Thanks to renewable-energy mandates and other regulations, California muddles along with crippled power markets in which rolling blackouts are routine when demand for electricity is high and sun and wind are unavailable.
Apparently, this and other burdens on energy usage in the Brownout State are insufficient to fully immobilize everybody who relies on things that need to function. So the state’s utilities are preparing to also impose socialist billing on its customers.
Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Edison are proposing that the flat-rate component of power bills be based on income. Once regulators sign off, there is to be an ongoing transfer of wealth from richer to poorer.
The utilities aren’t acting independently.
They’re obeying a legislative mandate.
In addition to a flat-rate component of utility bills that would be $15 for the poorest customers and $85 for the wealthiest customers, there would still be a component based on power consumption. So the impending looting of nonpoor customers could be worse.
The socialism isn’t full bore yet.
But I doubt that initial limits on this redistribution agenda would remain intact were the scheme implemented and to persist.
In addition to other objections, there is also the matter of how utilities will know their customers’ incomes. Will customers be required to report and prove these incomes? The central planners presumably regard this invasion of privacy as not worth fretting about.
They’re too busy creating perfect equality . . . of brownouts.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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4 replies on “Make Them Pay”
• The surcharge alone would exceed my present monthly charge.
• The plan would create interesting difficulties for illegal immigrants. One cannot file an income tax form with the state of California without filing with the IRS, so most illegal immigrants do not.
• Individual rental units in California are often occupied by multiple persons not related one to another, with each utility account in the name of just one person. I guess that the person of lowest income would generally get the account.
It is clear that economic education has failed in California.
Price is an economic signal and necessary in a free market.
This rate regulation is a governmental mandate and equivalent to an additional graduated income tax. I must wonder if it is legal, but am certain it is unwise.
Sadly such programs are no longer an anomaly and have been creeping into the pricing structure for years. Ability to pay variances have become the prevalent pricing structure for medical and higher educational services which are a total disaster.
Further the concept corrupts the morality of the populace and the concepts of private property and the necessity of personal productivity and responsibility. It is only a matter of time before the “entitled” lower-income segments of society will demand greater efficiency and take what they “need” directly, cutting out the governmental middleman. It is happening already with shoplifting which is causing the creation of commercial wastelands in the core cities.
If I was not charitable and did not believe this foolishness was being practiced with good intentions then I would have to believe an economically literate leadership was actually intending to harm those they clam to be helping.
I prefer to think of them as misguided, as opposed to evil.
Sadly, however, the ultimate result do does not vary.
Golden State voters are getting what they deserve: full-bore socialism. After all, they voted for it – over and over and over again. Now if only we could keep them in CA…..
Imputing responsibility to the entire population of California for what is chosen in the context of a rigged system of ostensible representation is inappropriate. Even if we could clearly identify and effect laws desired by some majority of Californians, blame should fall only upon that majority.