{"id":1892,"date":"2014-03-11T08:00:16","date_gmt":"2014-03-11T14:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/?p=1892"},"modified":"2014-03-10T16:55:49","modified_gmt":"2014-03-10T22:55:49","slug":"groundbreaking-report-details-economic-consequence-of-shifting-public-services-to-private-providers-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/?p=1892","title":{"rendered":"Groundbreaking report details economic consequence of shifting public services to private providers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Daphne<\/a>
Daphne Greenwood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. \u2013 State and local governments, the traditional providers of public services, are sometimes now mere funders as they increasingly choose to contract with private corporations.\u00a0 Attempting to get costs down is the most common reason, although that often doesn\u2019t happen. But the focus on fiscal impact has hidden the full consequences of these decisions.<\/p>\n

A report released March 11 by the Colorado Center for Policy Studies based at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs sheds light on the full extent of the social and economic impact from outsourcing public services. This includes reduced accountability and transparency as control of key public decisions is removed from citizens and their elected officials. Quality also often suffers.<\/p>\n

The study found that contracting with private corporations generally reduces worker wages and benefits, which leads to a host of negative effects for the community at large:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reduced spending in local communities and declining retail sales<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Risks to public health and safety with less experienced employees and more bureaucracy<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fewer opportunities for middle-class jobs and upward mobility<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Higher wage gaps between men and women and blacks and whites<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 More workers and retirees on public assistance, especially in female-headed households<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Larger share of \u201cat risk\u201d children in low-income families<\/p>\n

To help leaders assess the full impacts of outsourcing decisions on their own communities, the report includes a guide for calculating the social and economic consequences to a state or community.\u00a0 Examples of statutes that address broader economic and social issues are included.<\/p>\n

Daphne T. Greenwood, professor, Department of Economics, UCCS and center director said:<\/p>\n

\u201dThere is a wealth of evidence that outsourcing public jobs often diminishes quality without substantial cost reduction. Unfortunately, few states and cities have a serious oversight process to let citizens evaluate what is happening.\u201c<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As author of the study, Greenwood focused on some new topics: how local economic development, middle-class jobs, and upward mobility are being affected by contracting out.<\/p>\n

\u201cElected officials often talk about wanting to boost the economy and create opportunity,\u201d said Greenwood \u201cBut many don\u2019t realize how the decisions they control can contribute to the problem… or be part of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Decision to Contract Out:\u00a0 Understanding the Full Economic and Social Impacts\u201d study was funded by the Jobs with Justice Education Fund, Washington, D.C. and is available at www.uccs.edu\/~ccps<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About UCCS<\/b><\/p>\n

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs, is one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The University offers 37 bachelor\u2019s degrees, 19 master\u2019s and five doctoral degrees. UCCS enrolls about 10,500 students on campus annually and another 2,000 in online programs. For more information, visit www.uccs.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. \u2013 State and local governments, the traditional providers of public services, are sometimes now mere funders as they increasingly choose to contract with private corporations.\u00a0 Attempting to get costs down is the (Full Press Release)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pressreleases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1892"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1895,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1892\/revisions\/1895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}