Originally Posted by
CBM
"PFI" was always going to be a rip off. Unfortunately for the voting and tax paying public, it is a rip off that crosses the Party line - both Labour and Conservative governments have gone in for it.
It is hugely tempting because it allows the Government to borrow "off balance sheet" - there is no visible increase in the national debt from PFI.
However, whilst the "theory" , or rather, the excuse, for PFI is that "the private sector always does it more efficiently" this hides the obvious truths that:
1. Private sector borrowing costs are always higher than Government borrowing costs
2. The Government is in effect guaranteeing the loans raised by the private sector contractors
3. Most important - the Government lacks effective oversight of what the private sector contractors get up to - the phrase "Public - Private partnership" should sound alarm bells for everyone - who in the "public" consented to this "partnership"? Did you? The opportunities for corruption are altogether too tempting.
The truth is that this is a part of the national debt, because we are guaranteeing it. A handful of contractors have got very rich, thanks to the s.hameful dishonesty of the political class
