Sunday, March 27, 2011

Water is life

Streets and sidewalks are important elements of a city, but water is life and sanitation is health. We can live without the first two elements, maybe inconveniently, but we can live. We can not live without the second two elements. Obligating water and sewer ratepayers and squandering precious financial resources for short-term temporary repairs of streets is reckless, unethical and immoral. The utility transfer is supposedly based on the premise that future savings will be realized from engineering efficiencies and from savings resulting from the synergies of the utilities being operated by Citizens (and Veolia and United Water – huh?). However, those future savings are not assured, just as the savings from the Department of Waterworks variable-rate bonds as well as all other promises of savings propagandized over the last few years, decades or centuries were not assured. Time after time, savings never materialize and expenses continue to rise until the next great scam (creative idea) is proffered to the citizens (serfs).

While many appear to be dismissive of the idea that serious inflation and even hyperinflation may be just around the corner; it appears foolhardy to assume that inflation or other financial maladies could not befall us all in the upcoming decade. Prudence would dictate that we tread carefully in obligating “citizens” to more unending debt. But I suppose that when a city’s economic mantra is a Ponzi scheme, I suppose it may be foolish to expect anything other than financial machinations.

No comments: