Obama Proposal To Sell TVA Blasted By Republicans

[yurbud]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON -- In a political role reversal, Republicans are blasting President Barack Obama's plan to consider selling the Tennessee Valley Authority, an icon of the New Deal long targeted by conservatives as an example of government overreach.

Obama's 2014 budget proposal calls for a strategic review of the TVA, the nation's largest public utility with 9 million customers in seven states from Virginia to Mississippi.

Selling the U.S-owned power company could reduce the federal deficit by at least $25 billion and "help put the nation on a sustainable fiscal path," Obama says in a budget document.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/16/obama-tva_n_3090958.html

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Does anyone remember voting for Obama to tear down the New Deal?

Here in California, it was only about ten years ago that the power companies reminded us why they shouldn't have unregulated privatized control of utilities: they turned off generators, sold electricity generated here out of state, and even turned off the lights in rolling blackouts to blackmail billions of the state.

The minor savings of this sell off would be more than made up for by extra people in the area will end up paying for electricity.

Why not sell an aircraft carrier instead?

[benld74]

1. How bouts using the Grand Canyon for a land fill!

[AnotherMcIntosh]

3. Only if it doesn't interfere with the continued development of 11 uranium mines in the Grand Canyon.

Uranium mining in the Grand Canyon. What could possibly go wrong?

[CokeMachine]

53. It's already the dumping ground for air pollution

from LV and S. Calif..

[AnotherMcIntosh]

2. "Does anyone remember voting for Obama to tear down the New Deal?" Great question.

It should be asked more than once.

[GeorgeGist]

4. Obama is bluffing.

[drm604]

6. I think you may be correct. At least I hope you are.

He's gotten the Republicans to condemn cutting SS, and now he's gotten them to condemn utility privatization.

[leftyohiolib]

12. he's calling their bluff

what ever he's for they're against

[durablend]

14. 11 kajillionth dimension chess

Obama's got the Republicans right where they want him!

[woo me with science]

44. He's proposing it because he opposes it!

Just like cutting Social Security!


The propaganda is getting weirdly Orwellian: "He proposes cuts because he opposes them."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2676584

[yurbud]

58. this would be idiotic on a couple of levels. Most obviously, the GOP could take yes for an answer

Almost as obviously, most people will never see the "strateregy" behind this and just remember Obama wanted to sell the TVA, cut Social Security, and whatever else Wall Street dictates, even if he eventually changes course or that isn't the outcome.

People remember the shocking headline not the correction on page 23.

Case in point: I was talking to my students about the Boston bombing and someone mention the Olympic bombing and said, "Didn't that security guard do it?"

In fact, he found the bomb, and the media decided he was the prime suspect, but it turned out it was some anti-abortion guy.

But by then, most people weren't paying attention, so someone who was actually a hero remained a scapegoat in the minds of most who remembered the story at all.

Obama is essentially doing the same thing to himself by proposing destructive, failed conservative policies.

[JDPriestly]

5. Obama got a mandate. And now he is using it to oppose everything his supporters

stand for. Betrayal yet again or just another "chess move"?

[yurbud]

8. every time he opens his arms to the GOP, we get the back of his hand

[jsr]

23. Or a kick in the teeth

until there are no more teeth left

[yurbud]

24. then he'll require we buy dental insurance.

[jsr]

26. which will be lovingly named

the Dental Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - instead of the Dental Industry Income Protection and Profit Guarantee Act.

[SharonAnn]

7. Generating electricity is only part of what TVA does. They also manage

the Tennessee River basin for flood control (through the many dams and reservoirs) and for navigability. I can't see a private utility doing that without charging and enormous arm and leg for it. Plus, only TVA has the current expertise for that and I wonder how many of their employees would stay?

I live near Knoxville which is near the end of the navigability of the river. You can go to the Gulf of Mexico from here. The industries in the Midwest and here in TN, AL, and KY depend upon the river for affordable transport of large, bulky items and the barges are in continuous operation. Some of the items shipped around East TN are corn, coal, and recycled metal. But there is much more and it's much more energy efficient that even trains.

The river system from here to to Paducah, Kentucky where it joins the Ohio River is long, winding, beautiful, and dangerous. The strong rain storms we get, even with the stringent flood control provided by the TVA and the Army Corps of Engineers, can still cause serious flooding (Nashville two years ago). TVA is one of the biggest, on-going public works I've ever known.

TVA maintains several "tenders" which are large, shallow ships that do maintenance all along the river system. I've seen one outside my house repairing navigational buoys after a particularly severe flood 6 years ago. It's enormous! The Chevy Suburban parked on the front deck looked like a toy! The captain in the wheelhouse was on my eye level and I'm about 20 feet above the usual water level. And yet, this big behemoth could come into our "creek", reset the buouys and turn on a dime and leave. This was pretty minor work for them, they usuallydo much bigger stuff. These guys work on the tenders for two weeks at a time then they're home for a week. These tenders ply the thousand miles of river all year long, from one end to the other. Repair public boat ramps, navigational buoys, mileage signs and navigational signs along the river, public parks, etc.

Oh, and TVA is also responsible for the encouragement and development of industries as part of the river's economic system not to mention the recreational uses of the river.

Talk about upsetting millions of people! The only reason anyone would want to privatize this or any other utility is so that the executives could get huge salaries and bonuses which they can't get with this public entity. And I do mean HUGE! Check any of utilities that went public and compare their executive compensation and income from stock options before and after the privatization.

[yurbud]

9. that makes it sound like it's worth a lot more than the $25 billion the article mentioned

[House of Roberts]

17. Since TVA has three current nuclear sites

and a fourth in construction, and the liability is underwritten by the people, we should be the owners and beneficiaries of the profits.

[SharonAnn]

29. It has cost us, the public, hundreds of millions (if not trillions) to build this entire system.

Why on earth would we consider selling it for pennies on the dollar so that someone can price-gouge the very public that paid for it?

[Zookeeper]

52. Not to mention the many people who lost their homesteads and land...

"for the greater good" when the hollows were flooded by the TVA. (Including some of my extended family.)

No one has any right to privatize this.

[valerief]

10. Or why not sell tax subsidies for oil giants to private industry?

They could commoditize that and private investors could pay for their whopping subsidy.

[hughee99]

11. Selling a power company would reduce the deficit by $25 billion?

Don't most public utilities (and especially power companies these days) turn a profit or AT LEAST break even?

[Doctor_J]

13. Countdown to party switch continues

Remember the apologists telling us how in term 2 he would release his inner liberal?


It's gotten to where he, and all of them, make me

[durablend]

16. Well he IS a transformational president

Converting the Democratic party into another wing of the Republican party.

[BrotherIvan]

18. Seems like he's decided to release his inner Reagan

Those donors want payback.

[WillyT]

45. Yep... K & R !!!

Me too !!!

"It's gotten to where he, and all of them, make me

[msanthrope]

15. Excellent. Let the customers of the TVA call their Repuke reps and give them the

whatfor. I hope the local papers publish the utility rates.

[phantom power]

19. what the hell???

[Cryptoad]

20. How Funny

All the Red Moocher States got there panties in wad over the possibility of having the cheap Federal socialist electricity teat turned off!

Obama is playing the GOP like a well tuned fiddle!

[yurbud]

25. if only there were evidence he was playing them instead of doing the heavy lifting for them

and putting the stink of their bad ideas on the Democratic Party.

[vkkv]

42. I agree - Make the GOP look like the "takers" that they are.

No excuses for the 'Greedy Ol Party'.

[Lars39]

46. Yes, it's always funny thinking of some of the poorer places in the US paying more in electric bills

Income here is generally lower than in the rest of the country.

[geek tragedy]

21. Give the Red State voters a taste of the medicine they'd like

to inflict on the rest of the country.

They have no entitlement to suckle at the federal teat while wanting to slash social welfare spending for others.

[QUALAR]

22. He's Kidding, Right?

Mothball our current "drone policy" and sell the terrorist drones to a peaceful country. Maybe Micronesia would be interested in terrorizing Palau or the Marshall Islands. There's endless opportunities.

[pscot]

27. He really should come out of the closet

and admit he's a Repuke.

[area51]

59. +1 n/t

[liberal N proud]

28. I am double shocked

Shock 1: Republicans are against privatization.
Shock 2: Obama is proposing privatizing.

[neverforget]

40. He had his fingers crossed when submitted the budget because he

doesn't really mean it. We've been told that many times here that Obama is playing a game and that us peons don't understand

[aggiesal]

43. Shocked! Shocked! I say . . .

Last edited Tue Apr 16, 2013, 04:27 PM - Edit history (1)

that there is gambling go on here!

Casablanca - Best Movie Ever!

[DiverDave]

30. When You've thought he couldnt go any deeper

now SPIN this!

More 9th dimensional chess, right?
HE knows that selling it will NOT lower prices.
WTF is going on?

[Doctor_J]

31. OTOH, if the Repukes are against it, I am for it.

But getting outflanked on the left by teabaggers is grim

[Phlem]

32. Why Not!

he's in his last term. He's got nothing to lose! As long as we don't touch the military budget, everything's fair game!



-p

[PufPuf23]

33. Bad idea.

Obama's legacy is already opportunity forgone.

Fuck Reaganism.

[freshwest]

34. My dearest dream come true. The GOP embraces socialistic, government run programs. It's a miracle!

[Sunlei]

36. a miracle :)

[Sunlei]

35. there must be a lot of privatefor profit people scarfing up federal billions for republicans to be

so upset over this Pres. O. statement.

Upset in an instant too..over something for years republicans have been saying is gov overreach and big spending.

I wish President O would make many more of these kind of statements, multi-task the hell out of them President Obama...it will overload the republicans paid media blitzes.

Would love to see those few billionares spend a trillon a month on their media propaganda to dominate America.

[freshwest]

38. LOL, yes, they are spinning like tops trying to keep up with their 'conservative' base.

[Sunlei]

39. the cheap leases handed out to oil and beef corporations would be a good next target

we lose billions in federal funds over those leases because the huge corporations grab a huge share.

The low price leases should only go to small companies/ranches. Let the corporations pay full standard price.

That's our American public lands, we should not have to lose billions in our federal funds so the big-good old boys can make private profits.

President Obama has not even touched the DOI except to finally let go of Salazar the slaughter Tzar.

[WinkyDink]

37. Is this A JOKE?????

[BumRushDaShow]

41. "long targeted by conservatives as an example of government overreach"

FFS

How fucking dense can DUers be?

Rethugs say "CUT 'X'!!!!"
Obama says "Okay, how about we cut 'X'?"
Rethugs say "NOOOOO. You can't cut 'X'!!"
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

He's actually got rethugs (who are so blinded by their own hatred of him that they continue to oppose anything and everything that he proposes) to actually embrace, on the record, something that THEY opposed for decades.

I mean come on with the foaming-at-the-mouth blindness to this phenomena.

[yurbud]

49. what evidence is there that he's doing that? also, it work on SS, Boner now supports cuts

[yurbud]

50. and what the hell good is a tactic that makes your constituents distrust you?

[Octafish]

47. No. I voted Obama for a New New Deal, actually.

Perhaps it was publicity stunt, but I thought it was clear he was interested in being a Democrat.

[yurbud]

48. further evidence that DLC Dems would rather be right (wing) than win elections

[FiveGoodMen]

51. They'll probably make a lot more money selling out their country

than they would in office.

[grahamhgreen]

54. God, this guy is relentless in his promotion of Far Right ideology!

[progressoid]

55. Jebus H.

[Fearless]

56. How best to screw the American people?

I assume he'll go after the post office next. Asshole. These are people's lives we're talking about. I love how people rationalize this bullshit by saying "well it's just a few dollars more"... People are FUCKING BROKE! If you need just a "few dollars more" get it from the fucking wealthy.

[Uncle Joe]

57. It's amazing to me how so readily apparent it is that our nation needs to move

in exactly the opposite direction to get our national house in order.

Private for profit prisons should be outlawed, we should have efficient universal single payer coverage versus mandates to prop up and institutionalize the for profit health insurance industry.

I couldn't disagree more with Obama, I can only hope he's spouting this nonsense re: selling the TVA to leeching for profit entities in an attempt to move the Republicans away from their "socialism" echo chamber.

Thanks for the thread, yurbud.

[yurbud]

60. the proposal has nothing to do with whether or not it's a good idea--it's what the people who own DC

demand.

[Shankapotomus]

61. K & R nt