Wednesday, June 25, 2008

State Rep. Louis Renault Shocked, Shocked! at Electricity Bills!

Here we go again.

So State Rep. Phil King, Chairman of the House Committee on Regulated Industries, says that the price of electricity is unacceptably high. Of course, every time we go down the supposedly rosy path to deregulation, we all pay more.

Opponents of deregulation warned of higher costs (and poor service) to consumers, while proponents argued that increased competition would drive down costs. It seems to me that the competition argument always wins out, but is never correct.

Airfares (fares are down, so is service, while fees are up, even for checked baggage and even soda). Insurance rates. Electricity. College Tuition.

It seems that "deregulation" has basically become a code word for "more expensive."