-By Warner Todd Huston
Los Angeles, California has a new initiative underway called “Measure B” that would basically award a monopolistic, no-bids contract to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union (IBEW), the union that would be given the task to install the things in the city. Campaigners for the initiative have so far raised $267,000 with two-thirds of that coming from the very unions that would benefit from the unfair set asides that would exclude outside companies from being able to bid on the installation.
It’s a bit convenient that the group that would benefit most is almost fully funding the drive to get this measure passed, isn’t it? Especially given the fact that solar cell technology is still far too expensive to install and maintain to be cost effective. A recent study claimed that, for home use, it would take a homeowner 100 years to recoup the costs of installing solar cells. Now, pile on top of that basic fact the many millions that will be wasted by giving the installation job to a union, and pile on top of that the other corruption taxes that a big city adds to any project, and we can easily realize that this is nothing but a giant boondoggle to the tax payer and, of course, another undeserved but giant boon to the unions.
Naturally, the union meddling in affairs of government aren’t in just the bankrolling of leftist ideas. It’s in coming up with them in the first place!
Measure B was proposed by Working Californians, a group co-chaired by Brian D’Arcy, business manager of IBEW, Local 18, and Marvin Kropke, business manager of IBEW, Local 11 in Pasadena.
Why don’t Californians just forget about those silly elections they mess around with and just turn all state business over to the unions that they allow to run everything anyway? No wonder California is in the worst mess of any state in the Union.
Obviously this is also a corrupt deal to give payback to the IBEW for supporting Mayor Villaraigosa. For sure it won’t do any favors to ratepayers and taxpayers in L.A. The cost of the plan is “estimated” at 3.6 billion dollars, though as government waste proceeds you can be sure it’ll cost far more when all is said and done. As for ratepayers, it is estimated that DWP electric rates will go up 12% in the area if the plan is implemented.
The L.A. Times had a story on this on the 9th, too.
So, taxpayers are being asked to pay for a fraud of a “alternative energy plan” that is little else but a giant payoff to an undeserving union, they will then find that the upkeep is a long term pay off to unions, that their rates will go up because of it, and no real benefit will be seen.
Welcome to Califraudnia.
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, Human Events Magazine, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston
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Liberals love their boondoggles, the insidious cycle of toxic promotion and payoff is central to their financing and power. This parasitic behavior is nothing more than brazen political corruption rationalized. Since when is bamboozling the public with slick talking sales hype a sign of leadership?
One has to wonder if the fall of the Roman Empire experienced similar parasitic behavior?