I recently received a briefing on a situation going down in Wisconsin. This might be one of the most corrupt examples of corporate welfare and rigging the market I’ve ever heard of.
So naturally it’s occurring under the Trojan horse of “climate change.”
And worst of all, it looks like Republicans will be responsible if the bill gets to the legislative floor. There’s a short window to stop it before January 16th, but it will take a lot of pressure because these lawmakers stand to make A LOT of money if the deal goes through.
I’m going to try to break this down in layman’s terms because, as usual, energy policy is dense (and that’s how they get away with SO much corruption in this sector).
If you’re not already aware, utility companies are absolute thugs. This is true in virtually every state. They’re heavily unionized and therefore utilize all the dirty tricks of the old school mafia, which taught unions the ropes. They pay people off in droves. Those payoffs get them monopoly status. They then use that monopoly status to shake down consumers, charge crazy rates, and they capitulate to every regulation and whim of the progressives because it all ultimately benefits them (while, oddly enough, never making a dent in actual climate issues).
I’ve said for some time that while climate change is real and should be a concern on the Right, the policies and packages presented under it are almost ALWAYS socialism, corporate welfare, and cronyism and rarely involve real solutions.
Back to Wisconsin. With the shift to green energy, the country is facing a sourcing issue. Production is mostly in the middle of the country but the need is greatest in urban and coastal areas. So they need to find ways to transmit energy across the country. Thus, there’s a massive investment in transmission lines coming. Experts tell me, we’re talking $100 billion nationally.
The federal government currently allows states to have competitive bidding in this sector. This is basic capitalism, fairness, and ensures taxpayers get the best deal for their dollar. The company that can deliver the product/service for the lowest price/best quality should get the job. But in Wisconsin, lawmakers are quietly toying with something called a “Right of First Refusal” bill behind the scenes.
I want to emphasize again – this is Republicans, who hold a majority. Without their support the proposition would be DOA – it couldn’t even be introduced. That’s because it takes 17 Republicans to even get a bill to the floor. Experts on the ground tell me that while there aren’t 17 votes to do this currently, they’re been breaking their own rules numerous times in recent years and are poised to pull some shenanigans and do it again.
What the legislation does is eliminate competitive bidding – granting a monopoly on the building of those transmission lines to only TWO utility companies (out of 49 national options) to get the job. This is a $10 to $15 billion job in the state, and even worse, those companies then own those lines and get to charge consumers plus interest to use them.
All in all, that means taxpayers will have no ability to drive down the interest percentages they have to pay on energy. So, you guessed it, much higher prices. This kind of thing is so hard to stop because few know about it, it’s hard to understand, and because state lawmakers stand to get large windfalls of money from these two utility companies if this goes down.
Democrats also do not have clean hands here, they’re just out of power so the burden is mostly on Republicans. But it’s WILD to me that Democrat leaders like Senators Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, who spend 90% of their days whining about ‘mOnOpOlIeS’ like Google and Amazon (definitionally NOT monopolies), have nothing to say on this. Especially considering consumers actually will be harmed in this case (unlike in their other slew of antitrust complaints).
There are no private companies with a monopoly in the US without significant government backing and assistance in obtaining it. Yet you’ll never hear the utilities targeted as they should be.
If you hate monopolies, hate corruption, and hate anti-capitalist, corporate welfare policies this should enrage you. Raise your voice before it’s too late.
Hannah is a Consultant for Americans for Prosperity, a free market organization that is working against this legislation
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