One of the problems with privatized public services is that you have to set up a separate agency to watch over the private services, because otherwise they take advantage of the system for their own gain. This is true whether it's construction, education, or urban planning. So it's no real surprise to read of this report that documents, as the article says, "waste and fraud" in the charter school system. For example, "In Michigan, we found 63 charter schools, nearly all of which received grants of $100,000 or more, that never opened." And for example, "Cases of self-dealing between federal grant recipient charter school CEOs and their companies (and sometimes churches) are not infrequent among Charter Schools Program grant recipients." When private enterprise enters public service, we should not be fooled by false economies offered in the sales pitch, and we should be ready for the inevitable drift from public service to private interest. Originally from the Washington Post.
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