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Non-Tech : The ENRON Scandal -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (2444)	2/5/2002 2:13:16 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Respond to of 5185

Karen, Re: Our grandchildren will be living in caves as serfs paying off the debt Bush is fixin' to saddle them with. It's a disgrace. One woman's disgrace is one man's plan. You have brilliant assessed exactly what this budget is all about. Notice how instantly the Republicans moved to put us back in deficit? Of course, you did. You know why. I raised this issue on the George W. Bush thread during the election, observing that the national debt is very sophisticated and subtle way of imposing economic slavery on the middle and lower classes. Not one Bushie had one intelligent comment to make about the matter. It's like they are so dim witted and engrossed in their multiple religions of Christianity, imperialism and Austrian pseudo-economics that they simply don't see through the deceptions and schemes at the heart of the beast. Serfs up. The big kahuna isn't a mistake or a tragedy. It's a cynical plan. -R.

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (2444)	2/7/2002 1:44:56 AM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 5185

W is in over his head. I just read an editorial from a California newspaper. Powell threatens Iraq. Poppy Bush had better have a long talk with his son. JMOP

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (2444)	2/7/2002 1:47:24 AM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 5185

Taxing Enron's code of ethics Editorials oregonlive.com 02/06/02 The daily question with Enron isn't whether it stretched and bent every law to its limits, but which one and how far. The latest twist revolves around whether any of the $357 million set aside for federal taxes by Portland General Electric was sent by its parent Enron to the federal government. Oregon ratepayers who are angry about high electricity rates now have some evidence that not everything about those rates came from the gyrations of a free market. A watchdog group's analysis of Enron's financial reports couldn't find evidence of any tax payments for the past four years. Enron disputes that characterization, saying it paid $171 million in taxes between 1998 and 2000. Even if Enron's version is true, at least half of the money earmarked for PGE's taxes, and paid by Oregon ratepayers, ended up in Enron's pockets. That ought to raise hackles at the Oregon Public Utility Commission. Oregon may be able to solve this by rewriting its regulations regarding subsidiary utility companies such as PGE. When parent companies manage to save money by playing local profits off against losses elsewhere, local ratepayers ought to share in the savings. It won't be as simple as it sounds, of course, because regulators must also try to shield local ratepayers from cost increases generated by parent companies. In the meantime, though, the PUC should pursue the ratepayers' interests in this particular case, either by pressing PGE for a refund or by considering the issue in the context of approving the proposed merger between PGE and Northwest Natural. The PUC is holding hearings for public comment on the proposed merger today at the Salem Public Library, 585 Liberty St. and Thursday at the Midland branch of the Multnomah County Library at 805 S.E. 122nd Ave. in Portland. Both meetings begin at 7 p.m. The commisson should expect an earful. In the aftermath of the Enron scandal, widespread speculation about market manipulation has Oregon ratepayers questioning whether the last round of rate increases was justified. That's a good question -- and one the PUC should be asking itself. And if consumers don't start getting some satisfactory answers, the calls for unraveling energy deregulation could get a lot louder. oregonlive.com