States can pursue energy claims
The U.S. Ninth Circuit has ruled in favor of three states, including Washington, in cases involving the very first act of perfidy by the Bush administration: the electricity crisis. Remember? From The Progressive States Network:
Seriously, as a California state attorney quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle notes about one of the cases, the heart of the issue is that FERC simply didn't do its job.
When conservatives talk about the "free market," you have to remember that this is what they really mean: corporations like Enron must be free to price gouge and engage in monopolistic practices in order to have "free markets." And anyone who tries to point that out, like during the manufactured electricity crisis, is at best a simpleton who does not understand economics and at worst a commie-socialist-librul-pinko-hippie.
Plus it never matters how many scandals there are, nor how many of them go to jail. That was then, and they were very sorry they got caught, so let's go ahead and "save" Social Security in the same manner. It's as if insane people are running the federal government. Well, for another couple of weeks anyhow.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of California, Washington, and Nevada consumers in two cases relating to energy deregulation and price manipulation during the energy crisis at the beginning of this decade. As the New York Times reported, the three judge panel "took the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to task for refusing to even consider whether ... customers may have been gouged by Enron and other energy traders."Looks like Grandma Millie might have the last laugh.
The move is a major victory for consumers and for states. It is now well-known that Enron and other companies took advantage of utility deregulation to manipulate markets and gouge consumers. The manipulation was no coincidence. Enron waged a massive campaign to lobby state legislators to embrace the deregulated framework that would allow the company to manipulate markets and gouge consumers. Under the court's decision federal regulators will be required to reconsider whether consumers were extorted. If so, individuals in these states may be able to get out of long-term contracts signed during the manipulations.
Seriously, as a California state attorney quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle notes about one of the cases, the heart of the issue is that FERC simply didn't do its job.
Saltmarsh, the state lawyer, said the critical point is that FERC will be barred from relying on the free market as a safeguard of fair contracts unless the agency looked at the contract when it was signed and determined that the terms were reasonable and the market was competitive. Otherwise, he said, the agency must consider the contract as it exists and decide if it is fair to the buyer.The electricity crisis doesn't get talked about much because it happened before Sept. 11, 2001, but in any other time period it would rank as a huge scandal. We got ripped off big time here on the West Coast, and the people in Texas were laughing their heads off about it. I bet Ken Lay isn't laughing so hard where he is at.
When conservatives talk about the "free market," you have to remember that this is what they really mean: corporations like Enron must be free to price gouge and engage in monopolistic practices in order to have "free markets." And anyone who tries to point that out, like during the manufactured electricity crisis, is at best a simpleton who does not understand economics and at worst a commie-socialist-librul-pinko-hippie.
Plus it never matters how many scandals there are, nor how many of them go to jail. That was then, and they were very sorry they got caught, so let's go ahead and "save" Social Security in the same manner. It's as if insane people are running the federal government. Well, for another couple of weeks anyhow.
