Prop 16 and 17

Prop 16: Would require a 2/3 vote from the given surrounding populous before municipal agencies could get into the retail power business.
According to (www.ballotpedia.org) Pacific Gas & Electric has sunk $46.1 million into promoting this prop. The opponents have only raised about $50,000 .

What does this mean to me? Well… for starters obviously the commercial utility giants are not in a hurry to compete with more municipal power agencies. Any time it takes two thirds of any group to agree it rarely happens. What this law would do is allow the propaganda from the big money to further their cause by brainwashing the population with lies and one-sided truths. Unfortunately freedom of speech only grants the freedom to speak. Not the realistic opportunity to be heard.

The thought that Pacific Gas & Electric has sunk $46.1 million opposing the prop means there is definitely money to be made in energy distribution. Yet the commercials would have you believe that municipal power agencies are a threat to the taxpayer.
Wouldn’t the acquisition of more municipal power companies act to help with the given cities bottom line? Wouldn’t adding a real moneymaker help the tax burden?



Prop 17: Basically it would allow insurance companies to offer discounts to customers coming in who have been continuously insured. Personally I was not aware that a prop needed to happen for this to be able to occur. That being said… and with the knowledge that Mercury Ins. Is a major sponsor of the bill I have to think about it.

My fear… Hypothetically: And from the most naive perspective... If the prop passes it would allow the insurance giants to gobble up and recruit more and more of the good customers by offering superior rates. Making it harder and harder for the smaller companies to continue. This in the long run would leave the smaller companies to continually take on more and more risky divers. Those people with loyalty who stayed with their original insurance company would be stuck subsidizing the bad driver by paying ever increasing rates as the ratio continues to be tilted.