The fact that this view is taken for granted across most of the American political spectrum has weirded me out since my first “economics” course in highschool which was well into the Clinton-Reagan neoliberal consensus era.

The classic argument for privatization is that competition benefits the consumer which while intuitive is simplistic. For “natural monopolies” such as utilities and road infrastructure this argument clearly doesn’t apply. Since there isn’t even a plausible explanation for why this kind of deregulation is good, lobbyists and businesses have simply adopted the strategy of repeating that “deregulation is always good” so often that it becomes “common sense.” Our Overton Window is a complete joke.