the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Apr 26, 2010
The Los Angeles City Council and Department of Water and Power (DWP) have passed a nearly 5% electric rate increase. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the DWP board, appointed by him, had been publicly calling for an even bigger increase. But the politicians on city council left the door open for further rate increases in October.
Why this rate hike–especially when the DWP is running a big surplus, and just gave 73.5 million dollars to the city treasury?
Supposedly to switch to less-polluting technology instead of coal to generate electricity, according to the city politicians and DWP officials. Never mind that no one has bothered to give any details as to how long this project will take, and how much it will cost, and how many companies will make how much profit off of it.
No matter–in the middle of the worst recession in decades, when official unemployment in Los Angeles, as in California overall, stands at more than 12%, city politicians are increasing the burden on working people even more, so that they can hand their greedy friends still more money.