politics / commentary ::.
Corporate Appropriation of the Milwaukee County Airport
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All across the United States, billions of dollars of the nation's wealth—the people's resources—are being secretly and openly appropriated by anti-government pro-corporate interests. Presumed to be the protector of the public's wealth, government has become instead, an inept plunder and thief. The media for many years was apathetic, at best, in sounding the alarm. Until recently, when an article was published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, exposing a secret effort by several of Milwaukee’s corporate interests plotting to take control of the Milwaukee County Airport. The revelation of this anti-democratic effort illustrates the importance of the media as a watchdog of the public’s wealth. Without this watchdog, corporations will find it easy to lay claim to many public resources. The appetite of Big Business for the appropriation of public resources is limitless and without conscience. Still, over the years, corporate appropriation—the privatization—of public resources has proceeded without a cohesive public outcry against these kinds of thefts. David Bollier, author of the book, "Silent Theft-The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth" provides us with a stirring cry to wake-up. He points out that we must all mobilize in an effort to halt the steady exploitation and erosion of the public's resources. His book gives us a vivid and scary panoramic view of what is happening to our nation’s public wealth. "We have become a nation of eager consumers—and disengaged citizens—and so are ill-equipped to perceive how our common resources are being abused," Bollier says. Bollier points out examples of these corporate thefts such as medical breakthroughs in cancer research that our tax dollars helped to support, and the rights to which pharmaceutical companies acquired these drugs made with the support of public dollars, but sold back to the public at exorbitant prices. "It is a sweet deal for drugmakers but an outrage for millions of American taxpayers and consumers," Bollier says. The attempted theft of the Milwaukee County Airport is another example of the covert backroom deals being made by private interest more concerned about making a buck, than about working to enhance community stability. Government has failed the public. It has allowed corporations to manipulate and control our public wealth. As the steward of our public resources, the government has failed to effectively manage our land and wealth. Had this deal gone through—had the Milwaukee County Airport been given to private for profit interests—government’s giveaway of this public resource would have represented the greatest scandal in Milwaukee County history. The pension scandal would have been dwarfed by this theft. The increasing exploitation of our public resources siphons hundreds of millions of dollars away from Milwaukee County. As privatization continues, the public's assets and revenue streams only provide a fractional benefit to the public, while the returns to the CEO and corporate boards are staggering. The attempt to steal the Airport from the public was a betrayal to the ideals of democracy and an example of the selfishness of the corporate elite. • Miranda is a national award winning columnist, Latino community activist and Editor-in-Chief of the Milwaukee Spanish Journal. Email at: rmiranda@wi.rr.com >>More articles by Robert Miranda |