The Fox in the Henhouse: How Privatization Threatens Democracy

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With FEMA , what we saw is the same thing we found in our research in all the different areas of privatization, which is: But it had also been de-funded and disempowered. Then you say, 'Ah, we need help,' so we go to the private sector. They do the same thing with the schools: Like on the international scene, you use debt, you de-fund, you make people dependent on the sources of other money, not government, not public money. Then you pull the strings. You impose more regulations and rules.

You swamp them, so that they break. And then you say, 'You know who could do this well? The efficient, the effective, the corporations. Well, what struck us while we were doing this research across all of these areas: The fox was in the henhouse.

Talk about for-profit prisons? Amy, of all the privatization issues, this is the one that hits me in the gut the hardest. The idea that private corporations build prisons in a cornfield somewhere, and then they go out looking for people to put in that prison in order to make money, I find that that crosses any human line, and it draws the parallels between our foreign policy, our policy with Abu Ghraib, all of these things.

Something like , people in our country are imprisoned for profit. We do civil rights, labor, and community organizing in the South. And it raises the core question of privatization: Is everything for sale? Is everything that we now have any voice in whatsoever, whether imperfectly or not, our schools, our lands, our governance, our ability to govern ourselves, even to some extent, will it all be sold back to us for a profit? Give some concrete examples. You begin your chapter on for-profit prisons by talking about a case that we covered years ago in Syracuse, New York, of a man who was brought in for, I think it was, theft.

But precisely, there was a cover story in the New York Times recently, that was enormously useful in moving this forward. They decided he was malingering. They decided he was using this. The whole notion that gets repeated time and again is that the privatizing corporations can do a better job.

People ask us this every time: In the record, there were follow-up reports, and there have been many such studies, in every single area of privatization where there are these intense studies, the myth of 'we do it better' collapses. And efficiency, in corporate terms, means efficiency in generating a profit.

It means efficiency in returning the maximum amount of money to the corporate directors and executives and to the majority shareholders. So, for example, in the case of private prisons, this means keeping them full at all costs. As a result, what we have is people transported thousands and thousands of miles from home for the convenience of the private prison. I remember talking at a Jobs with Justice conference with a woman from Hawaii, whose nephew, a Hawaiian, was in a private prison in Arizona. On the issue of war right now, on the issue of Iraq, can you talk specifically how the corporations are benefiting?

There are large private military firms, international, super-national. And a lot of that came out of Iraq.

Mosul, you wanted to talk about Mosul? They take aim at civilians. They are not subject to Iraqi law, and they are not subject to the U. Code of Military Conduct. It means that we have mercenaries who are completely and totally out of control. Some of those have now shown up, of course, in New Orleans.

And the same thing happens. And they put the people who are working on public payroll at enormous risk, because they are out of control and they create incidents that then have to be stopped. We just have 30 seconds. In your research over years on privatization what surprised you most? That Grover Norquist means it, about shrinking government to where we can drown it in a bathtub.

The Fox in the Henhouse: How Privatization Threatens Democracy

We are saying they are serious about taking over this country and about operating it. Their vision is of an America owned and operated by the corporations. And we have got to stand and fight back. Hi there, You turn to Democracy Now! How Privatization Threatens Democracy 3.

Privatization has been on the right-wing agenda for years. Health care, schools, Social Security, public lands, the military, prisons--all are considered fair game. Through stories, analysis, impassioned argument--even song lyrics--Si Kahn and Elizabeth Minnich show that corporations are, by their very nature, unable to fulfill effectively what have traditionally been the Privatization has been on the right-wing agenda for years.

Through stories, analysis, impassioned argument--even song lyrics--Si Kahn and Elizabeth Minnich show that corporations are, by their very nature, unable to fulfill effectively what have traditionally been the responsibilities of government. They make a powerful case that the market is not the measure of all things, and that a vital public sector is an indispensable component of a healthy democracy. Paperback , pages. Published October 10th by Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

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To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Fox in the Henhouse , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about The Fox in the Henhouse. Lists with This Book. Jan 13, Sam Fletcher rated it it was ok. This book was so hard to finish. However, rather than using the work of scholars to back up their liberalism, the authors sacrifice credibility for the sake of a weak call to arms. Maybe this is why I found this copy on the 'free' shelf at my university library Aug 20, Paul, rated it did not like it.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with some of the ideas in this book.

The Fox in the Henhouse: How Privatization Threatens Democracy by Si Kahn

But when a book cites the U. The rhetoric is often also far short of fair and balanced.

I hope that there are other books on Private Military Organizations, etc. Jan 23, Sean Nelson rated it did not like it Recommends it for: I gave it to Michael Moore and now he refuses to talk to me. I read this in a class full only of fellow liberals and lefties. It was so bad we all wanted to burn it. Books like this are the reason so many people hate us liberals. Putting your folk song lyrics into the text to boost your non-existent CD sales just shows that your dealer is lacing your weed with Drain-O.

Even Abbie Hoffman would use this as Charmin. Nov 06, Meg Bernard added it. Sharon rated it really liked it Nov 22, Post rated it liked it Jun 14, Teguh Sri Pambudi rated it liked it Feb 06, Vivek rated it it was amazing Oct 17, Nathan rated it it was ok May 18,

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