power issues

[eclectica]

I've been a supporter of building more power plants and increasing the capacity of the electrical grid. I support nuclear power too, and I wouldn't mind having a nuclear plant right in my backyard.

Now I'm being called to do my civic duty by conserving power, but the real way to solve the power crisis is not to conserve, but to build more power plants. I do my civic duty by being a supporter of the power industry.

The "environmentalists" and other opponents of progress ought to be disconnected from the grid whenever the power levels are too high. It would be nice if it worked that way, with people being held personally responsible for their beliefs.

[eclectica]

Deregulation allowed the profit motive to take over the utilities. The argument for deregulation, and also against Socialism, is that the bottom motivation of profit will be the most efficient driving force behind decision making. That is actually not true because when money is the ultimate driving force, then systems will work efficiently, but the people will suffer as a result.

The way to raise the standards of the people is to invest in public works and to have network robustness and quality be a priority over profit and efficiency. A network which runs at 80% of capacity normally, and then gets overloaded every month or so is more efficient than a network that runs at 40% of capacity and rarely gets overloaded. But when you factor in the quality of life and the human element, then you realize that it is unacceptable to have common place network failures. In order to provide a decent service, there has to be a level of inefficiency, like running trains every hour all night as supposed to just stopping them completely because they aren't full.

The deregulation approach makes the economic priority higher and the quality lower. Deregulation is another word for privatization. It is just another cost-cutting measure, reducing the government's oversight. The reigns are taken away from the government, which is the benevolent advocate of the masses, and handed to the interests of the profit seekers.

Without question people assume that deregulation is a good thing. Imagine if we were all made responsible for the streets outside, and for paving and maintaining the section which is right in front of our homes.

A wealthy country like the United States does not invest in public works as much as it should. Thus the wealth is not returned to the people, but instead goes towards the opulence of a few wealthy people. Or if money is spent on the people, it is for their bread and circuses, such as sports stadiums.

Do not confuse a country's wealth with its standard of living. In the United States there is much wealth, but only in the hands of a smaller group. Ask someone who is sick and has no health insurance just how great this country is. An emergency visit to the hospital could easily cost $1000.

Ye gods, if men could move mountains, then the uninsured poor sick man would be able to afford his medical bills.

I think the greatest American president in the 21st century was Franklin D. Roosevelt. His Socialistic policies raised the standard of living for the majority of Americans, and gave hope for the future.

[Criminal_Sniper]

well im an australian and i guess i dont know what im talking about but i know something :p
we have a lot of uranium in australia and u guys can have it we got 1 reactor and have enough power so i think america needs to get into a lot of natuaral power sources or do a lot of research on it
they are going everywhere cause they ran outta oil...
that not make u wonder why they go to the middle east causing problems with people with oil
and tried to get oil to be stopped shipping to N.Korea ? what they wanted it?
the us is interested in 1 thing and thats money
if that were not true then would the people feel happy and free just like its supposed to be in the us?