Isn't the larger point that big money has boxed itself in and has no good alternatives at this point? U.S. capitalists have lived in a dream world from Reagan through Clinton and now face the curse of answered prayers. They wanted to recreate the laisser-faire paradise of a century ago and were remarkably successful, virtually guaranteeing a resurgence of the manic-depressive, boom-bust intensity of classic capitalism, guaranteeing agony and waste all around.
Carl ----------
What's interesting to watch here in California is the mire of utility de-regulation as it has quickly devolved into a nightmare of 19c boom-bust classic capitalism. It has stripped off the neo-liberal facade from just about everybody from Willie Brown on Pugliese's side of the bay to Jerry Brown over here, right on up the delta to Gray Davis. They are all turning into reptiles.
Meanwhile the power suppliers in Georgia and Texas are all linked to the Bush camp and the South, setting up an almost forgotten pre-civil war divisions between the west and the south.
This completely capital generated `energy crisis' maybe the best thing that has happened on top of the Bush appointment to president, since it absolutely illuminates the lie that free markets benefit everyone, and competition sets the lowest prices on everything. When you combined the economic lie with the political lie and are forced to live them---well, I guess I am just dreaming.
Utility bills have exploded. Mine inflated from 7.50 to 20 something. Well technically its about 28.50 but that's because I haven't paid it in two months. The fat bourgeois however are really starting to feel the grip with two and three hundred dollars or higher utility bills.
Chuck Grimes