The Craze for Privatization

The drive for “privatization” first began to gain momentum, like such key elements of the Reagan agenda as deregulation and acceleration of weapons procurement (the infamous MX was a Carter favorite), in Jimmy’s administration. Its advocates claim that privatization not only saves money by substituting flexible market structures for rigid bureaucracy, it also widens consumer choice. Tuition tax credits for the parents of children enrolled in private or religious schools in...