King Krugman

After all this time, you’d think my admiration for Paul Krugman would wane. At the very least, you would think that there would be nothing an economist could say that would interest an ex-air traffic controller about a subject like prisons. And you’d be wrong.

Prisons, Privatization, Patronage

"They are, instead, living off government contracts. There isn’t any market here, and there is, therefore, no reason to expect any magical gains in efficiency."

"So let’s see: Privatized prisons save money by employing fewer guards and other workers, and by paying them badly. And then we get horror stories about how these prisons are run. What a surprise!

So what’s really behind the drive to privatize prisons, and just about everything else?"

Yes, “everything else” does include air traffic control. In the United States of America -- and the world.

Paul Krugman is the voice of our time.

As human beings, we must be greater than our job. Money is important. It cannot be our purpose -- our reason for existence. Our country must be greater than our corporations. The reason for the United States’ existence is not to increase next quarter’s profit. It’s Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness -- not profit.

Don Brown
June 22, 2012