Privatization As Political Patronage

This article picks up on a NYT investigation of half way houses in New Jersey that have been turned over to a private corporation to operate.  The result is pretty typical.  The profit motive leads to cost cutting and there is no incentive to provide adequate service because there are no competitors in the "market".  It is simply a vehicle for politicians to funnel taxpayer money to private operators who are supporters of the government officials who make the deal.  In other words, it is consistent with the development of the predator state, as described by a book with that title by James Galbraith.