Prudent individuals prioritize the spending of their money in accordance with their needs, and so do well-run companies and governments.
But the predators of ‘crony capitalism’ take a very different approach: They scout the landscape for government funding for projects and then, regardless of need or even desirability, they seek to feast from the public trough.
In the case of the Convention Center Project, what started off as a sensible effort to provide a 40,000 square feet meeting space for regional activities at the Brunswick ended up as an over 200,000 square foot project plus the Marriott Hotel, costing almost $200 million—over 90% at the public expense or risk. (A Fox 43 poll determined that almost 80% of the Lancaster public opposed government guarantees of the debt.)
It will also be the logic behind returning streetcars to clutter downtown streets, if federal or state money can be found. (It won’t matter that almost no one wants the streetcars.)
The proposal to build a new hospital in West Earl Township seems to be a classic example of fund availability generating ‘need’. Lancaster General Hospital earns well over a $100 million a year, largely due to its market dominance and resulting ability to extract top dollars from insurance companies. (The insurance companies in turn extract top dollars from the public as premiums.)
Since the predators find it difficult to siphon money from LGH without detection, their eyes turn to building a new hospital within three-miles of Ephrata Community Hospital. The project will engender huge fees for bankers, lawyers, contractors and suppliers. The lack of need won’t be questioned since, unlike other states, Pennsylvania does not license hospital expansion. (It doesn’t matter to the predators that the new hospital will drive the perfectly adequate Ephrata hospital out of business, leaving urban decay in its wake.)
Although LGH is a public foundation, the public has no say as to how it is run or spends its money. Directors appoint directors. Meetings are in secret, except for an annual ‘show’.
After the hospital is built, LGH probably won’t be earning over a hundred million dollars a year. They will charge the insurance companies more. Our premiums will rise even further. And our healthcare may suffer.
Furthermore, profits that should have gone to healthcare and educational needs throughout the county will not exist.
Sadly, Lancaster is little different from the rest of the country, which explains our nation’s deplorable economic condition and huge debt.
We must strive to contain the predators. NewsLanc is.
