Greetings:
I looked at my electric bill (PENELEC) and guess what showed up this
month? A $2.01 Smart Meter charge. Wait, I do not have a Smart Meter, so what's up with
that? It's for Smart Meter
research and deployment!!! Looking back, I see it has began last month
(August). According to online info, utilities are required to pass the cost of research
and deployment on to customers.
That's right, I'm paying for the research so
a Smart Meter can be installed, so I can then pay more for electricity.
Oh,
I'm also paying a monthly 9-cent customer education fee. Interesting that part of that
9 cents did not go toward educating me about the Smart Meter research charge!
In December of this year, the caps come off of rates here. Electric rates are expected
to increase by 50-100%, or even more. That will cause a lot of grief. Fortunately, I
live in a small (920 ft.sq.), highly efficient house (I made it that way), so I will
survive because my usage is not all that high anyway.
The problem is that the
government will also want to raise my taxes to cover the increased cost of the energy
assistance programs for people who need to pay for cable TV and a second car instead
of paying for their own electricity. Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure there are lots of people
who truly cannot provide for themselves, but there are far more receiving benefits that
are slackers and should not be profiting from my (and your) hard work! Why is it more
compassionate to give those people free stuff than it is to allow me to keep the fruits
of my labor?
The answer is not compassion - it is getting and keeping voters.
The scumbag politicians want to get as many people on welfare as possible because those
people vote to keep the politians in office, who will in turn keep the freebies flowing.
It is shameless pandering and ultimately enslavement.
Frighteningly, the ratio
of freeloaders that want a nanny state to the productive people who keep the country
running is increasing. Once the freeloaders outnumber the producers at the voting booth,
the country is finished. We're awfully close to that point now.
_________________ - Kirt Blattenberger
RF Cafe Progenitor & Webmaster
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