The group Project on Government Oversight reported that after looking at 35 federal jobs, they found that independent contractors "charge the government almost twice as much as what it would cost federal employees to do the same work." The issue of privatizing (transferring from public or government control or ownership to private enterprise) has come up recently and I have to wonder if people are doing their homework.
From the Britannica Encyclopedia on privatization: The objective is often to increase government efficiency; implementation may affect government revenue either positively or negatively. Privatization is the opposite of nationalization, a policy resorted to by governments that want to keep the revenues from major industries, especially those that might otherwise be controlled by foreign interests.http://www.answers.com/topic/privatization#ixzz1a7G2NPga
But if private contractors are really charging twice what it would cost the government, isnt this excess spending? Is smaller government always the answer? It sounds good but why don't we do more research instead of just clamoring for the government to get out of our way. As mentioned in previous posts, I watch Fox News and there are commentators on there that push the smaller government idea and I believe many people watch and subscribe to that idea without doing any additional homework. And then in the long run, we end up moving for something that may not be in the taxpayer's best interest.
Now there's the Occupy Wall Street movement that is picking up speed and it is being compared to the tea party. CNN reported:
"When tea party rallies flared up across the country more than two years ago, conservative activists were mad about bailouts and their impact on the national debt. To them, government was part of the problem.
To one, government is the problem, to the other, government is the solution. Who's right?
The report also stated that the Occupy group got its cues from the tea party on how to turn anger into action. I thought that was a positive note. Maybe its the taxpayers that will begin to come up with viable solutions because Congress doesnt seem to be able to.
