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tl;dr price controls didn't work (again) surprising no one who understands anything about how supply and demand work. If there's an underlying reason why costs
by cletus 5y ago
tl;dr price controls didn't work (again) surprising no one who understands anything about how supply and demand work. If there's an underlying reason why costs are rising then a price control is just a band aid solution as the underlying cost pressure typically doesn't go away.
The privatization of energy companies in the developed world to me is a giant failure and a classic example of how public-private partnerships like this just end up privatizing the profit while underwriting the losses and it's sold to us on supposed "efficiency" gains.
If you think about it energy consumption is basically a hugely regressive tax. The cost of heating 2000 square feet doesn't change much depending on if you're poor or a billionaire.
I'd honestly support nationalizing these companies, cover grid connection through taxation and provide resident individuals (not corporations) a rebate for $X every year in their tax return to cover expected usage.
- lbriner 5y agoThe argument doesn't go away though that nationalised industries are largely unaccountable like the governments they report to. I worked for the railways immediately before and after privatisation. I can't speak for the whole network but there were a few of us who enjoyed the work and a whole load of people who were happy to sleep through most of their night shift (including the Managers). The awful truth is that money is a powerful motivator for Directors and shareholders although clearly with the danger of moving too far the other way. I'm not sure there are any decent models that could get the best of both worlds. They tend to be nasty bureaucratic PPP type deals which bring more mess than they clean up.