http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/privatization/ en-us Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:00:07 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086322/posts There is rising criticism that the Machang Bridge, which opened in July at the cost of millions of won, is only enriching speculative capitalists with tax money. They say that throughout the country, roads built through private investment are becoming white elephants where investors eat tax money via rough traffic predictions and contracts with excessive profit guarantees. The province of South Gyeongsang spent 380 billion won (US$337 million) in budget outlays and 190 million won in private capital to build the Machang Bridge linking Changwon and Masan. For the next 30 years, the earnings from the bridge tolls will be... The Hankyoreh http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086322/posts#comment Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:00:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086000/posts by Chris Farrell Remember the Bush Administration's push to partially privatize Social Security? The privatization advocates warned that insolvency loomed unless dramatic changes were made to the system. Social Security was also labeled a terrible investment. The Bush team's argument: Let people invest a portion of their payroll tax money with the financial wizards of Wall Street in an account reminiscent of a 401(k). Workers would get a higher rate of return on their Social Security money, and the economy would benefit from a higher rate of savings. "We heard the fear that Social Security will go bankrupt and the... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086000/posts#comment Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:48:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2072430/posts In my recent letter to you concerning the TTC, I misquoted some information about the company known as Cintra. Mr. Patrick Rhodes of Cintra wrote in response to my mistake. Therefore, I stand corrected with the following: Fellow citizens, the company, Cintra, is not affiliated with ZAI-ACS. Cintra is partnered with Zachry on some TxDOT projects and ACS is partnered with Zachry on some other TxDOT projects. Therefore, I hope this clarifies the over-zealous statements in my letter. Cintra is a Spanish-owned company, and ACS is a larger Spanish-owned company. Zachry, a Texas company, is affiliated with each of them... The Lufkin Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2072430/posts#comment Mon, 1 Sep 2008 16:29:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2072090/posts TEXARKANA — The company selected to design Interstate 69 has revealed plans to also implement the world’s first air rail freight system in the corridor, possibly starting in Texarkana, Texas. “You [Texarkana ] have railroads here, you already have an interstate, bringing I-69 is another interstate, you’ve got Oklahoma, you’ve got I-49,” said Gary Kuhn, senior project manager for Zachary American Infrastructure. “This is what the logistics world likes to see — that opportunity to go from one mode to another very efficiently.” In a presentation to the Wilbur Smith Rotary Club, Kuhn said the freight shuttle is a new... Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Northwest Arkansas Edition http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2072090/posts#comment Mon, 1 Sep 2008 01:03:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2069946/posts Universal Malpractice by: Lance Nation, August 28, 2008 Although Americas are hearing political elites promising to end their health care woes with universal coverage, the government that would hand out this treatment does not have a stellar record of delivering the services it already offers. In the U.S. Index of Health Ownership, John R. Graham argues that “Between 1996-97 and 2004-05, the number of physicians receiving no Medicaid revenue increased by 13 percent.” By the government refusing to pay the average fee set by most physicians, only a select few will actually see a Medicaid recipient. If these fees were... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2069946/posts#comment Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:33:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066243/posts NEW YORK (Reuters) - Public investment funds based in Texas could invest directly in transportation projects through a new corporation under a plan unveiled on Thursday by the state's legislative leaders and the governor. Texas has the nation's biggest road privatization plan but the legislature, reacting to criticisms that developers were enriching themselves at the expense of taxpayers, enacted a two-year moratorium. That has crimped road-building projects and led to a series of clashes between the governor and the legislature, who now have agreed on a compromise plan. Developers, including overseas companies, investment banks and private equity funds all vie... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066243/posts#comment Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:57:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063411/posts Lately I have heard from some of you, asking about the Corridor. Most folks believe it is over, dead, gone from our beautiful East Texas. I have been watching our government's actions on this subject. Did you know that in TxDOT's cover letter to the federal government it states they will only use existing highways to build their corridor? Did you know that TxDOT also stated that it may need to build in non-existing paths also, some time in the future. Citizens, I write you today to make sure you understand that the corridor issue in Trinity County has not... The Lufkin Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063411/posts#comment Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:10:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047991/posts Cuban President Raul Castro is giving over more state-owned land to private owners. http://youtube.com/watch?v=4xLR4g7wcN8 BBC via Youtube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047991/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:05:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029994/posts State highway officials said Wednesday that the first step in carrying out their decision to build a controversial toll road along the present U.S. 59, and not through farm and ranch land, is to get federal approval. Although no federal funding has been sought for the Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor, the Texas Department of Transportation is bound by federal environmental law. The project has generated thick volumes about its likely impact on the natural environment and the communities in its path. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is expected to undergo public review late this year and then get sent to... The Houston Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029994/posts#comment Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:19:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026982/posts The Texas Transportation Commission sounded the right notes last month in its first meeting under new leadership. Deirdre Delisi, recently appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to chair the commission, and her fellow commissioners finally seem to have gotten the message — the Texas Department of Transportation has lost the public's trust. For those with short memories, here are a few highlights that explain how that happened: •TxDOT fought to keep details of Perry's proposed Trans-Texas Corridor secret. It denied repeated requests from the media and landowners to let the public view a plan that calls for hundreds of miles of... The San Antonio Express-News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026982/posts#comment Fri, 6 Jun 2008 12:09:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026448/posts Gas prices topping $4 a gallon. Freeways that have become parking lots — if you can get to them through surface-street traffic jams caused by fast growth, urban sprawl, and inadequate road planning. Transportation planning in Texas in general seems to have turned into a careening Mack truck that’s just as liable to plow into a city as help it. New highways are needed to get more and more people to work and get NAFTA traffic from the Rio Grande to the Red River, but the state says it doesn’t have the money to build the roads and bridges and... Fort Worth Weekly http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026448/posts#comment Thu, 5 Jun 2008 14:32:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015337/posts How to Commit Marriage by: Malcolm A. Kline, May 13, 2008 A couple of professors from the University of Chicago think they have found a way out of what they see as a national impasse over state marriage laws. “To respect the liberty of religious groups while protecting individual freedom in general, we propose that marriage, as such, should be completely privatized,” Richard A. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein write in Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness. “Under our proposal, the word marriage would no longer appear in any laws, and marriage licenses would no longer be offered... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015337/posts#comment Tue, 13 May 2008 17:35:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014530/posts Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants to build a big highway through the Lone Star State. No, make that a really big highway, as in a monstrously big highway. The exact route hasn't been determined. The mega-highway would run roughly from Laredo on the Rio Grande River through the Hill Country and the Piney Woods and then through Texarkana in that tiny portion of the state that borders Arkansas. Imagine for a moment if that thoroughfare would be pointed in the other direction - from the Valley, through the South Plains and then through the heart of the Panhandle, right past... Amarillo Globe-News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014530/posts#comment Sun, 11 May 2008 21:38:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008559/posts Each day, I make the dreaded drive down Interstate 35 to go to work in Fort Worth. Each day, I slug through the snarl and sludge of ceaseless traffic, which intensifies my growing desire to commit hari-kari, or at least incites a vehement curse of the highway gods. Certainly, we in Texas need more lanes, more roads, more rails, more something to deal with the ever-expanding urban population and growing international commerce. Yet how do we solve our transportation needs without carving up the countryside like some congratulatory cake? Or should the construction of a superhighway-rail-utility corridor even concern us?... Quarter Horse News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008559/posts#comment Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:29:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006803/posts AUSTIN — Maybe Texas’ transportation problems are a lot simpler to understand than recent fights over toll roads make it seem, North Texas leaders told state senators Wednesday. “My first recommendation: You need to provide a lot more revenue for transportation,” Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, told the Texas Senate transportation committee. That was hardly the only suggestion from Mr. Morris or the many others who spoke to the committee, which is seeking input as it readies an approach on toll roads, TxDOT and more for the next legislative session. But it might... The Dallas Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006803/posts#comment Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:13:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998734/posts Cars have been a huge part of our lives. We use them to get around anywhere. It might have been the best invention mankind came up with, but we all hate several common things about cars, such as the cost of gas prices and traffic. We think sometimes in our imagination how awesome it would be if cars had wings, so maybe one day we will fly through terrific! We also despise accidents, high insurance and drunk driving. Sometimes, I feel that we need other alternative means of transportation, such as a subway system in the state of Texas; maybe... The Houstonian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998734/posts#comment Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:44:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1988516/posts SH 130 Concession Company LLC finalized the legal details of a financial close with Texas DOT on a $1,360m toll concession to build SH130 segments 5&6 Thursday and Friday last week in bankers' offices in New York City - at Orrick, 666 Fifth Avenue. The actual money flows should occur on Thursday or Friday (Mar 13 or 14) this week, Jose Maria Lopez de Fuentes, president of Cintra North America, told us this morning. Hundreds of documents and over 20 lawyers were involved last week representing TxDOT, private equity people, banks, mostly European, the TIFIA loan group from FHWA, and... TOLLROADSnews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1988516/posts#comment Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:20:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985893/posts Officials with the Spanish toll road operator Cintra have announced that the company has secured $430 million in loans from the U.S. government to build and operate two segments of a toll road in central Texas. Cintra officials announced the company’s financial plan for the $1.36 billion Highway 130 segments on Monday, March 10. OOIDA Senior Government Affairs Representative Mike Joyce told Land Line that the Association does raise red flags when federal dollars are used to subsidize private investors. Officials with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association are not, however, categorically opposed to a state using future toll revenue to... Land Line Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985893/posts#comment Fri, 14 Mar 2008 23:23:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984556/posts Long hailed by free market economists as the model for how to create a pension system, news out of Chile that it plans on making payouts to low income seniors, has government interventionists jumping for joy. The AP writes: The new $2 billion-a-year program will expand public pensions to groups left out by private pensions - the poor and self-employed, housewives, street vendors and farmers who saved little for retirement - granting about a quarter of the nation's work force public pensions by 2012. The fact is that this move is the way that governments should generally function. Stay out... Bloggingstocks http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984556/posts#comment Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:09:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1981527/posts Texas spirit was alive and well at the Navasota DEIS public hearing on Feb. 28. Opposition groups, such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, came from as far as Washington, D.C. to give recorded testimony, and get a first hand look at TxDOT process procedures. Assistant Director of Communications, Leigh Strope, who attended the meeting on behalf of the 34,000 Texas Teamsters Union members, says, “Teamsters want to stop the dangerous trend of selling our roads and bridges to foreign investors so they can slap tolls on the driving public. We are also concerned because the Trans-Texas Corridor would form... The Navasota Examiner & Grimes County Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1981527/posts#comment Thu, 6 Mar 2008 21:18:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976697/posts The debate in Texas over a proposed 4,000-mile network of toll roads that will parallel the state's existing highway system is heating up More than 10,000 people have attended public hearings across Texas to discuss the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor, which has also been dubbed the "NAFTA superhighway." It is a project that is expected to cost an estimated $183 billion over 50 years. (hear audio report) Terry Hall with the group Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom warns the project will create widespread eminent domain abuse and involve foreign control of public infrastructure. "They're taking huge swaths of land, up... One News Now http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976697/posts#comment Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:28:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976674/posts A handful of Kendleton residents were among several dozen to speak out against the Trans-Texas Corridor at a public hearing Monday night in Rosenberg. “I personally think it's a slap in the face for Texas to take the land for pennies on the dollar, to put a road on it and to make you pay a toll for it,” said Jeremy West, one of the speakers from Kendleton. The Trans-Texas Corridor is a proposal for a network of highways, rail lines and utilities throughout Texas that would be financed by private interests who would seek to profit through tolls and... Fort Bend Herald and Texas Coaster http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976674/posts#comment Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:49:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976216/posts One major concern I discussed a few weeks ago regarding the Trans Texas Corridor is where the land will come from. Another concern is where the money will come from. Official government websites for the TTC assure that public-private partnerships will shield the taxpayer from bearing too much of the cost burden, but a careful reading shows the door is definitely open to public funding sources, while at the same time there is no doubt of the intention to charge tolls on the road. Taxpayers already pay for their transportation system through hefty gasoline taxes, vehicle registration fees, and other... Gather.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976216/posts#comment Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:18:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1972422/posts AUSTIN - When it comes to road improvement and maintenance, by most accounts, the South Plains and Panhandle are fortunate. Despite a $1.1 billion accounting error, the Texas Department of Transportation recently reported no projects in the region have been canceled or delayed while cities like Dallas, Houston and Laredo had at least a half dozen highway projects delayed. But the $1.1 billion-error, which occurred because TxDOT inadvertently counted some bond money twice and consequently allocated more funding than it had, is just the latest problem plaguing the beleaguered agency. For months, TxDOT executive director Amadeo Saenz and other transportation... Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (Lubbock Online) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1972422/posts#comment Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:33:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968266/posts ROBSTOWN, Tex. — Leon Little’s farm here near Corpus Christi would not be seized for Texas’s proposed $184-billion-plus superhighway project for 5 or 10 years, if ever. But Mr. Little was alarmed enough to show up Wednesday night with hundreds of his South Texas coastal neighbors to do what the Texas Department of Transportation has been urging: “Go ahead, don’t hold back.” Don’t worry. Texans have gotten the message, swamping hearings and town meetings across the state to grill and often excoriate agency officials about a colossal traffic makeover known as the Trans-Texas Corridor, a public-private partnership unrivaled in the... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968266/posts#comment Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:13:38 GMT