The telling accounts of mixing the common good with crony capitalism, greed and unjust excess profit. Also a very good read on the damaging and costly Public-Private Partnership (PPP), the cornerstone of the Tories' and New Labour's morally and ecomically obnoxious economic ideology in Britain.
Some ambassador!
Photo:cbc.ca
The crumbling Ambassador Bridge connects the United States to Canada. It is privately owned by an aging billionaire who has leveled entire neighborhoods in Michigan and Windsor, Ontario and waged scores of lawsuits against municipalities, the state, and Canada in order to maintain a stranglehold on the crossing—and the tolls that go directly into his pockets. In this very interesting and informative article in Harper’s, Matt Mossman looks at how a gas station owner came to control a key chokepoint in the North American economy (See below)
First, a personal note: I read Matt Mossman’s article with great interest. I learnt many new things about Windsor, Detroit and the Ambassador Bridge. I hold a special place in my heart for Windsor, Ontario. My wife, Annie, and I emigrated to Canada in mid-1970s. We went to Windsor, where my wife got a position at Windsor Cancer Clinic, Metropolitan General Hospital, whilst I went to the University of Windsor, where I studied for my BA and MA in Economics. Our oldest son, Kevin was born in Windsor in 1982. Whilst we were in Windsor, my brother, Kambiz, and my sister, Kiyan, were in Windsor too, studying at the University of Windsor. Moreover, my sister got married to Sasan in Windsor, who was studying at the University with us all. All in all, we were very fortunate to meet and make lasting friendship with many wonderful friends in Windsor. We cherish those wonderful and priceless memories.
And now, Matt Mossman’s article: Crossing Guards When private ownership of a bridge gets old
Photo:harpers.org