That $128 billion needed investment is what these conspiracy theorists conveniently ignore or purposely suppress.
All these gyrations just to be able to shutdown the home computer and access to Free Republic.
I am warning you folks, this stuff is really no joke dangerous. Dangerous, not just an inconvenience. Recently here in Cleveland we have been slammed by the sewer and water company. Some of what they are going to bill us for my community won’t be paying...we have our own water treatment plant for drinking water. But that is a rarity in NEO. The sewer fee is going up because of EPA requirements. The Cleveland water rate is going up 87% in the city and 50% to the suburbs that get Cleveland water. These rate increases will not be based on consumption, but will be billed as a “fee” to the consumer. This is the second increase claimed to be going to dealing with the aging infrastructure(where’s those 0bamafunds?). Now...the excuse given by the water company? There is not enough usage, we’re conserving too much to support the infrastructure.
The same thing is going to happen with the electricity. We already know we have an aging electrical system since a squirrel in Ohio can chew a line on a summer day and shut down the whole Northeast USA. You will not be billed for consumption, but if you live in an area you will be pay fees and fines. Seriously start looking for ways to get off the grid.
When people start freezing to death in the winter and building real fires to heat their homes, they make regulations that we can’t have heat on certain days due to pollution. They do this in California already. Running a gasoline powered generator will be a no-no too.
People are going to die as these crazy regulations come on-line.
Basic economics doesn’t work where there is infrastructure to maintain. Short-term they market this stuff as saving consumers money etc., but long-term they will need usage to go up or the infrastructure will crumble.
Cleveland is learning the lesson now with regards to water usage. For years we were hounded to preserve our precious Great Lakes water. Low flow shower heads, toilets, washing machines all to preserve and conserve. And supposedly we’d have these benefits for years to come...
Not even a generation has passed since that mantra started and between the EPA regulations on the sewer and the Water Dept. crumbling infrastructure...the price of a shower has gone up 125%. And even if you are cutting back on personal consumption of these “products,” you are still going to pay for them as an add-on fee. There is no way around them.
“When the supply is restricted, it uncommon for prices to go up.”
I imagine you meant “it IS common...”. Agreed. But, even if they did not have to shut down plants, and ONLY had to spend $128 billion, that cost will still be passed down to the consumer. Just like their taxes are.
Maybe not right at once, but if they aren’t making a profit, they won’t stay in business. And why should they? Just so we can have relatively cheap electicity? The clamor against these rules (and the increase in prices, lack of jobs, etc.), needs to come from the people (us) that consume and pay the bills.
Of course that comes from two directions. The conservative side that needs to tell the government to back off a bit, and the Liberals who will call for the government to take over the power companies because now they are so greedy and everyone deserves electricity.
Or medical care! And I say medical care - not insurance. The mandated insurance was just a necessary step towards gov’t health care. (”See - even universal health insurance isn’t working. Those evil insurance companies and doctors are all in on it together, we need the gov’t to manage the entire thing”.)