerous threats to the American Way Of Life through toughness, resolve and horsemanship.

The $700,000,000,000 Power Punch

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:56:49 -0400

by Karyn Strickler

"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

Language from Section 8
Treasury Financial Bail-out Proposal
read more

Global Priorities: Feeding Markets, Starving the Hungry

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:21:16 -0400

by Devinder Sharma

The world's private-sector giants have stepped on a financial minefield. In the past six months, three of America's top five investment banks have disappeared. The remaining two - Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs - are gasping for breath. While Morgan Stanley is considering merger options, the stocks of Goldman have slumped.

Strong tremors were felt all over the world.

Anyone Want to Buy a Private Pension Plan? Going Once…

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:30:35 -0400

by Dave Lindorff

That deafening silence you hear coming from the McCain campaign is straight-talkin' John touting his plan for privatizing Social Security...not.

With Wall Street banks falling like dominoes, a hundred billion dollars vanishing overnight, and the Treasury Department scampering about with trying to prop up failing enterprises from Bear Stearns to Fannie Mae, and with domestic and global equity and bond markets swooning, Americans are afraid to open those envelopes that come every quarter telling them the value of their hard-earned 401(k) retirement plans.

'Water Wars' a Bad Sign of Times

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:38:59 -0400

by Margaret Krome

When my children come home from school, typically they put their books down and go pour a glass of fresh water out of the kitchen faucet. Increasingly, and internationally, all aspects of that image are in contention -- the glass, the availability and even cleanliness of tap water as compared to bottled water. In America, the issue prompted a congressional hearing last week.

McCain Would Privatize Social Security

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:42:03 -0400

by Dean Baker

The Republicans have already turned to sick sexual innuendo and nonsense about their vice-presidential candidate, pigs and lipstick in order to distract the public from the real issues in this campaign. One of the items that should be on top of the list of real issues is Senator McCain's plans to privatize and cut Social Security.

Military Industrial Complex 2.0

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:41:22 -0400

by Frida Berrigan

Seven years into George W. Bush's Global War on Terror, the Pentagon is embroiled in two big wars, a potentially explosive war of words with Tehran, and numerous smaller conflicts - and it is leaning ever more heavily on private military contractors to get by.

Once upon a time, soldiers did more than pick up a gun. They picked up trash. They cut hair and delivered mail. They fixed airplanes and inflated truck tires.