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Contracting Out: Understanding The Impacts

*Daphne T. Greenwood, Ph. D. is professor of economics and director of the Colorado Center for Policy Studies at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. In addition to serving in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1990‐1994, she has been a visiting scholar at the U. S. Treasury Department and the Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin‐Madison, Honors Professor at the U. S. Naval Academy and a corporate economist with Esmark, Inc. Dr. Greenwood authored a recent award winning book on local economic development in the United States and has published widely in the public policy arena. She authored a study for the Colorado Center forPolicy Studies, adjunct to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, entitled: “The Decision To Contract out: Undestanding The Full Economic and Social Impacts.” (click for full article) *Her Key Findings include: Outsourcing to private corporations undermines principles fundamental to our democratic system by creating conditions such as:  Reduced accountability, transparency, and clarity about who’s in charge  Frequent conflicts of interest and nepotism and fewer whistleblower protections  Removing control of key public decisions from citizens and their elected officials Contracting can involve substantially lower wages and benefits for local workers […]

Safety Suffers When Unions Suffer

Part of being union is having a voice in the workplace. Having a voice in the workplace means that you have protection and mechanisms in place if your employer takes any action to muzzle your legitimate complaints. An employer in Jacksonville, Florida, is feeling the wrath of OSHA after a senseless workplace tragedy that took […]

Who Owns West Virginia?

The West Virginia Center On Budget and Policy released an interesting report on just who the largest corporate landowners in West Virginia are and how these patterns have been changing. Purchase of West Virginia’s land by timber management companies is perhaps the most interesting finding by investigators for this report, researchers also found: The top […]