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It makes you wonder: Don’t the politicians want California to recover from its energy crisis? A few years ago, California legislators took power grids away from power companies, told them to buy power in an uncontrolled wholesale market, and slapped controls on the prices they could charge consumers. The result: rolling blackouts.

Want to create a shortage? Just cap the price of a commodity below what it would have been on an open market. Demand will jump, supply will slump, profits will disappear, production will decline, and everybody will be unhappy. Markets give people what they need only when markets are free to operate. Okay, so the problems in California have confirmed Economics 101 yet again. So what’s the solution? Impose even more price controls!

Federal regulators are ordering new price caps on California electricity, to take effect whenever the supply falls below seven percent. In other words, when the supply gets very low, we’re gonna make sure we have rolling blackouts. Huh? Sad to say, career politicians and their friends in the bureaucracy often don’t even try to solve problems. They’re afraid to say, “Hey, prices are going to go up. That’s what happens when supply falls and demand increases. You’ll need to let those prices rise if you want to see new production, larger supply, and lower prices over the long run.”

But instead of showing leadership, our leaders would rather blame the power companies and promise the people cheap electricity. At least, whenever the lights are on.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

What’s the point of democracy? Isn’t it to delegate authority to representatives who then discuss and debate the issues, vote their conscience and so forth? Or are these so-​called representatives just supposed to follow the orders of one guy at the top? Californians still remember how Gray Davis groused about his democratic burdens after taking office as governor.

Davis complained that the folks in the legislature had a, quote, “totally different view of the world than I do, totally different.… People expect government to reflect the vision that I suggested. Nobody else in the Legislature ran statewide. Their job is to implement my vision. That is their job.”

Wow. Casual dinner-​party remarks caught secretly on tape? Nope words uttered to a roomful of newspaper editors. Later, Davis floated a similar theme about the judges he had appointed, saying, sure, they’ve got to follow the law, blah blah blah, but they must do it in a way that, “keeps faith with my electoral mandate.” Maybe he should just fax them instructions for each case.

Now Davis and his ego are grappling with a power shortage. Instead of working to repeal the market-​distorting regulations that got California into this mess in the first place, the governor decided to get the state into the business of buying electricity. Davis was positive this would be a short-​term thing, but months later the state’s involvement is still draining the treasury. I guess when the only person you listen to is yourself, it’s hard to get a second opinion.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Hey, congratulations, Senator Robert Byrd! Gosh, what an honor for you, sir. It seems that the West Virginia Senator is a proud recipient of the Porker of the Month Award.

Citizens Against Government Waste distributes the Award each month to the congressmen who are most bodacious when it comes to lugging federal funds back home at the expense of the rest of the country. Byrd has been perched in the Senate since 1959. He has cast more than 15,000 votes. So he knows what it takes to be an irresponsible spender of other people’s money.

West Virginia is one of the top five states in pork per capita. A great achievement, sort of. Byrd is spending our money on recreation areas, theater revitalization, airport fences, documentaries, etc. Any one of these projects might have some value in and of itself, of course. And as the unrepentant Senator Byrd likes to chirp, “One man’s pork is another man’s job.” Of course, West Virginia continues to be one of the poorest states in the nation. But never mind about that.

In fact, the most important impact of pork is what we don’t see: the jobs that aren’t created when our money is spent on the projects that Byrd likes instead of on the projects that we like. If the people of West Virginia want to appreciate what Byrd has brought them, they can go out to one of the rest areas off the highway and inspect one of these $100,000 restroom facilities up close. It’s like winning the lottery … or is it?

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

It seems that the Washington elite politicians, lobbyists, the movers and shakers just aren’t appreciated by the rest of the country. It’s not their fault; it’s just that the American people aren’t sophisticated enough to understand the wonders of Washington.

Former Speaker Tom Foley recently complained that his constituents thought he was living high on the hog. Said Foley, “All I could think of was the humble basement apartment I lived in while I was flying back and forth to my district every weekend.” No mention that in addition to his “humble” Spokane apartment, Foley had a million-​dollar home in Washington, D.C. Well, a minor detail really.

Another defender of Washington is Rep. George Nethercutt, who used the term limits issue to defeat Foley. Once in the capitol, however, Nethercutt found that the powerful in Washington aren’t so bad after all once you’re part of the club and they “have the best interests of the country at heart.” Yet, Nethercutt worries that citizens will misunderstand the magnificent importance of the Washington elite. He tells of the angry faces of those who wait in traffic jams caused by police blocking off the roads to allow congressmen a carefree drive to the Capitol to vote.

Nethercutt explains, “It’s symbolic of the perception that there is an elitism for those of us who serve. All we’re trying to do is vote. We’re trying to do our job and we hope to help the people sitting in those cars.” Of course, the stranded motorists must get to their jobs, too. But the Washington elite cannot be burdened with such trivial matters; they’re too busy running our lives.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Forget about the rolling blackouts in California. Forget about our shaky relations with China, the federal debt, that F your kid just got on his math test or your trouble paying the rent this month. Yeah, we’ve got a real crisis on our hands, folks. I know you will be as stunned as I was. If you have a heart problem, I urge you to change the station right now.

No, it’s not a giant asteroid hurtling toward the earth. It’s term limits hurtling toward career politicians in the state of Maine. “It has been a disaster, a total and complete disaster,” says a college professor in Maine who was quoted in the paper recently. And the career politicians are nodding their heads furiously. For example, Maine’s governor, Angus King, says that by the time he leaves office after reaching his own eight-​year limit, he will have served with a number of different speakers of the House and presidents of the Senate.

In the olden days, of course, you could get acquainted with just one guy and be sure he would stick around forever. What a catastrophe having to meet and greet so many new faces. King also complains now, get this that under term limits new people are constantly coming into the legislature and some lawmakers are being forced to leave office even when they are willing to continue to serve!! Oh no! So term limits have actually limited terms?! What a disaster for the career politicians. Somebody call an ambulance.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.