It does; print mags go for 8 bucks a pop on the site that shall not be named.
Also, I’d never even thought about disaster prep until I moved out here to ‘earthquake country’; now I keep a stash of water and supplies to make it at least a week in case of emergency - including an extra can opener with the emergency rations.
Hm. If there’s a lot of these people burying caches of food and ammo… I presume that many are doing it on public land, so then with the sky-high price of ammo, a little investment in a DIY ground-penetrating radar rig could pay off very well. (Style points if rover-mounted.)
It’s Texas, so no one would say boo to a road-side ammo stand to sell it back to similar people, who’ll go bury it again. It’s the Circle of Life!
Not satisfied with reaping what they sowed, the Texas state government seems determined to take as many Texans and Texas businesses down with them as possible for their energy sector overlords.
Exacerbating and prolonging this sticker shock is a decision on Tuesday by the state’s Power Utility Commission, which regulates the nonprofit ERCOT’s operations. The order from the gubernatorially appointed PUC asserted that, even with a hike coinciding with cold weather and increased heating use, ERCOT had been undercharging consumers for the cost of energy and directed it to raise its rates.
So this is The Smartest Guys in the Room again, but where the utility casino never got repealed?
Whatever else it did, Enron also destroyed the Republican Party in the state of California
Even assholes are bigger in Texas, you could drive a mac truck through this guy’s.
Well, at least they’ve got rubbish removal down.
Electing people who don’t believe that the government should help people under any circumstances leads to real-world consequences when people need help from the government. Imagine that.
You crazy pinko socialists with your national health and your government that cares about the people.
Apparently the sewage system still works there.
This guy must have a different version of the Bible than the one I’m familiar with.
If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.
— Deuteronomy 15:7–8
If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; … if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; … then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.
— Job 31:16–17,19,22
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.
— Isaiah 58:6–8
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
— Matthew 5:42
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in
— Matthew 25:35
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
— Matthew 5:5
Is Robin Williams back from the grave?
See, there’s this little thing called taxes: money I give to the government in exchange for goods and services to help me, especially when in need.
Does anyone know what sleight of hand caused all the usage from the first through the 16th to be billed at apocalypse rates?
Obviously a lot of people are going to have a great deal of trouble even if they are being accurately billed for the cost of energy they consume at the time they consume it, given that it has shot up enormously right at the time when it’s potentially life-critical; but that screenshot looks (maybe it’s just bad UI, but I wouldn’t feel confident in assuming that) as though every kilowatt-hour since the 1st of the month is costing him $1.48 (rather than the more typical under $0.10); which seems like a rather sketchy worst-of-both-worlds: not the arrangement where the provider guarantees a set retail price that’s somewhat higher than wholesale but makes finding energy at prices that make that profitable for them their problem; but also not the flexible pricing arrangement where each kWh is billed according to its price at the time.
The other thing that stands out a bit is the usage total for a ‘small house’ (I guess it’s the electric heat? I’m told that is quite common in Texas). EIA statistics for 2019 are an average of 877 kWh/month for residential users. That bill looks like someone on track to use ~2200 kWh this month; which isn’t “of course your aluminum smelter will receive a special connection to the substation” numbers; but is really, really, high for an apparently unremarkable residential user.
Isn’t it funny how so many of the “we don’t need commie gummint when we can just organize society through contract law!” types suddenly turn into “god ordains the law of the jungle and caveat emptor!” enthusiasts when it comes time to deliver on their end of the deal?
I have this weird feeling that, back when municipal taxes were being assessed, Mr. Mayor did not take an “oh, no, you don’t owe me anything; I simply couldn’t accept a handout when I could be thinking outside the box and providing municipal services that way…” attitude.
Is it normal in Texas (or the US in general) for retail customers to pay spot prices for their electricity? It’s certainly not in the UK.
I don’t know anything about Colorado City, Texas, and I suppose it’s possible that Boyd’s opponent in the mayoral race was an even bigger jerk than Boyd. But we do know that more than 80% of the voters in Mitchell County voted a straight republican ballot. And of course, no one deserves to be stuck without power or utilities in the freezing cold, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who are just collateral damage in this. But I can’t shake the feeling that the citizens of Colorado City got exactly what they asked for. Sometimes, a lesson just has to get kicked into you.
Gotta love it.
