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Chris
08-19-2012, 10:28 AM
As cities across the nation teeter on the edge of fiscal cliffs due to years of high government spending and unsustainable programs, Sandy Springs, GA is running a budget surplus!

In the video below, Reason TV chronicles Sandy Springs’ journey to prosperity through privatization:

Sandy Springs, Georgia: The City that Outsourced Everything (http://www.economicfreedom.org/2012/08/18/sandy-springs-georgia-the-city-that-outsourced-everything/)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8qFvo2qJOU&feature=player_embedded#!

Peter1469
08-19-2012, 12:12 PM
I listened to the video. Short on detail. I wonder what they do with public utilities and the sort of services that require very large up front costs. I would suggest that a government owned contractor operated facility (GOCO) is the way to go. That way you own the infrastructure and you can change contractors easily. If the contractor owns infrastructure that is worth say $25B, how could another contractor compete? You end up with who you got- forever regardless of quality of service.

Chris
08-19-2012, 12:42 PM
From what I've read, see below, the town still purchases and owns plants and properties, just outsources services to operate them. It purchased in 2008 an old Target building but fills the offices with outsources management and employees--except police, fire and schools. That seems to be the gist of it.

Sandy Springs, Georgia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Springs,_Georgia#Services)
A Georgia Town Takes the People’s Business Private (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/business/a-georgia-town-takes-the-peoples-business-private.html?pagewanted=all) -- NYT and somewhat negative
Sandy Springs, Georgia: The City That Privatized Nearly Everything (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/22/sandy-springs-georgia-privatize-outsource_n_852466.html) -- Hufpo and slightly negative.

Peter1469
08-19-2012, 12:44 PM
From what I've read, see below, the town still purchases and owns plants and properties, just outsources services to operate them. It purchased in 2008 an old Target building but fills the offices with outsources management and employees--except police, fire and schools. That seems to be the gist of it.

Sandy Springs, Georgia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Springs,_Georgia#Services)
A Georgia Town Takes the People’s Business Private (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/business/a-georgia-town-takes-the-peoples-business-private.html?pagewanted=all) -- NYT and somewhat negative
Sandy Springs, Georgia: The City That Privatized Nearly Everything (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/22/sandy-springs-georgia-privatize-outsource_n_852466.html) -- Hufpo and slightly negative.



the town still purchases and owns plants and properties, just outsources services to operate them.

That is the way to do it. Great stuff.

The Little Dictator
08-19-2012, 12:58 PM
MY GOD!!!! 92% of these people actually wanted to govern themselves! What a concept!!! It's also really telling that the Democrats blocked their incorporation for years.

Peter1469
08-19-2012, 02:30 PM
A breath of fresh air.

Chris
08-19-2012, 03:15 PM
MY GOD!!!! 92% of these people actually wanted to govern themselves! What a concept!!! It's also really telling that the Democrats blocked their incorporation for years.

I think this is where we need to restart the country.

The left disagree, from the NYT article linked above:
The prospect of more Sandy Springs-style incorporations concerns people like Evan McKenzie, author of “Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government.” He worries that rich enclaves may decide to become gated communities writ large, walling themselves off from areas that are economically distressed.

“You could get into a ‘two Americas’ scenario here,” he says. “If we allow the more affluent to institutionally isolate themselves, then the poor are supposed to do — what? They’re supposed to have all the poverty and all the social problems and deal with them?”
But is it the affluent, or is it just those who want to govern themselves would form these enclaves?