Make Oil a Public Utility

[Joanne98]

The furious moans and groans about gasoline and heating oil prices have been met with a public-be-damned attitude from the oil industry — and nothing is being done to rectify the problem. Prices continue to sky-rocket.

Why not designate oil companies as public utilities?

A public utility has been defined as “a business that provides an everyday necessity to the public at large” — such as water, electricity, natural gas, telephone service, transportation, cable TV and other essentials.

Because of the need for and dependence on these commodities and products, the business of supplying them is readily subject to abuse. Without regulation, price gouging can become rampant in a time of great demand and economic turmoil, such as this.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/24/7863/

[billybob537]

1. good idea

But the oil companys will buy every congress critter to avoid this.

[Joanne98]

4. You're probably right. But we should try anyway...

Maybe we can get Bernie Sanders to write the bill.

[stellanoir]

2. yeah but most of our public utilities have been privatized.

National Grid anyone. . .?

How can we reverse this trend?

[Joanne98]

5. Have an energy revolution. Turn every home and car into a generator.

Turn all the energy companies into nothing but exchanges and then unprivatize them. it will be hard but we can do it. they are nothing but vampires at thise point.

[stellanoir]

7. You can lead the cause dear.

The solar panels my bro installed have not functioned in years so I'll have to bring up the rear.

[pbca]

3. Part of the problem is

Oil prices are high everywhere - what if you make it a public utility and nothing changes? Demand for oil from China and India is climbing daily and there are people, in Canada, who are now pushing for the oil sands to be shut down altogether because of the environmental impact.

The reality is that oil is going away, society I think needs to decide how they will deal with that rather than worrying about the oil companies.

Biofuel, by the way, isn't a real solution - is a corn subsidy disguised as an environmental program.

[Joanne98]

6. The bio-fuel won't help until a new breakthrough happens..

But the car companies should be required to make all the tanks flexfuel. So we will be ready when it happens.

[youngharry]

8. Oil as a Public Utility

Joanne98 is right. Oil is the perfect business to make into a Public Utility. Either that or pick one of two other options: 1) Regulate oil profits, so that no oil company can earn more than 7-10% on their investment, or 2) Fine oil Companies an excess profits tax.

This kind of regulation should also apply to all CEOs running companies on Wall Street. NO MORE GOLDEN PARACHUTES, ESPECIALLY AS THEY HAVE INCREASED THEIR COMPANIES PROFITS BY ILLEGAL MEANS.

THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECKONING IN THIS COUNTRY AND A SERIOUS LOOK AT RE-REGULATING ALL MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATIONS (THAT WAS UNDONE BY RONALD REAGAN), ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT TAKE THEIR HEADQUARTERS OUT OF THE US IN ORDER TO AVOID US TAXES.