Privatizing prisons is not enough; now Georgia wants to privatize water.

Aaron Gould Sheinin wrote in the AJC Monday 2 May 2011, Deal signs bill allowing public-private reservoirs

Partnerships between public authorities and private enterprise to build new reservoirs are now legal in Georgia under legislation Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law Monday.

Senate Bill 122 “is particularly useful at times such as these when budget cutbacks hinder our ability to invest in new infrastructure,” Deal said at a Georgia Chamber of Commerce luncheon in his honor. “This stretches public dollars by attracting partners to move forward with public works projects that will benefit the citizens of the state for generations.”

Lawmakers approved $46 million in bond money in the state budget that takes effect July 1 to help facilitate the construction of new reservoirs. Deal said he hopes to increase that to $300 million over the next several years.

“Increasing our water supply in terms of holding that supply is critical for meeting our future needs,” Deal said.

Yes, but trumping up a fake budget crisis by giving tax breaks to people who don’t need them and then using it to privatize public infrastructure for corporate profit at taxpayer expense is not the way to do it.

Wait, it gets even better: GPB adds this:

The bill would allow private firms to be compensated through water service payments, user fees or in other forms. Local governments could use the power of eminent domain to secure the land necessary for the projects.

So the state or local governments can take your favorite stream and hand it over to a private company for their profit.

-jsq

Short Link: