Wired: Hey, Private Sector, Wanna Buy a Bridge?

From Wired:

If Florida transportation officials have their way, the state will soon lease a 78-mile toll road across the Everglades to a private firm for 50 years, in a deal that could make hundreds of millions of dollars for both sides. Advocates hail it as a windfall that the state can invest in other projects, but critics say no good will come from a shortsighted a plan to make a quick buck.  "You’re talking about taking public assets, paid for with public dollars, and selling them off," says Gina Downs, director of the Citizen's Transportation Coalition. The group opposes the plan to lease the stretch of Interstate 75 known as Alligator Alley. "If governments start leasing assets to plug up budget deficits, pretty soon they'll be selling off anything and everything they can get their hands on. It's a slippery slope."  Such debates will grow more common as states increasingly turn public works projects over to the corporate sector, because they can't afford to do the work. President Barack Obama promises to spend more than $100 billion overhauling the nation's dilapidated roads, bridges and other vital infrastructure, but that gigantic sum is only a fraction of what's needed to do the job.