AOL, Telephone Companies and the "cableisation" of the Internet: 2 March 2006:

The Times, They Are A 'Changin' . Well well. Seems like big capitalism has had enough of this free Internet stuff. First, AOL decided to roll out a e-mail fee (some are referring to it as a "tax", but as far as I know, big corporations do not have the power to tax us.... yet) This would impose a fee for "guaranteed delivery", i.e. you pay "postage" on your e-mail or it might not get through. Another way to put it is that spam WILL get through. But it gets better: now telephone companies (etc) have come up with another way to peg you with hundreds, if not thousands of niggling fees, in the form of a surcharge for downloading larger files. No matter that we are already paying for this in the form or more expensive ( read: faster) services such as DSL. Now we get to pay extra charges for using what we've already paid for. Did you really think it would last forever?

Basically, these corporate giants have read a page from   Big Oil's book. It's a simple thing to understand. You don't need to charge a lot to make a lot, if what you're charging for happens, say, 100 million times a day. All you need to charge is a penny.... to make a million a day. Look for your Internet experience to become a nightmare of extra charges, "eulas", automatic charges and 10 page bills as new fees descend on us like an army of flesh-eating ants. Keep your credit card handy...

Enron and New York State Energy Deregulation: December 2005

    Well, the fruits of New York State's energy deregulation are starting to bear fruit. I'm sure you've noticed your energy bills are a little more than double what they were a couple of years ago. Yet there is little or no consumer outcry. Apparently, people believe that deregulation is (still) a good thing.One wonders how this is possible: expressed another way, how high do people's bills have to go before they get it?

    New York's deregulation programme was born in the midst of Enron's crash and burn ( or, more accurately, the crash and burn that followed their rape and pillage of California). Do you think that would have given the State of New York pause? Nah. Why? Look at all the benefits we've incurred: we get to pay over twice as much as we used to, bills that rival an astrophysics doctoral thesis in complexity, not to mention all those wonderful telemarketers who call incessantly telling us how much money their (new) energy companies can save us. Oh, spare me! Think of telephone deregulation for a second: except for a few long-distance call packages, offered by telephone companies who own their own facilities, have you ever really saved by using an "alternative" phone company? I've been through them all, and they're all full of it. They give you a fantastic offer, with "no hidden extras" , but your savings never seem to be greater than a half-percent (not worth the trouble). Most of the time your new bill is about 1.5 times more!

Economics 53

    Perhaps it's time for a little lesson in economics. We can't call it "Economics 101" because that would imply a level of advancement far beyond the basic concepts I'm about to outline here. Fifty-three is significant also because it's just about the I.Q. of anyone who believes that deregulation will save them money. These people are probably also the ones who believe that N.A.F.T.A., C.A.F.T.A. and S.H.A.F.T.A. will improve their chances of finding another job.

    The concept is heartbreakingly simple: The company that owns the supply and production of the raw materials that comprise it's product can obtain and use these materials cheaper than another company that has to buy it from them or another producer. To make it a little more clear, the company that produces it's own gets it at "cost". The company that gets its raw materials from others has to pay the profit margin of the company they obtain it from. So who can make the cheaper end-product? Correct. Duh. Pay attention to this concept: it's also the reason that privatising Social Security will cost you more and pay you less.