Privatize Everything in the Universe?

Privatize Everything in the Universe?

by Dan Bacher

I wrote this song, "Privatize Everything," back in 2000. The song was meant as political satire, but unfortunately, many of these lyrics have already become reality in recent years.

The oceans are being privatized under NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco's "catch shares" program that concentrates ocean fisheries in fewer, increasingly corporate hands.

Ocean conservation management has been privatized under the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative's creation of so-called marine protected areas in California that fail to protect the ocean from oil spills and drilling, pollution, military testing, corporate aquaculture, wind and wave energy project and all other uses of the ocean other than fishing and gathering. Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the President of the Western States Petroleum Association, chairs the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force that imposed the "marine protected areas" that went into effect in Southern California waters on January 1, 2012.

The water in Central Valley rivers and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is being privatized though the Obama and Brown administration Bay Delta Plan (BDCP) to build the peripheral canal, designed to increase water exports to corporate agribusiness interests, including Beverly Hills billionaire Stewart Resnick and the Westlands Water District, and Southern California. Habitat "restoration" and infrastructure "improvements" under this corporate water grab will be funded through the $11.4 billion Water Bond.

Monsanto and Obama's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are leading the charge to privatize the food supply and life itself by fast-tracking the approval of genetically engineered foods. The Food and Drug Administration is currently considering an application by Aqua Bounty Farms to permit sales of genetically engineered salmon, "Frankenfish," for human consumption in spite of the tremendous risk these fish pose to imperiled salmon populations and public health.

When you add the current campaign to privatize the prisons, public education, health services, military operations and public services in the U.S. and around the world, it is so clear that the Wall Street 1 percent and corporate leaders, in collaboration with corrupt government officials, are indeed well on their way to "privatizing everything." To save the country and the planet, everybody who cares about democracy, human rights and the environment must resist and stop the insane plan to "privatize everything!"

To resist the privatizers, help to stop the Corporate Water Grab in California by opposing the $11.4 billion Water Bond for three reasons.

(1) The bond, scheduled for the November ballot, would sink California's budget. California is already facing a $13 billion budget deficit that has resulted in huge cuts to public schools and other essential services, according to Food & Water Watch.

(2) It will establish corporate control of water. Corporate agribusiness giants would get more taxpayer-subsidized water that they could resell to developers for huge private profits.

(3) It is bad for the environment. The bond busts the budget for local water projects and degrades the San Francisco Bay Delta ecosystem. In tandem with state and federal plans to build the peripheral canal, the bond will lead to the extinction of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento river chinook salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon, Sacramento splittail, southern resident killer whales (that feed on salmon) and other imperiled species.

Take action now by going to:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/take-action/in-your-community/western-region/california/stopthecorporatewatergrab/


Privatize Everything in the Universe (by Dan Bacher)

We’ll privatize the water, we’ll privatize the air
We’ll privatize the oceans, we’ll privatize your hair
We’ll privatize the world as we sing this verse, we’ll privatize everything in the universe!

We’ll privatize fish in the sea, we’ll privatize the whales
We’ll privatize sea turtles, we’ll put ‘em up for sale
We’l lprivatize the world as we sing this verse, we’ll privatize everything in the universe!

We’ll privatize the corn and wheat, we’ll privatize all seeds
We’ll privatize all life forms, we’ll privatize all weeds
We’ll privatize the world as we sing this verse, we’ll privatize everything in the universe!

We’ll privatize the prisons, We’ll privatize the schools
We’ll privatize the highways, we’ll privatize car pools
We’ll privatize the world as we sing this verse, we’ll privatize everything in the universe!

We’ll privatize your secret thoughts, we’ll privatize your genes
We’ll privatize your emotions, we’ll privatize your schemes
We’ll privatize the world as we sing this verse, we’ll privatize everything in the universe!

We’ll privatize the sun so bright, we’ll privatize the moon
We’ll privatize the Galaxy, we need more living room
We’ll privatize the world as we sing this verse, we’ll privatize everything in the universe!

We’ll privatize religion, we’ll privatize all souls
Instead of God, we’ll appoint, One Big, Bad CEO!
We’ll privatize the world as we sing this verse, we’ll privatize everything in the universe!