Posted on 10/25/2009 5:05:49 AM PDT by jonascord
Chicago is considering leasing its water system to help fix the budget.
The new boss could charge whatever they want for water, CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports.
In that light, access to water could be seen as "free".
Sounds like Daley is trying out “watered-down” politics!
No that didn't change. Chicago residents still get 'free' water (no water bill).
But many suburbs have now tapped into the Chicago Water System and we DO pay for the *privilege* of getting 'Chicago Water' (it is pretty darn good).
If Daley leases "his water" I'm sure we (the Village) will un-tap from the system and go back to our own Well Water. Which sucks as then we'll have to get a new Water Softener (when we got chi water everyone discarded their water softeners).
As a renter, that would be the case. For home owners, the water is not separately metered within the city; you are charged an estimated average fee for water use, twice a year. The amount is very low; I believe it’s around 600-750/household per year, no matter how much water you use. In the metered suburbs, that can be your water bill for one month (hot summer drought month that is, including the heavy watering of your lawn.) The city threatens to meter the homes separately except it would cause a riot in the poorer neighborhoods who get away without paying their water bills for extended periods of time. Leasing the system to a third party would definitely cause meters to be placed on every home, then the mayor (King Richard II) can blame the third party, private company for the incredible rise in water bills. The same way he’s blamed the tremendous increase in parking meters on the the vendor that the city leased to a couple of years ago. However this has backfired on him and people are in a rage over the tripling/quadrupling of parking fees, especially the small business owners on commercial streets throughout the city. King Richard needs to find ways to raise revenue so as to keep his bloated, corrupt bureaucracy afloat on the backs of the city dwellers. Long live King Richard II!
As always with a Chicago/Daley deal...follow the money!
Isn’t this the city that leased the parking meters out resulting in an increase in parking rates and a mountain of profit for the lessors?
Some functions are inherently governmental functions and cannot be privatized. Judgment over crime and resulting punishment is one. Maintenance of common goods for the benefit of all is another. In fact, this years nobel prize in economics went to a woman who studied exactly this problem.
Not charging a use fee so that economics regulates usage and creates incentives not to waste, however, is really stupid.
Don't the voters get some kind of say in this?
Guess not. Too bad, Chicago. You get what you vote for.
Well. You get what you and your dead people vote for, I suppose.
Think what Cass Sunstein can do with water!!
Every single well in my town was capped years ago. If something happens to that pipeline we're screwed. It's especially disturbing in light of the fact that my town was totally 'water independent' up until City water came in.
Our town was one of the first in the nation to completely recycle our waste water into potable back during the Nixon Administration.
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