[sarbar]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/130993_parkmaintenance16.html Every article I have been reading on this theme gets me more and makes me want to at the in our Gov't.

[Stefan]

So far I am not against this direction. Maybe the Park Service has done some stuff innefficiently. Maybe not. I think it's worth a try to see what happens.

[treewalker]

Bush is satan

[sarbar]

I quess what gets me the most is that MRNP is being forced to spend much needed money on of all things, consultants!!!!! If you read this article in particular the amount of money the supertindent is being made to waste is AWFUL!!!! And it is a stinking waste of the money!

[Mongo]

Bush IS Satan.

[kleet]

Do you think you'll ever hear a person hired by a contractor for the Park Service ever say, "The reason I work at the park is to protect the resources so future generations can enjoy the place." "the competition for contracts should lower costs and possibly result in better value" What a load of BS. It's just a way for this Administration to say, "look at how we've created jobs in the private sector and saved the Government money!" While on the surface that may be true, what you're going to get is a low-bid contractor paying minimum wage to their employees to do these tasks.

[Sore Feet]

Grr. Privatization of some government jobs is fine, but not the Park Service. I don't want some dillhole who doesn't care about what he's doing performing some half-assed work where it counts. Dean in '04.

[sarbar]

One story that got me thinking is about the recent bear problems at Isput Campground. I received an email from Bobjeri (a volunteer ranger at Rainer and the Olympics) with photos of the little guy being hauled away in a bear trap-the rangers took the time to finally catch the bear and relocate him, not shoot him on sight. Now, do you think a private company concerned only with the bottom line ($$) is going to waste time and $$ going after Smokey for over a week:? No, Smokey would have been somebody's rug the first day..ie, the cheapest way to solve the problem. Our NP's do have considerable problems, but privitazation is NOT the answer!!!! Another thought: I just wonder how much a private company would have to pay their rescue crews to go up a Mt. to rescue hurt climbers? I am VERY sure they wouldn't get their current bargain of $18 an hour for a ranger who also hauls out full privies!

[Steve]

Bush is not Satan....but Jack Welsh most certainly is! Outsourcing became most popular through his "leadership" and he has been canonized by other CEO's and his model to outsource everything (except CEO positions) has made America what it is today, the rich and the rest of us who have or will have skilled higher paying jobs outsourced to India, China, Korea and where ever else they can find cheap labor. Here's one perspective on what offloading may mean for US employment. It is quite long however. Decentralisation of US aircraft production

[treewalker]

all I know is that I remember vividly when Bush was campaigning the day he stopped to make a speech at some National Park and talked about how parks were our natural treasures, but were falling apart and that he would make sure to protect them and boost their funding and enhance them... While I listened to his speech with optimism this part of me in the back of my head was saying: "Why is he mentioning parks? What does he mean by "enhancing" them? Is it possibile that he is so evil that he wants to destroy the parks to save some small amount of money that can then be sent to the military? Could bush possibly be the anti-christ and Satan incarnate?" With actions like this I see that my worst fears have come true. Bush hates hippies and tree huggers and he will do anything to prove that to his cronies, including making our backcountry pit toilets stink and making it harder to get rescued. Oh, and I am suprised his attempt to gut our national parks and sell their timber to logging companies isn't called "Operation Wilderness Conservation" in line with his administration's more global "Operation Name Things The Opposite of What They Do" Seriously considering moving to canada.

[Backpacker Joe]

G.W.Bush is NOT satan! Hillary Klinton is satan! I agree with privatization wherever we can get it! The GVT does to damn much as it is. That said it's to bad that money will go to consultants, but that is only once until the contracts are given. I disagree that automatically privatizing will mean people who wont care about their jobs. It as been my experience that the private sector cares WAY MORE about their jobs, reputation, quality of work, and the perception the public will have of their work ethic. TB

[sarbar]

Nope, according to the article, the consultants get the money to figure out how to outsource stuff in the park. That is a HUGE waste of $$-in the $300,000 range! That alone would pay the salaries of most of the badly paid rangers for one year!

[treewalker]

GRRRRRR.... you have irritated me. I'm about as anti-goverment as they come, but that does not translate to being pro-corporate. If there were a way to get rid of the lubmering bureaucracy so that more money could be funneled to the people taking care of the parks, then I'd be all for it. The correct way to do this isn't to fire all the experienced rangers who care about the environment and hire cheap labor to take care of the parks. It would be to get the government out and hire more people who care and give the rest raises with all the money privatization should be saving. What's next, giving all national park land over to be managed by the timber companies? Protecting the public interest is what the government exists to do. A private corporation who owned national park lands would not see the point in preserving trails and backcountry toilets. They'd cut down all the trees and sell them, replace them with plastic trees and install rollercoasters. Just because something isn't profitable financially doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile, and conversely, just because something is profitable or saves money doesn't mean it's a good idea. This is the fundamental reason why capitalism is not the answer to the world's problems.

[Backpacker Joe]

Yes well I'm willing to bet that that cost will be made up in hand by the savings for going private! This I wouldn't have pushed for myself, as I would the postal service, or other gvt controlled work. It's here, so let's see what happens.

[treewalker]

How about "privatising" the entire National Park System into a NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION and giving them a $10 billion endowment from the federal government. That might be a good start in making our parks better. Also, that would be 1/5th the cost of the "war" in Iraq. Talk about an uneccesary waste of taxpayer funds. Sometimes I wish republicans could just hear how hipocritical they sound. "We've got to cut back and stop wasting tax payers money" "Oh, military needs 100 billion to invade Iraq? SURE!, here you go, just take it out of the education/public health/environmental preservation budget!" WHAT MORONS!