Geez, I hardly know where to start.
All of our politicians in the Assembly voted for the deregulation bill. It was authored by a Republican in a Republican Assembly and signed by a Republican Gov but all the Democrats voted for it as well.
Partly right, mostly wrong. The bill was authored by the utilities and energy traders (Dynergy, in particular). It was introduced by Steve Peace, a Democrat from San Diego, who has been strangely silent these last few months. You guys in San diego do know that he is responsible, right? You are going to make sure that in the future he can't even get elected as dogcatcher, right? (that's what I was afraid of). The bill passed both Democratically-contolled houses unanimously, with little debate, and was quickly signed by the Republican governor (interpretation-both parties were bought and paid for, as usual).
In a deregulated free market, the quick and the smart eat the slow and the stupid. We have been witnessing what happens when you pit energy traders, whose continued supply of Gucci loafers depends on their skill and execution, up against politicians, bureaucrats, and Utility employees. First, they picked the balance sheet of the Utilities clean and they have been feasting ever since on the bloated Turkeys in Sacramento. It is hardly a fair fight, but it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
Who do we blame? In my book, it starts with the utilities, who were incredibly outfoxed by the energy trading firms, and of course blame goes next to our politicians, who are even dimmer than the utility execs. The problem, though, is that, as many of us have been predicting, those are also the only people in the loop to craft a solution, which is why things will only get worse. In the local parlance, Gray Davis couldn't lead a cub scout to a candy store, and Gordon Smith couldn't persuade a stray dog to pick up a pork chop dropped on the sidewalk.
A final note which should really piss you off is that while shareholders and rate payers may be suffering, it doesn't seem to have affected life in the executive suite. I have it on good authority that Smith just came to the top of the list at a local Country Club whose initiation fees run North of $50K. Shades of "Let them eat cake...?" |
