Anonymously contributed:
from Paul Krugman:
"And, sure enough, despite many promises that prison privatization will lead to big cost savings, such savings — as a comprehensive study ... concluded — “have simply not materialized.” To the extent that private prison operators do manage to save money, they do so through “reductions in staffing patterns, fringe benefits, and other labor-related costs.”
"So let’s see: Privatized prisons save money by employing fewer guards and other workers, and by paying them badly. And then we get horror stories about how these prisons are run. What a surprise!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/opinion/krugman-prisons-privatization-patronage.html?_r=1&hp
Krugman is a polarizing figure, but his comments really resonate here. Just substitute "laboratory" for "prison"!
Comments
He made this statement during a Senate hearing about 4 years ago. Of course, the Senators paid him no heed.
You also get to spend endless amounts of your time being freely "educated" with online training on different subjects.
And let's not forget the regular urine tests for illegal drugs and the occasional polygraph tests to ferret out your latest crimes.
It's all good since Bechtel took over the NNSA labs for a big, juicy annual profit. Especially for the "prison warden", who makes a very nice salary along with a 20% bonus for himself and all his prison bosses.
Bechtel is privately held, so they don't have to divulge profits. An annual report I found on the web states their 2010 revenue was $27.9 billion. So even if they are like a grocery chain and run on a narrow profit margin, say 3%, that equals $900 million. Pulling in a few $10's of million for managing national labs is a nice add-on , but hardly a game changer for them. They no doubt have a healthy respect for the bottom line, but they were asked to the party by UC to bolster their operational credibility.
I'm a UC guy through-and-through and know very little about Bechtel. Just adding a different perspective.
Keep up the good work. You are the only source left for the "real story" at the NNSA labs at this point in time. Thanks!
Meanwhile, breakthrough discovery's back here in America and at the nation's rapidly declining nuclear labs? Not so much....
And does anyone think the useless 'boat anchor' called NIF will successfully achieve fusion by the fall? Not a chance! That was clear before it was even built but no managers at LLNL had the honesty to come clean. It was a complete waste of precious resources whose prime achievement was to advance the position of NIF managers during the decades of its expensive construction. How sad.
4:45 am, there is no LANS pension. TCP 1 is closed. Graham came in 2008, well after it closed.
Christ, doesn't anybody check facts on this POS blog?
Christ, doesn't anybody check facts on this POS blog?
July 3, 2012 4:09 PM
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well, I was told by a LANL/Bechtel employee at a fairly high level (and in an organization that would know) that certain key personnel were added to TCP1 after the transition. He justified by saying that, like UC, Bechtel was a parent company, so "transferring" employees were entitled to come in just like UC. The fallacy is that unlike UC, no Bechtel employee ever contributed or was part of UC pension. My guess 10 or so key personnel were added to TCP1. Someone like Mallory is likely in TCP1.
I don't understand why? The standards at LANL for "executive excellence" in science management have been lowered to the point were it should be very easy to find people to permanently fill these slots!