{"id":370967,"date":"2010-02-27T12:05:03","date_gmt":"2010-02-27T17:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"tag:ronkayela.com,2010:\/\/1.958"},"modified":"2010-02-27T12:20:35","modified_gmt":"2010-02-27T17:20:35","slug":"somebody-has-got-to-pay-for-this-dwp-outrage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/370967","title":{"rendered":"Somebody Has Got to Pay for This DWP Outrage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>        <meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta name=\"ProgId\" content=\"Word.Document\"><meta name=\"Generator\" content=\"Microsoft Word 10\"><meta name=\"Originator\" content=\"Microsoft Word 10\"><link rel=\"File-List\" href=\"file:\/\/\/C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CCOMPAQ%7E1.YOU%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml\"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>\n <w:WordDocument>\n  <w:View>Normal<\/w:View>\n  <w:Zoom>0<\/w:Zoom>\n  <w:Compatibility>\n   <w:BreakWrappedTables\/>\n   <w:SnapToGridInCell\/>\n   <w:WrapTextWithPunct\/>\n   <w:UseAsianBreakRules\/>\n  <\/w:Compatibility>\n  <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4<\/w:BrowserLevel>\n <\/w:WordDocument>\n<\/xml><![endif]--><\/p>\n<style>\n<!--\n \/* Style Definitions *\/\n p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal\n\t{mso-style-parent:\"\";\n\tmargin:0in;\n\tmargin-bottom:.0001pt;\n\tmso-pagination:widow-orphan;\n\tfont-size:12.0pt;\n\tfont-family:\"Times New Roman\";\n\tmso-fareast-font-family:\"Times New Roman\";}\n@page Section1\n\t{size:8.5in 11.0in;\n\tmargin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;\n\tmso-header-margin:.5in;\n\tmso-footer-margin:.5in;\n\tmso-paper-source:0;}\ndiv.Section1\n\t{page:Section1;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<p><!--[if gte mso 10]>\n\n\n<style>\n \/* Style Definitions *\/\n table.MsoNormalTable\n\t{mso-style-name:\"Table Normal\";\n\tmso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;\n\tmso-tstyle-colband-size:0;\n\tmso-style-noshow:yes;\n\tmso-style-parent:\"\";\n\tmso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;\n\tmso-para-margin:0in;\n\tmso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;\n\tmso-pagination:widow-orphan;\n\tfont-size:10.0pt;\n\tfont-family:\"Times New Roman\";}\n<\/style>\n\n\n<![endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><i><b>EDITOR&#8217;S NOTE: Read the consultant&#8217;s report recommending massive DWP<br \/>\nelectricity rate hikes at <a href=\"http:\/\/ourla.org\/\">OurLA.org.<\/a><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><b><br \/><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">You don&#8217;t<br \/>\nknow nothing if you didn&#8217;t know this was coming: Massive DWP rate hikes.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">How else<br \/>\ndid you think they were going bail out the sinking ship of the city except by<br \/>\nsocking it to you?<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">It&#8217;s all<br \/>\nbeen a setup, planned for a long time and now it&#8217;s being executed: 800 percent<br \/>\nincrease in the &#8220;energy cost adjustment factor&#8221; pass-through on April 1, 20<br \/>\npercent increase in the next 12 months, 33 percent with last year included.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">And from<br \/>\nthere, you can be 100 percent certain your power rates will keep going up and<br \/>\naway, doubled and tripled.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">You are<br \/>\nsitting in the DWP&#8217;s electric chair and they are about to pull the switch. I&#8217;ve<br \/>\nbeen telling you this was coming for months so don&#8217;t be shocked when your<br \/>\nelectricity bill soars higher than your mortgage.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">Don&#8217;t kid<br \/>\nyourselves: It&#8217;s the people who have mortgages that are paying the bulk of<br \/>\nthese rate hikes.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">They<br \/>\njiggled the rate tiers to punish the 40 percent of residents who live in single<br \/>\nfamily homes while keeping bills low for most apartment dwellers and tripling<br \/>\nthe number of customers with heavy subsidies to 250,000 households &#8211; a sixth of<br \/>\nDWP&#8217;s customers.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">They<br \/>\nsquandered tens of millions of dollars pretending to go green but have the<br \/>\nworst renewable energy portfolio in the state so they are desperate to buy wind<br \/>\nand solar power from anybody who has some no matter what it costs to meet the<br \/>\n20 percent goal mandated by the state by the end of this year.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">They have<br \/>\npainted themselves into a corner and don&#8217;t know any other way except to slug it<br \/>\nto the middle class, from those just getting by on two family incomes to those<br \/>\nin the upper middle class who have seen their wealth decline sharply and their<br \/>\nincomes fall. <o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">This is<br \/>\ntheir cockeyed theory of municipal socialism laid bare, a redistribution of<br \/>\nwealth that gives pennies to the poor and feeds the insider culture that has<br \/>\nfeasted so long on the public treasury.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">The DWP<br \/>\nis the city&#8217;s cash cow. It has hired 1,400 workers since the recession began<br \/>\nand now has transferred 300 city workers facing layoffs to its payroll with<br \/>\nmost of them getting raises of 20 to 40 percent.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">When<br \/>\nother city workers gave up raises, City Hall rewarded DWP employees with 3.25<br \/>\npercent lump sum cash payments and guaranteed them raises of up to 4 percent<br \/>\nfor the following four years &#8211; raises for people who already are the highest<br \/>\npaid utility workers in the nation.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">Somebody<br \/>\nhas got to pay the bills for all this featherbedding and over-indulgence, and<br \/>\nthat&#8217;s you. <o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">Somebody<br \/>\nhas got to pay for all these sweetheart contracts for contractors, consultants<br \/>\nand power purchases, and that&#8217;s you.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">Somebody<br \/>\nhas got to pay the bills to rebuild the water and power infrastructure that is<br \/>\nbursting and blowing up from neglect while they put the money into the pockets<br \/>\nof workers and insiders, and that&#8217;s you.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">And every<br \/>\ntime you pay more, don&#8217;t forget that nearly 20 percent of your money goes<br \/>\nstraight into the general fund to bail out City Hall from its deficits that<br \/>\ntotal billions of dollars and are going up every week by millions of dollars.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">Somebody<br \/>\nhas got to pay, alright. I say make them pay. If you want to help me do that,<br \/>\ngo up to the right-hand column of this page and see how you can donate to OurLA.org,<br \/>\nmy non-profit community news and networking site so I can hire a reporter who<br \/>\nwill work full-time to penetrate the secrecy of the DWP and expose where your<br \/>\nmoney is really going.<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\">Or you<br \/>\ncan just get used to paying more and more of your hard-earned money for less and<br \/>\nless. <o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<p> <input id=\"gwProxy\" type=\"hidden\" \/><!--Session data--><input onclick=\"jsCall();\" id=\"jsProxy\" type=\"hidden\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"refHTML\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EDITOR&#8217;S NOTE: Read the consultant&#8217;s report recommending massive DWP electricity rate hikes at OurLA.org. You don&#8217;t know nothing if you didn&#8217;t know this was coming: Massive DWP rate hikes. &nbsp; How else did you think they were going bail out the sinking ship of the city except by socking it to you? &nbsp; It&#8217;s all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4290,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-370967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4290"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370967\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}