But, I would have changed the title from "Self-serve and slave" to "Self-service and voluntary servitude" to make the construction more parallel and invoke the historical context.  We assume that to slave is to work without compensation, but not only is the involuntary nature of the historical practice of slavery crucial, it's the subordination of one person to another that's determinative.  Indeed, I would argue that we are confronting a twenty-first century variant of an old agenda--to make a significant percentage of the population carry out the dictates of the few, without compensation.

crossposted from unbossed

This is about privatization. About five years ago, IT privatization was all the rage in the federal government. For reasons that have always escaped me, pro-privatization groups argued - successfully (and this is the part I find unbelievable) - that contracting out an agency's IT work is a no-brainer and would lead only to good.

I've always loved trains, especially in the Northeast corridor. You can get to the heart of just about any big city from Boston to Washington, DC with less aggravation and often faster than a plane. And, unlike a car if you're the driver, you can sleep, get lots of work done, grab a bite to eat whenever you like, and the scenery isn't half-bad, either.

All of that was before the insanely high prices of gas, which have made not only autos more expensive to drive, but air travel, too. Trains of course also use energy, but the electricity that moves the trains draws less oil than cars or planes. An article a few weeks ago in The New York Times gives the details, along with the unsettling news that growing train use in our age of soaring gas prices may not be able to keep track with the aging equipment. Amtrak clearly needs help - or, more help than it's been getting from the Federal government. The article concludes with a brief mention of McCain opposing subsidies for Amtrak, versus Obama, who co-sponsored a bill that would increase them.

I decided to look into this a bit more. A DCist article from early June has the amazing rundown.

While it is being bruited about that the Administration is planning for a somewhat earlier withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq, if Secretary Gates is counting on protecting the bases with robots and drones, he might want to think again.

In any event, the United States Air Force is demonstrating lots of enterprise.

This today from PSN's Adam Thompson on the right wing plan to "reform" health care by forcing folks into indivudal plans with high out-of-pocket costs:

As with John McCain's health care reform proposals, the Florida and Georgia plans are indicative of the Right's allegiance to "consumer-driven health care" - the idea that Americans will use less care if they must pay more out-of-pocket.  As the New York Times reports, Sen. McCain wants Americans to purchase their insurance in the volatile and costly individual market, eschewing the stronger bargaining power and better consumer protections found in employer-based and large group coverage.  The problem with this approach is that high out of pocket costs - which are the result of high deductible and limited benefit plans - lead consumers to avoid necessary care, resulting in worse outcomes and higher system-wide costs in the long run.  

Michael Cooper and Kevin Sack wrote a really interesting article that details serious problems with John McCain’s healthcare plan. The article was published in the April 30th issue of the New York Times. The same information showed up today (7/8/08) on the AP webpage in an article written by Kevin Freking and Nedra Pickler. Reading the key provisions of McCain's plan, I couldn't help but think they bore the influence of Phil Gramm (one of the geniuses who got us into the current economic mess and MCain's economic guru).

crossposted from unbossed

Not just pretty good! Absolutely great! God's gift! According to Citi / Abertis Infraestructuras - the two companies who have formed a partnership to lease the PA Turnpike. And I am assuming that, given all the press releases and the hyper-aggressive marketing by these two, the benefit goes to Citi / Abertis.

It is just amazing what these guys are doing to sell the public on this lease!

Did anyone catch any of the articles earlier in the week about Blackwater getting raided? Federal agents were there as, "part of an investigation into whether the private security company sidestepped federal laws prohibiting the private purchase of automatic assault rifles."

John McCain, last week:

But I'm not for, quote, "privatizing" Social Security.  I never have been, I never will be.

And back in the day when, side by side with George Bush, John McCain fought to privatize Social Security.

• 2004: "Without privatization, I don't see how you can possibly, over time, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits.  [C-Span Road to the White House, 11/18/2004]
• 2005: "McCain has been especially supportive of his onetime rival, appearing with Bush at three events over the past two days in trying to prod Democrats into negotiations to include private accounts in a plan to revamp Social Security." [Washington Post, 3/23/05]
• 2008: "As part of Social Security reform, I believe that private savings accounts are a part of it - along the lines of what President Bush proposed. I campaigned in support of President Bush's proposal and I campaigned with him, and I did town hall meetings with him." [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08]

In the words of Barack Obama, "privatizing Social Security was a bad idea when George W. Bush proposed it. It's a bad idea today."  As for John McCain lying about his previous position?  It's yet another YouTube moment for Senator Straight Talk.^TM

KBR had the Army over a barrel:  if the Army refused to pay KBR's inflated bills (more than $1B in unjustified costs), KBR threatened to shut off payments to its subcontractors, which in turn would stop feeding the army in Iraq.  

A hallmark of any political season is the Gaffe, usually an error made by a  candidate in something they said.  But not all gaffes are the same and this season has seen the rise of a new form of Gaffe, we shall call The McGaffe.

Another "Ooops! I Forgot About You Tube!" moment for John McCain:

crossposted from unbossed

Longtime unbossed readers will know that highway privatization has been one of our themes. They will remember the 2005 Roads Scholars series (with a link on the right column) that revealed the existence of a noncompete agreement as part of the Denver E-470 deal and laid out issues commonly part of highway privatization. Over the years since then, we have returned to this issue, and now it's time to look at Pennsylvania and the Turnpike privatization deal.

crossposted from unbossed

This week PA Gov. Rendell announced the winner of the "I Rule the PA Turnpike" Contest. And the winner, with an offer of  "$12.8 billion" is "a team led by Citi Infrastructure Investors and Abertis Infraestructuras with Criteria CaixaCorp investing alongside this team as a major shareholder of Abertis." Rendell may have a winner, but the people of Pennsylvania may find they have a real loser. How can $12.8 billion in found money be a loss?

Well, you might ask.

crossposted from unbossed

Of course, in this 2 page report, we never get beyond the puffing and the sunny claims that all is well in privatization-ville.  But the NTEU has OMB's number.

crossposted from unbossed

On April 30, Bush received a plan for developing a modern system for security clearances, Joint Security and Suitability Reform Team, Security and Suitability Process Reform Initial Report. Before you click on it, this is a short report short of real solutions, that somehow creates a pdf file that is huge and bloated. I regard that as a metaphor for the substance of the report itself.

For its practitioners, punditry--and its lesser sibling, surrogacy--is often a transient affair. While a core commentariat enjoys longevity, many more--mere apprentices in the dark arts of instant analysis and spin-hypnosis--flash briefly across the screen, and then, quickly depixilate. The market demands this cruel process, and market selections are often fickle.

The Republican Party seems aware of this, and has recently been grunting about their need to "rebrand" themselves. So, we are seeing a new batch of hopefuls audition for a place in the surrogate thugocracy. They're younger (relatively), better looking, and--seemingly--less threatening. After all, who would you prefer to carry your message over a medium that requires telegenic pizazz, Ted Stevens or Dana Perino? Last weekend it was Carly Fiorina's, turn, and this week, Nancy Pfotenhauer has been rolled out.

So, just who is Nancy Pfotenhauer?

Once upon a time, after nearly 200 years of Republican government, and 50 years of both declared and undeclared class warfare, a citizenship crisis, economic extortion,  corrupted elections, and sweeping military reforms, a Republic was attacked by a highly coordinated criminal organization, which was worldwide in scope, these individuals were non-state actors, and their pirates burned and sacked the primary economic center of the Republic, in very close proximity to the seat of the central government.