Bridgeport resident David Walker, the former U.S. comptroller general, will appear on Dennis House’s Face The State, Sunday 11 a.m. on WFSB channel 3. From House:
Walker said the state’s current fiscal policy is unsustainable, and that our state needs massive tax reform. He went on to say people and companies will leave Connecticut if things don’t change, and on Sunday, you’ll hear his suggestions. Among his suggestions? Tolls, and selling the Merritt Parkway so a private company can run it and the state can make some money from turning it over.
Walker sounded very much like a candidate, and I asked him about running for governor or for mayor of Bridgeport where he lives. When it comes to the Park City, Walker did not hold back.
“Bridgeport is ground zero for fiscal irresponsibility in America,” and he said the state should set up a financial control board for the city.
No tolls. No privatizing the Merritt Parkway and a softer position on union contracts. We want you as mayor. Take careful heed.
You don’t want this guy as Mayor, you will regret it. All you people who were falling on his every word, did you ever think of questioning who is funding him and why? This hysteria about the debt has been a stalking horse for privatization.
I knew there was something that didn’t sound right. Selling the Merritt Parkway is idiotic in the long run. Find out who is funding Walker and if they are involved in privatized public services. This guy is not a knight in shining armor.
Check out instances where traditional govt services on the state and federal level were privatized. Was a ripoff of the taxpayers both in dollar terms and in the quality of the services but was a big payday for the companies. Private prisons is one of the big ones. Actually costs the taxpayers more and the prisons were poorly run. Did Walker recommend privatizing prisons and other services while Comptroller General?
David Walker keeps saying on OIB he is not a Democrat or Republican and he is a Independent, so what political party would Walker run on? Walker is no Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. Remember Wisconsin’s Republican governor Scott Walker.
Walker belongs to the Corporate screw the middle class party. He very well could be just like the Walker from Wisconsin. I have been warning everybody about this guy and getting attacked for it.
BRG,
If you had any real knowledge, credibility or influence you might be dangerous. Fortunately, you don’t. What are you doing to make Tucson a better place? Remember, you don’t live in CT anymore!
BRG. A lot of people on this blog and elsewhere think you are stupid.
That the best you can do … and yahooy I pretty much agreed with your statement on Walker … you don’t appear to be using your brain.
I didn’t say I thought you were stupid. I just think you’re kind of unlucky when it comes to thinking.
yahooy: Laugh Out Fracking Loud!
Sell the Merritt Parkway??? To whom? I didn’t realize there is a market for selling highways. Tolls at the borders however, like every other state, makes sense and is a viable source of revenue. Those who say there’s no such thing as a free ride, obviously haven’t driven through Connecticut.
There are a lot of conservatives who have been attempting to do this … there is a big business in selling the property of the taxpayer to private corporations.
Godiva2011,
Good question. It’s been done many times overseas, especially Europe, and a few times in the U.S. It is something that should be considered among many things. We need to learn from others and learn from history.
People like Walker love to sell any public assets that aren’t tied down and in this case even ones that are.
Totally agree with that. I just drove through New YORK and New JERSEY. Spent a fortune on tolls. Maybe all CT residents get a free easy pass and all other vehicles including trucks pay toll and generate revenue.
Seriously. There is this guy who keeps coming to Bridgeport to sell Finch a New York area bridge. Problem is, he’s thinking about it. Finch will probably make an offer for the Merritt, too.
*** Let’s get going candidates, the more the better, no? ***
This is a basic cut and gut scam, find a company or state (the people’s assets) with assets worth more than what they would pay for them. Sell off the majority of them and saddle the rest with debt. The people would get saddled with debt for assets they already own (parkway) and pay for the services their taxes pay for now. They did this in Texas with electric utilities (COOP), first you operated the utilities at the bare minimum cutting back on resources need to operate them on day-to-day basics, then they complain that they are not run efficiently, then the white knight comes in, buys up the properties and triples the rate for electricity to the people the utility serves and at one time used to own.
Yes, let’s learn from history, how many things did Joe Ganim sell when he was mayor; i.e. the zoo. What did any of these sales do to help Bridgeport? Selling City property is a one-time bang for your money, then what? Maybe if we sell the position of mayor and the city council? No, hey this is zombie land, right.
The park was technically sold to the state. The reason was the state wanted to give us money to help with the debt service. The state could not just give us the money, they needed something in return. They did buy the ark but we run it and keep any monies generated. There was a benefit to this, we needed to rebuild the dam at the park and the state did that and paid for it.
Andrew C Fardy, thank you for the follow up, Bridgeport cannot get out of their financial problems with gimmicks and one-time sale of City property. How many cities have two City Halls, oh that’s right it is now the Margaret E Morton Government Center and not the Annex.
Here is a little more info on Mr. Walker. Seems the Post Office Privatization study was partially funded by Pitney Bowes. Seems Mr. Walker doesn’t just run the foundation.
www .savethepostoffice.com/postal-vision-2020-looks-future-postal-services-and-sees-privatization
A few year back Morgan Stanly did a report on what the government owns, “the people’s assets.” It show assets in the trillions of dollars, these guys would like nothing better than to buy these assets at pennies on the dollar and package them back as a corporate entity and charge everyone for their use. Sounds good but most if not all of them first belong to the people and second you would be paying for things that are paid for through your taxes. You’d be paying twice for things you get now. Open land resources, parks, power company rights of way, roads, bridges, ports, schools, highways, city streets, fire protection, police protection, etc. etc. These guys are in corporation pockets and when that happens they take the money out of your pockets and give you much less in return than what you get now.
Jim,
I can assure you I am in no one’s pocket and, unlike many people who post on this blog (e.g., retired City employees), I don’t have a clear and direct conflict of interest on any matters I comment on. I have been investigated by the FBI multiple times for my many federal appointments and I have no problem providing full transparency regarding my financial affairs and various relationships when I hold or seek public office. Unfortunately, such is not always the case in Connecticut and Bridgeport and the taxpayers pay a price for it.
BlackRockGuy, thanks for the information. Lately he has added a few other items, but in the past few months David Walker has exclusively been talking about reducing health benefits to retired Bridgeport fire and police. Earlier I would reply to Walker by name calling which is something I like to do but he was attacking my family and trying to deny them benefits they worked hard to get, my family is every person who was or is a Bridgeport firefighter and I will attack those who attack the family.
BlackRockGuy, here is a paragraph from the article you posted and I think it makes my point David Walker … “Mr. Walker is currently the CEO of the Comeback America Initiative (CAI), an organization which he founded. CAI advocates cuts to entitlement programs, such as reforming Social Security by raising the retirement age, lowering benefits, and reducing the number of people receiving benefits. The CAI also recommends “full or partial privatization” of Amtrak, National Rural Electric Cooperative, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Postal Service.”
I love Walker’s line about he is in no one’s hip pocket. That is why his so-called foundation is largely funded by Pete Peterson who has long advocated cutting funding to programs such as social security and safety net programs. Mr. Walker’s continual claim I have no right to comment on Bpt affairs is as ludicrous as it is offensive. I lived in Bpt for most of my adult life, far longer than Walker has and anyone who knows me at all knows I am not just someone who mouths off on blogs. Instead of fighting the Mayor’s attempt to take away the right of the voters to elect the school board, he was silent. Guess what Mr. Walker, what the school board does involves spending taxes … the ones you are continually complaining about. Guess school privatization is more important.
The fact is there isn’t much of a market for highway and airport privatization projects in the United States.
There is when they are handed over to private corporations at fire sale prices … fortunately many public officials in both parties aren’t buying the privatization baloney. As I have said, it is not just transportation. Just look at what a big industry private prisons are and they have done a terrible job at a terrible expense to this country both financially and socially.
There is a deep-pocketed and concentrated market for highway privatization in the form of hedge funds. If even a few hedge funds banded together, they would easily have enough money to buy the Merritt Parkway or privatize an airport. If it happened once, it can happen again.
This entire discussion has been very enlightening. Do any of you see any relation to the proposed regionalization of sewer infrastructure that has been working away quietly in the background for several years? Public assets like sewer pipes or sewage treatment facilities get sold to a Regional Authority that operates the system regionally at whatever expense they decide is reasonable. The buyout is funded with debt (that is backed by revenues of authority or whatever is necessary to make buyers of public debt less risk averse). And the $40-50 Million the City might receive goes where in the usual OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE and TRANSPARENT manner? Did anyone say, “down the drain?” Time will tell.
Has anyone stopped to realize that:
1. DW will not seek and will not accept a nomination from any political party for public office. He has said that many times.
2. The mayor of BPT cannot sell the Merritt parkway. I am not sure the governor could sell the Merritt parkway. I believe the parkway is a federal road.
It would seem many only hear what they want to hear. DW does not ADVOCATE the cutting of social security and pensioners health benefits. What he is saying is, if we do not act to make these programs more affordable they will go bankrupt and disappear. It would seem we have a choice. Reduce the cash asset value of these programs to something less or do nothing and the cash asset value of these programs will reduce to zero by itself. Just saying.
BOE SPY, you wrote, “DW does not ADVOCATE the cutting of social security and pensioners health benefits. What he is saying is, if we do not act to make these programs more affordable they will go bankrupt and disappear,” now perhaps you can explain the article below that quotes Mr. Walker’s position on social security?
“Mr. Walker is currently the CEO of the Comeback America Initiative (CAI), an organization which he founded. CAI advocates cuts to entitlement programs, such as reforming Social Security by raising the retirement age, lowering benefits, and reducing the number of people receiving benefits.”
Ron,
The answer is very simple. The words you reference do not represent a quote from me. They are from an article and the assertion is factually wrong. By the way, where is the article you refer to? Who wrote it? I suspect it was written by a partisan or ideologue who didn’t do any homework. That is pretty typical for the press today. FYI, I was a Public Trustee for both Social Security and Medicare from 1990-1995. I have long advocated the need to reform these important social insurance programs to make them solvent, sustainable and secure for current and future generations of Americans. I have advocated for both additional revenues and benefit changes that would be progressive in nature and phased in over time. I have received 77-83 percent support for a package of illustrative reforms from representative groups of voters. The truth is, I’m trying to solve problems rather than continuing to practice the old denial, distortion and delay tactics most politicians employ.
BOE SPY,
Thanks for your comments. To be clear, I have said I have no plans to run for political office. I have turned down several previous overtures from both major parties and an independent movement for me to run for various offices. The State of Connecticut owns the Merritt Parkway. Therefore, any related transaction would need to involve the Governor, the State Department of Transportation and the State legislature. The Mayor of Bridgeport would have nothing to do with it. I responded to Ron’s assertions on Social Security and Medicare previously.