>There you go. I've yet to meet a politician
>advocating privatization who had a clue about
>the economic case, such as it is, underlying
>his advocacy. They are always reduced to
>mantras about 'the market.' Since we take
>the public interest seriously, I would argue,
>we will always benefit if a topic engages the
>public's attention beyond the superficial.
>
>These guys can be beaten in debate. The broader
>politics, of course, depend on other things.
I was on a panel at the Eastern Economic Association meeting a few years ago - why I was there is still a mystery to me - with a World Bank economist who gave a paper on privatization. He said the economic record was "mixed," which is pretty strong stuff for a WB economist, but concluded that we had to press on with the agenda anyway.
Doug