Quote Originally Posted by G-DDT View Post
The push to remove the regulations that would protect us citizens in the area of consumer health, environmental health, better working conditions [[or labor treatment), and in so many areas thoroughly disturbs me.

Privatization is another scary issue. Prisons, municipal functions, law enforcement [[that includes Hamtramck), and areas of welfare or poverty alleviation [[that goes for rest homes, senior care facilities, orphanages, etc.) should not be allowed to fall completely into the hands of private interests. The options can be there [[as in, if one wants a religiously run facility). Yet, all one has to do is stay in a shelter run by by a rather kooky operation that has it's own imposing ideals on sexuality [[which I've seen go radically and detrimentally in either direction) within the facility or their own esoterically fundamental and intolerant religious beliefs, and you can see why any self-respecting individual [[no matter how hard-pressed their situation is) won't stay in a town that only has that one operation.

To further elaborate. Why do you think Fox News channels exist? Who really watches that tripe [[I still believe there's some self-respecting conservatives who get really irked when folks assume that they are closely allied with such an abominous "media source")? Is it there to just play a collusion [[very important word to know where any politics is involved) game that goes back in forth with them and Colbert/Stewart, just to manipulate and shift our understanding of what is "liberal" vs. "conservative" [[making the "bad cop" look evil, and the "not so bad cop" look like the only option)? OR [[to bring it to the private interest point) is it there to be a constant strumming to seniors hedged into living in a conservative-run, privatized senior home, doped up on mind-numbing pills, and having fear drummed into them from the only one allowed source of news that this private interest facility will play on the big screen in the rec room. Fear is the great manipulator, and seniors do vote in large turn-outs, so when it comes time for absentee voting-or "bringing the vote home" to occur, a facility [[and it's occasional guest speakers-be they evangelical, be they political representatives) love to push [[in a cult-control manner) them in "the right direction".

Sorry for the unnecessary digression and elaboration, but my point is, de-regulation and unchecked privatization is not the route I'd suggest, no matter how "fed-up" folks are with tedious bureaucratic processes and holding each tax-payer accountable.
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool libertarian/conservative, and I think Fox News is mostly garbage.

As to your deregulation comments, this is not an either-or. One can lighten and streamline regulation and have a better environmental/social impact. Duplicate regulation by multiple entities can hurt real progress.

Same for privatization. A switch to a full privatization isn't the right move anymore than full in-house operations. A balance is appropriate. Giving all private operations to any single operator is a mistake, in my book. That just opens to door to kickbacks to get the work. You want everyone hungry, and everyone in the game. You want small players, not just Veolia or General Electric. No good reason why most services like garbage pickup couldn't be handled by several firms who compete financially and in service quality. Our city needs to be a good manager of resources, and learn how to pick and judge services to residents.