“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. ”  

-Oscar Wilde

It began in with the election of Jeb Bush – putting Florida’s public sphere on the auction block in the name of saving taxpayers money. 

Privatization means competition, the argument went, and competition creates value.

That may be so, but it hasn’t worked that way. Instead of competition, we got cronyism. Well-connected companies got to take over public functions and run them at a profit.

Now, Florida’s highly-privatized prison system holds more inmates per capita than any other state. Overpriced tent cities house the overflow. Schools are closing and being replaced with more profitable charter schools that serve fewer students. Our public-assistance programs pay fees to JP Morgan but don’t even serve two thirds of those who need them. Our University system churns out hundreds of thousands of Mickey-Mouse degrees and tens of millions of dollars in no-bid contracts. Bush’s replacement Charlie Crist, with his happy talk and spray-on tan, is working to put a postive, often eco-friendly spin on these schemes.

In practice, privatization tends to be patently unfair. By driving up the costs of infrastructure – from more expensive education to higher transportation costs on overpriced toll roads – privatization also undermines our competitiveness.

Meanwhile, Florida’s methods are becoming national trends. Jeb Bush has become a national “school reform” advocate and his ideas are becoming the consensus Other states are developing Florida-style budget problems, which often provide privatizers with justification for bogus “solutions.” 

Privatization is getting re-branded and made over: charter schools, private-public partnerships, talk of “bold reforms” and “free-market efficiency. The goal of this blog is to get past the vague rhetoric and shine a light on the problems it can cause, focusing here in the Sunshine State.