The Public Good Rule Categories
At the dawn of our Republic the word “public” was esteemed and often connected to the word “good”. Today all things public are under attack: public libraries, public schools, public arts, public health, public assets in general. The commons, that is, those things that we own collectively and can access freely or at very low cost, is dramatically shrinking, and with it our sense of community and interconnectedness. The justification, say the advocates of privatization, is that the public is inefficient and wasteful. But many, many studies have found that public management is at least as efficient as private management, decision making is much more localized and the company/agency is far, far more responsive to its “customers”.
Anti-Privatization Initiatives
Asset Building – Individual Development Accounts
Banning Public Subsidies for Big Retailers
Closing State Corporate Tax Loopholes: Throwback Rules
Community Broadband – Grant of Authority to Municipalities – Vermont
Depositing Public Funds in Local Banks
Glass-Steagall Act & the Volcker Rule
Municipal Telecommunications Enabling Legislation – Maine
Open Standards and Open Access in Vancouver, Canada
Public Banks: Bank of North Dakota
Residency Requirements – Providence
Single-Payer and Universal Health Care
The Courts and the Privatization of Civil Service