One of the resounding failures of Milanović’s government has certainly been outsourcing. I was reminded of this while flipping through the Lider issues.
Two years ago, during the height of the campaign against outsourcing, we estimated that private cleaning of schools is as much as 40 percent cheaper than state cleaning. However, the lobby of cleaners and cooks halted the attempt to save in the state budget. Something similar is happening today. The government cut subsidies for students for public transportation to their schools in the first budget proposal. Orešković and Marić quickly relented and restored part of the subsidies by the end of this school year, and a new transportation model is announced for the fall in accordance with the property census (which is yet to be introduced). However, I would not like to discuss the necessity of investing in knowledge here (the budget cuts are again at their sharpest), but rather the profitability of doing business with the state. Namely, Jutarnji reminded us that student transportation, since it has been paid for by the state, has increased by up to 200 percent! The state is, therefore, the most desirable partner. So if job candidates skillfully network, divide the territory, and maintain outrageously high prices, the profit is even greater. I fear that, according to this model, outsourcing would result in a similar nonsense – private cleaners would initially be cheaper, but would quickly raise prices to the sky. Therefore, there is a simpler logic than cutting subsidies. If state officials did their job, the student monthly ticket would not become more expensive than the worker’s, and before subsidizing transportation, bus companies transported children 40 percent cheaper. It is a nice profit when transportation for about ten kilometers from Vrbovečka Dubrava to Vrbovac is charged at 1100 kuna per student per month. Almost as if they are taking a taxi. Therefore, a revision of the prices at which carriers transport children, while the state is being transported, would achieve greater or at least equal savings as cutting subsidies.
