Quote:
Originally Posted by Luap
I'm not all that knowledgeable of the Third World either, but enough to know that there are a lot of people pissed at the rapid liberalization and deregulation mandated by the IMF. Listening to their arguments in A Movement of Movements, I think, or Stiglitz's arguments in Globalization and its Discontents, helps one understand just how destructive these laissez-faire policies can be on the lower classes and to progress in general, particularly in developing countries.
When I say "privatized," I mean that state-owned enterprises are sold off to (almost always foriegn) firms. These firms are privately owned, so yes, the services have truly been privatized. The problem lies in the fact that many of these people live in poverty and cannot afford some essential newly-privatized services, such as water or electricity. Usually, the rapidity of the process and government corruption contribute to a single firm having an unfair advantage in the market, and knowing that its services are essential, it raises the prices to a point that many people cannot afford. You can say, "Oh, well, if it wasn't for government, then this problem wouldn't have happened," but that still ignores the tragedy unfolding and the problem of the application of privatization, liberalization, and deregulation.
|
One need not look at the third world. I hear there's a report in a Minnesota newspaper today (I presume either the paper in Minneapolis or St. Paul) that looks at home heating bills in the state. Apparently, there are record numbers of people who haven't paid their gas bill from last winter (about 20% of all customers) with an average outstanding balance of around $1,500. At the same time, the gas company saw its 1st Q NET profit go from $88 million in 2006 to a 1st Q Net profit of $130 million in 2007.
So, what we see is a privatized company gouging its customers so much so that those who can afford to pay do so (dearly) and more than make up for about 1 in 5 of the customers who cannot afford to pay.
I would expect this problem to be compounded in the winter of 2007-08, as I hear global warming will not spread fast enough to completely end the notoriously harsh winters of Minnesota.
__________________
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither breaks my leg, nor picks my pocket."
Thomas Jefferson