Jaw dropping example of the level of corruption when public services are privatized.

[snagglepuss]

The level of blatant greed and fraud is truly astounding. Although this is unfolding in the UK, I can think of no better example of how taxpayers are shafted by privatization.

Shockingly the RW rag The Daily Mail has been leading the charge exposing the fraud at A4E, a company that supposedly helps people find work. The CEO who just resigned awarded herself approx 12 million dollars last year as a bonus (taxpayer money) even though her company was failing to meet targets. She used the money to buy a mansion which she describes as a posh commune. She is worth about 90 million dollars, all thanks to the privatization of public services which started under Tony Blair 25 years ago.

snip

But – despite stepping down as chairman – she remains the owner with 85 per cent of the shares, meaning she can continue to award herself jackpot dividends from the firm’s taxpayer-bankrolled contracts.

snip

A4e – which stands for Action For Employment – turns over £180million a year from government contracts to help the long-term unemployed back into work.

snip

Hours before Emma Harrison’s resignation as head of A4e, an ex-employee broke cover to paint a devastating picture of a company where corruption was ‘utterly rife’.

Tracie Spiers, 44, said staff members ‘routinely’ forged signatures on documents and champagne was handed out as an incentive to do well.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2106051/Emma-Harrison-resigns-A4e-quitting-government-role-amid-fraud-claims.html#ixzz1nRT4dtGU

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The Guardian today has fresh revelations that will heap more embarrassment on Cameron who appointed her back to work Tsar a short time ago despite her company being investigated for fraud.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/feb/25/a4e-welfare-emma-harrison-properties

[xchrom]

1. Excellent article. Nt

[Justice wanted]

2. It will never be reported here in the main stream media because that CEO will be held accountable.

[burrowowl]

3. A good subject for investigative

reporting in the USA

[T_i_B]

4. We've been discussing this in the UK forum

Well, discussing this inbetween my musings on the brewery run by Emma Harrison's husband!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1088411

[JNathanK]

5. If an institution recieves public money, it shouldn't be privately owned.

They drone on about the free market and lowering taxes, but whenever they do "privatize", they still take tax money, but they divert it to a privately owned firm. Its just a way of privatizing profit and publicizing debt. Either privatize it completely so we don't have to pay taxes, or keep it public so our tax money can be traced more efficiently in how its being used.

Blackwater/Xi, the paramilitary firm, was being publicly funded with tax money. However, its harder to audit them than the military, because they claim private status. Privatization of public services is a dangerous loophole that makes government activity more opaque not less. Its arguable its less efficient as well, since there's a private profit motive with our fucking tax dollars. Its so schizophrenic, and I have no idea how politicians manage to sell it to people.

[tsuki]

6. The government of the UK spends 180 million pounds

to find employment for the long time unemployed? How many of the UK's populace is long-term unemployed?

[snagglepuss]

8. It's a huge problem especially in the North but the point is that most of that yearly

expenditure 180 million pounds is lining the pockets of those who own the same sort companies as A4E. The crux of the problem is that like private prisons in the US, it is not in the the interest of these companies to find solve dire social problems.

[T_i_B]

9. Pure dogma from those who have never experienced hardship

The current political dogma is "public bad, private good", which is interpreted as hand over anything profitable over to the private sector, bail out losses when it all goes tits up , and don't hold suppliers accountable in the same way that you would in the private sector See PFI (Private Finance Initiative) as a prime example of this.

[malaise]

7. The privatization began under Thatcher

but Blair's 'third way'/New Labor BS facilitated more and more neo-lliberal orthodixy to be imposed on citizens.

Cameron will soon feel the wrath of the Brits - his NHS madness will be the equivalent of Thatcher's poll tax - it will bring him down.