by Robert Spencer
The real “progress” to which “progressives” are leading us.
The state of California is implementing full Marxism before our very eyes under the guise of “equity.” And so now there can be no possible doubt if there ever was for anyone: instituting Communism has been what “equity” initiatives have been about all along. Now three of its most powerful utility companies are saying that they’re going to charge based not on how much of their product was used, but on how much money the user makes.
In simpler times, if you bought something, you paid for it. Rich or poor, tall or short, black or white, female or male, wise or foolish, everyone paid the same amount for a product. But in our more enlightened era, we know how unjust that really is. It deprives the poor of access to vital goods and services, and that injustice must be redressed.
That’s what Communism is all about, at least in theory: leveling out economic differences between people by confiscating earnings from the rich and awarding them to those who have less. This is the fundamental reason why Marxism, despite its extraordinarily bloody historical record, still appeals to so many people, rich, poor, and in between: it appears to redress the injustices in life and provide everyone with a decent living.
The problem with it arises from the fact that capitalism is inescapable. It is an iron law. It is not actually an economic system that can be discarded and replaced with a better one. It is simply the way human interactions work. If the California utility companies are going to make people who have more money pay more for the same goods and services they could get for less money if they had less, there will be several results: wealthier people will seek to hide their wealth through various means, so as to pay the lower rate. Some enterprising entrepreneurs will make a good living by helping them do this. So from the Marxism of the utility companies will come more capitalism.
Also, people will see that there is no point in working harder to try to earn more money, as the state will just confiscate it in various ways. Consequently, people will work less, and less hard. The standard of living will decline, because productivity will have declined. This is why Communist countries have always been economic failures: they block the capitalist incentive that people have to work hard, and thus destroy the only path to prosperity.
That is the disastrous path that Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, and San Diego Gas & Electric are now planning to follow. ABC 7 in Los Angeles reported Friday that the three utility giants “filed a joint proposal this week for a flat-rate charge based on income.” Not a flat-rate charge, period, but one based on how much money you make. “The plan would break monthly bills in two parts: The fixed-income rate, plus a reduced usage charge based on consumption. Under the proposal, it would cost as little as $15 a month for low-income households and up to $85 more per month for households making more than $180,000 a year.”
What the utility companies don’t realize, because Marxists never realize, is that they will thereby be incentivizing being a low-income household and penalizing those making more than $180,000 a year. They will thus get more low-income households and fewer that make more than $180,000 a year. The old Marxist adage, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” rewards having a need, but not having an ability: those who produce are essentially made the slaves of those who do not. Since no one loves being a slave, this means that there will progressively be fewer people who have ability and ever more who have need. That’s the real “progress” to which Leftist “progressives” are leading us today.
All this is in the works in California because this is the way Gavin Newsom’s state government wants it: “The income-based bill proposal is part of the companies’ compliance with legislation passed by the California state government last year requiring these types of plans for utilities. The California Public Utilities Commission would have to approve the proposal and make a final decision by mid-2024. The fixed rate could start showing up on bills as soon as 2025.” After that, watch for the wall to be built around California to keep those who are productive from escaping becoming slaves to “equity,” unless the whole country has embraced Marxism by then.
Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He is author of 26 books including many bestsellers, such as The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), The Truth About Muhammad and The History of Jihad. His latest books are The Critical Qur’an and The Sumter Gambit. Follow him on Twitter here. Like him on Facebook here.
Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/california-goes-full-communist-utilities-to-base-what-they-charge-on-how-much-you-make/
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