the republican way of governing does not include your opinion or presence evidently.
Al Jazeera America is reporting:
A bill that would allow New Jersey municipalities to sell their public water utilities to private, for-profit corporations without putting the measure to voters is awaiting Gov. Chris Christie’s signature.
Until now, any municipality in New Jersey that sought to sell off its water system to a private bidder had to hold a public vote. But a bill passed with bipartisan support by the state’s Senate last week would allow municipalities with aging and deteriorating water systems to put their systems up for sale without holding a referendum.
NJ voters have approved the sale of water systems to private developers in about 45% of the state–making New Jersey one of the more receptive states in the union to privatization. It seems a bit strange that there would be a need to cut the citizens out of the decision making process.
A report from Corporate Accountability International found that privatization of water supplies was often followed by rate increases. In Bayonne, New Jersey, a 2012 contract with United Water led to an 8.5 percent rate increase in the first year, according to the nonprofit. And a 2010 report from Food and Water Watch found that customers in New Jersey municipalities with private water systems paid on average 64 percent more than others in the state.
But New Jersey, as with many states across our country has spent next to nothing on its infrastructure over the past decades and now the water systems are in bad shape.
The amendments were approved unanimously 24-0, on Monday by the Senate.The sponsors of the “Water Infrastructure Protection Act” have said the legislation is aimed at getting investment into public water systems that have been neglected to the breaking point. State Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth) told NJ Advance Media last month that sales will not happen “willy nilly” – and many other people in the Garden State already are already supplied by private companies.
Opponents of the bill bring up this wacky idea:Why don't our municipalities spend our tax money on building and maintaining and upgrading our infrastructure?
Maybe it's because the guy with the pen has already cut hundreds of millions out of environmental protections in the state of New Jersey. Chris Christie looks the part of a gangster and a bully but he's just doing what everyone else in his party has been doing for years. Privatizing our infrastructure.
the more we hear about him it seems the more he does not seem to be as advertised, privatization leads to an oligarchy which i think is the republican agenda as dictated by the right wing, you have very little say when joe blow owns your necessities than you would if your state gov't did it's job instead of selling out the country to the highest bidders.
we have become so complacent and disengaged in our lives that wwe just sit back and let those with their own agenda make life decisions for us then when it smells or fails we except that it's Pres.'s fault because that's what is being said, how much of the rhetoric would you have realized was lies and not for you it you patricipated instead of grunting down low?
WAKE UP EVERYBODY!! he knows nothing about bridge closings but he sure knows what side his bread is buttered on, republican wannabe and another crooked politician they want to unleash on "we the people" 2016 how do you feel about that?
