Eight Ways Privatization Has Failed America

[Minimalist]

http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentar...ed-america

Internet, TV, and Phone

It seems the whole world is leaving us behind on the Internet. According to the OECD, South Korea has Internet speeds up to 200 times faster than the average speed in the U.S., at about half the cost. Customers are charged about $30 a month in Hong Kong or Korea or parts of Europe for much faster service than in the U.S., while triple-play packages in other countries go for about half of our Comcast or AT&T charges.

Bloomberg notes that deregulators in the 1990s anticipated a market-based decline in phone and cable bills, an "invisible hand" that would steer competing companies to lower prices for all of us. Verizon and AT&T and Comcast and Time-Warner haven't let happen.

[Something completely different]

That is an unfair generalisation.

Privatisation of public companies can work, as is shown for example with the German energy sector.
Privatising public companies generaly is a very tricky buisness and unfortunatly attracts alot of cons and vulture trying to make a quick win on the expense of the community.
Also, when done very fast and without planing things through things can go to the shitter as seen with British rail during the 1980s.

But it can work.

[orogenicman]

http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentar...ed-america

Internet, TV, and Phone

It seems the whole world is leaving us behind on the Internet. According to the OECD, South Korea has Internet speeds up to 200 times faster than the average speed in the U.S., at about half the cost. Customers are charged about $30 a month in Hong Kong or Korea or parts of Europe for much faster service than in the U.S., while triple-play packages in other countries go for about half of our Comcast or AT&T charges.

Bloomberg notes that deregulators in the 1990s anticipated a market-based decline in phone and cable bills, an "invisible hand" that would steer competing companies to lower prices for all of us. Verizon and AT&T and Comcast and Time-Warner haven't let happen.

It is worse than that. Companies like Time Warner are buying up the regional cable companies. As a result, for instance, I now have no access to newsgroups and cannot host a web site because Time Warner offers neither of these services. And since it is essentially a monopoly, I have no other choices but ATT's lousy dsl service or worse, some crappy satellite service. So I am stuck with far fewer services, and no comparable options. So much for choice. And the price? Ugh.

[Captain Colostomy]

Oh noes!!! You mean the invisible hand of god failed to deliver competitive pricing for the working class, and made CEO's filthy fucking rich in the process?

Yeah...business as usual.

[Silver]

'Murica, land of the greedy.

[Minimalist]

They're greedy. The rest of us are simply idiots for allowing it.

[kılıç_mehmet]

Privatisation of public companies which generate no income can be done, but that is generally only in the case when the buyer is a domestic company. Foreigners should not be allowed to have a foothold on national resources.