New Jersey Privatizing Ideas: Save Hundreds of Millions
by Kate Piercy New Jersey Governor Chrisitie’s administration has put out a 57-page report identifying areas where government services could be privatized in order to save tax dollars — 210 million dollars a year, to be exact. According to a report from NorthJersey.com: State parks, psychiatric hospitals and even turnpike toll booths could also be run...
by Kate Piercy
New Jersey Governor Chrisitie’s administration has put out a 57-page report identifying areas where government services could be privatized in order to save tax dollars — 210 million dollars a year, to be exact.
According to a report from NorthJersey.com:
State parks, psychiatric hospitals and even turnpike toll booths could also be run by private operators, according to the 57-page report on privatization obtained byThe Star-Ledger. Preschool classrooms would no longer be built at public expense, state employees would pay for parking and private vendors would dish out food, deliver health care and run education programs behind prison walls.
Similar privatization ideas came out of Florida through the establishment of a Council on Efficient Government (CEG), which the Illinois Policy Institute wrote about, and the policy idea was picked up by Rep. Mike Connelly, who sponsored HB4161, calling for the creation of a CEG for Illinois. The bill was sent to Rules Committee in March 2009, and hasn’t seen movement since.
Florida, for example, engaged in over 138 privatization or managed competition initiatives saving taxpayers over $550 million in aggregate. While many other states were raising taxes, these initiatives helped Florida to shed almost $20 billion in taxes, and the number of authorized positions in all of Florida state government fell by 3,700, which included positions in the courts, Lottery, the National Guard and elected or appointed officials.
In 2008, Florida’s CEG reviewed a total of 21 business cases valued at more than $94 million, identifying more than $29 million in potential savings to the state.
Sounds like something Illinois could use, right? Check out the full policy paper about CEG here and learn about why and how Illinois could follow other states’ leads in saving taxpayers substantial amounts of money by streamlining government services at no loss of quality.
In addition, two case studies about local government in Illinois, one focusing on the Village of Glenview, the other on the Village of Lindenhurst, provide more excellent, cost-saving ideas with regards to privatizing and right-sizing government.
For a summary of New Jersey’s cost-saving ideas, check out Reason’s Len Gilroy’s recap highlighting some of the specifics from the report.