News — corruption

Electric Utility Corruption  they are paying $200 million fines for bribery etc. 

The 8-3-20 NYT editorial, “When Utility Money Talks”, illustrates the corrupt side of electric utilities.

“citizens are getting a clearer picture of what they are up against. They are not just fighting dirty energy — they are also fighting the dirty money in politics that keeps it alive.”


" in Illinois, Commonwealth Edison, admitted in federal court to bribing political figures in that state and agreed to pay a $200 million fine”

“in Ohio “operating a $60 million political slush fund to elect their candidates, with the money coming from one of the state’s largest electricity companies”

“In New Orleans, the utility Entergy was caught hiring actors to show up at City Hall and pretend to be citizens in favor of a controversial gas-fired power plant; the company was fined $5 million. A big Arizona utility, Arizona Public Service, has become embroiled in repeated political scandals, including pumping millions in dark money into a campaign to stack the state regulatory board with its lackeys.”

“the big message from all these scandals is that you cannot assume your state government is working in the public interest as it oversees the energy transition.”

Big Oil's paid lobbyists are countering the campaigns to fight climate change. This is because they gain so much power and money thru their existing business model-sort of a bigger is better trend towards oligopoly and monopoly. This started with the oil companies merging into ever bigger corporations. Also this was done by big banks, pharmaceutical companies, media companies, weapons companies, hospital chains, software companies, ....... At some point they spend more money on lobbying and on campaign contributions than on their products, research and development, sales, employees, and customers. They buy out their competitors and restrict competition, then they raise prices. They get bailouts, government contracts, PPP loans, favorable court rulings, etc.....  article

article  Often in Monopoly, No Bid contracts.  This increases the costs and gives the war profiteers tons of money to lobby and fund politicans.

article  These secret pro-corporate judges rule in favor of bogus claims filed by polluting oil, pipeline, mining, toxic chemical,  waste dump,  and such companies.  It was inserted into trade deals (NAFTA, TPP,...)to overrule national laws in favor of large pollution causing corporations. ow they also want to give high prces to drug companies.

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article  We need limits on the interest rates for loans.  States used to have such rules banning interest rates above some low percentage such as 20%. the deregulation  of banking and the take-over of local state regulations allowed Big Banks to come in and take over the local banks and to remove state regs.