Letter writer: Corporate interests reached into public pool time

Thanks to the Moral Monday Movement, I’ve learned about the collusion between our government and their addiction problem — corporate money. The American Legislative Exchange Council is the source of corporate money behind the tendency to privatize without public knowledge at public expense.

On the local level, privatization happens with pressure from the American City County Exchange. Recently I’ve learned that our five county pools have been privatized. The pools closed earlier this year, Aug. 7, in order to have private parties. (Was it Tim Moffitt who took control of the Parks and Recreation Department away from the county?) …

ALEC’s influence on state legislatures is the origin of the mandatory sentencing laws, whereby the prison systems have been largely privatized. … The anti-public-education laws are ALEC laws.

Privatization of everything owned by the public — the VA, the post office, Social Security, is a conversation that must be explored and debated. This trend is furthering a transfer of wealth from us, the 99 percent, to the 1 percent ALEC-member companies that have, because of money in politics, have way too much sway in our government.

This is not capitalism — this is pay-to-play economics. What can we do? Avoid ALEC member companies. Google it! Watch “The United States of ALEC” on YouTube.

I’m driving an electric Nissan Leaf after reading the October 2014 article about the Koch Brothers in Rolling Stone — and I love not buying gas!

Here’s the exciting news. Since Trayvon Martin was killed, I believe it’s 106 major U.S. corporations [that] have left ALEC! People have great power for change.

More than any other single source, the Koch brothers’ money has contaminated our state legislature. Their funding of ALEC’s “model legislation” has become law in many states. Many of these laws have been deemed unconstitutional, but since the legislature has changed funding of our judiciary elections (and our appellate judiciary elections), I believe some of our judges are starting to go to the dark side.

These things do affect us. Duke Power’s coal ash, fracking, our kids’ education, the millions behind bars, control of our water, all connected. Taking money away from our public schools is resegregating our society. That is not making a better world for our kids.

And I lost a week of swimming with my kid. What are they going to charge us for the pool pass next year since now this is all about a private corporation making money?

— R. James Harris
Asheville