Another budget gem from the most “liberal” President evah:
President Barack Obama’s budget proposal Wednesday said TVA could be sold after a coming “strategic review” and suggested transferring ownership of the authority could help reduce the federal budget deficit.
TVA is just another one of those New Deal legacy projects — aka socialism. Surely the fine folks in Tennessee will applaud the privatization of this public energy company. Isn’t that why they vote for Republicans? Rejected one of their own for GWB in 2000?
Or maybe not:
…Several lawmakers joined Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander, the state’s senior U.S. senator, in throwing water on a possible sale of the authority known as TVA.
…TVA’s advocates say that because it reinvests profits, the federal corporation contributes to low electricity rates that help attract businesses to the region. The utility itself has almost 13,000 employees.
Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., a Republican whose district includes TVA’s Knoxville, Tenn., headquarters, said the budget proposal “is not likely to go anywhere.”
If selling TVA would only hurt the dumbasses in TN that elect regressive Republicans hell bent on destroying all parts of the New Deal not in TN, I’d be for it. But low income people in TN can’t afford privatized utility bills. Then there’s the precedent of selling off what little common productive assets we own. We need more and not less commons.
Makes perfect sense – sell it to someone like Bain who will gut its capital, run up debt and fire 3/4 of the employees. Then they can market the dregs to some foreign consortium. The good ole free market – what’s not to like?
Exactly. But it’s also important to mention that it will be heavily discounted when sold. Probably not down in single digit pennies on the dollar as was done in Russia (Jeffrey Sachs one of the gurus in that privatization scheme), could be as little as twenty-five cents and no more than sixty cents.
Maybe they’ll throw a little consulting cash at Mitch Daniels while they’re at it. He’s become quite experienced in such matters. I’m surprised we still have any state parks left after 8 years of him.