Is "privatizing" simply another method of funneling US tax dollars to private corporations?

Question

lttlehrs (below) states:

"Join the fight, or forfeit your right to complain"

How do I break it to him that not only am I an active duty veteran, but I am also an ex-fed to boot? (must need to vent)

Answer 1

Absolutely. Repubs push privatizing SS to give all your money, that they used up and it's just computer numbers, to wall street. The Repubs are only for corporations and the rich and could care less about the other 99% of Americans. I don't understand how anyone can trust the Repubs when they come right out and say how they only represent the rich, non-working class.

Answer 2

Or perhaps it's a way to get things into the hands of people who might actually try to make a program successful. I know if I had all the money I've sent to Social Security in a private type fund I would have a very nice retirement nest egg. Instead I've sent huge sums of money to the government,for a program that will fail before I retire so that I will get not one thin dime of my investment back,while being told I have to plan for my retirement. Which would of course be easier if the Federal government weren't sucking me dry.

AD

Answer 3

No.

My father, a self proclaimed "Liberal Democrat" used to work for the IRS.

My father hated it when the IRS started having to bid against other computer suppliers for government computer jobs. The Competition was un-American and it might put people like him out of work if they had to actually work.

That pretty much sums up the problem with monopoly organizations like government services.

There is a reason trash collection services are generally privatized and snow plowing services generally are not.

Government workers want their trash picked up, just like everyone else AND government workers like taking snow days off.

Answer 4

You mean private corporations as opposed to the government of China?

Answer 5

Absolutely. The old argument that government programs takes money from the economy is bogus. That money does not disappear. For SS, the money is given to retirees, who then buy goods and services thereby putting that money right back into the economy. The government bureaucracy is the evil here, but if you have ever dealt with an insurance company, you know their bureaucracies are just as bad.

Answer 6

The appropriate term for that is "deregulating." Privatizing means taking services the government currently provides and transferring those to private companies; if a private company is doing the work, theoretically they have to use all their own money. (In the world of grants and entitlements to anyone who asks -- and some who don't -- though, it doesn't end up working nearly so nicely.)

Answer 7

Let's just grant the libs that private businesses are indeed greedy. What do you get in return for greed? Competitive service! The private sector has to compete to survive and earn money.

In the public sector, you get civil servants who get paid the same amount no matter how much work/service they provide. The pay increases come via congressional vote, not based on effort. Competence is rarely rewarded.

Give me the private sector any day.

Answer 8

NO

Corporations are typically Publicly owned

When Bush privatizes a Branch of Government all the money goes straight into the pocket of one of his cronies.

Answer 9

Yes. Blackwater is a good example. Instead of using our service personal, you hire mercenaries for $140,000 tax free per year. What a boondoggle. Bush helping out one of his buddies in Texas. Were they the people who lost stacks of money in Iraq?

Answer 10

When private corporations perform services for the community, they almost always do a better job than the government can do and at less cost, so I think it's better to funnel those tax dollars, you get more bang for the buck.