Commentary
Bay State's big selloff
re: Bay State's big selloff by Richard Gillispie Boston Globe Op-Ed 7/27/7
Richard Gillespie has found an interesting crease in the social fabric through which to slip in a rationale for privatization. While corporations can jettison their responsibilities to their workers and retirees, the public sector depends on a more ponderous political process.
From a capitalist perspective there is a lot of value in our communities. The wealth is spread evenly, the difference in wages and benefits between our lowest paid state workers and our highest paid public officials is no where near the differences seen in the private sector between workers' and stockholders' earnings; an enticing amount of fat poised to move up the food chain and into executives/stockholders coffers. Yet, this even distribution is what gives our communities their strength. Our public workers can become part of the fabric of our society with the economic power to contribute to their communities.
Despite our federal government's mission of making the world safe for privatization, there is nothing democratic or free or even American in this value. Corporations are not citizens, we are the citizens. Selling off our communities so that we can re-apply for our jobs at lower pay and worse benefits is not the solution.
Tim McKenna
12 Parley Vale
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
tim@sitebuilt.net
617 524 0938(h)
857 498 2574(m)
next target: the prevailing wage law
next target: the prevailing wage law Next target: the prevailing wage law - The Boston Globe
Perhaps we should just take eveybody's job away, let them get real hungry then bring them into a big arena. The field could be separated into two sections, 13% of the people could go in the union section, the other 87% in the other. Crumbs could be thrown down from the skyboxes with more crumbs going to the union section. People could then compete against each other by fighting for the crumbs thrown down from the skyboxes. The people cry out for more crumbs. The jumbotron responds: "Reduce the union section if you want more crumbs for yourself". We could then force the winners to have to give some of their crumbs to the losers. The jumbotron would declare that was because of taxes: "reduce taxes keep more of your crumbs". The people are outraged. Allow them to vote on the way out of the arena. Maybe you could sell chances on a seat in the skyboxes too.
Ah efficiency and discipline, the core values of privatization. Free market efficiency might get the job done for $25/hr or even $15/hr but what does that get society? Do we have strong communities where people can own a home, send their kids to college, save for retirement?
