A water crisis in Mississippi turns into a fight against privatization

"Over the decades, antagonism between the Republican state government and the Democratic and Black-led local government created additional obstacles to updating Jackson’s water and sewage infrastructure. A Title VI civil rights complaint that the NAACP filed with the EPA in September 2022 accused Governor Reeves and the state legislature of “systematically depriving Jackson the funds that it needs to operate and maintain its water facilities in a safe and reliable manner.”

Add "clean, safe water" and "proper sewage systems" to the list of things being unnecessarily made political. I may not support some political views but I want to "win" on merit and due process, not because folks are desperate for the most basic of human needs. Depriving people of clean water because you don't like how they vote is pretty evil in my books.

I love how they mention it isn't just a Jackson problem. I grew up in MS - several hours away from Jackson - and the water often wasn't clean, either due to it literally being dirty or having some issue from the treatment facility. Boil water notices were common, and I was from a nicer area. I never realized that wasn't the standard of living until I moved away.

In MS, especially in Jackson, there was a lot of blame being thrown around and broken promises made while the residents literally bathed in brown water. Combine this with the fact MS has critically underfunded many services in general, and seldom offers sustainable public options, it was a recipe for disaster. I'm hopeful change actually happens this time, because the people there desperately need it. The State has neglected them at every turn, but they've generally been conditioned to believe there are no viable alternatives to the current styles of leadership.

The largest water company in the UK is going through severe issues thanks to privatisation. A company that uses public facilities (sewers, reservoirs) to operate a monopoly. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41152516

I would almost think Hershey was involved if this wasn't USA. I believe they do evil with water in Africa. Not sure if they do evil with water anywhere else. Fuck Hershey.