Holober, Richard

By Richard Holober
Consumer Federation of California

It was a long night of watching election returns.  I was at an election night party with scores of labor and community activists at an IBEW hall. That’s right - construction electrician locals OPPOSED PG&E’s Prop 16. We were all waiting to see if PG&E’s early lead would dissolve.
 
It was after midnight when Prop 16 dropped below 50% on its way to the final count: 47.5% Yes to 52.5% No.

PG&E spent $46 million of its ratepayer dollars on Prop 16 to make sure our electric rates remain high, without asking the consent of its ratepayers. PG&E spent those dollars to convince ratepayers that elected local officials shouldn’t enter into any cost-saving direct purchasing arrangements with electricity generating companies unless the government agency first received the approval of two-thirds of local voters. Maybe PG&E couldn’t see its double standard, but voters certainly did.

By Richard Holober
Consumer Federation of California

Want an easy way to figure out who benefits from a ballot proposition? Follow the money.

PG&E wrote Prop 16 and contributed $34.6 million to win its passage.

The flood of Prop 16 TV ads don’t mention that the initiative was written to guarantee that PG&E’s high priced electricity monopoly will never be challenged.

Prop 16 makes it nearly impossible for locally elected officials to bypass PG&E and use the purchasing power of hundreds of thousands of local residents to negotiate discounts from independent power generation companies.

                           

By Roy Ulrich and Richard Holober

One of the lesser-known tragedies of the Reagan era was the Federal Communication Commission's decision to abolish the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. That doctrine used to require radio and television stations to air opposing and contrasting views on controversial issues of public importance. In 1992, the FCC expanded its ruling to include ballot measures.

By Richard Holober
Consumer Federation of California

As public opposition to its Proposition17 grows, Mercury Insurance is making panicked  efforts to deceive Democrats and progressive organizations about this rate- hiking measure.

Prop 17 opponents include the California Federation of Teachers, California Nurses Association, SEIU California State Council, the Alameda and San Mateo Central Labor Councils, UFCW Local 5, Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports magazine), Consumer Watchdog, Consumer Federation of California, Consumer Action, Consumers for Automobile Reliability and Safety, United Policyholders, The California Alliance for Retired Americans, The Democratic Central Committees of Los Angeles and San Mateo Counties, Congressman and Former Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi and many others.

By Richard Holober
Consumer Federation of California

If utterances from the White House following the Massachusetts debacle are more than posturing, then the Administration’s tone deafness on health care reform may indeed be a terminal illness.

Normally level heads including Paul Krugman call for a Congressional Charge of the Light Brigade, blogging post-Massachusetts that “House Democrats need to be told to pass the Senate bill.”

Howard Fineman calls this a Democratic March to Folly akin to generals pursuing a military campaign in the face of incontrovertible evidence that it will lead to ruination. 

By Richard Holober
Consumer Federation of California

Labor, political and community leaders gather this evening at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco to honor Chuck Mack, a living legend of California’s labor movement.

Chuck Mack stepped down last May as Western Regional Vice President of the Teamsters Union and President of the union’s state and Northern California councils to take a new post as union co-chair of the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Fund.

By Richard Holober
Consumer Federation of California

Each year Californians are treated to a Governor Schwarzenegger makeover when he gives his State of the State address. Schwarzenegger version 7.0 used a quaint story about a pig and a pony to emphasize the need for lawmakers of both parties to work together to solve the horrific budget disaster over which he has presided.

Beyond these conciliatory comments, the speech was filled with the customary grand gestures, gimmicks and straw men to rail against, that have become stock in trade for his annual address.

By Richard Holober
Consumer Federation of California

The health care reform bill just approved by the US Senate contains a provision that allows a state to develop an innovative health insurance program and obtain a waiver from the federal individual insurance mandate and insurance exchange requirements.

This language is a rare exception to a US Senate bill that is more insurance-industry dominated than the House of Representatives bill. The waiver language offers a glimmer of hope to California health care reformers who are dismayed by the Senate’s elimination of a public insurance option that is included in the House bill.

The language for the state waiver is found on pages 212-219 of the Senate bill.

By Richard Holober

Wall Street knows a gold mine when it sees one, and it likes what it saw in the Senate health care bill.  Health insurance company stocks soared to an 18 month high the day the Democrats reached the magic 60 votes needed for passage of its overhaul bill. 
 
For the better part of a year, Congressional Democrats have labored mightily, only to give birth to a mouse of a reform.  After being truncated in the House, the public option is now gone for good, as is the possibility of Medicare eligibility for those below the age of 65. With those threats removed, private insurers will benefit substantially from a bill that delivers them 32 million new customers, with virtually no cost controls and no price competition.
 

The Consumer Federation of California released its 2009 Scorecard for State Lawmakers today.

The scorecard should help Californians evaluate how your state representatives voted on consumer protection bills that affect our pocketbooks, our privacy, and our health and safety, but often get little news coverage. Not sure who represents you in Sacramento? Look up your lawmakers here.