Public-Private Partnerships – What Are They Really?

Whenever you hear politicians or business leaders talking about “public-private partnerships,” you come away, believing that it is a great idea. Why not combine the resources of the state with the ingenuity of the private sector to generate better outcomes for everyone? It seems like a meeting of minds, first-class cooperation of which we should all be proud. 

The reality of it is somewhat different. It’s not just that the state and the private sector are teaming up. Usually, it involves the transfer of funds from other taxpayers via the state to other private enterprises. 

Take the defense sector, for instance. The government itself doesn’t own all of the companies in the military-industrial complex. Instead, it confiscates money from citizens in the form of taxation and then hands it over to private-sector contractors. These third-party companies make everything, from tanks to anti-cyber attack software. You might call this arrangement a public-private partnership, but it is more like a flow of income from citizens via the state into the private hands of weapons builders. 

As the following infographic shows, the same is happening across vast sectors of the economy. The government is a conduit that allocates tax money to industries like healthcare, energy, defense, and transportation. 

You can see immediately why our economy has the structure it does. Specific industries are privileged above others, continually receiving central government stimulus. Imagine what the world would look like if the state turned off the spigot. 

Are you interested in the true nature of public-private partnerships? Follow the money. 

Infographic by Lawsuitlegal.com