Rewarding Consumption

-By Dan Scott

I previously had written concerning the wasteful lifestyle of Al Gore and his class. It was noted that at just one of his mansions he uses literally 20 times the electricity of the average American household. This was brought to light by the $1,000 a month electric bill Al Gore pays every month and recently confirmed that despite his so called energy saving investments which he urges upon the rest of us, he still pays over a $1,000 a month.

One of the claims by Democrats refusing to open up new leases for drilling to the oil companies is that we can’t simply drill our way out of this energy crisis, we must conserve through efficiency gains and alternative energy. As I have pointed out before alternative energy is a panacea since the forms advocated could never significantly supply sufficient and dependable energy to achieve the liberal dream of an oil free economy. I have also pointed out that energy savings via conservation and technology will not displace the future demands of a growing population.

However, having said these things, there is a hidden valid point shrouded by hypocrisy in the Democrat’s claims. We must go back to Al Gore’s electric bill to discover this hypocrisy but it’s not the obvious one that is so obscenely displayed by a $1,000 electric bill. If he uses 20 times the national average, why doesn’t his electric bill reflect his consumption? The overlooked point to most Americans is that electric rates are based on a volume discount schedule. The more electricity you use, the less you pay for it. Look at your electric bill, you will notice a two or three tier rate structure that charges progressively less for electricity as you pass certain thresholds.

Isn’t it odd, that the largest residential consumers of electricity are rewarded for their wanton consumption while those who use the least pay disproportionately far more for each kilowatt-hour? Al Gore’s electric bill is way too low. If he uses (221,000 kwhrs) 20 times the annual national average which is around 10,656 kwhrs, then he should be paying 20 times what we pay, but he doesn’t, per kwhr he pays approximately half! Divide Al Gore’s monthly electric bill by 20, you get $50, it seems absurdly low doesn’t it? Al Gore’s electric bill shouldn’t be a $1,000 a month it should be in the neighborhood of $2,000 a month or more! In essence what is happening is those who are the most frugal users of electricity are subsidizing the most wasteful users. I have stated before that the wealthy (15 million, 5% of population) literally use as much electricity as the rest of us (285 million, 95%).

Don’t you think it is time to reward the conscientious people, the little people (285 million, 95%), who use the least amount of energy per capita and household for their less than conspicuous consumption instead of rewarding Al Gore’s wasteful lifestyle? If Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama were for punishing the energy hogs (15 million, 5%) and giving relief to the little people, shouldn’t they be introducing legislation that would demand a revenue neutral approach to utility billing? Shouldn’t those who use more not pay less per kwhr than those who use less kwhr and then are punished by paying more per kwhr? If you are not willing to apply a progressive energy consumption billing structure where those who use more pay progressively more, then at least end the regressive billing structure currently in place. How about at least giving the little people a break on their utility bills by outlawing the subsidizing of the wealthy? Such a law would cause close to a 50% drop in electric bills for those who use the least amount of electricity. While you are at it, do the same for water bills because those are going up as well.
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Dan Scott calls himself a “Member of the Global Capitalist Cabal preaching Capitalism and personal responsibility as the economic solution to world poverty.” He is also a member of the 14th Amendment Society — victimhood is a liberal code word for denying the civil rights of others. He is also a proud member of the Global Warming Denier Cabal, insisting that facts not agendas determine the truth.

Dan can be seen on the web at http://www.geocities.com/fightbigotry2002/ as well as http://www.geocities.com/dscott8186/saidwebpage.htm, And can be reached for comments at dscott8186@yahoo.com.