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| Subject: Bev, how gullible are you?? | |
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Author: Oropan |
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Date Posted: 12:14:20 05/02/07 Wed In reply to: Bev 's message, "Under bush our public infrastructure is being sold ." on 10:37:18 05/02/07 Wed "The Brooklyn Bridge has never been leased. Several "industrious" salesmen have attempted to sell the bridge, but since it opened in 1883, the bridge has always been the property of the City of New York" Nobody sold the Brooklyn Bridge....at least not legally! LOL! And The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District operates the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Transit and Golden Gate Ferry. So, since neither bridge is the property of the US government it would be impossible for President Bush to sell either one of them! I told you to stay away from those kooky leftist websites! > there are several articles in this . > > >Push to Privatize Public Roads, Airports, Bridges > >Ian Welsh > >Business Week writes about how private companies such >as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and the Carlysle >Group are buying up private infrastructure such as key >roads, airports and bridges (Golden Gate for $3.4 >billion and Brooklyn Bridge for $3.5 billion, for >example). Cities supposedly think this is a great idea >because they get money they can spend on other things. > >I don't understand why this is even considered. You >don't put basic infrastructure like this in private >hands, because it allows monopoly pricing. They will >squeeze the most money out of it they can, and that >will be the majority of the surplus value produced by >the roads. Since they will set the cost to maximize >profits, it will be above what some people and some >businesses can afford (this is just basic >supply/demand graphing -- raise the price, and less >people will use a service). What this will mean is >that a lot of businesses will make less profit, go >under or never be created, a lot of people won't >travel even short distances (which will strangle >businesses that need those travelers and price certain >people out of certain jobs) and will in general reduce >economic activity. However much money any government >gets in the short term, it will lose more from reduced >taxes due to reduced economic activity and reduced >economic growth in the long term. (i.e. It isn't just >people who use the roads/airports/bridges who lose.) > >And odds are, you'll eventually have to either >regulate these things to keep prices reasonable (at >which point the companies will start shorting on >maintenance in order to maintain profit margins) or >you'll have to buy them back at a huge markup. > >Infrastructure is one of the two very basic jobs of >government, and any government that is getting out of >it is refusing to do its job. > > > > >href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-welsh/push-to-p >rivati...">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-welsh/push >-to-privati... > > >Investors await gains as U.S. states privatize roads > >Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:12PM EDT > >By Joan Gralla - Analysis > >NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors in U.S. tax-free >municipal debt have snapped up highway bonds because >they hope they will rally when more states raise >billions of dollars to build new roads, bridges and >tunnels by privatizing. > >Any new public-private partnerships likely would >require existing municipal bonds to be refinanced and >they could be replaced with taxable issues. > >"There's usually some tremendous price appreciation >when that happens," said Paul Brennan, a municipal >bond fund manager with Chicago-based Nuveen >Investments Inc. > >Bondholders who bought the debt at a discount can >snare rich profits from refundings as they are repaid >the full par amount. > > > > >href="http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSN2 >443443...">http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/i >dUSN2443443... > > >Roads to riches >Investors clamor to take over America's highways, >bridges, and airports > >By Emily Thornton > >Updated: 5:54 p.m. CT April 30, 2007 > >Steve Hogan was in a bind. The executive director of >Colorado's Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority >had run up $416 million in debt to build the 10-mile >toll road between north Denver and the Boulder >Turnpike, and he was starting to worry about the high >payments. So he tried to refinance, asking bankers in >late 2005 to pitch investors on new, >lower-interest-rate bonds. But none of the hundreds of >investors canvassed was interested. > >Then, one day last spring, Hogan got a letter from >Morgan Stanley that promised to solve all of his >problems. The bank suggested Hogan could lease the >road to a private investor and raise enough money to >pay off the whole chunk of debt. Now Hogan, after >being inundated with proposals, is in hot-and-heavy >negotiations with a team of bidders from Portugal and >Brazil. "We literally got responses from around the >world," he says. > >In the past year, banks and private investment firms >have fallen in love with public infrastructure. >They're smitten by the rich cash flows that roads, >bridges, airports, parking garages, and shipping ports >generate — and the monopolistic advantages that keep >those cash flows as steady as a beating heart. Firms >are so enamored, in fact, that they're beginning to >consider infrastructure a brand new asset class in >itself. > >With state and local leaders scrambling for cash to >solve short-term fiscal problems, the conditions are >ripe for an unprecedented burst of buying and selling. >All told, some $100 billion worth of public property >could change hands in the next two years, up from less >than $7 billion over the past two years; a lease for >the Pennsylvania Turnpike could go for more than $30 >billion all by itself. "There's a lot of value trapped >in these assets," says Mark Florian, head of North >American infrastructure banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co. > > > > >href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18396534/">http://www >.msnbc.msn.com/id/18396534/ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| So business week. reuters and msnbc are all leftist sites | Bev | 12:40:24 05/02/07 Wed |
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