12-03-2008, 08:54 AM
cbelt3 wrote:
I'd rather see us nationalize energy. Electric power was created with government funds- bond sales, primarily. Now incredible profits are being made and no further investment is done.
Since they're not taking the money and building more power plants and improving the infrastructure, offer to buy 'em out and control them.
Power to the People !
(Yeah, Ohio is about to 'deregulate' electricity. We're all gonna get Enronned to death. It's going to be a cold winter, and me without a wood burner.)
Interesting but little noted side note to the California/Enron story. When the industry was deregulated the local DWP was not since it was owned and operated by the City of LA. The incumbent mayor, Richard Riordan a Republican, made a determined run to sell it off and privatize the utility.
The debate raged for some time and eventually the mayor lost out to locals so by the time Enron began their price run-up, LA DWP was still publicly owned and operated.
While California private utilities were hauled over the coals by manipulation of markets and supplies and while consumer rates went to astronomical levels and brownouts were common statewide, LA never experienced a rate increase or brownout. The local agency had locked in contracts and purchase agreements that insulated it from the havoc the spot buy private utilities were subject to.
If the local DWP had been seeking short term profits for shareholders, it might have been a different story. If the short sighted Republican mayor had his way it might have been a different story.
Those who think government can't do anything right ignore that Social Security is the single most successful government program in our history, it's still solvent and the drums they recently employed announcing it's demise 30-years from now ring hollow next to the current day failure of private enterprise and our banking system.
When the system fails it's ours; when it profits it's theirs!