Affluent Atlanta suburb attempts privatized utopia

[DBoon]

Real headline: "Nascent City Trying to Keep Its Money Close to Home"

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-sandy29aug29,1,5806545.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

ATLANTA — For decades, the suburbanites of Sandy Springs complained about the bureaucracy of Atlanta's Fulton County, to which they were miserably attached. They described it with words like "bloated" and "decaying."

Now, after voting overwhelmingly this summer to incorporate, the community — relatively affluent, predominantly white, with a population of 87,000 — will become Georgia's seventh-largest city.

And when leaders asked themselves what kind of government best suited them, a clear vision emerged: as little government as possible.

So when the city of Sandy Springs opens for business Jan. 1, private corporations may be called in to manage storm water programs, street maintenance, building inspections, human resources, accounting — in other words, nearly everything except police, fire and emergency services. The city, one community leader said, will add personnel only when it becomes clear that it is necessary.

Article notes that incorporation became a reality when republicans took over the Georgia state legislature. The prior Democratically controlled legislature took a dim view of the incorporation, viewing it as a "battle of a wealthy white enclave to the north against black Atlanta".


PS. POST # 5,000!

[bribri16]

1. Why should they get "public" police, fire, and emergency services?

Are they going to pay taxes to Atlanta?

[bleedingheart]

5. good question....

[DBoon]

19. Oh, they will just subcontract "law enforcement" to a private organization

[Bob3]

2. And they are about to be robbed blind by private Industry

who these days treats government money as a feed trough.

I think we should make it a point to check back in a year or two on this community and find out just how well their utopia is working.

[Wickerman]

7. I can't wait to see satisfaction surveys from these folks

their "less government" mantra will result in a bailout like GA has never seen before.

[Bob3]

3. dup - delete

dup - delete.

[bleedingheart]

4. Why do people think private contractors are always cheaper?

I tend to think that contractors are those you hire temporarily and then if you need the services much longer...you create an office or hire your own workers.

Sometimes these "private" communities end up getting too expensive for their residents because they don't have the buying power of a larger city.

I have friends that live in a somewhat "privatized" community and they pay way more than I do in taxes and fees.

[Hobarticus]

6. Calling Halliburton...

I bet Evil Dick is just licking his chops in his undisclosed location right now...

[bribri16]

18. They don't care that they are not "cheaper" remember, they are wealthy!

They will pay whatever it takes to not have live among the "have-nots." I just don't want them to be able to use "free" public services that you and I have to pay for through our taxes. If they are not paying taxes to Atlanta for those public services and Atlanta is providing those services...then I think the people of Atlanta should be protesting this.

[wakeme2008]

8. Two to three years from now they will be

paying more than they did before and LOVING IT.

[DBoon]

10. A republican is someone who will pay $100

to avoid paying $30 in taxes, and feels they get a great bargain by doing so.

[getmeouttahere]

14. Isn't that the truth!

I'll never understand the mentality behind this stuff

[bluestateguy]

9. Now I know not to move there

if I ever get a job in the Atlanta area.

[leftofthedial]

11. another spectacular failure of RW dogma is on the way

morans

[hwmnbn]

12. Maybe they should be charged an entrance fee ........

every time they leave their compound and enter our world. They need a "Green Zone" ($$) to make them feel safe. But they will never feel safe enough.

Eventually, they might need armed military convoys to venture out, just like in Baghdad. That's the America they're heading for.

[getmeouttahere]

13. So if they are now incorporated....

doesn't that mean they have to provide their own police, fire and emergency services? Why should Atlanta serve them, especially if they aren't paying taxes!!!

[MsTryska]

15. well let's see how Sandy Springs likes it....

I'm curious to see hwo this libertarian utopia works out.

but hell i have no reason to be over that way, so no skin off my back.

and if it turns into the nightmare that i think it will, well we'll all have learned a lesson on libertarian utopias right?

[Jara sang]

16. Western Loudoun County is trying to do the same

In Virginia, they are trying to secede from Eastern Loudoun which is being completely over run by development. All the rich fucks out there in their horse country estates want to form a new county called Catoctin. Basically so their little world isn't transformed into a mass produced suburban nightmare, oh, yeah they are mostly republicans too.

[bribri16]

17. Hey, I don't mind the rich doing anything with their money just so long

as the quit fucking over the poor.