In the UK the big energy companies stand accused of ripping off consumers at the tune of 4 Billion Pound. It is no secret the government is totally infiltrated with people from either the banking or energy sector, simply because those two sectors are so important in our fossil based economy.
“Toothless regulator Ofgem ‘can’t investigate’ claims energy giants skimmed £50 from every household in pricing scam”
“Big Six’ firms too close to ministers, says Ed Miliband”
We will read more of these type of newsitems in the near future. The reason being that banking is losing grip over the energy sector, and tries to regain it by letting the public fleece it’s financial position. Even if you are enraged by the high prices or a 50 Pound scam perpetrated on you, you will be doing the bankers job and not what you need to do to help yourself to a better future.
“The so-called big six – British Gas, SSE, Eon, EDF, npower and Scottish Power – paid £4 billion more for power than the market rate by buying energy produced in their own power stations, according to shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint.”
The force field between politics, banking and energy is one that always drives us to a worse outcome. This is because banks and energy companies can provide immediate solutions to the needs of people, and politicians can’t have a carreer if they do not meet those needs, the sooner the better. Hardship can only be dealt to those that are irrelevant voters, or if it really needs to happen, for some reason of constructive sacrifice. Of course the sacrifice never serves anyone else but the banks and energy companies. It can’t simply because sacrifice is unproductive, only be producing more we get into a better position.
There is never a rip-off if you get something you can not produce yourself. Don’t want to get ripped off? Produce your own energy!
When one tries to keep the old energy producers in power it serves well to have discussions about irrelevant topics. One of them is the taxes and subsidies for fossil companies. One would think these are relevant discussions, depowering the fossil energy sector by taking their cash, but it isn’t unless that cash is never spend. If it is it will be spend on fossil energy, and end up with the fossil energy companies anyway. The way to turn the energy supply to one that knows no scarcity is to force banks to invest in them, or by adopting specific currencies to separate out fossil fuel credit, labour credit etc (See Euro Auro Joule).
Better not rage about ripoffs, but focus on real wealth production factors
The discussion needs to turn away from money and towards real produtivity, quota, tonnages and reserves of vital commodities. This way production, the determinant of our wealth can be monitored without bias or extraneous control, and technologies can be applied that will secure it and consolidate it in strategically invulnerable ways. With renewables that can be easy.
Switching away from fossil requires laws combining simultaneous changes in the credit and energy sectors
Of course there is another agenda, which is to push energy companies to part with their gas faster, so shale gas from the US and UK (UK made a 20 year deal for the insanely polluting crap) will be introduced causing an economic boom, damaging the UK environment but benefitting the financial sector. You say an economic boom is good, we say a wealth increase is good and economics is fundamentally incapable of delivering secure wealth.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/10/sse-raises-prices-average-annual-bill
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/big-six-energy-firm-bosses-2654687