Texan Lt. Governor Dan Patrick blames constituents for giant electric bills: "Read the fine print"

Not my all caps:
TEXAS LT. GOVERNOR DAN PATRICK BLAMES CONSTITUENTS FOR GIANT ELECTRIC BILLS: “READ THE FINE PRINT”

It looks like the Lt. Governor is pointing the finger at this constituents saying they took a gamble with variable rates. Many are still trying to recover from what happened while trying to figure out these outrageous electric bills. The snow may be gone, but the sticker shock will certainly hurt the wallet for some Texans.

What do you think?

 

He is correct.
Variable rates are just that, variable.

Most of the analysis I have seen on the variable rates vs the fixed rates show a cost savings of about $900 - $1,200 per year. This being a “10 year storm” would have saved them $9,000 to $12,000 during that timeframe.

Strange to see so many conservatives go full “socialism!” (only because it impacts them) because of choices they made after calling for secession less than two months ago.

 

He’s being blunt, but probably on point. If you sign a contract you’re obligated to abide by it.

 

Variable vs fixed is fine for mortgages. Not so for electricity. Speculating on your own power bill should be illegal.

As crude as it is, the Lt. Gov. is right. Texans need to rethink some things.

 

The government should cover the costs of public utilities, if they are going to own public utilities. There's nothing socialistic about it. The government made a claim, and now the government wants to pass the burden onto others. If anything, it's the government that's being parasitical but what else is new.

That's the biggest thing I think I'd appreciate living in Europe. Their governments aren't anywhere as close to as parasitical as to what we put up with as Americans.

 

"You pays your money and you takes your chances."
They knowingly took the risk with the variable rate. I don't see a problem.

 

The utilities in question are privately owned. The contracts between the customer and the provider are private too. Freedom loving individuals would most likely agree that the government needs to keep their power-hungry hands off of these private relationships.

 

Seriously, us conservatives and libertarians constantly complain about the massive federal and state governments that want to control everything. We generally feel that smaller government is better government. I am surprised at how many conservatives and libertarians are wanting more government regulations to usurp the free market and customers' choices here, indicating that they really aren't believers in smaller government after all. Come on people, think! Do you want a nanny state that has their hand in everything, or do you want freedom and liberty? Do you want government provided security, at the loss of freedom that is inherent in that reality?

 

Dan Patrick was on 700KSEV Radio in Houston just the other day, and he actually ran ERCOT and the providers through the wringer. Said the government would find who was responsible and they would be held accountable. I was pretty disappointed, because he is generally on the libertarian, conservative, free market side - but he was definitely taking a big government progressive nanny-state view. I'm glad to see that he toned that down and is seeing things more clearly now.

 

This 100%! I realize that you are generally on the other side of the aisle than I am, but you can chalk up a win for liberal leftist progressive socialism, because there aren't many free market libertarian conservatives out there anymore. Oh sure, some will talk the talk, but when it comes to walking the walk, it just doesn't happen. Seems me and Jack Hays are the only ones left.

I just have one request... I'm close to retirement, and am just going to pull back and try to live out my life in peace, and I won't bother your side, but could y'all at least leave me with enough crumbs from my stored up retirement wealth that I don't have to beg for food on the street corner?

 

Well, personally, several times as a matter of fact, I made a choice to bypass a possibility of a lower mortgage payment in exchange for knowing that the max was within my budget by passing on the variable rate options. But you lost me at "should be illegal" for your power bill. Like my mortgage, it's a choice I probably wouldn't make for myself, but if it's something that is available as an option, it should be my choice to make, not some government crony's. But the Lt. Gov is right, if a little harsh in his language. The people who took that risk did so knowing what the downside was, or at least they should have known. And if they didn't know, it's their own damn fault for being stupid.

You plays the game, and you takes the chances.

This is the land of the free and the home of the brave, and the nanny-state nonsense you endorse is beyond the scope of my understanding. You make your choices, I'll make mine, and the guy (or gal) down the street can make theirs. It's not the place of the government to do so for us.

 

That's beyond stupid. The "government" does not have the money with which to cover the costs of public utilities, all they have is what they take from us in the form of taxation, which is sadly often based on income, net worth, or the value of our assets, as in the case of property taxes. It's not the governments place to pay for our power costs, that's our own personal responsibility. And it DAMN sure isn't right to do so with money they've taken from others based on their income and/or net worth, instead of a more equitable system like sales taxes and user fees.

It's the same thing when you guys advocate cradle to grave health coverage by forcing other people to pay for it, ultimately at the point of a gun. I saw something the other day that it was being suggested that people's health insurance rates be based solely on their INCOME, and not other metrics. That's no different than charging someone a variable rate for a loaf of bread based on a percentage of their income rather than the fact that a loaf of bread costs $1.49. It's time to put an end to the nonsense.

 

Well, what do you expect from the guy who said that the elderly are willing to die to keep the economy open during covid:

“No one reached out to me and said, ‘as a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?’” Patrick said. “And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in.”

"And that doesn't make me noble or brave or anything like that," he continued. "I just think there are lots of grandparents out there in this country like me... that what we care about and what we love more than anything are those children."

Sometimes, it would be better to stay quiet and have people assume you are a fool, rather than open your mouth and ensure that people know your are a fool.

 

BTW: Variable rate mortgages are NOT fine. They contributed to the housing crisis in 2008. What do you expect when a large number of people can barely get by with, say, a $1200 monthly mortgage payment, and then it all of a sudden doubles to $2000? Plus, those rate changes usually come at the most inopportune time, i.e. times of job loss or widespread energy outages. This kind of stuff is not free market economics, it is legalized street robbing.

 

Don't know about other areas but where I'm at I have the "budget" option for electricity and gas where the monthly rate is based on 12 month averages of past usage, so's I don't get slammed on gas in the winter or electricity in the summer. Gambling is best done in casinos, if at all.

 

What government in Texas owns the utilities?

 

Very few people want true “socialism”, instead we just want what virtually every other first world nation has — all of which has shown to decrease stress, increase happiness, increase quality of life.

No one should be worried about medical bills when they are being rushed to surgery. No one should be forced to choose between having a child and work. No one should be forced to forgo a home to get an education.

Do you think the elderly are begging for food on the street corner in Norway or Switzerland? (Most of them retire with a far more comfortable life than we do and they do so earlier)

 

Democrat logic: Lets shut down the economy to "protect the elderly".
Also Democratic logic: Let's force nursing homes to take in Covid patients.

There is a reason that the elderly death rates in Democrat strongholds resemble those of an abattoir.

Moral of the story, NEVER follow Democratic logic.

 

Unfortunately the Democrats were the only party offering any real action on Covid-19. Yes, the Trump administration created Operation Lightspeed which resulted in what appear to be successful vaccines, and that's an absolute credit to them. But beyond that? Republicans at the state and Federal level have spent most of their time complaining about the inconvenience of the virus instead of ways to deal with it.

If you're a rational person who knows you can't just pretend away the virus's effect on pretty much everything, you're left with little option but the Democrats because at least they are doing something. What they're doing is certainly not all good, but they at least know it's something that must be dealt with.

 

Republican logic:
-Pretend that covid is just like the flu.
-No lockdowns, just let the virus rip through the population, no matter what the cost in lives.
-Masks are for sissies, people who tell them to put on masks at the CPAC have to be booed.
-Peddle unproven "cures" like HCQ

And the list goes on. No wonder we are one of the worst developed countries in the world with respect to the covid response. 4% of the world population, but 20% of world covid deaths. Enough said...

 

Don’t forget “sacrifice the weak for the economy”

 

If the government doesn't(and we acknowledge that it doesn't) have the money to cover the costs of public utilities then maybe it shouldn't be charging for public utilities?(Also, the discussion of the government's costs don't even begin to weigh in lobbying money, the recent 2020 elections cost more than several countries GDP combined.). It seems like this federal government, when it wants to can easily waste the money.

This isn't a socialistic prospective, and it's not even a Democratic or Republican prospective. I am criticizing the entity of the federal government, wit whole LARGE for its own failure. You cannot claim to have social goods and "Oh, we're going to charge you these goods that we are providing and essentially hording." It's no different from any other monopoly economically, except this monopoly has the threat of the federal government behind it(and/or state/local governments as this issue is.)

It's really simple, these people pay money not to a private company or vector, but to the State of Texas. If Texas wants to provide for electricity, then it cannot hike these rates and basically squeeze every penny out of the average day Texan(for point of reference, I do not live in Texas.)

It's cronyism, is what it is.

 

An interesting story and set of facts from MJ Davies, thanks much.

 

You keep saying the state is the one that is doing this. Are these not private companies?

 

If these are private companies, why is the LT. Governor involved or even commenting about the situation?