EU Pushing for Privatizing Natural Resources
By louisehartmann
The Nobel Prize winning European Union is trying to force indebted nations to privatize critical natural resources. The European Commission is insisting that privatization of municipal water supplies must be a condition to receive future bailouts. As in, if nations like Greece, Portugal, and Spain want to receive bailouts in the future – then they have to hand of their most critical resources – like water – over to transnational corporations to run for profit.
Several organizations including Food & Water Europe and the Blue Planet Project have pushed back against these demands. As the Directors of European Affairs with Food & Water Europe said about the privatization demands, “This really demonstrates how the Commission has lost touch with reality. Their ideological arguments are not based on substantiated facts and goes to the extreme of ignoring the democratic will of the people.” A letter has been sent to the Vice President of the European Commission, calling for the privatization plan to be ditched.
The battle happening right now – and well into the future – will be over our commons. And we must make sure that “We the people” remain the stewards of our commons – and not transnational corporations looking to exploit resources for a profit.
Comments
#2
And good luck with THAT if the Trans Pacific Partnership Obama is negotiating behind closed doors goes through. I'm sure Romney's down with it as well
Even now TransCanada is pushing through Texas using eminent domain to build the southern leg of the XL Keystone.
Between granting corprations "personhood and unleashing Citizens United on US we're cooked
I don't know how we're going to fight this if nobody knows it's even happening. I have a really sick feeling they've already won
#3
say goodbye to once what was yours and mine. as if i don't pay enough already for what commons i have to rely on! yikes...
#4
Bottom line for all of this is that the Financial Guys have recognized the awesome financial gold-mine of governmental powers of taxation, and are literally wetting their pants having re-discovered "Privatization."
It goes way back; but in the sixties some of the biggest engineering design and construct firms began playing with the idea of adding "finance" -- turn-key municipal projects, from concept all the way to collecting (and keeping) tolls. This was tried at home and internationally, anywhere local governments needed infrastructure, but had financial and management difficulties.
Now, after financial Pirates get governments into dire economic straits, they can then bail them out by privatizing government commons or programs. If done right (where government keeps the risk, and the privateer keeps the profits) -- it's trillion-dollar gold-mines. Schools, Medicare, Social-programs? --we got vouchers. Roads, Bridges? --we got mandatory tolls. Water, Power, Garbage? --we got manditory taxes and fees. Military? --hey, the richest gold-mine of all. Every government function and resource can be mined if done right.
Just convince the voters that private business is more efficient than government bureaucracies, and make the decision-makers, partners in the scam.
#5
TransCanada isn't using any of Americas resources or going through any parks. This is Canadian oil, pipe made by Canadian steel. coated in Canada with a special yellow jacket coating to prevent corotion. They put the pipeline safetly underground out of sight. It will replace the 900 million barrels a day of oil Texas is getting from Hugo Chaves's Venezuela that is shipped by tanker dangerously through your Gulf. No one whats more pipelines but it is the safest way to move energy. If North America can become energy self sufficient we will never have to worry about the middle East again. It will be Europe and China's problem. If Keystone doesn't go, the back up plan is a pipeline to the west coast and export it to China. Does America want safe, depenable, ethical oil from Canada or would it rather get it from the middle east or America hating Venezuela?
#6
The one way out of this is never going to happen. It will take a mojority of citizens to participate in civil disobedience and self denial to kill the market for corporations. We will need to reinvent the economy based on self reliance. It may require a national strike shutting down trasportation and logistics. I hold out little optimism for the future. I think The Corporate Corruption is in all of us and we are all so afraid of denying our comfort, our entertainments, and our status.
#7
You sir are correct...We are a greedy, vain, species like no other. We are willing to loot plunder and pollute ourselves, and our resources all for immediate gain...Which we find gratifying regardless of the cost. We are a society that justifies our means by the ends...Again, no matter the cost.
You are right in saying that there is a way out of this mess...We must change our way of thinking so people and planet last. Clean air, clean water, clean food is what we need in order to thrive and survive.
Don't get me wrong I am not so egotistical to think that "man" has the power to "save" the planet, but rather then rape and pollute her - which we have done long enough to clearly see the wrong of our ways - we should err on the side of caution. In just one century science has proven that even though the Earth on its own is in a constant state of change, has been since its begining, man's lustful, greedy, and wasteful practices are not killing the planet but are in fact killing man himself. It isn't that we don't see it, we're just choosing to ignor it. All for the sake of our tender little egos, marginal profits, and shinny new things.
Our current ethos is our demise.
#8
Matt Tiabbi and Krista Freedland reported on Moyers & Co last night that their recent visit to Russia revealed that the Putin governement privatized, handed over government lands and services, to a small group of people. This group has managed to scoop up ALL the wealth in Russia. While they hold all the wealth and power and live behind well-guarded gates, the rest of the population is not doing so well.
That very concentration of wealth is happening world-wide and is planned for the United States.
People, please wake up--speaking up now and demanding change will save our children from having to stand up and fight and die in a revolution that their parents could have prevented. Mark my words, history IS repeating itself.
#9
Re EU privatizing natural resources...
If I am correct, isn't this what the IMF/World Bank requires of any indebted country seeking help ( bailout) from them? Countries must sign over control of valuable resources ( collateral) to secure loans. The IMF/World Bank dictates loan terms AND explicitly details how funds can be spent, terms of repayment and penalties for violating any parts of the loan agreement. These loans are in the billions. Ask Haiti & Chad what happened when "unforeseen" events beyond their control led to breaches in their IMF/World Bank loan agreements. For every successfully completed loan there are also horror stories. Pls Goggle & research various destabilizing events impacting IMF/World Bank loan repayment...especially past loans to "third world " countries.
Why do indebted European countries think they will be treated any different. Despite good/ humanitarian objectives.... the IMF/World bank is a mega, multinational BANK. No less predatory than it's "smaller" cousins. It will extract it's pound of a countries national resources/wealth...and then some.
#10
When I was a kid, if you told me a bottle of water could sell for two bucks, I would have laughed and thought you were crazy. But, after my ice melts in a drink, then observe the stuff at the bottom of the glass, stuff that is left over from an ice melt, Slurry, slight hazy stuff, little but can accumulate over time. What the heck is it? That is from my water tap, from a middle class suburb of Chicago. So, I have a filter for water; now buy bottle water to drink.
For those citizens out there must know our water supply is in jeopardy. So much so, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, on C-Span talked about a ten year program to improve the water condition and be able to supply good fresh water to the suburbs. He introduced a program for changing all the water pipes that are over one hundred years old. Pretty good idea. Our suburban problem stem from poor leadership. Here the village president bought a used water tower. The old one still in use is likely about one hundred years old, likely a wide range of water pipe corrosion.
In a sense our mayors are independent enough in many cases to take action just like a private entity. So with America’s present government Plutocracy, we are there. Perhaps that’s why we need universal health care because we have universal contaminated water. Reflecting on this entire infrastructure we need to improve is incredible, especially at a time when Republican’s want to do everything to make sure President Obama fails. As Rush Limbaugh arrogantly said. Or, Mitch McConnell, aggressively saying we will make Obama a one term President. Ladies and Gentlemen clean water do create jobs. We the people are job creators when electing the right people to serve everyone not just the one percent.
#11
It looks like our commons are up for sale. Detroit faces the Emergency Manager Law and we fear the selling of the Detroit Water Department. Workers are facing job cuts etc. Gov Rick Snyder gave $1.7 billion dollars in tax breaks to the corporations then cuts revenue sharing for the cities in Michigan to make up the difference. When the cities fall short of revenue, he sends in the Finiancial Emergency Manger to sell off the city assets. The Children's Park given in perpituity by the Klock family in 1917 in Benton Harbor Michigan was sold to the rich by the Financial Emergency Manager, a prime example of the cruelity of the law.
#12
Rather than making government policy serve the well being of the people the EU is trying to make government policy serve a few profiteers to the detriment of the people. Proves the old adage, "Privatization is theft!".
#13
Americans are such dumb shit they'll ASK to be f----d. I wish they wouldn't take the rest of us down with them.
Russians aren't much smarter. For a long time they had a tacit deal with the government that if they didn't mess with politics they'd enjoy a relatively good standard of living. It was all theft of their country, though.
Dumb asses!
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I so agree with you that we must protect our commons. As I read this, I think back to the last debate when Romney came up in Obama's face demanding to know why more oil, etc, is not being mined/harvested from Fed lands. How dare we trash our Fed lands, most of which are natural preserves and sanctuaries? How dare we sell them off for short term cash at the expense of the future? It's like the people suggesting this have no concept that when it's gone, it's gone. And when our public lands are all sold off, where will we turn for cash in the next crisis that is bound to come.?