Editor, Manteca Bulletin,
Reading the newspaper, watching the news on TV and just plain trying to absorb it all is giving me a headache. I have not started to drink – yet. My fear is I might be getting close. For years I hear PG&E telling us how to save money on our bill, and then they turn around and raise our rates because they are not making enough money.

So, lately I made my own time line on just Northern California. Basically, it’s like this, we (the people) lost Mare Island and all those good paying manufacturing jobs. We lost Alameda Naval Air Station and those machine shop jobs, Treasure Island, the same thing. We lost The Presidio in San Francisco. We lost Castle Air Force Base. We lost Fort Ord. We lost two Air Force bases in Sacramento. We lost Rough and Ready in Stockton that had DIPEK, a huge machine shop. All or most of these were huge buyers of PG&E power, gas and electricity.

So now on the heels of losing the Dana Plant in Stockton, and NUMMI in Fremont, PG&E is losing a ton of money. Dana alone paid over $100,000 per month just in electricity to PG&E. If PG&E has enough money, like the $16 million they spent to lobby for Proposition 16, they don’t need a raise. If the law needs to be changed, then since PG&E is a “public” utility, then they should not be allowed to sell stock to a foreign country, government or person. Their stock should be available to “this” public only. PERIOD. How funny is it that PG&E wants to change California’s constitution, and make it a law for them just to take our money when three of their largest investors are from a foreign country? And don’t call PG&E for a quote, because it will cost $2,300 because they can’t keep losing money by quoting a job and not getting it. If I get 20% of my quotes I am a happy camper. What’s the difference between them and me?

This is so much like this health care mess going on. I hear all day about how much money this will save. Well, basic household economics tells all of us that if you want to save money, don’t spend it. So it seems the savings is going to be not spending it on services. The people in Washington have not shown me they can save one thin dime. They prove it every day by how much the borrow from just the Chinese alone. I know one thing for sure, if this bill passes, those people in Washington better not borrow one more red cent from any country, especially the Chinese.

Try selling war bonds and let me invest in my own country.

Hey, Washington, show me first, and then let me decide.

When you buy a car, you take it for a ride first. The car company’s quality history plays a big part in a new car sale. When you go to the store and buy a gallon of milk, you trust it is milk from a dairy cow, not a horse or mule or who knows what. We trust that by the milk company’s historical standard of quality. We trust in truth and quality. So far in this administration, I have not seen either one.

As more manufacturing go off shore, so will our manufacturing base and jobs. I have a short message for the environmentalists. I want them to give up everything they have that was made go off shore. For example, we have only a few steel mills left in the U.S. Those were great jobs. So, give up all the steel in your life. The nice SUV, the metal toaster, the rain gutters, every nail that is in your house - in short everything that is made from steel just to start with, and see what you have left.

It’s no different than rolling dice and hope you don’t crap out.
Gary J. Duran
Manteca
March 9, 2010