Commentary

Privatize or Perish

Another nonbeliever bites the dust. Faced with closing county parks, pools, and other services or privatization, Milwaukee county is choosing privatization. Citing success in nearby Cook County, Illinois officials said that they shouldn’t have to cut services to save money. The ousted parks director objected to the move, hence their ousting. They cited concerns for golfers i.e., poor service private golf course operators provide. Hello…the best courses in the world are privately owned and operated. Perhaps there is a role for publicly owned golf courses, but the private sector has the management and technical skills to make golf courses enjoyable and profitable. Check out Reason’s 1999 study, Getting Greens in the Black to read up on golf course privatization trends and developments.