So let's talk a little about monopolies. The US government supposedly has a system in place to stop monopolies, and they do. And it works (on occasion, ask AT&T). However their system looks at the whole country as a model. The true victims of monopolies are people in every city and town. The companies with the monopolies are not those that have a stranglehold on the country, but one on their community.
For instance, in many places with a fully privatized Electricity Utility have been seeing a constant increase in their bills. Various fees added on, the electric rate going up. And so since consumers cannot truly get away from these companies without having to move (Which is not a truly reasonable option), they are in effect a monopoly.
My water bill has tripled since I moved here 3 years ago. There are MULTIPLE water companies in the area but they each are very regulated in where they service. So once again I am stuck.
And let us not forget cable internet. In some areas there is choice. DSL, while slower than cable, is more preferable to dial up. And Dial up is nearly always an (ridiculously poor) option. And of course in Kansas City there is Google Fiber. Oh Google Fiber how I desire you. Got a bit off track there, sorry. But most of the time you have one real option, whether it be Comcast, AT&T, Time Warner (You poor people with Time Warner. It even drove Patrick Stewart into the sheer depths of despair.) And no other real competitor will come by due to franchise agreements. And this monopoly definitely shows how it hurts us. We are rather far behind in Internet Speed compared to Western Europe, Korea and Japan, because these companies have little need to do better. Again, except Google. Oh Google, let me feel your fiber
Showing posts with label For once I did not say nationalize. Show all posts
Showing posts with label For once I did not say nationalize. Show all posts
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
Newslinks: November 16th, 2012
Many of you on the Twitter-verse have seen me rage about the energy infrastructure we have and how money should go to invest it.
Roughly 500,000 Americans lose power for at least 2 hours EVERY SINGLE DAY.
The average substation transformer is 42 years old. The expected life span of them? 40 years.
70% of the largest high-voltage power transformers, those that weigh up to 800,000 pounds, are more than 25 years old and thus subject to increased risk of failure. Replacing one of these transformers can take up to twenty months.
Our system is so antiquated and overloaded that when there's an issue it spreads beyond the area. The June Derecho which did quite a bit of wind damage from Indian through the Appalachians to DC saw other areas out of power for longer than others. Such as suburban Maryland. It was not hit harder, but the damage it sustained triggered multiple failures down the line.
For a better example, one of which many of you are too young for, was the Ohio Failure of 2003. Line failures in Northeastern Ohio darkened a 1,900 square mile area. 265 power plants went offline. Cost nearly $6B, nearly 100 people died and 50 million people in the dark for four days.
We need to put serious money into this. It is a National Security AND Human Rights issue. Yet it's always kicked down the road and every year it gets worse.
Roughly 500,000 Americans lose power for at least 2 hours EVERY SINGLE DAY.
The average substation transformer is 42 years old. The expected life span of them? 40 years.
70% of the largest high-voltage power transformers, those that weigh up to 800,000 pounds, are more than 25 years old and thus subject to increased risk of failure. Replacing one of these transformers can take up to twenty months.
Our system is so antiquated and overloaded that when there's an issue it spreads beyond the area. The June Derecho which did quite a bit of wind damage from Indian through the Appalachians to DC saw other areas out of power for longer than others. Such as suburban Maryland. It was not hit harder, but the damage it sustained triggered multiple failures down the line.
For a better example, one of which many of you are too young for, was the Ohio Failure of 2003. Line failures in Northeastern Ohio darkened a 1,900 square mile area. 265 power plants went offline. Cost nearly $6B, nearly 100 people died and 50 million people in the dark for four days.
We need to put serious money into this. It is a National Security AND Human Rights issue. Yet it's always kicked down the road and every year it gets worse.
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