Cronyism alive and well in Lansing with renewable energy mandate 'lighting' it up.
The Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the two energy oligopolists in Michigan, through their lobbyists are attempting to railroad through a lame duck Michigan legislature Senate Bill 437. The bill would line the pockets of the energy oligopolists with subsidies and alleged necessary rate increases. The “climate change” advocates are being bribed to support the legislation because the legislation includes the production of more renewable energy in Michigan via windmills, etc. pursuant to Granholm’s 2008 Renewable Energy Mandate.
The following quote is from the linked article that substantiates the claim that in view of the 2016 Presidential Election results the legislature should stand fast and not support this wind fall profit package to the energy oligopolists and climate change advocates.
QUOTE: “The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States and the GOP maintaining control of the U.S. House and Senate means the key reason for pushing forward with Senate Bill 437, a bill that will revise utility regulations in Michigan, has effectively gone away.”
http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/22976
From its inception the Renewable Energy Mandate has been a per se violation of the Interstate Commerce Clause and a presumptive violation of the Sherman Antitrust Laws (monopolization).
The Republican controlled administration and legislature has failed to take appropriate action. WHY??? Likewise the electric cooperatives in Michigan as a consolidated group and while recognizing the Renewable Energy Mandate violates the law, hide under their desks because they believe the cost of litigation to protect their customer’s economic interests is too expensive. Really? Where is their fiduciary duty to their customers?
Time to drain the administrative swamp in Lansing…ASAP…2018??? Let’s begin with the MEDC.
Jim ‘the Deplorable’ Fuscaldo
Cedar
(8)Nuh Uh.
(0)
If we are unable to walk and chew gum in regards to even long ago scheduled lame duck votes or issues as related to lightning fast grassroots conservative discussion, let alone action?
History will read that we were "very good" at flash mobbing on street corners and pretty much nothing else.
Unfortunately, neither the issue brought forward above or even the data mining of our children will allow grassroots movement to take place without at least the gum being spit out representing even one of them.
It would be great to not only defeat this bill as the OP suggests but to articulate an energy plan that does not necessarily require MiGOP 'puppeting' to produce.
Instead, we have a conservative grassroots movement so disconnected from the very government agency in the middle of monopolistic control (our Michigan Public Service Commission or our most easily assailable government entity in terms of corrupt/incompetent/ineffective policy and leadership) that they refuse to even make a 'peep' when all oversight and even complaints by average Joe citizen are legislatively stripped from the MPSC without one single public commentary.
I'm not really sure that we can 'handle' discussions involving energy if we are unable to even wrap our minds around losing our right to complain in the first place when the monopoly (telecommunications of late) plugs in to our homes.
Perhaps we can ask our friends at the MiGOP or the (cough) "110% politically neutral" Mackinaw Public Policy Center for some help in formulating our opinions for us (thank you for the link, Jim..the MPPC, while not perfect, are at least willing to speak on 'some' issues when nobody else will).
Hey, we've got the #1 NeverTrumper (Upton) controlling your energy resources NATIONWIDE in the first place...why has the Michigan grassroots conservative movement been so reluctant to make Southwestern Michigan 'ground zero' for everything that is wrong with every policy not only here but everywhere else?
Or is 'Everything Energy' Upton "off-limits" (as SW MI local tea Partiers have long exhibited and proved) due to few conservatives willing to question Michigan Republicans (period) during this lame duck?
Fred Upton and Bush 43's support for the ban on incandescent light bulbs in favor of fluorescent and LED bulbs is not because of a serious and overt concern for "global warming". It was because G.E. and Phillips, who have approximately 80% of the world wide exclusive patent rights for the fluorescent and LED bulbs in the U.S. and elsewhere, needed to eliminate competition in the U.S. by those companies engaged in the generic manufacture, sale and exportation of less expensive incandescent bulbs. Likewise the patent holders, G.E. and Phillips, had already established manufacturing in Asia (China) and Europe for the fluorescent and LED bulbs. Eliminating the availability of incandescent light bulbs in the U.S. allowed G.E. and Phillips to close their U.S. manufacturing plants engaged in the production of incandescent bulbs. They also forced the closure of any competitor's manufacturing incandescent bulbs in the U.S. By closing plants engaged in the manufacture of incandescent bulbs G.E. and Phillips could exploit their patent right monopoly for the higher cost fluorescent and LED lights leaving consumers no choice for the lower cost incandescent bulbs. Crony capitalism at its best under the guise of combatting global warming/ climate change.
Great reminder, Jim.
Many were also bilked of millions more when forced to stock up on the bulbs which they preferred or when buying harmful cheap/copycat LED bulbs with PWM issues.
What continues to amaze me is that Michigan conservatives have had absolutely no interest whatsoever in energy issues this side of pipe leaks despite the vast resources right under our feet. Midland's Dow Chemical even led the way nationally (albeit half-heartedly) to slap us all in the face in terms of exporting natural gas/oil and what is actually needed here to compete on the world scene industrially.
We live in a cold climate. We need inexpensive fuel and a lot of it over a long period of time. Some industries require that fuel more than others at an inexpensive price. Contracts have already been signed to rob our nation's fuel right out from under our grandchildren's feet *AFTER* our crying that if only we had (forever) that same resource?...legacy-centered energy independence would be ours.
We don't even care what these contracts SAY, how long they are FOR or WHO is even robbing the priceless resources that we have spent literally billions to not only find but subsidize.
A careful measured strategy to support only (continually) verifiable allies battling communist countries who (smartly) use energy as a negotiating tool/'stick' (???) Who among us has ever witnessed such a debate or better yet even so much as partaken in one?
Hard numbers on exactly how much we actually have (we just discovered more in west Texas this week) or who (cough) 'owns' it versus what it will take to make this country compete inexpensively on the global stage or fuel our homes/vehicles? Forget it.
We are obsessed with driving the price of these resources just as high as they can go...period.
Less than a hundred years ago, we would have took that same perverted 'stimulus' (now wasted) and built a DOMESTIC energy distribution system nationwide *like no other* the very day after fracking took hold and had every single inch of it in place today.
Instead?
We have the #1 most powerful legislator in the entire nation right here in Michigan insisting that we do just the opposite with not a single drop of press ink spilled about it...let ALONE a concerted grassroots effort to unseat the #1 RINO in Michigan political history. We do not debate these facts or even so much as 'mention them' off handedly. It is as if our children's future in terms of these plentiful resources means absolutely nothing to us save immediately giving them to someone else so that WE can profit NOW.
The largest single discovery of resources in the free world/history of man and Americans are intentionally diverted to crowing about a single pipeline designed to carry somebody else's bounty to be sold elsewhere. The Keystone has been the single most effective diversionary tactic ever attempted on a nation of older selfish generations scrambling for the exits...and it has worked flawlessly. Natural gas plants designed to accept import NGO tankers while near seamlessly being converted to export duties? Game/set/match for those currently selling America's resources to the highest bidder for decades to come with (cough) 'conservative' voter approval.
If Upton had been thrown out of office during this period, Republicans would have obviously never missed a beat with anyone else in his place yet his district makeup and even location was near perfect.
What Michigan has to now deal with is that the southwest corner was completely ignored for so long and that Michigan energy policy (as a whole and locally) was even MORE ignored right on up to and including the now almost certain passage of this terribly corrupt bill.
With the sad reality being that an equally crushing bill (the data mining of our children) was purposely used as the other pre-lame duck trial ballon to gauge any grassroots conservative outrage which never came.
Great strategy (our lame duck is now guaranteed to be like no other).