Short Term Gains, Long Term Pains

The Free Market Economy mantra, repeated in every textbook, is Deregulate, Privatize, and Protect Intellectual Property. Clearly, Deregulation has contributed in a big way to the current mess, even though quite a few people had significant Short Term Gains.

MSNBC has a good story on States' looking to sell or privatize their assets to raise cash for the short term. The article is titled "Cash-strapped states look to sell roads, parks. 44 states dealing with deficits consider privatization to raise money."
Illinois has privatized some of its toll roads to raise cash. The question is what happens in the longer term- when the tolls go up significantly, or the state has to pony up more money for maintenance. Looking at the current state of the transportation infrastructure, one gets thoughtful about these efforts.