Privatization is plunder

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

– Matthew 19:21

As useful parts of the Corporation are liquidated into oblivion and heirloom entities (which won’t be passed on to future generations) vanish before our eyes, useless new layers of management achieve the final strangulation of the monster by itself as the CBC progressively becomes an empty shell.
kim jong il
I have recently subjected myself to the double penetration by capitalist doctrine without benefit of lubricant that is the Lang & O’Leary Exchange. Spoiler alert: It’s basically a series of singularly unpleasant douchebags giving the Golden Calf one long handjob.

This isn’t avuncular old Fred Langan nonchalantly asking the spokes-weasel for a corrupt brokerage firm if he cares to shave some eons off his time in purgatory by coming clean about just how complete an act of conflict of interest his life really is. You’d think we were a nation of effete rentiers, the way Corporate media hypes all its news of dividends, capital gains, and sundry unearned incomes.

Although I see nothing in the CBC’s mandate that would compel it to give a free bully pulpit to the likes of rabid capitalist propagandist Andrew Coyne, the Nation’s broadcaster appears to have an open soapbox policy in favour of all the media-savvy right-wing bum-boys that elite sponsored think-tanks can send over. The deluge of private money into the coffers of opinion-moulding institutes leads to a parade of bought-and-paid-for spokespuppets who are instant experts and authorities, squeezing out all points of view not shared by the wealthy and powerful.

Despite laws against false news, drinkers of invisible hand flavoured Kool-aid continue to spread at least two extremely obvious lies that any ten-year-old can easily refute.

Everyone can be rich
This is so obviously stupid that it says a lot about the kind of vulgar and ravenous charlatan who peddles such patent nonsense: they are the hungry ghosts of Mammon. Reality is more believable (and worth reading over a few times so you never forget it). The rich are only rich in comparison to the poor. Just as there is no light without dark, when everyone has great wealth, no-one has great wealth. Wealth is by definition the preserve of a small number.

Privatization
The other obvious falsehood hawked by these snake-oil salesmen is the old saw that privatization is somehow good for society. Let’s get one thing perfectly clear: Privatization is Plunder!

  • A private company cannot borrow at the lower rates typically accorded to public entities.
  • Private companies serve the interests of stockholders, not clients. These stockholders insist on profits, dividends, (or some other word for unearned income), which public corporations do not have to produce.
  • When times are good, private corporations rake in the profits, but when things go bad, the public is on the hook for their bankruptcies; it’s a lose/lose situation for society every time.
  • Private companies outsource, rationalize, and otherwise eliminate many decent jobs, causing widespread (and poorly measured) social hardship through their endless search to plump up the bottom line.

One of the many thrusts of elite media and propaganda over the centuries has been to justify the aims, means, and profits of the owning classes.

It’s hard to speak truth to power when you’re giving power a rim job.

12 Comments

  • Louise says:

    CBC Anal-ist demonstrates a failure to understand the basics of the marketplace when he/she says:

    Erroneous assumption #1. A private company cannot borrow at the lower rates typically accorded to public entities.

    That’s because the public is on the hook via the taxman to cover the cost of public corporation screw-ups, consequently the lender is ensured that he’ll get his money and the interest back. It seems there isn’t much we can do about it. With a private company, on the other hand, we can simply quit watching and watch them die because they have lost us. That right there is THE most compelling argument for privatization.

    Erroneous assumption #2 Private companies serve the interests of stockholders, not clients.

    Total BS. Stockholders are interested in profits and dividends. If the clients are not happy, profits and dividends nosedive. See Erroneous assumption # 1.

    Cockamamie logic #1 When times are good, private corporations rake in the profits, but when things go bad, the public is on the hook for their bankruptcies; it’™s a lose/lose situation for society every time.

    The public is on the hook for CBC 24/7 365 whether it’s serving it’s clients well or not.

    Crybaby position #1 Private companies outsource, rationalize, and otherwise eliminate many decent jobs, causing widespread (and poorly measured) social hardship through their endless search to plump up the bottom line.

    So a few CBC employees may lose their jobs. Welcome to the real world. Your loss is our gain, so it’s hardly “widespread social hardship” if a few pampered brats have to hustle their asses or a while in search of a real job.

  • cbc ottawa says:

    Hey MammaryMama!
    CBC Radio (despite the Radio 2 changes ) continues to gove great value for the money! Radio is cheaop and Canadians LOVE it!

  • Again Missed the Point Poongirl says:

    I know poonster but missed the point…let me explain,why the potty mouth,can u not switch it up abit.Perhaps you could make more of an impact without the white trash talk and the predictability of your words!I see u fall for anyone’s dirty comments and you take them to a level of banal absurdities!

  • PoonGirl says:

    Did the article not also mention hand jobs, rim jobs etc ? The comment was in line with the post :)

  • PoonGirl says:

    I like this post, giving it props.

  • Again Missed the Point Poongirl says:

    Can you not write/say something without using sexual connotations or vulgar profanity.What school did you go to,”Polytechnic Aszwiepe’ “The collage of debauchery and no journalistic integrity?Filthy comments and two faced nature on posts show you miss the point of other good posts!

    • MammaryMama says:

      I don’t want to privatize the CBC, I just want a little value for my money (in other words, why do I always end up watching PBS? And willingly giving my money to them?)

  • PoonGirl says:

    I LOVE getting/giving rim jobs if my lover if clean like I am !

  • Sneech says:

    Oh please. Taking cheap shots at L&OE only reinforces the sterotype that CBC is a haven for money-phobic pinkos. If you want to attack the myths of privitization and omni-wealth, more power to you. But I think there are better ways to do it than flinging mud at the network’s first watchable money show in recent memory.

    (No offense to Fred Langan, who remains awesome.)

  • All Praises Due To The Honourable says:

    Preach Brother Minister! Preach!

  • cbc ottawa says:

    Now this is the type of stuff I want to hear on CBC!

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