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Here is the final paragraph from the new "CRS Report for Congress", referenced below:
[The emergence and growth of the quasi government can be viewed as either a symptom of a decline in our democratic system of governance or as a harbinger of a new, creative management era where the principles of market behavior are harnessed for the general well-being of the nation. One thing is for sure, however: debate between the competing management paradigms is over important issues, such as the legitimacy and utility.]
"Quasi Government" is privatized government. When Quasi Government becomes indistinguishable from Democratic Government then, by definition, what you have is "Fascism."
The Quasi Government debate is, in it's ultimate configuration, a debate about more than "legitimacy and utility. I encourage more people to become more actively engaged in this important debate.
Scott
PS.... Please note the reference to the National Park Foundation. Details are available on pages 26-27 of the report. To learn more, go to their webpage www.nationalparks.org. To learn the rest of the story, contact me.
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From "Secrecy News"
THE RISE OF THE QUASI GOVERNMENT (CRS)
Abetted by official secrecy and one-party dominance, the character of
American government is undergoing a series of fundamental
transformations. While the concentration of power in the executive
branch continues apace, traditional mechanisms of government
accountability are being diminished or dismantled, and agency actions
are increasingly insulated from citizen oversight or awareness.
As the role of citizens in the democratic process has declined, the
importance of new constellations of power and influence has risen.
One such newly prominent construct is the "quasi government," described
by the Congressional Research Service as "federally related entities
that possess legal characteristics of both the governmental and private
sectors."
"These hybrid organizations (e.g., Fannie Mae, National Park
Foundation, In-Q-Tel)... have grown in number, size, and importance in
recent decades," the CRS stated in a new report.
"The quasi government, not surprisingly, is a controversial subject. To
supporters of this trend toward greater reliance upon hybrid
organizations, the proper objective of governmental management is to
maximize performance and results, however defined... They tend to
welcome this trend toward greater use of quasi governmental entities."
"Critics of the quasi government, on the other hand, tend to view
hybrid organizations as contributing to a weakened capacity of
government to perform its fundamental constitutional duties, and to an
erosion in political accountability, a crucial element in democratic
governance...."
"Time will tell whether the emergence of the quasi government is to be
viewed as a symptom of decline in our democratic government, or a
harbinger of a new, creative management era where the purported
artificial barriers between the governmental and private sectors are
breached as a matter of principle."
A copy of the CRS report was obtained by Secrecy News.
See "The Quasi Government: Hybrid Organizations with Both
Government and Private Sector Legal Characteristics," updated May
18, 2005
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- Privatization 
