5 recent public decisions that put people over profit
The public is an abstract concept. It’s easy to forget that it’s wholly made up of people, of us. Here are five recent stories of people standing up for themselves and their communities by fighting for control over public goods.
Calls for free. The New York City Council approved a bill Wednesday to make domestic calls free for all city jail inmates. Currently, both the city and a private corporation, Securus, charge inmates for every minute they use the phone.
“Thousands of people in NYC jails are there solely because a court set money bail beyond what they could afford, 88 percent are Black and/or Latinx, and nearly all experience deep poverty,” the Brooklyn Defender Services said. “Now, they will be able to maintain crucial lifelines to loved ones in the community without sacrificing scarce dollars for the profits of jail profiteer Securus.” The organization is part of the Jails Action Coalition, a number of organizations who have been pushing for the change.
Water rates plummet after going public. Ojai, California, has finally ousted a private water corporation after passing a bill last week to remove the corporation off of a regional water governing board. The city’s water rates have dropped by as much as 65 percent after residents voted in 2013 to fire Golden State Water Company and take over their water system.
Private prison corporation denied. Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County is now looking to hire a public reentry director after denying a bid for reentry services by the private prison corporation GEO Group. “The community efforts of the past few months have been an exercise in democracy and community power. Hundreds of people have organized, developed relationships, showed up and used their voices. We have worked towards a simple goal: to ensure the best outcome for returning citizens and the broader Lancaster community,” said Lancaster Stands Up, a community group that pushed for the move.
Wait, public schools can innovate too? Columbia, Maryland’s Hammond High School was facing a problem: more and more low-income students and students of color were enrolling but not joining its advanced classes at the same clip. So school leaders made some bold moves. They eliminated the school’s lowest-level classes and encouraged every student to take at least one advanced class every year. They supported students with summer programs, homework clubs, and even an annual field trip for students to share knowledge of their own cultures and learn about others. And it worked. Hammond’s graduation rate for black and brown students is now above 90 percent, while its rate for students with special needs skyrocketed from 56 percent in 2010 to 80 percent.
Free art for everyone. If you have a New York City library card you can now go to the Whitney Museum, the Guggenheim, and 31 other New York cultural institutions for free. “Some people are intimidated by museums,” said the president of the Brooklyn Public Library. “They shouldn’t be shut out of all the wonderful cultural offerings that are available to New York City dwellers.”
And just for fun…here’s a video of a little boy gifting cookies to his favorite garbageman.
Jeremy Mohler is a writer and communications strategist for In the Public Interest, a nonprofit that advocates for the democratic control of public goods and services. He’d love to hear from you: jmohler@inthepublicinterest.org
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