Energy Rant: Competition *doubles* prices????

No, you don't have that right.

JC

WTF are you talking about? Firm rate and TempControl is quite cheap now. WRT transportation charges, obviously that is a large part of the cost to bring the gas to your house. I'll agree that it hasn't done much to reduce or control the price of gas, because gas delivery by nature is a monopoly and the wholesale suppliers are limited for practical reasons.

Not Enron...Gray Davis

And yes.

So why hasn't the price returned to something resembling normal rates?

Because Gray Davis locked the state into long term contracts.

Gunner

The timing of this seems to indicate that the deregulation of the California electricity market was a parting gift from the career legislators to the people of California for enacting term limits.

You appear to be 100% correct that these contracts, having been largely obtained by trick, deceit or extortion are indeed null and void.

Unka' George [George McDuffee]

------------------------------------------- He that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils: for Time is the greatest innovator: and if Time, of course, alter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end?

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman. Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).

It was the result of Gray trying to be Big Nanny and protecting the helpless. If he had left well enough alone..the market would have gone back to normal in less than 60 days.

Gunner

"Upon Roosevelt's death in 1945, H. L. Mencken predicted in his diary that Roosevelt would be remembered as a great president, "maybe even alongside Washington and Lincoln," opining that Roosevelt "had every quality that morons esteem in their heroes.""

Isn't forcing hospitals to provide care to the indigent a manifestation of the nanny state?

Yes it is. Particularly when its an unfunded mandated.

And?

Gunner

Of course it is but forcing the indigent to get a job is some sort of dictatorial, right wing, conservative, plot to undermine the foundations of the great American state and must be fought in the streets, if necessary!

Cheers,

Bruce (bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

If we can pay millions for Octomom why not a few thousand for a Veteran?

Tom

Wouldn't that be do-dodecamom?? Like dodecahedron+2.

What is "Octomom? Or who? Cheers,

Bruce (bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

That would be the unwed woman who just had 8 babies to go along with her other 6 children.

I think Y'all should lay off Gunner, you could be in the same boat without even knowing it! My Wife died 08/03/2008 we had blue cross insurance that cost us $1,200.00 a MONTH, after all was said & done I owed over $20,000 for what Blue SCREW wouldn't pay for.

We (well now just me) own our shop & have to pay extra I'm 64 & Wife was 62.

Insurance don't pay for anything they can get away with.

Single Unemployed Mother of six who just gave birth to an additional eight recently, all by artificial means and all while collecting disability. Collected $260,000 in workers compensation payments over the past few years while she conceived (artificially) all 14 kids.

She can have and raise six kids over the past few years collecting disability because she "can't work". According to my mother raising kids IS WORK especially if you have boys.

Basically Octomom has made a business out of having children, she is playing the system and will end up being paid to take care of her kids. Two or three of her first six children are disabled and she is/has been collecting disability payments for them. It looks like a few of the octuplets will be disabled as well so she will receive more to take care of them as well.

It has been estimated the medical costs on the octuplets alone will be $1.4 million the first year. She used some or all of $50,000 she received in "Student Loans" and/or Disability Payments she is receiving for her children to pay for fertility treatments to conceive and implant the octuplets.

Tom

Oh! Well, look on the good side. perhaps when the kids are grown they will all get a job and support mom.... Maybe

Cheers,

Bruce (bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

There must be a "hustler gene". Man, I wish *I* had just a piece of that gene....

No doubt she is fielding resumes from Reality TV producers.

There already is one such show, about a family with 16 effing kids. Mildly inneresting about their house-building adventure, but it is not clear how all the effing bills are paid.

Some people apparently haven't heard of or don't unnerstand Malthus. And/or just cain't get over themselves -- or their progeny. goodgawd....

To me, she seems to be mentally ill. A dream come true for the fertility clinic. The clinic "helped" Octomom over the past seven (?) years, which pumped up their statistics in a lucrative and very competitive market.

IMO, the Doctor and his Clinic should be paying to support the children and reimburse government for expenses incurred on their behalf..............!

Sure doesn't say much about a welfare system that allows such abuses.

Tom