ENGLISH FOR SENATE POSITION PAPER ON:
Deregulation Reform
The political fad of Deregulation that has occurred during the past two
decades has brought some temporary benefits to consumers. These
benefits are rapidly being rescinded as airlines have been forced by
higher fuel prices and over a decade of financial losses to
dramatically raise fares and substantially reduce the number of flights
and seats available to serve the public. Telephone
deregulation has greatly reduced the cost of communications for
business and commerce, but most residential users have seen large
increases, not savings in the cost of their local service.
Outrageous charges for information phone calls, repair service, etc are
now the norm.
Similarly, electric and gas utility deregulation is now making its full
impact upon consumers, with double digit increases in monthly bills now
hitting consumers as the price caps imposed during the transition
periods end. Large businesses and other large institutions have
been able to take advantage of their ability to sign long term supply
contracts to minimize their utility costs, but small businesses and
residential users have had to compete for the residual supply remaining
and pay much higher marginal rates for their service. As
the consequence, many rural areas are experiencing large increases in
firewood and coal burning that exacerbates the production of greenhouse
gases and other undesirable impact on the environment from tree cutting
and its consequent deforestation.
The separation and selling off of power generation stations from power
transmission lines has put the public at the mercy of power brokers
like Enron that have artificially manipulated makerts and held whole
states hostage to their greed and extortion. No public benefit
has resulted from the repricing and selling off of existing power
generation facilities at inflated prices. The huge financial cost of
this economic artifice is now apparent to all adversely affected by the
huge increases in the cost of electricity provided to their homes and
businesses. What also really galls is the fact the most of the
natural gas produced in the country is taken from Federally owned lands
and waters and is now subject to unconstrained market manipulations
with the public paying the bill for this speculation.
The solution is for the Federal government to take back control over
the allocation of electricity, natural gas and other hydrocarbons
produced on Federal lands and waters and designate (i.e., regulate)
baseline supplies of these utilities to be set aside at affordable
prices for the needs of state and municipal
governments as well as residential and small business consumers.
The
Congress needs to recognize that the collective market power of large
business and commercial operators to negotiate cut-rate prices for
themselves works to the ultimate detriment of
society at large and that compensating legislation is essential to
protect small consumers from market manipulations and price
gouging.
Unfortunately, the Federal government itself is one of the prime
exploiters of utility consumers with its telephone Federal Access
Charge, which allows phone companies to collect this charge in addition
to other basic telephone service charges regulated by state public
utilities commissions. In addition, the Federal government
collects for itself another 13.9% in Excise and Universal Service
Fund Charges under the guise of keeping local phone rates affordable
for all Americans. (My phone bill has not become more affordable
since deregulation, so I wonder who is really getting the
"affordability" benefit). Yet, the Republicans in Congress are now much
more concerned about eliminating their so-named "death tax" on their
yet-to-be deceased super wealthy clients. Apparently, these
Republicans must have discovered a way for the wealthy beneficiaries of
the proposed elimination of this "death tax" to take their money with
them (no doubt, the super rich also already have made their advance
reservations at 5 star lodging in the great beyond.)! Meanwhile,
the rest of us are spiraling downward into the voracious black hole of
ever increasing personal debt and bottomless Federal budget deficits.
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Designed by Imad-ad-Dean,
Inc.