Always learning’ things, right? So today I was talking energy. More specifically, I was talking about electric utility rates. The whole private/public utility thing hurts my head when I try to debate it. Ghosts from undergrad Econ shape in my head extolling privatization and shunning monopolies and I’m just not that smart on the issue to speak or write about it coherently.
But what I learned today is relevant to both. So a certain utility is seeking a rate hike, which I knew about ahead of time. I just chalked it up to the blackbox of “rising energy costs,” which is a faith-based message that I have on constant replay in my brain (that obviously I need to check into). But, as it turns out, THAT is not the basis for this rate increase request. The actual basis is the poor economy’s impact on the rate-paying population.
You see, as a regulated entity that is providing something that everybody needs, the utility is required to provide service at a low rate or free to low income households that are in the service area. I thought I’d be able to put in a rate comparison here, but I just spent 10 minutes trying to read the rate cards and really, I don’t get it.
Anyway, the point is that among the broad population of rate payers, the number of households that are eligible for reduced rates is increasing. [The eligible income rates look, from a basic glance to be similar to the income levels for WIC assistance, but not quite as low as food stamps. (Things I actually do understand).]
So as this low-rate percentage increases, the costs should be shifted to the full-rate paying portion of the rate payers, right? Oh, but let’s look at another level of rate payers, namely wealthy ones. Well, they are actually leaving the system all together because they can afford to go solar (all the cool kids are doing it). So, what do we have here? Looks like another middle class squeeze doesn’t it? Too rich to get the discount, but too poor to opt out of the monopoly.
And this got me thinking… What happens down the road? Right now your utility might seem like an awesome suburban school district, but as the population of users change, effectively becoming poorer and poorer and without another option, you could be looking at LAUSD.
Because I’m broke, I opted for the wifi only iPad… Thus saving me from yet another blood sucking syphon from AT&T. So, I’m wandering the usual haunts at The Grove, in search of free wifi. And by usual haunts I mean places where a very active three year old can run around like a wild man with minimal oversight and not be in mortal danger. You know, so I can do important things like write blog posts that no one will read and catch up on twitter.
So far, my highest recommendation is for the lemonade stand statue/fountain area where you can sit on the crate part (far enough from the errant water splashes, but still close enough to make sure there’d is no torture of little girls going on). Here you can easily mooch off Nordstrom’s wifi without getting sucked into the endless sea of so cute shoes that you can’t afford right now.
The biggest disappointment was Barnes and Nobles, which had no wifi at all. I guess that would take away from the whole books made from dead trees thing. Thats a big bummer because it’s one of the places that the three year old can actually roam in a semi controlled area and be occupied for a decent amount of time.
I didn’t get to check out if Pottery Barn Kids has wifi because I spent the whole time trying to keep the destructor from breaking things that I not only can’t afford, but wouldn’t fit in with my decor (which you could call “things that have managed to survive moving at least every other year since 1988”). I’ll have to check again later.
Eventually, wifi will be everywhere, right?the information wants to be free!!
So, I keep wondering if I’m making a huge mistake by not getting my ass on the bus and going downtown for Occupy LA. Is this going to evolve into the movement of the time that actually gets something done or is it just going to be the basis for a bad fashion layout in Vogue 15 years from now?
Unlike most of my more conservative and libertarian friends, I’m not put off by the lack of a cohesive message or even the selfishness of the interests. I’ve had to endure the nonstop adulation of the “amazing power of the movement” that jump-started civil rights, the sexual liberation of women and the end of the Vietnam war, when most of what I see in old news clips are lazy, over indulged young people who are more interested in hanging out than actually coming up with a coherent message. Those lazy, selfish, unorganized and generally uninformed masses were successfully co-opted by people who had a message and a movement to use the people for… But it takes time for those folks to make their motivations known, get in position and, of course, push out all the other leaders who want to do the same thing.
Unlike my liberal friends, I’m not ready to jump in the drum circle. First, I hate the freakin’ drum circles. Seriously. Hate. Them. Second, I’m an arrogant bitch and I loathe being around people all across the political spectrum who voraciously consume sound bites and half facts. Third, I’m not happy that the unions are jumping on board in an effort to preserve their status quo. They live in the past just as much as the religious right does.
So, I’m not going to be looking for my bus pass tomorrow either. But I’m watching, waiting and hoping this mass of confusion will transform into something smart.
One of the hardest things about being unemployed has been feeling cut off from the virtual world that I have lived and breathed for so many years. I haven’t been writing, I haven’t been tweeting and I haven’t kept up on the news. There has been the physical barrier of not having access to a computer and then the full-time mommy factor thing. Plus, I’d definitely add in something about the fact that because I no longer have to be fully informed on business and economic news every waking second, I’ve simply drifted into a willful unconsciousness.
I still have the mommy thing to deal with and i’m struggling to drag myself back to the news cycle, but I bought an iPad tonight, less than an hour after the news broke that Steve Jobs died. I don’t have anything profound to say about Mr. Jobs; I just needed an easy to use tool to help me connect back to the world that I miss so terribly. And I needed to feel a little cool. I guess that sums it up, doesn’t it?
It’s now September 7th. What are Carol Bartz, Sallie Krawcheck and I doing? Looking for a job. I console myself by noting I’m in good company.
Last week, Felix Salmon got on his soapbox about MSM neglecting to mention Tim Cook’s sexuality - arguing that its absence undermined the career paths, success and quality of life for homosexuals in the workforce. I disagree.
I don’t believe that MSM biz reporting should be involved in mainstreaming or increasing acceptance of peoples’ personal lives. I don’t believe that a WSJ mention that Cook is gay will somehow convince a homophobic trader on Wall Street to think, “Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t call that douchebag from Goldman a fag on the phone today.” Will it make some of my gay friends happy and make them think this is some massive step in their efforts? - possibly. Will it turn into a linkfest on TheAdvocate.com or AmericaBlog, maybe. But sadly, I think their enthusiasm, and Felix’s, is misplaced.
Nothing, and I mean absolutley NOTHING positive happens for me when there is an article that mentions Arianna Huffington, Meredith Whitney or Indra Nooyi and their woman-ness. The men who don’t have issues with women in leadership roles skim over it as a non-issue, men who have sexist tendencies make asshole-ish comments and just stop reading it, women who have chips on their shoulder post it on Facebook in INDIGNANT ALLCAPS or bring it up as a non sequitor in a staff meeting. And, very importantly, some of us women who are in the workplace, trying to move up in our careers, feel that we just got shot back a step - noting that we’ll never be a great leader - but maybe we can have a shot at being just a great female leader.
Proof in point - today’s post on Forbes.com, DIY Power Women: The World’s Most Powerful Mompreneurs . This piece is devoid of interest to anyone but a woman who is harboring serious envy over how women in Denmark get two years of paid maternity leave. And further - it’s been up for almost 3 hours now - only 614 views, 6 tweets, 3 Facebook posts and not a single comment. Yawn for the MSM business media world.
Of course, this ”targeted, already gotta convinced audience of 614 people, get-mom-consumers-to-click-here” article is really just about successful business leaders - people who made decisions all along the way about how they manage personal life (which probably got minimized and significantly outsourced because that’s what professionally ambitious people - men and women - do) and did a great job. Not BECAUSE they were women/moms, not INSPITE of the fact that they were women/moms… just in addition to. Just like the executive who manages his diabetes without having to whip out an insulin shot in the boardroom, the son of Chinese immigrants who runs the North American operation for a multi-national, and Tim Cook who is attracted to men.
His piece today,
Why Americans Hate Economics
In university classrooms—and especially the Obama White House—fancy theories of macroeconomics defy basic common sense.
makes me ill. It is full of half truths and the very slights of hand/word that make it impossible to have a rational conversation about economic policy.
I have issues with economics, serious issues and not just because I could barely manage a C in micro and a C+ in macro. I don’t buy Keynesian economics at face value either. But Moore’s article is chock full of willful ignorance and pandering (as evidenced by the comments) and it is a huge diservice to the current debate and the future of U.S. economic policy. I’m disgusted.
And I’ve cancelled my WSJ subscription because of it.
A few datapoints:
- Museum membership tends to go up, or at least not fall dramatically, when museums go free.
- The NYT paywall seems to be working, despite the fact that it’s incredibly porous.
- My sister just joined the yacht club in New Zealand where she’s been showering and mooching wifi…
For the NY paywall - I’d go with transaction costs - yes, it’s porous, but I’m lazy. I pay for the convenience of not having to do the work arounds. For the other two, I’d just put it under rational behavior. The voluntary payee is deriving some pleasure, even if it is “feeling legit” or being part of something they feel is valuable, from the transaction and value of the money paid is equal to or less than the value of the pleasure they derive from the activity.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) will be the only woman sitting on the new, powerful “super Congress,” a 12-member committee responsible for coming up with a plan to cut at least $1.5 trillion from the federal budget by Thanksgiving.
A recent study found that having women in a decision making group makes the group smarter, but only when there are 3 or more women. Whether this is due to facilitating skills, new/different ideas or just because having some female hormones around makes the men more competitive/more aware/avoid the lazy, get-along-guy-thing, I don’t know. I don’t really care, either.
I just want the smartest group - the one making the best decisions. Because these decisions are big - and they’re going to impact me and almost everyone I care about. So, instead, we’re down to a token woman - which really never does a whole lot for group processes or decision making. In fact, having one woman becomes a distraction, an issue. Just like having the one black guy or the one latino guy. It’s just an entity to pander to, try to cajole, ignore or blame.
And yes, insert my usual - well, there might be more on the committee if her friends from college didn’t all drop out of the workforce years ago - comment.
1. Everybody knows the credit rating will be impacted if Congress screws it up
2. Congress screws it up and S&P downgrades
3. OMG!!!! They downgraded! Market tanks!
or
1. Everybody knows the Fed has no more moves and the underlying economy sucks
2. The Fed does nothing and says the economy sucks
3. OMG!!! The Fed didn’t do anything! Market tanks!
or
1. Everybody knows Snooki and friends drink too much and get into fights
2. Snooki and friends go to Italy, drink too much and get into fights
3. OMG!!! I can’t believe they did that! Ratings go up!
Yes, those of us that pay attention know the ratings agencies were culpable and significantly responsible for the financial meltdown (and got off scot-free) - but the news that the Senate Banking Committee is now probing the S&P downgrade of the U.S. is just… unbelievable.
This is pocket patriotism - when you pull out your pathetic, fact-free, ideological-laden shock and horror soapbox when it impacts your pocket.
Oh, and in case you weren’t paying attention - the Treasury markets (those are the ones that are impacted by the rating) did fine today.
Hmmm… looks like S&P may be making a bold step to differentiate itself from the competitors by - gasp - rating risk!!
Despite the bruhaha in my twitter feed right now, or the scrambling at the news desks - I think that if I poke my head outside my little bubble of finance/econo/news junkies to, you know, the 99.9% of the rest of Americans out there - the resounding response is: meh. Actually, worse than “meh.” And what is worse than “meh?” NBC. No.body.cares.
When I was a junior officer, one of the many “additional duties” I was given in the organization was to be the nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare officer - in charge of overseeing the training, supplies, equipment and overall readiness of the organization to operate effectively (you know, doing typical Army stuff) in an actual radiated/anthraxed/nerve gassed environment. I went to a special school where I was surpised to learn just how long it would take to kill everyone off under extreme conditions and how the survivors (and there would be survivors) would have to carry on. I was amazed. I was full of really scary amounts of information and calculations and weird skills that I still actually remember (Yes, I am one of the people you should have space for in your underground shelter you built in your backyard). I took all of this amazing knowledge back to my unit, ready to help them see the light and feel empowered and you know what? NBC… no.body.cared.
Same same here. I could post the link above to my Facebook page with some clever comment in it about American Exceptionalism Strikes Again, where my stream is full of intelligent people of various backgrounds, professions and walks of life and maybe, just maybe, two or three of the finance/economic/political types would comment or “like.” But most of my friends would just ignore it, think that its just me talking some whacky mumbo-jumbo stuff with some letters in it… like VX or something. Because even though most people are gasping for air, they’d rather not bother with any of the details, the inconvenience the need to actually DO something than figure out how to be a survivor, let alone someone who actually gets stuff done in this deteriorating environment we call the American financial and economic system. Yep, No Body Cares.
I’m at the doctor’s office this morning, getting medical clearance for knee surgery. I’ve never been to this doctor before, but my knee surgeon’s office referred me to him after my physician refused to authorize the surgery. That might give you the idea that I’m trying to get some unnecessary procedure done by a crackpot, but that isn’t the case. I don’t have an ACL and well, I kinda need one. The surgeon is one of the best in sports medicine, focusing on getting patients back to optimal performance and I’d like to be able to run again. Not excessively, mind you, but being physically active is, you know, important.
No, the reason my doctor, who I’ve been with for 10 years won’t approve the surgery is that this doctor’s surgery center is not part of the hospital where my doctor works. Oh, and my doctor doesn’t trust those people on the Westside.
Greatest health system in the world or protectionist cartel?
