by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Because apparently everybody loves an overpriced and overhyped idea, the Governator wants to do some more public-private partnerships for road maintenance and such:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday proposed an expanded push for public-private partnerships and set a goal to add 20,000 new engineers to California's work force as part of his upcoming January budget plan.

The Schwarzenegger administration wants the state to expand the types of public projects that can be built with the financial might of private companies.Current law does not allow state government broad authority to use this type of contracting - known as a Performance Based Infrastructure - except in emergencies or through legislative approval. (SacBee 12.27.07)

The thing is, as both Robert and I have argued, they don't actually end up cheaper, or more efficient. Sure, they have success stories here and there, but overwhelmingly, what ends up happening is once the cameras disappear from the press conferences hyping these P3s, the bill gets higher as the owners of the corporation demand higher and higher profits. Oh, and they don't have the same labor standards as state agencies do.

So, yeah, let's line the pockets of investors with our state general fund. Sounds like a great plan.