[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Robert Cruickshank

This has been published on my new California High Speed Rail blog.

As those of you who have been reading me for the last year know, I love high speed rail. And you'd also know that I am deeply skeptical - to put it mildly - of public private partnerships (P3). So what am I to do when they are joined together in a shotgun wedding? From a press release put out by the California High Speed Rail Authority:

"California High-Speed Rail Authority Executive Director Mehdi Morshed, joined Governor Schwarzenegger Tuesday in participating in a roundtable discussion at the State Capitol regarding the importance of investing in California's infrastructure and maintaining the state's economic growth through public private partnerships.

"Mr. Morshed noted the California proposed system of high-speed trains offers a unique opportunity to develop a new model for "P3" or public private partnership financing....

by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Somewhere along the line, the Grover Norquists of the world have convinced Americans that everything can be done better and cheaper outside of the frame of the government.  Unfortunately, that's really not so. Look at the numerous debacles with Public-Private Partnerships, and what do you see? Cost overruns, shoddy worksmanship, and a poor record on worker's rights. Now, that's not universally true, but it's about time these "collaborations" get more scrutiny than just the passing "ooooh, that sounds cheap!"  Thankfully, that was done recently, and let's just say, outsourcing doesn't always work out:

According to a 2006 report by the independent California Research Bureau, outsourcing IT work cost 50 percent more than doing the work in-house.

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California has struggled with IT strategy and oversight for more than a decade. In 2002, lawmakers shut down the state's technology office when they learned that Elias Cortez, director of the Department of Information Technology, had approved a $95 million contract with Oracle Corp. without competition.

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read more »

by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

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.

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Here's some interesting stuff:

by Emily Reilly for 27AD [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Recently, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger indicated he wants to institutionalize private-sector deals for infrastructure upgrades in a plan he will outline in his State of the State address in January. Though details have yet to be disclosed, design/build projects will no doubt be included. This is a mistake.

The idea of public-private partnerships appeals to a lot of people, and it is easy to understand why. There is a perception that public projects are inefficient, and sexy terms like “design/build” make other options sound appealing. As Mayor of Santa Cruz I often hear arguments that projects like these simultaneously cut costs and improve efficiency. Unfortunately, in the real world, it hasn't worked. We have seen that design/build projects routinely outspend their budgets and outlast their deadlines, costing taxpayers more in the end.