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Obama Proposal To Sell TVA Blasted By Republicans

JP Hochbaum

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So republicans say privatizing will reduce prices because it is free market capitalism, yada, yada, yada.

But when Obama proposes to do just that:

""There is no assurance that selling TVA to a profit-making entity would reduce electric bills in the Tennessee Valley, and it could lead to higher electricity rates" for customers in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, Alexander said.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., vowed to "carefully study any proposals to restructure TVA" to ensure it continues to deliver affordable electricity throughout the region.

Privatizing TVA has been proposed before "and been determined to be a very bad idea," added Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn."

Obama Proposal To Sell TVA Blasted By Republicans
 
So a government run electricity provider is better than a privately run one?
 
So republicans say privatizing will reduce prices because it is free market capitalism, yada, yada, yada.

But when Obama proposes to do just that:

""There is no assurance that selling TVA to a profit-making entity would reduce electric bills in the Tennessee Valley, and it could lead to higher electricity rates" for customers in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, Alexander said.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., vowed to "carefully study any proposals to restructure TVA" to ensure it continues to deliver affordable electricity throughout the region.

Privatizing TVA has been proposed before "and been determined to be a very bad idea," added Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn."

Obama Proposal To Sell TVA Blasted By Republicans

Obama is just using reverse psychology from now on.

Anything that Obama tries, the GOP does the opposite.

So now Obama is doing the opposite of what he wants done to get the GOP to do what he wants.
 
Obama is just using reverse psychology from now on.

Anything that Obama tries, the GOP does the opposite.

So now Obama is doing the opposite of what he wants done to get the GOP to do what he wants.

Man I kind of think what you are saying might be true, lol. Sad state of affairs.
 
Executive Order 12803 - Infrastructure Privatization
April 30, 1992

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to ensure that the United States achieves the most beneficial economic use of its resources, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Definitions. For purposes of this order: (a) "Privatization" means the disposition or transfer of an infrastructure asset, such as by sale or by long-term lease, from a State or local government to a private party.

(b) "Infrastructure asset" means any asset financed in whole or in part by the Federal Government and needed for the functioning of the economy. Examples of such assets include, but are not limited to: roads, tunnels, bridges, electricity supply facilities, mass transit, rail transportation, airports, ports. waterways, water supply facilities, recycling and wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste disposal facilities, housing, schools, prisons, and hospitals......

George Bush: Executive Order 12803 - Infrastructure Privatization
 
So republicans say privatizing will reduce prices because it is free market capitalism, yada, yada, yada.

But when Obama proposes to do just that:

""There is no assurance that selling TVA to a profit-making entity would reduce electric bills in the Tennessee Valley, and it could lead to higher electricity rates" for customers in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, Alexander said.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., vowed to "carefully study any proposals to restructure TVA" to ensure it continues to deliver affordable electricity throughout the region.

Privatizing TVA has been proposed before "and been determined to be a very bad idea," added Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn."

Obama Proposal To Sell TVA Blasted By Republicans

Why is the "goal" to decrease the price everyone pays for electricity??
 
Because you could then use that money to consume other goods.

We aren't obligated to subsidize utilities in other areas of the country. So? They could consume other goods. If they're paying what it costs, they're "consuming." Let them pay what their electricity costs like everybody else.
 
In my state, utilities are regulated by the state public utilities commission, even though the utilities themselves are publicly traded.

This is obviously a necessarily state regulated industry or the costs would be through the roof in order to pay the executive's, most of whom are Democrats, salaries. As it stands now, any salary increase must be justified before the public service commission after extensive and often heated testimony from the utility, the public and opposition groups.

Several years ago, the commission denied a billion dollar rate increase resulting in the local utility going to extreme cost cutting measures.

Rather than using state regulation of public utilities as a hammer to beat Republicans over the head as hypocrites, realize that some public service industries, even if publicly owned and traded, function better with state regulation.
 
We aren't obligated to subsidize utilities in other areas of the country. So? They could consume other goods. If they're paying what it costs, they're "consuming." Let them pay what their electricity costs like everybody else.

You're forgetting, though, that electricity is a necessity in this day and age.

And so is also a necessity to the poor as well as middle class and wealthy.

So if the costs of s necessity rises when wages aren't, those who are already living at subsistence levels won't be able to afford this necessity.

So in order to keep this necessity provided one of three things must be done.

1) Ensure higher wages to the working poor to afford this rise in a necessity, which will put the burden on employers.

2) Subsidize the rise in costs by paying them with tax money, in which the burden is pit on taxpayers.

3) Find efficiencies in operations to counteract the rise in other costs.

Necessities don't follow the usual supply and demand of other goods because they are necessities. So there's some very real reasons to keep the costs low and affordable.
 
(posted previously)

This idea needs some serious consideration. Imagine a 'government corporation' where executives:


Kimberly S. Greene, executive vice president and chief generation officer, received nearly $2.4 million in 2011, but her overall compensation increased to more than $3.5 million in fiscal 2012.

The TVA’s chief financial officer, John M. Thomas III, received $2.2 million overall, compared with $1.6 million the previous year, while overall earnings for the chief nuclear officer, Preston D. Swafford, rose from about $1.9 million to nearly $2.3 million.
TVA's top executive gets 10 times Obama's pay - Washington Times
TVA's top executive gets 10 times Obama's pay - Washington Times

I don't begrudge magnificent executive salaries in the private sector....but again TVA is a 'government entity'...heck the president's salary is a mere $400k.

BTW, from a constituent, Alexander is an IDIOT!
 
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