Category Archives: Privatization

World Bank Enables Private Capture of Profits, Public Resources

The World Bank insists on private finance or economic recovery but does little to ensure profit-hungry commercial finance serves the public

Is Neoliberalism Really Dead? Or Does It Live on Like a Zombie?

Neoliberalism is still doing a fine job of zombifying economies, but the doctrine sadly is in rude health.

Why Does Germany Continue to Self-Destruct?

German elites run up the tab, but the country’s working class is largely stuck with the bill. An attempt to understand why Germany cannot or will not reverse course.

Patents and Intellectual Property in Biomedical Science: A History in Two Tales

How the US licensing of NIH and other government funded drug and biomedical research became a grift for Big Pharma.

Feds Need to Enlist Consumers to Police Eyepoppingly High Level of Medicare Advantage Ad/Marketing Fraud

Yet another reason to be leery of Medicare Advantage…..widespread deceptive marketing.

Why Did Argentina Elect a Right-Wing Non-Establishment Extremist?

More on the truly wacky new president of Argentina, Javier Milei who nevertheless may get some of his bad ideas implemented.

PPPs Fiscal Hoax Is a Blank Financial Silver Bullet

More on why public private partnerships, aka PPPs, amount to private enrichment at public expense, not just governments but also users.

The Increasing Financialization of Germany

The FIRE sector capitalizes on Germany’s industrial decline as government diverts money from social programs to military.

City Caught Flat-Footed on Flood as Deluge Dredges Up Past Lessons

New York City parents, public officials and climate advocates all say the mayor and his team were ill-prepared for the effects of a storm that was on the radar days before.

The War in Ukraine Helps Advance the Great EU Neoliberal Project

Movers and shakers cash in while workers are disciplined and the welfare state is cut.

Book Review: Two Critiques of America’s Ailing Health Care System

Two new books chronicle the shortcomings of the nation’s health care system, if you can call it that.

Private Equity on Campus: Why College Students Are Sleeping in Cars

College students are still unable to find housing despite enrollment dropping since the start of the pandemic, and a major price-fixing lawsuit against corporate landlords sheds light on why.

Is Wagner Group Too Big to Fail?

John Helmer gives a somewhat contraian take on the Wagner Group and what the unwind of the Prigozhin affair means for Putin’s reelection.

Did a North Carolina Democratic Lawmaker Throw the Party Under the Bus for the Charter School Industry?

Tricia Cotham’s defection to the Republican Party has deep roots in the right-wing “school choice” movement.

The Mercenaries Who Fight for American Empire

How private military contractors, aka mercenaries, are now an essential part of America’s increasingly privatized wars.