In 1978 the Supreme Court of Washington ruled that the Washington State Community College District could not contract out to a private firm custodial services that “historically had been provided by civil service staff employees of the College.”… Read More
In 1997 the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in Konno v. County of Hawaii that a County could not privatize the operation of a landfill since these were jobs that “are performing a service that has been customarily and historically provided by civil servants”. The case involved a County that had contracted with Waste Management Inc. (WMI) to build and operate a new landfill to take the place of one operated by County employees. … Read More
In 1993, after Massachusetts government privatized 36 operations in the previous 3 years, the legislature passed what came to be called the Pacheco Law over then-Governor William F. Weld’s veto. The law imposes the strictest series of tests in the nation before a service can be privatized.… Read More
In 1990 Illinois enacted a ban on private prisons which remains in place in 2012, declaring that “the management and operation of a correctional facility or institution involves functions that are inherently governmental.”… Read More
The United States health system consists of over 400 insurance companies and thousands of different plans. Indeed, in the early 1990s, after Taiwan concluded a worldwide investigation of health plans in preparation to designing its own, its Minister of Health reportedly was said to have been asked what aspect of the U.S. health system he had … Read More
States have the authority to design their voting systems, so long as they do not violate the Constitutional Amendments or federal laws that prohibit them from discriminating against voters by gender or race. In a 1997 case the US Supreme Court decided that states could design rules that made it very difficult for any but the … Read More
The impact of money on politics has become increasingly pronounced as a 2012 chart by Mother Jones makes clear States, cities and the federal government have tried in various ways to curb the corrupting influence of money on political elections and political decision making. But these laws have almost always been overturned by the US Supreme … Read More
In 2002 Google Answers responded to a question about the number of ads that Americans are exposed to each day, from radio and tv commercials to newspaper ads and billboards. The sources sited ranged from 247 to 3000. No estimate was made of internet popup or other ads, which would boost the number stratospherically. Except for … Read More
Sports not only builds strong bones and teamwork. Sports teams build community. We root for our home teams, whether they be high school or college or professional. But sports has become big business and increasingly our home teams have become absentee owned. And the absentee owners in all leagues threaten to pick up and go to … Read More