The only viable solution to the nation's public infrastructure crisis is privatization. - Inspired by rising deficits and costs of public works

As deficits impede the government from improving and repairing roads, bridges and airports, they are becoming increasingly amenable to the idea of a partnership with the private sector. Of late, big banks like Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse are starting to take an interest in financing massive infrastructure projects.

Jenny Anderson of The New York Times reports: "this fall, Midway Airport of Chicago could become the first to pass into the hands of private investors. Just outside the nation’s capital, a $1.9 billion public-private partnership will finance new high-occupancy toll lanes around Washington. This week, Florida gave the green light to six groups that included JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers and the Carlyle Group to bid for a 50- to 75 -year lease on Alligator Alley, a toll road known for sightings of sleeping alligators that stretches 78 miles down I-75 in South Florida."

Those against this idea of privatization cite the dangers of being owned by foreign corporations. They're also against the higher fees and tolls that inevitably follow private ownership: "Private investors recoup their money by maximizing revenue — either making the infrastructure better to allow for more cars, for example, or by raising tolls. (Concession agreements dictate everything from toll increases to the amount of time dead animals can remain on the road before being cleared.)," writes Anderson.