Wednesday 29 April 2020
Amazon delivers PPEs for Government of Canada - but isn't that what governments should be doing?
It's not a typo. A government spokesperson today live and in person on prime time TV felt no need to explain or apologize for the use of a for-profit private sector organization to do key COVID pandemic delivery work. The speaker, though uncomfortable to the point of abruptness implied this was a practical decision, as no doubt it is in an era of continuingly neoliberal economic policy that minimizes upfront costs while favoring private sector for profit agents over public or non-profit options. No claim was made that Amazon was cheaper or better for the purpose. Unspoken and presumably unrecognized was the inevitability of such "practical" choices after years of federal cutbacks. Government services provided by private organizations is Canada's future if this kind of thinking dominates those in power. If Amazon do public services can it be long before many start to wonder why we need public services at all?
# posted by Taodhg @ 9:12 pm 
