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JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
8. It's either chicanery or incompetence by the private sector.
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 10:35 AM
Oct 2012

They claim refinery fires and incidents.

We hear so much moaning and groaning about the incompetence of government, about how it is too big, about how we have too much of it.

But where do most of the horrible mistakes get made -- in the private sector.

If the government ran refineries so sloppily that they caught on fire or broke down over and over, we would hear a lot of screaming from the media.

But since this incompetence is in the private sector, you could hear a pin drop. Hardly a sound until prices rise.

This is why we need big government -- because our private sector is so untrustworthy and careless.

And tricky.

The question remains whether the refinery failure story was exaggerated -- or true at all. Because the day after our governor took some action that would cut into the profits of the California refineries, the day after Senators Feinstein and Boxer started talking about a congressional investigation, miracle of miracles, prices are set to go down.

California was the victim of the Enron scam. We will not allow the private sector to manipulate and use and cheat us again. The people who manage the private sector are citizens in a democracy just like everyone else. In the end, they have to act responsibly and answer to the needs of the community.

The availability and cost of energy including fuel, oil and gas affects our national security. My e-mails don't. Our government does not need to regulate or check my e-mails. Our government needs to check the safety and efficiency of our energy industry including our refineries.

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