August 12, 2011 by David K. Sutton
Democracy For Sale
Why do so many on the right want everything privatized? Our government is supposed to be by the people, for the people. If it doesn’t feel that way it’s because of the huge influence corporations already have on our democratic process. Why would we give up ALL control by privatizing?
How do you hold a private company accountable? Do you take your business elsewhere? What if there aren’t any good alternatives? What if a private company controls your local park? Do you sue the company in civil court? I think we all know the deck is stacked in favor of the side with deep pockets. Yes, government might be a so-called monopoly but it’s a monopoly that is supposed to be owned by “we the people”. Private corporations are not held accountable to make decisions for the common good of this nation and its citizens. The first priority of any private corporation is to stay in business and if it’s a for-profit corporation, also make a profit. The first priority of our government is supposed to be to “provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”. How good of a job are we doing on the “Posterity” part when the current generation of citizens cedes control – to private corporations – assets that exist for the benefit of all citizens?
We already have too much influence from the private sector on our democratic process. Big business interests are a large part of why our government is so inefficient and ineffectual. Giving up control of our public assets such as schools, parks, roads, bridges to privatization, in a misguided attempt to fix our broken government, feels like giving up on our democracy. It also feels like giving up on future generations because we decided what was left to us by previous generations was not important enough to protect for future generations.
