Mailbag: Consumer Protection Is A Nice Thing (UPDATED)
The Czar goes through his mail.
The almighty Borepatch writes in to say:
😉
(Doesn’t this make you glad you don’t have comments?)
Heck, BP, the Czar would welcome comments like that all day long. Trust all is well.
Meanwhile, MC stops by from his advance scouting mission in Burma to refer a story for your attention:
The utility will charge average users 60 cents a month extra on their electric bills for the next three years—$21.60 all together. That covers the cost of the bulbs ($3.50 each), their delivery and the delivery of the power consumers would have used if they didn’t have them.
WTF? Some utility is going to charge its customers $22 to “give” them two Gorebulbs? This is a mind-bending “Moammar-at-the-UN” level of crazy. Not only did the utility come up with this steaming pile of stupid, but the Ohio Public Utilities Commission approved the rate hike!
Even Bastiat couldn’t have dreamed of something this insane, and he imagined a town full of rock throwers and glaziers.
Easy now! Moammar is an advocate of pulling the UN off American soil, and the man may just have something there. But on the other hand, you’re right: this is basically mandating social policy.
On the other hand, the Czar would remind the utility company that any unsolicited product sent by US Mail to a private residence that is legally a gift. And if said utility attempts to make the recipient pay for them, whether they use the product or not, the homeowner should simply notify his or her local US postal inspector, who will follow up with legal action against the sender at no charge to the homeowner. Whoops! If the utility does not send them by US Mail, the recipient should simply refuse delivery and thereby no charges can be collected. If the package is left on the front door—yes, it becomes a gift once again. The utility may wish to re-think this plan.
Meanwhile, the recipients should enjoy the bulbs. They work really well and last for quite a while.
UPDATE: MC writes back to say the offer has been postponed until further notice. Well, good luck! You all could have had some nice light bulbs for free, there, Cleveland, but you moaned and lost out. MC recommends you click on the link to see a very clever cartoon involving lightbulbs.
The Czar adds only, oderint dum metuant.
Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.