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As CMD explains in EXPOSED: America's Highest Paid Government Workers, a group of private corporate executives across the country have increasingly pushed for the privatization of public services while maneuvering high-paying contracts with the government "and then pay themselves and other executives eye-popping salaries."
Included in the report are people like private prison CEO of the GEO Group George Zoley, who made $22 million between 2008 and 2012.
GEO Group makes 86 percent of its revenue from taxpayers. CMD reports:
GEO Group writes language into private prison contracts that forces taxpayers to keep prisons full or else pay for empty beds. GEO Group has faced hundreds of lawsuits over prisoner deaths, assaults, excessive force, and more, which have led to secret court settlements.
Another exorbitantly paid "government worker" highlighted in the report is Jeffry Sterba, president and CEO of American Water Works Company, the largest private provider of water and wastewater services in the US. Sterba has made $8.3 million in the three years he has spent as top executive.
"American Water is a major force behind the privatization of water services and came under fire from communities across the country for charging high rates and providing poor services," the report states.
These high-payed privatized service providers are involved in the fields of education, corrections, waste management, water treatment, transportation and social services.
"These and other 'government workers' who head big firms that take over public assets or contract for services make billions off of taxpayers, but are not accountable to taxpayers for their enormous salaries being subsidized at public expense," CMD reports.
The report highlights the ways in which these corporations often "muddy accountability, and cut corners when it comes to public health and safety."
"Given these astronomical salaries, and evidence of higher prices, poor service, and at times outright malfeasance, taxpayers have every right to be concerned about how their outsourced dollars are spent," said Lisa Graves, Executive Director of CMD.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

As CMD explains in EXPOSED: America's Highest Paid Government Workers, a group of private corporate executives across the country have increasingly pushed for the privatization of public services while maneuvering high-paying contracts with the government "and then pay themselves and other executives eye-popping salaries."
Included in the report are people like private prison CEO of the GEO Group George Zoley, who made $22 million between 2008 and 2012.
GEO Group makes 86 percent of its revenue from taxpayers. CMD reports:
GEO Group writes language into private prison contracts that forces taxpayers to keep prisons full or else pay for empty beds. GEO Group has faced hundreds of lawsuits over prisoner deaths, assaults, excessive force, and more, which have led to secret court settlements.
Another exorbitantly paid "government worker" highlighted in the report is Jeffry Sterba, president and CEO of American Water Works Company, the largest private provider of water and wastewater services in the US. Sterba has made $8.3 million in the three years he has spent as top executive.
"American Water is a major force behind the privatization of water services and came under fire from communities across the country for charging high rates and providing poor services," the report states.
These high-payed privatized service providers are involved in the fields of education, corrections, waste management, water treatment, transportation and social services.
"These and other 'government workers' who head big firms that take over public assets or contract for services make billions off of taxpayers, but are not accountable to taxpayers for their enormous salaries being subsidized at public expense," CMD reports.
The report highlights the ways in which these corporations often "muddy accountability, and cut corners when it comes to public health and safety."
"Given these astronomical salaries, and evidence of higher prices, poor service, and at times outright malfeasance, taxpayers have every right to be concerned about how their outsourced dollars are spent," said Lisa Graves, Executive Director of CMD.
______________________
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

As CMD explains in EXPOSED: America's Highest Paid Government Workers, a group of private corporate executives across the country have increasingly pushed for the privatization of public services while maneuvering high-paying contracts with the government "and then pay themselves and other executives eye-popping salaries."
Included in the report are people like private prison CEO of the GEO Group George Zoley, who made $22 million between 2008 and 2012.
GEO Group makes 86 percent of its revenue from taxpayers. CMD reports:
GEO Group writes language into private prison contracts that forces taxpayers to keep prisons full or else pay for empty beds. GEO Group has faced hundreds of lawsuits over prisoner deaths, assaults, excessive force, and more, which have led to secret court settlements.
Another exorbitantly paid "government worker" highlighted in the report is Jeffry Sterba, president and CEO of American Water Works Company, the largest private provider of water and wastewater services in the US. Sterba has made $8.3 million in the three years he has spent as top executive.
"American Water is a major force behind the privatization of water services and came under fire from communities across the country for charging high rates and providing poor services," the report states.
These high-payed privatized service providers are involved in the fields of education, corrections, waste management, water treatment, transportation and social services.
"These and other 'government workers' who head big firms that take over public assets or contract for services make billions off of taxpayers, but are not accountable to taxpayers for their enormous salaries being subsidized at public expense," CMD reports.
The report highlights the ways in which these corporations often "muddy accountability, and cut corners when it comes to public health and safety."
"Given these astronomical salaries, and evidence of higher prices, poor service, and at times outright malfeasance, taxpayers have every right to be concerned about how their outsourced dollars are spent," said Lisa Graves, Executive Director of CMD.
______________________