energy_rebuttal

In rebuttal to the recent rant on The Bartcop Reader: California's Enemy: The State which in turn was a rebuttal to California Energy Crisis.

Who is this guy - Thomas J. DiLorenzo? Is he kidding???? Does he even live here in CA???? What an insult! He yaps on about how all the farmers get a break for water - blah blah blah - he has no idea how much real estate actually costs in this state. NO CLUE. And the farmers here need every break they can get just to grow the food most of the nation eats, without losing their farms. What kind of living wage do you think they are able to pay their migrant workers? Think YOU could live on that?

And as for: "Meanwhile, cities throughout the state suffer such severe "water shortages" from time to time that government toilet monitors have been employed to enforce three-flushes-a-day regulations. (I am not making this up)." I have lived here most of my life, and I've NEVER HEARD OF THIS. Where, exactly has this happened? In what cities? I'm just curious.

And: "Even California earthquakes would not be as devastating were it not for government regulation."

WHAT THE FUCK???? Has this guy EVER EVEN LIVED THROUGH AN EARTHQUAKE??? I was a fucking bean in a morracca in Newhall during the 4:30 a.m. Jan 17th, 1994 Northridge Quake. No water for a week, no electricity for over 24hrs.... no natural gas for I don't even remember how long. HUNDREDS of people lost their homes. Many, their lives. The ground shook HARD. Initially it was reported to be 7.1 on the Richter Scale, but then the insurance companies would have to pay more, along with FEMA, so it was downgraded to 6.9. Ok, no where close to what just happened in India, I cannot imagine what they went through, and are still experiencing, and I am thankful. But California has one of the strictest building codes in the world, and guess what - we're still learning.

And then: Federal disaster insurance allows residents to purchase homeowners' insurance at subsidized rates, sometimes at one-tenth the free-market price. Federal disaster insurance is sold where no private insurer would even consider it, such as insuring houses built on top of earthquake faults or on the edges of muddy cliffs overlooking the ocean. The government is subsidizing the building of houses that are sure to be destroyed by earthquakes and winter storms.

EXCUSE ME, but #1 - If we did not build on top of fault lines, there would be nothing in California. See: http://www.discovery.com/exp/earthquakes/dailyupdate.html for daily updates on quake activity in CA/NV. (All the visible lines are major fault lines - and there are thousands more tiny ones that aren't shown.)

Insurance (of every kind) here is VERY EXPENSIVE.   Homes are out of the price range of most working families, and there is such a shortage of affordable apartment/housing in this state that some families commute two hours or more to work, each way, just to be able to make ends meet. My commute is an hour each way - on a good day with NO traffic, and I only rent. For some real info on the housing problem in CA, read:
Housing Strain Unravels Community Ties
And you can't say "ok, move." Right, leave a well paying job to move? In the current layoff frenzy? And do what, go to Colorado just to take a 25% paycut - and still not have the money to buy a house?

Then he goes on..."The millionaire socialists ( I am sure he really meant 'socialites') from Hollywood who pour millions into state political campaign coffers are largely isolated from all these disasters. They live in mansions far away from earthquake faults; the lights are never turned off in their neighborhoods; and they have enough political clout to buy all the water they need. It will take a popular free-market revolt, along the lines of the infamous "Proposition 13" tax relief crusade of the late 1970s, to eliminate the state's chaos-causing regulatory regime." Which brings up #2 - (A) There is no such thing in California as "Far away from earthquake faults", and (B) Where does he think people in the industry actually live anyway? The Moon? Where do you think Malibu is? Certainly not on "Muddy cliffs overlooking the ocean". The lights do get turned off in those neighborhoods, they have storm damage all the time, not to mention fire which happens all across the state annually. And yes, there are plenty of Earthquake faults in the Malibu hills, as well as the Hollywood Hills, Bev Hills, and the rest of the state. So I guess it's just our tough luck that we live here.

As for The notorious PROP 13 - see: http://www.wccusd.k12.ca.us/elcerrito/history/prop13.htm which includes -
The Truth About Proposition 13 and the California Tax Revolt
THE TAX REVOLT THAT RUINED CALIFORNIA
Devastation of Prop. 13

     asshole

I'll tell you where the lights are never turned off: Big businesses and big car dealerships where the lights blaze at all hours of the night - even 5am as I drive past them on my way to work.
Maybe he's just jealous beause he doesn't live here? If so, why all the lies, anger & hate?

For a REAL look at Smirk's intimate connection to the California Energy Crisis, and his monetary stake in it, check out Tamara Baker's latest on the subject:

THE ENRON STORY - Why the Resident -Select won't lift a finger for California - unless it's the Middle One.