WILL POWER: ULTERIOR MOTIVES

Nothing but the Truth!

June 21, 2009--As California lurches towards insolvency, the supply-siders who wrecked the system now propose to turn over the state’s assets to private parties. The most valuable and scenic properties, the California State Parks, are now going to be rented out for private “management”. It’s the first step towards selling them outright to developers.

What’s next? Selling Yosemite and Yellowstone to the Chinese? The idea that private management companies are cheaper and more efficient than government is the same argument that led to the collapse of the commons in Britain.
(For the historically challenged, the Commons were open lands used for grazing and firewood by the poor. When the commons were abolished, millions of poor Englishmen found they could not survive. They were forced off their land and became landless tenants forced to work for peanuts in factories.)

The richest 2% of US citizens are determined to exert complete control of public resources. Already it has become too expensive for the average US citizen to hike in a US National Forest. (Citizens must now pay a 5$ “Adventure Pass” to park their car on formerly “public” land.) I suppose if we let Disney handle these programs the price could rise to $50 a day!”

By bankrupting national, state, and local government, the supply-siders have ensured that management of public resources is now possible only for the rich. And since the rich already own the mass media, it’s a simple step to promote private management as the panacea for the shortfalls of government.

Like health care, the enjoyment of clean air, water, and wildlife will increasing be relegated to the rich. The urban poor can watch pigeons, feral cats, and rats if they want some scenery. In just a few years, the state parks can be dismembered and sold off for housing developments so the rich won’t have to drive far to enjoy what’s left of the natural world.

Will Power is a retired history teacher who holds a masters degree in creative writing.