Great Letter From Dr. Adrian Moore of the Reason Foundation

I received this yesterday from Dr. Adrian Mooore, Vice President of the Reason Foundation.

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I live in a small town with a large state prison on the outskirts. Fortunately relations between the prison and the city are pretty good. In fact, the city, facing another tough budget year, has been very innovative in working with the prison to use work crews on public works projects. A great way to turn what some might think is a liability into an asset.

From Congress to the smallest town in America, the pressure is on to do more with less. To help stir that pot, here are some recent items from my colleagues at Reason:

Setting the Record Straight on Chicago Parking Meter Privatization
While glitches in the early implementation have prompted significant scrutiny of the transaction from local officials and media, the turbulence of the early rollout now seems to have subsided as operational improvements have taken hold in recent months.

Selling" State Buildings in Arizona, California
Arizona has made national headlines in recent months for a $735 million dollar proposal to sell state buildings to generate revenue in the face of ongoing, massive budget deficits. Given their high-profile nature, the inclusion of the state House and Senate buildings, the Governor's executive tower and state prisons in the package has generated a great deal of publicity, generating headlines like "Desperate state may sell Capitol buildings, others" in the Arizona Republicand even a Daily Show segment poking fun at the idea.

San Quentin, I'd Sell Every Inch of You: Reason Foundation's Anthony Randazzo on Why California Should Sell Off Useless Assets (video)

Getting Virginia Off the Sauce
Virginia is one of 18 states where the government is the monopoly rumrunner. Supermarkets, gourmet shops, and corner stores are all forbidden to sell liquor. But Bob McDonnell, the newly-elected Republican governor, has promised to end the monopoly on liquor sales in the Old Dominion.

Privatize the Post...Oh, Just Forget It
As unlikely as it may seem to today's wee young Ron Paul supporters, "Privatize the Post Office!" was once a seriously stirring rallying cry.

Some Officers of Their Own
The citizens of a housing estate in Darlington, U.K., try a private solution to crime:

And to get a sense of how many places are looking at some kind of outsourcing, competition, or privatization, check out the links to news stories in these updates:

Privatization News Roundup, 10/2/2009
Privatization News Roundup, 10/16/2009
Privatization News Roundup, Oct. 23, 2009
Privatization News Roundup, Nov. 5, 2009
Privatization News Roundup, Nov. 13, 2009



Adrian
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Dr. Adrian Moore
Vice President
Reason Foundation
(661)477-3107