tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27554065.post1986818171677660835..comments2024-03-27T17:52:09.889-04:00Comments on You Might Notice a Trend: The Damage Already Done, Post-Election IssuePaul Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13092023794397583036noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27554065.post-85206998556103677332016-11-20T15:48:52.864-05:002016-11-20T15:48:52.864-05:00Remember "ownership society"? The propag... Remember "ownership society"? The propaganda that W tried to use to hide the housing bubble that crashed the economy when it burst? How many trillions of dollars of wealth and savings from homeowners went up in that cloud of smoke? Remember the undertones of "privatization" that went along with it? Privatization meaning the selling of public assets to private individuals and corporations for pennies on the dollar (to avoid taxing us to pay for their upkeep) and then allowing said individuals or corporations to keep the proceeds of any revenue streams (say, rents, fees, or tolls) for ever. <br /> Well that push for privatization is back, baby! The "infrastructure plan" being floated by the Trump administration is a gigantic, privately financed (but not really because a huge percentage of the cost will be "offset" by tax credits) giveaway of the very infrastructure it purports to be fixing, to corporations wealthy enough to be able to raise the initial cost of the projects.<br /><br />http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/infrastructure-build-or-privatization-scam/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body&_r=0<br /><br /> So the kakistocracy seems to be constructing itself out of good old Russian-style kleptocracy.<br /><br /> -Doug in Oakland<br /> dinthebeasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12941071534250216503noreply@blogger.com