States outsourcing and privatizing.

How much should the private sector be allowed to operate in providing services to taxpayers? Today’s trend is to outsource the labor to private corporations in an effort to balance the budget. But does it really save us money?
At first glance it may seem that it is. But when we look closer we will find that those jobs that were once filled with workers who had good pay and health coverage are now filled with workers earning just over minimum wage and receiving little to no benefits. Who must make up where those corporations are lacking? The taxpayers of course. And who do we complain to about bad service? Not to the supervisor of the department but to an automated answering system in a out of state or out of the country corporate office.

Let’s look at how this private system works. First the state hires a corporation to provide the needed services for a contracted amount. They, in turn, hire their employees at a rate which will provide the company with a nice profit. The new hires are most likely temporary workers paid at the lowest possible rate so there is little to say. They are able to do the job and to save the company money and are given little training. Many of the workers are not even residents of the state they work for so there is little guarantee they will be available when needed. They also have very little incentive to do their work well, other than to receive their meager salaries.
Remember we now pay an out-of-state (or country) Corporation (X) dollars to provide a needed service with non-resident workers. If you have a complaint will you be able to get satisfaction? Here in Wisconsin, in Milwaukee County Governor Walker did just that. He fired union security people at the courthouse and give the jobs over to a private company http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/12390
How much did he save the county? Well he actually ended up costing them over a half million and counting so far because a court ruled he could not do what he did, but even though the former county workers were reinstated in their jobs, the county also had to continue to pay the contracted firm for the duration of the contract.
Now our Governor is well on his way to privatizing jobs throughout the entire state. What will this cost the taxpayers in the end? Do we want a multinational corporation doing business within our government Shouldn’t we, to create revenue, see that contracts at least be awarded to companies within the borders of this nation and preferably within the borders of our state?

Let’s see ....... he has also hired a legal firm, even though the state has a department to handle court cases. The cost so far is $700,000 dollars. This is in his first year in office. How much will his cost "savings" cost "we the people" in the end?