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Environment & Energy

wtmusic

(39,166 posts)

21. I'm an advocate for government doing what it does best

Reply to cprise (Reply #19)

Sun Jul 14, 2013, 05:49 PM

Jul 2013

which is provide services that everyone needs, at a volume discount, with a fundamental amount of fairness, and subject to public review and regulation.

Utilities have always been an uneasy mixture of a socialist/capitalist enterprise, but over the long term have been a fantastic success. In the 1880s during the War of Currents between Edison/Westinghouse there were no standardized plugs, voltages, wiring, bulbs, anything. There were also a lot of fires and outages, and if you want to time travel back to that day dumping utilities would be about the fastest way. They were created to solve that problem.

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21 replies

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Highlight:

An Epic Battle Between Solar Firms and Power Utilities Could Leave One Side Unplugged [View all] jpak Jul 2013 OP

New to the Phx area and very interested in solar Sentath Jul 2013 #1

electric companies are only interested in profits for themselves, everything else is just BS nt msongs Jul 2013 #2

And one side will have power all night long. wtmusic Jul 2013 #3

Utilities will have 'overnight' profit margins all day long, cprise Jul 2013 #6

You're a small government, free-enterprise type, aren't you. wtmusic Jul 2013 #7

No, but I could just as easily say cprise Jul 2013 #11

If you're shifting from the lower class to the middle, I'd say yes wtmusic Jul 2013 #12

That's inane cprise Jul 2013 #14

Easy wtmusic Jul 2013 #16

Nothing in a govt budget is subsidized by "rich and poor alike" cprise Jul 2013 #18

Peak usage is around 8:00 PM and for most of the year wtmusic Jul 2013 #20

you cant go into a grocery store ... quadrature Jul 2013 #4

That's a horrible analogy kristopher Jul 2013 #5

perhaps somebody could post the price schedule ... quadrature Jul 2013 #9

Your contribution could change that kristopher Jul 2013 #10

Nice analogy. wtmusic Jul 2013 #13

Bad analogy-- there is no monopoly aspect to a grocery store. n/t cprise Jul 2013 #15

The monopoly is irrelevant wtmusic Jul 2013 #17

The monopoly is always relevant cprise Jul 2013 #19

I'm an advocate for government doing what it does best wtmusic Jul 2013 #21

The VA hospital where I go madokie Jul 2013 #8