Wendy Sherman: “this weekend I was disappointed by the comments of the Vice President in talking about the California energy crisis.…”

“this weekend I was disappointed by the comments of the Vice President in talking about the California energy crisis. Vice President Cheney put forward the theory that California made a mistake with its deregulation, and therefore, California should suffer without any Federal action; that the blackouts and outrageous prices being faced by people in my State are somehow part of a divinely ordained morality play. Well, California did make a mistake. We put ourselves at the mercy of gougers, chiefly independent energy companies based in Houston, Texas. Our theoretical economist told us that if we deregulated, all these companies would produce independently as long as they could make a profit; that they would maintain their output. What we discovered instead was that if we came anywhere close to a shortage, a few of them would close down, create the prospect of blackouts, all in an effort to drive up the price. That is why the California Public Utilities Commission determined that not only are we paying outrageous prices, but deregulation, which according to the theorists should maximize the production of electricity, is actually causing the blackouts by causing them to underproduce.”