Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/28953
4A – Daily News – Saturday, April 9, 2011 Opinion SmartMeters D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Editor: For all those who were enthusi- astic about the state legislation putting the pressure on the PUC telling PG&E to come up with an alternative to the SmartMeters, well here it is. Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 PG&E has agreed to give their customers an opt-out plan. You will still get the SmartMeter but you can ask PG&E to turn off the meter’s transmitter, the wireless signals, and pay a higher monthly bill. For those who want this option you’ll pay at lest $20 more a month. PG&E is predicting at least 145,800 customers will choose to turn off the transmitter and pay the higher monthly bills. PG&E has set up a payment plan as follows; 1.) You can pay $270 up front and pay around $14 extra a month, or 2.) You can pay $135 up front and pay around $20 extra a month. If you move you’ll have to pay an “exit fee.” Then wherever you move to and if you still want to opt-out you’ll pay the fee again, but they anticipate the fee will go up. Kathy Nelson, Red Bluff Antelope sewer Editor: I have read many letters on the Antelope Sewer Project and attended various meetings over the years. You are all missing the point. If the state, county or city cared about your health, they would back a water system. But, this pro- ject is about the future commercial development of Antelope Boule- vard. Antelope already has city water out to Salt Creek and 36E. To be commercially developed, like big hotels to support the Fairgrounds, you need a sewer system. About 15 years ago, the city paid Pace Engineering for a study to extend the city's sewer system, which ends at Motel 6, out to 36 East. This would have been a sin- gle trunk line down the middle of Antelope to service city businesses and future development. For those of you unaware, Antelope is in the city limits. Compared to the $25-30 odd million for the current proposal — which by the way, is just for the main sewer, not for your hook-up — the cost was negligible. Still, it was too much for the city and local developers, so they started look- ing for a way to spread the costs. That is when the project bal- looned to its present scope. You, the residents of the Antelope val- ley, are being asked to pay for the commercial development of Ante- lope. I live here, too. Right in the middle and my well only has .5 nitrates. But then, nobody asked me. It is not about the water. Steve Bills, Red Bluff Just say no Your Turn Editor: Tehama County Board of Supervisors just keep it simple. Say “Nope to Dope.” We have been telling our kids for a long time to “Just say no to drugs.” Sam Collins, Red Bluff Useful Editor: I've been meaning to thank Tang Lor for the useful items she has published. I am a nurse working with Medi-Cal recipients in the com- munity. The website offering news for the visually impaired was a very useful data bit, and when I passed it along, eagerly snapped up by my colleagues. Thank you Sara Myers, Red Bluff Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. The American Worker Commentary Last week there was news on both the national level and our local level about the American Worker. It was reported that the General Electric Corporation had over $14 billion in worldwide prof- its, over $5 billion of which came from operations in the United States. Nevertheless GE did not pay any federal taxes! Not only that, it is “owed” $3.2 billion in federal tax credits. Furthermore, its CEO received a 100 percent raise while at the same time the compa- ny is cutting workers income and benefits and shifting jobs out of the country. Some commentators reported these facts as a slap in the face of the American Worker as well as an example of “cozy” tax laws. The local Democratic Party sponsored a dinner a week ago Wednesday evening celebrating the American Worker; approxi- mately 150 people attended. The American Worker has gotten the short end of the stick over the last few years. Data from the Census Bureau, the State Department of Finance, the Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics, and other sources suggest we have a shrinking middle class, and a rapidly growing well off fis- cal elite; this divergence may por- tend an important turning point for our democracy according to alarmists who have reacted to this phenomenon with warnings; oth- ers say it is part of the business cycle and the market system and will self correct over time. One economist has reminded us that over time we will all be dead. In the meantime most Americans are earning less in constant dollars than 10 years ago, official unem- ployment rates are high, and many have stopped looking for work. A striking example of these phenomena is the decline in per capita income; according to Cen- sus Bureau data per capita income in the United States in constant dollars was $27,939 in 2000; in 2008 it had fallen to $26,964, a drop of $975 per capita. This 3.5 percent drop per capita equals a total income decline for the entire population in the vicinity of over $302.25 billion. That amount is not small change. In that same time period the percentage of United States fami- lies earning less than $35,000 per year grew from 24.8 percent to 26.8 percent. This means that there were 2.99 million more families earning less than $35,000 per year in 2008 than there were in 2000. Similarly the median family income dropped by $1909 per household; this means the half way point between the bottom and the top of the income distribution dropped. If your family income in 2008 was the same in constant dol- lars as in 2000, you have climbed up the income distribution ladder! On the upper end of the spectrum, the number of families with incomes greater than $100,000 grew by 1.2 million during this same period. These are not small demographic shifts. From the end of 2000 through 2010 the Consumer Price Index rose from 172.2 to 218.1; this rep- resents an increase of 26.66 per- cent. I am not sure how or why this growth in the CPI took place most- ly under an avowedly fiscally con- servative federal administration, but some have speculated there is a relationship. Some have also point- ed out that only 3 million jobs were created in the eight years of that administration, compared to over 23 million jobs created in the prior eight years. History will have to tell us if this is a valid comparison. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that for the peri- od from December 2001 through December 2010 the cost index for all civilian workers has risen from 97.0 to 101.7, a growth of less than five percent, or approximately one fifth of the growth in the CPI above. It is reported that in a 1937 Gallup Poll seventy percent of Americans supported labor unions; a Pew poll in 2010 reported that 60 percent of those surveyed stated that unions had too much power. The number of union members in the private sector is now just seven percent. The Republican Party has chosen public employee unions to be the scape- goat for all kinds of state budgetary problems, and those unions are under attack. Many American Workers have benefited from the union battles that brought the eight hour day, overtime, and other “typical” working conditions to most of us. In other countries this is not so. In China, in the factory that makes iPhones workers had to work 11 hour shifts seven days per week. One day, an upset employee climbed up to fac- tory roof and jumped, committing suicide. Seven other employees followed him the days after. The factory placed a net around the roof to prevent jumping, and raised wages. That has solved the “prob- lem” for now. Even in America workers are not necessarily being treated fairly. It has long been the law of the land that equal work deserves equal pay; nevertheless in the class action case, Dukes v. Walmart, there were allegations of wage dis- crimination against female employees. Walmart has argued that with seven divisions, 41 regions, and more than 3400 stores and well in excess of one million employees that it is “impossible” for any small group to represent a class in the legal sense. This sounds a little bit like “too big to sue.” It also sounds like a callous approach to the treatment of employees. Walmart has recently pledged to promote more women, and the United States Supreme Court overturned prior lower court rulings against Walmart in this case for technical reasons, fittingly on April Fool’s Day; the vote was 5 to 4, of course. Some have speculated that if Walmart would decrease its annual profit margin by only one percent, it could afford to provide wages more comparable with Target, a major competi- tor who is gaining ground on it. Those increases in income for its employees would, through the multiplier effect, stimulate local economies throughout the country. Joe Harrop All of the above is about currently working people. We cannot for- get the unemployed in considering the plight of the American Work- er. Over 1.4 million people have exceeded their 99 weeks of unemployment benefits. This is a large number, and I am sure that each has his/her own story, so it hard to say they are all lazy. In California there are 2.2 million on the unemployment rolls, making an official unem- ployment rate of 12.2 percent. Data show that employment in California as of February this year is up slightly in all categories except in the government sector where it is down 2.5 percent from a year ago. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated non-agriculture payroll increased by 236,000 jobs last month. Although this data is encouraging, experts indicate we need to generate significantly more new jobs per month to return to what we now accept as being full employment. So what can we say about the American Worker? Perhaps that those who are working are having trouble keeping up, and those who aren’t working are truly struggling. Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net.