Gov. Jeb Bush, legislative leaders and the Florida Council of 100 are pushing for privatizing public services.
Privatization is headed for a train wreck.
Proposals for cheaper and better private-sector delivery of services are fairy dust. What drives privatization is not sound economic management but rather simplistic economic models, blind faith, greed and attempts to destroy employee protections and unions. Despite talk about savings, private vendors are reluctant to sign contracts that guarantee savings of 7 percent to 10 percent. Poor-quality privatized services have caused children to be stranded when school buses didn't run, disabled people to be stuck with no transportation, sick people to face nightmarish insurance service, and minor offenders to die in jail because of inadequate medical services. For two years, state employees and retirees put up with a health-care insurance system that didn't work.