LEADER 03714nam 2200637 a 450 001 9910455329503321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-84964-160-9 035 $a(CKB)1000000000802590 035 $a(StDuBDS)AH22933453 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000415620 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11306685 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000415620 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10417748 035 $a(PQKB)11571946 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3386138 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3386138 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10479610 035 $a(OCoLC)923330870 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000802590 100 $a20020926d2003 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur||||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aDemocracy and regulation$b[electronic resource] $ehow the public can govern essential services /$fGreg Palast, Jerrold Oppenheim and Theo MacGregor 210 $aLondon ;$aSterling, Va. $cPluto Press$d2003 215 $a1 online resource (240 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a0-7453-1942-4 311 $a0-7453-1943-2 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 330 $bEssential services are being privatised the world over. Whether it's water, gas, electricity or the phone network, everywhere from Sao Paulo in Brazil to Leeds in the UK is following the US economic model and handing public services over to private companies whose principal interest is raising prices. Yet it's one of the world's best kept secrets that Americans pay astonishingly little for high quality public services. Uniquely in the world, every aspect of US regulation is wide open to the public. How is this done and why has this process not taken root elsewhere? How is regulation threatened even in the US? And what power does the public have to ensure that services are regulated along these US lines?This book, based on work for the United Nations International Labour Organisation and written by experts with unrivalled practical experience in utility regulation, is the first step-by-step guide to the way that public services are regulated in the United States. It explains how decisions are made by public debate in a public forum. Profits and investments of private companies are capped, and companies are forced to reduce prices for the poor, fund environmental investments and open themselves to financial inspection. In a world where privatisation has so often led to economic disaster -- in Peru, telephone charges increased by 3000%; in Rio de Janeiro, 40% of electricity workers lost their jobs; in Britain water prices rose by 58% -- this book is essential reading. Palast, Oppenheim and MacGregor examine what's right with the traditional American system, why regulation elsewhere has failed, and -- most importantly -- what can be done to fix it. 606 $aPublic utilities$xDeregulation$zUnited States 606 $aPublic utilities$xState supervision$zUnited States 606 $aPublic utilities$xRates$zUnited States 606 $aPrivatization$zUnited States 606 $aDemocracy$zUnited States 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aPublic utilities$xDeregulation 615 0$aPublic utilities$xState supervision 615 0$aPublic utilities$xRates 615 0$aPrivatization 615 0$aDemocracy 676 $a338.973/05 700 $aPalast$b Greg$0886825 701 $aOppenheim$b Jerrold$0963609 701 $aMacGregor$b Theo$0963610 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910455329503321 996 $aDemocracy and regulation$92184873 997 $aUNINA