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Privatization

Amtrak Doesn’t Understand Why Elon Musk Wants To Privatize Amtrak

March 18, 2025 Ryan Erik King, Jalopnik. , , ,
Elon Musk has eagerly positioned himself as a chainsaw-welding horror movie slasher with government agencies as his victims, instead of promiscuous high schoolers. The Tesla CEO set his sights on privatizing the USPS and Amtrak, but the federally-owned railroad released a response last week stating that it can't understand why it needs private ownership. Amtrak has turned a lemon from the 1960s into a decent lemonade by the 21st century. Musk spoke at a Morgan Stanley technology conference last week and advised travelers visiting the country to stay away from Amtrak.

Organizing To Stop Stealth Privatization Of The US Postal Service

March 17, 2025 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. , , ,
Beginning with the so-called Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, which required the postal service to hold billions of dollars in reserve to fund retirement benefits for workers who have not yet been born, and then the sell-off of post offices, cuts to the workforce and price hikes, the ground for privatization of the US Postal Service, as was done in Canada and the United Kingdom, has been laid. Clearing the FOG speaks with Annie Norman, a leader of the Save the Post Office Coalition, about the current effort to begin privatizing the postal service in incremental steps. Norman also discusses the upcoming national days of action to protect our post offices and the People's Postal Agenda, a program to strengthen the postal service and add more services for people.

As DOGE Mauls Social Security, Profit-Hungry Private Equity Is Swooping In

March 17, 2025 Tyler Walicek, Truthout. , , ,
The Social Security Administration (SSA), an irreplaceable lifeline for 73 million people, is only the latest venerable U.S. institution to be hit with a campaign of media falsehoods and startling internal sabotage efforts, all on the orders of Trump and the reactionary right. This has taken its most visibly outrageous form in the bureaucratic pillaging committed by Elon Musk’s self-proclaimed “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), the widely loathed advisory body with a meme-derived name as juvenile as its staffers. But this week, a still-more ominous threat appears to be circling.

Wall Street Bankers Salivate Over Postal Privatization

March 13, 2025 Vishal Shankar, Revolving Door Project. , , , ,
At a Morgan Stanley conference last week, Elon Musk told attendees the federal government should privatize “as much as possible” – and singled out the U.S. Postal Service as a top target. Musk’s comments are the latest in an alarming push from Trump’s team to strip-mine America’s oldest and second-most popular agency (USPS narrowly trails the National Parks Service, another victim of Musk’s austerity chainsaw). Trump – who has long feuded with the Postal Service over mail-in balloting – stated in December he was “looking at” privatizing USPS.

Trump’s Deportation Drive Stalls; Is Prince’s Private Army On The Table?

March 10, 2025 Robert Inlakesh, MintPress News. , , , , ,
Former CEO of Blackwater Erik Prince’s plan to create a privately run force to aid the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts is gaining renewed steam. First reported by Politico, A 26-page document details the proposal, which seeks $25 billion to establish a force capable of deporting 600,000 people monthly. The plan, which includes deputizing at least 10,000 private citizens, would be central to achieving Trump’s stated goal of removing 12 million undocumented immigrants. With Trump’s deportation agenda ramping up, new reports indicate the administration is looking for ways to overcome logistical hurdles that are slowing removals.

People vs Profits: China And US Health Care Systems Compared

March 5, 2025 K. J. Noh, The China Report. , , , ,
China's health care system has recently come to public consciousness in the US with “TikTok Refugees” on Red Note comparing healthcare in the two countries. In today's China report, we will explore health care under China's health system and contrast it with that of the US's privatized system. Our understanding of China — and U.S.-China relations — has become a defining feature of all global politics. The China Report is a new show produced in collaboration with Pivot to Peace where every week, journalist Amanda Yee and political analyst KJ Noh will be helping you through all the propaganda with an independent view of the country we are taught to hate, but know so little about.

Kerala’s Healthcare Revolution: A Triumph Over Corporate Greed

February 18, 2025 Anusha Paul, People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
The New Indian Express reported on February 10, 2025, that Kerala has seen the closure of 99 private hospitals since 2011, citing the data from the Kerala Private Hospital Association (KPHA). The association believes this number is a conservative estimate, with the actual figure likely much higher. Hussain Koya Thangal, President of the Kerala Private Hospital Association (KPHA), emphasized that while the cost of treatment has remained relatively stable, the financial burden of maintaining infrastructure and running hospitals has increased significantly.

The Latest Plot To Privatize Public Lands

February 10, 2025 Joseph Bullington, In These Times. , , ,
On a recent visit to see old friends in Livingston, Mont., I found myself downtown, drinking the free art-walk wine, spearing the free cocktail weenies and admiring the fine skin of the expensively dressed couples bobbing in and out of the galleries that have proliferated here like some aggressive breed of plant. The light was retreating up the peaks of the Absaroka Range, and the summer evening’s golden stillness settled over town. Then a rip formed in this tranquility, and through it a ramshackle Subaru station wagon with local plates came trundling up Main Street, piled floor to ceiling with belongings. ​“Fuck!” shrieked the driver, as he pounded the steering wheel. ​“I fucking hate this!”

Syria’s De Facto Authorities Execute ‘Sweeping’ Neoliberal Reforms

February 1, 2025 News Desk, The Cradle. , , ,
The self-appointed transitional government in Syria is undertaking sweeping internal reforms, including privatizing state-run enterprises and laying off a third of the public sector, as authorities say they are shifting to "a competitive free-market economy." In an interview with Reuters, ex-officials of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) who are serving as cabinet ministers for transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa – former ISIS and Al-Qaeda commander Abu Mohammad al-Julani – say they have a “wide scope” of plans to shrink the state, including removing thousands of “ghost employees.”

Patients Are Dying Because Of Profit-Driven Political Decisions

January 18, 2025 The Canary. , , , ,
In 2025, campaign group EveryDoctor is stepping up its work to save the NHS from privatisation, and build a functioning, flourishing healthcare system for patients and staff alike. However, there’s work to do. The group wants to grow its following from thousands, to a vibrant patient and staff community of millions. It feels it will take nothing short of this to turn things around because: millions of people are currently being profoundly failed by politicians In short, the group aims to transform its campaign community into something more: a movement. Its ambitious goal comes amidst another spate of alarming news stories over the appalling state of things in the NHS.

How Vouchers Harm Public Schools

January 2, 2025 Hilary Wething, Economic Policy Institute. , , , ,
Voucher programs for schools are rapidly expanding across the country. Under these programs, public budgets provide funding to parents to either send their children to private school or homeschool them. These programs’ growing popularity raises the question of whether letting public money leave the public school system and subsidize private forms of schooling is a way to improve children’s access to an excellent education. EPI’s analysis shows that vouchers harm public schools. To illustrate the damage, EPI has developed a tool that estimates fiscal externalities—the dollar costs to school districts from students leaving public schools with a voucher.

Students Say IMF Is Responsible For Privatization Of Education

December 27, 2024 Abdul Rahman, People's Dispatch. , , , ,
On Sunday, December 22, the Progressive Students Federation (PrSF) in Pakistan organized a Student Action Conference in Islamabad. The Conference brought together hundreds of students from the capital city and nearby areas for a series of panel discussions, political theater presentations, and revolutionary music. Several student leaders from provinces such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan addressed the gathering of the students talking about the exploitation and oppression their regions are facing under the present government led by Shahwaz Sharif.

Can Britain Re-Nationalize Water Services?

December 19, 2024 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , , ,
Social justice organizations in Britain are urging judges to reject a bailout request from Thames Water, one of the country’s largest water providers, serving some 16 million people in the greater London area. Campaigners argue that approving the bailout of the private utility provider would allow Thames Water to continue its mismanagement while forcing consumers to shoulder the burden—raising annual water bills by £250 (USD 317) per user. “This is daylight robbery. There are two people who can stop it, the judge in court today and Steve Reed, the environment secretary.

Privatizing Syria: US Plans To Sell Off A Nation’s Wealth After Assad

December 18, 2024 Kit Klarenberg, MintPress News. , , , ,
In the immediate wake of the Syrian government’s abrupt collapse, much remains uncertain about the country’s future – including whether it can survive as a unitary state or will splinter into smaller states as did Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, a move that ultimately led to a bloody NATO intervention. Moreover, who or what may take power in Damascus remains an open question. For the time being at least, members of ultra-extremist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) appear highly likely to take key positions in whatever administrative structure sprouts from Bashar Assad’s ouster after a decade-and-a-half of grinding Western-sponsored regime change efforts.

Trump Taps Linda McMahon For Secretary Of Education

December 6, 2024 Chrisley Carpio, Fight Back! News. , , ,
On November 19, Donald Trump selected multi-millionaire Linda McMahon as Secretary of the Department of Education. The former CEO of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), she unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut and lost twice. She served on Trump’s cabinet once before as the head of the Small Business Administration and then resigned in 2019 to become the director of America First Action, a Trump super-PAC that kept promoting the agenda of “Make America Great Again” after he lost the 2020 election.
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