Two appointees whom Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent to fix California's dysfunctional prison healthcare system pushed a $26-million, no-bid contract for outside medical services while contract reviewers steadfastly maintained it was overpriced and illegal, records and interviews show.
But instead of providing a strong step toward reforming the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's $1.8-billion medical system, the handling of this relatively small contract erupted into a fight that forced out the two appointees and highlights what critics say are systemic contracting breakdowns that helped bloat healthcare costs at the state's 33 prisons. (LA Times 6/4/07)
Well, I guess I would add one thing. Privatization is not the answer to all things public. If Arnold wants to get this stuff done, then he should be willing to pump money into prison health care. This little debacle was a disaster from the get-go, but the conservatives just love their privatization and had to help build the prison-industrial complex. But like most other conservative privatization efforts, it was a debacle. Well, at least prisoners get single payer health care...
Among the big news from today's announcement of Arnold's May Revise is the proposal to sell off EdFund for $1 billion. EdFund is a public non-profit that manages $27 billion in student loans. Arnold plans to sell it off for the one-time windfall it might provide, even while his revised budget takes even more money from public transportation and social services.
Why is this such a catastrophically bad idea? Because even as people complain about screwing us young folks over with state bond debt, privatized student loans put us in a FAR worse financial situation, crippling young folks and young families right when their entrepreneurial and creative energies are at their peak.
