Bush's midnight regulations: a laundry list

10 gallon tip to Chuy for finding this. Some of them are real howlers.

What a jackass.

local politics: South Bend water deregulation referendum

In an odd way, national politics is a simpler organism than its local counterpart. It's predictable: you can be (relatively) confident that in any given issue the Democrats will want X and the Republicans Y. Deregulation is a great example: despite a handful of apostates on either side (and, as usual, more Democratic ones than Republican), you can bet that the Democrats will oppose and the Republicans support any given attempt at deregulation. Budgeting is another area, as the US Congress generally only deals in broad strokes, far removed from the nitty gritty of funding matters, and is free to dig as deep a deficit as they want, so the Congress tends to wax doctrinaire when it comes to fiscal matters. This is a luxury local politicians just can't afford.

Hence we come to an odd situation in South Bend, where there is a referendum on this November's ballot to deregulate the waterworks, and our very Democratic mayor, Steve Luecke, is actively supporting it. Before we collectively cry "Turncoat!," "corporate sellout!," or "Bush Dog Democrat!," let's hear what he has to say. From a document the mayor has been passing out:

This is a brief synopsis of why I believe South Bend Water Works should come out from under Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) oversight. When the administration proposes a rate increase for our water customers, we hire outside professional engineering and accounting firms with utility rate making expertise and experience to review capital and operating costs, to look at the existing rate structure and determine what is needed to meet current and long-term needs. After this information is compiled, we present a proposed rate to the Common Council. These locally elected officials review the studies we have prepared, hold a public hearing and vote on the rate increase. For our wastewater utility, that is the final step. Once the new rates are approved they can be implemented. For our Water Works we must then present the same case to the IURC that we presented to the Council. This is a costly step that adds months or years to the approval process. What it doesn’t add is value for our customers.

Our average case before the IURC costs $150,000 (for consultants, lawyers and rate experts). Our last case cost over $600,000! It took three years to conclude - and the IURC ultimately approved the very rates that we had proposed. With the last four rate cases we have spent over $1 million for the IURC review. That’s $1 million that could have been spent for new wells, improved filtration, main extensions, connecting new customers or our leak insurance program. The IURC did not change our rates from what the Council had approved. Where is the added value?

I believe that the IURC plays an important public review role for private utilities. However, it is an unneeded level of bureaucracy when the rates are already reviewed and approved by elected officials. If the City Council feels that they don’t have sufficient expertise to review these rates, we have offered to pay for an independent review by a separate accounting company with utility rate making expertise that the Council selects to evaluate the proposal. Their charge would be to recommend the lowest rates possible to accomplish the needed work to ensure adequate quantity of safe quality drinking water for community needs. This would be far less expensive – and considerably faster – than the IURC review. If I believed that the IURC added value for South Bend customers, I would not have proposed this referendum. But I don’t believe we are getting our money’s worth.

Furthermore, our Water Works currently applies a 20% surcharge to customers outside the city limits. The IURC has indicated that they may no longer approve such a surcharge even though we have presented studies which support an even larger one. . If the IURC denies the surcharge in the future, South Bend customers will have to pay higher rates to make up the difference. I don’t think that is fair.

Almost ninety per cent of Indiana communities have opted out from IURC oversight. It appears that they are satisfied with their local elected officials setting their rates because none of these communities has chosen to opt back in to the IURC process. Not one! Lafayette, IN and other communities are also seeking to opt out this year. I believe they are making the right choice. It is also the right choice for South Bend. Please vote YES on the municipal utility referendum.

Obviously, being a Democrat, given a choice I prefer more regulation over less, and I would especially like to know if this extra layer of oversight was intentionally added at some point in the past, and if so, why. Many states have deregulated in the last 15 years only to discover the hard way that those regulations were put there for a reason. Nevertheless, the mayor makes a compelling case here: the city just doesn't have the money to be ponying up for superfluous services right now. Furthermore, the water works is a public entity, not a profit-driven private enterprise, so if there's an angle for them in deregulating, I don't see it. I tend to trust Mayor Luecke; he's run an honest administration and has done a pretty good job with a lot of difficult choices, so if he says this is the way to go, I'm inclined to believe him.

I'll be voting Yes.

the future, a little too early

Looks like I should've waited a couple of days to write this post. The Dow is now lower than it was on the day that George W. Bush was inaugurated.

Clear Channel gets political?

Clear Channel has decided not to play Springsteen's liberal music despite the fact that it's no.1 on Billboard top album sales. Doesn't necessarily mean it's political, but it's an odd choice, and the company has a history of contributing heavily to Republicans.

take back your pot pies

Unbelievable. ANOTHER recall, this time by (surprise!) big Ag company Conagra. From The Chicago Tribune:

ConAgra Foods Inc. recalled all its Banquet pot pies and store brand varieties Thursday after the products were linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak. The company included beef pot pies in the recall after initially saying only the chicken and turkey pot pies should not be eaten. ConAgra issued a consumer alert Tuesday and asked stores nationwide to stop selling the poultry pot pies, but the company stopped short of a recall until Thursday evening.
...
The pot pies made by ConAgra have been linked to at least 165 cases of salmonella in 31 states. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 30 people have been hospitalized as part of the ongoing outbreak, but so far no deaths have been linked to the pot pies. The company and federal officials warned customers not to eat the pot pies and to throw them away, and ConAgra is offering refunds. The store brand versions are sold under the names of Albertson's, Hill Country Fare, Food Lion, Great Value (sold at Wal-Mart stores), Kirkwood, Kroger, Meijer and Western Family.

And the USDA did nothing; Conagra had to initiate the recall themselves because so many people were getting sick and they were getting sued, but the USDA dragged their feet and failed to figure out the meat was diseased until after it had already been a) slaughtered b) cut up into small pieces c) blended into little pies, d) frozen, e)shipped to Wal-Marts all over the country, f) unpacked from trucks and moved into storage in the stores, g) moved to the front of the shelves after all the older pies were sold, h) bought, i) taken home, and j) baked.

But remember, folks: government regulation is bad for big business, and what's bad for big business is bad for America. Another win for e. coli conservatism!

Funny how every single one of these recalls, be they food, toys, or whatever, always seems to involve stuff sold at Wal-Mart.

Salmonella thrives best in conditions where lots of chicken are couped close to each other, exposed to each other's feces and whatnot, like in industrial feedlots. Free range chickens are far less likely to cause salmonella, unless, of course, they're processed in slaughterhouses/meat packing plants that also kill industrially raised chickens.

Salmonella also is found in eggs, which is just great news for those of us who like them sunny side up.

more from the e. coli conservatives

From AP:

SALINAS, Calif. (AP) -- Government regulators never acted on calls for stepped-up inspections of leafy greens after last year's deadly E. coli spinach outbreak, leaving the safety of America's salads to a patchwork of largely unenforceable rules and the industry itself, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The regulations governing farms in this central California region known as the nation's "Salad Bowl" remain much as they were when bacteria from a cattle ranch infected spinach that killed three people and sickened more than 200.

AP's review of data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act found that federal officials inspect companies growing and processing salad greens an average of just once every 3.9 years. Some proposals in Congress would require such inspections at least four times a year.

In California, which grows three-quarters of the nation's greens, processors created a new inspection system but with voluntary guidelines that were unable to keep bagged spinach tainted with salmonella from reaching grocery shelves last month.

Once again, this is what happens when you put people in power who don't believe the government has any warrant to enforce fair play or safety standards in the marketplace. People die so that companies can keep those pesky regulations from cutting into their bottom line.

leave 'em in El Segundo

Now it's Barbie time. From Yahoo! News:

Mattel Inc.'s reputation took another hit after the world's largest toy maker announced a third major recall of Chinese-made toys in little more than a month because of excessive amounts of lead paint.
...
The latest Mattel recall, whose details were negotiated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, covers 675,000 Barbie accessories sold between October 2006 and August of this year. No Barbie dolls were included in the action.

The recall also included 90,000 units of Mattel's GeoTrax locomotive line and about 8,900 Big Big World 6-in-1 Bongo Band toys, both from the company's Fisher-Price brand. The Big Big World products were sold nationwide from July through August of this year, while the GeoTrax toys were sold from September 2006 through August of this year.

Ahh, nothing quite shows the awesomeness of unfettered capitalism like a 3-yr.-old with lead poisoning. Caveat Emptor, bitchez!

Breaking the News

Here is a must-read article from Mother Jones on the problem with today's news media (particularly newspapers), and why their work is rather swiftly degrading in depth, research, and vetting.

I find it striking that, for supposedly being all conservative, movement conservatives in the government don't generally "get" the concept that laws and regulations, as a rule, have not always existed, but rather were consciously introduced and passed. Generally, they were created by smart people, and for a damn good reason, so maybe one should think twice before gutting them. Of course, the rank dishonesty displayed by the FCC chairman at the beginning of the article shows how interested they are in preserving the quality of anything besides their own wallets.

Deregulation in almost any form is snake oil, pure and simple. It almost never works, but always lines the pockets of society's predators. Anyone who brings the idea to you is in all likelihood hiding an ulterior motive.