The Free World's greatest example of Free Speach, a television show called "The Simpsons", had a theme in last night's episode about the vending machines in schools. Bart got addicted badly to the industrial waste in the snacks, had a heart attack, and continued eating it until an intervention by the whole community was made for him.
It is really about the movement to privatise schools, and all that goes with them including the food students eat while there.
"No matter the nutrition, corporate school food HAS to be about profits" - thats the legally mandated requirement of corporations. If you have seen the food kids eat at schools you will know why some communities have fought so hard to get the junk food out and healthy options in schools [very few have succeeded so far].
The "public realm" is that class of "Essential Public Interests, and social domains believed to be too precious, vulnerable, or morally sacred to subject to corporate exploitation".
Institutions like education, health, water utilities, welfare, police and law, firefighters, parks and nature reserves were deliberately placed beyond the corporation's exploitative grasp.
Now that is under attack, and seriously losing the battle to privatisation.
We have to decide how far along this path we want to go:
1]Govt provides services and Regulates industry[as it was];
2]Govt provides services, and Industry Regulates itself[as it is now?]
3]Industry regulates itself and oversees govt programs
4] Industry provides public service programs for a fee, and regulates itself.
Joel Bakan's "the Corporation" was used for referance in this post.
In the book, he outlines the path to corporate control over every aspect of life on earth.
We are not so very far from where every square inch of land is real estate and we are all 'clients' of some corporate entity.
This is not necessarily going to be 'benevolent' like we assume government-run programs to be, the corporate way is to make a profit "whatever it takes", and that includes breaking the law when it is less costly than to do things legally.
The "industrial waste in school snacks" quip in the Simpson's show last night is an example of "whatever it takes" profiteering. It may be illegal, but the fines, if any, are less than the cost of disposing of the waste properly, plus paying for expensive 'healthy' ingredients to put in the snacks.
{thats a joke, right Karlin? its just animation, its not real, right?]
Do we get to decide what remains in the Public Realm ?
- Only if we show we have an opinion about it, so the debate better get ramped up or we will miss the chance to save some of it from private inrterests.
Karlin
ps- sorry about the length, not all issues are simple as two lines.
It is really about the movement to privatise schools, and all that goes with them including the food students eat while there.
"No matter the nutrition, corporate school food HAS to be about profits" - thats the legally mandated requirement of corporations. If you have seen the food kids eat at schools you will know why some communities have fought so hard to get the junk food out and healthy options in schools [very few have succeeded so far].
The "public realm" is that class of "Essential Public Interests, and social domains believed to be too precious, vulnerable, or morally sacred to subject to corporate exploitation".
Institutions like education, health, water utilities, welfare, police and law, firefighters, parks and nature reserves were deliberately placed beyond the corporation's exploitative grasp.
Now that is under attack, and seriously losing the battle to privatisation.
We have to decide how far along this path we want to go:
1]Govt provides services and Regulates industry[as it was];
2]Govt provides services, and Industry Regulates itself[as it is now?]
3]Industry regulates itself and oversees govt programs
4] Industry provides public service programs for a fee, and regulates itself.
Joel Bakan's "the Corporation" was used for referance in this post.
In the book, he outlines the path to corporate control over every aspect of life on earth.
We are not so very far from where every square inch of land is real estate and we are all 'clients' of some corporate entity.
This is not necessarily going to be 'benevolent' like we assume government-run programs to be, the corporate way is to make a profit "whatever it takes", and that includes breaking the law when it is less costly than to do things legally.
The "industrial waste in school snacks" quip in the Simpson's show last night is an example of "whatever it takes" profiteering. It may be illegal, but the fines, if any, are less than the cost of disposing of the waste properly, plus paying for expensive 'healthy' ingredients to put in the snacks.
{thats a joke, right Karlin? its just animation, its not real, right?]
Do we get to decide what remains in the Public Realm ?
- Only if we show we have an opinion about it, so the debate better get ramped up or we will miss the chance to save some of it from private inrterests.
Karlin
ps- sorry about the length, not all issues are simple as two lines.
