Our View - Friday

WATER HIKE DEFIES LOGIC
Customers pay for conservation

   Only a monopolized public utility, selling a product humans need to survive, gets to raise prices in response to decreasing demand. Imagine a news story that said something like this: Housing prices are increasing because fewer people are buying homes and realtors need greater profits from the few that sell.

   Or how about a story saying this: Automakers have raised the price of SUVs because fewer people are buying them.

   Preposterous. In a free market, the principles of supply and demand work as reliably as the principles of gravity. Fuel prices are rising because more people worldwide are burning gas, and little effort has been made to increase supply. People aren't buying SUVs like they were a year ago, because of fuel prices, so dealers have a surplus of SUVs sitting in lots. To get rid of them, and generate revenue, they've slashed prices. To sell an SUV at a loss, after all, is better than letting it age and never selling it at all.

   Lower demand for houses has been a coup for people shopping for homes. The market has accomplished what pandering politicians never could: It has provided "affordable housing."

   Which brings us back to water. In Colorado Springs, consumers are buying less water from Colorado Springs Utilities. It's due to several factors. One is the social trend toward conservation, which Springs Utilities has encouraged. Another is the fact consumers are dealing with inflation in the costs of food and fuel, forcing them to save money however they can. Water customers who could afford a lush green lawn a year ago may be deciding against watering grass this year.

   So the demand for water is down. In the competitive world, this would mean bargain water rates. Springs Utilities would try to sell more water by adjusting the price in order to generate cash.

   Unfortunately, water sales don't work that way in a headwater state where responsible utilities executives ask customers to buy less. As such, we have a defiance of gravity.

   Because of declining sales, Springs Utilities wants to raise the average residential water bill by $4.59 a month. Customers are buying less, so Utilities wants to charge them more.

   Springs Utilities gets to defy the laws of supply and demand because it's the only seller of water in the city. No matter the cost, people must flush toilets, shower, drink and wash dishes and clothes. And the regional water supply isn't so abundant that consumers should be encouraged to buy more. The price increase, in fact, will result in more water conservation. Utilities offcials estimate a 4 percent decrease in water sales from the planned rate increase, and the decrease could be substantially greater if soaring inflation continues.

   Though Springs Utilities isn't a competing enterprise in a free market, it's not good that consumers may get higher prices for conserving water. It's punishment for good stewardship.

   Before the Colorado Springs City Council simply approves the requested rate increase, all other possibilities must be put on the table and carefully examined. Does Springs Utilities really need more money, if it's delivering less water? Citizens need to know. And what possibilities exist for greater privatization of the water Colorado Springs owns?

   Here's one radical idea: the city could broker its water rights to multiple wholesale buyers, thus infusing Springs Utilities with cash that could be invested for profitable return. Brokers could compete to resell water, delivered through city infrastructure, at competitive retail rates. Would it work? Who knows? But the possibility should be examined.

   Communities throughout the world have found creative ways to promote competitive pricing for running water, while advocating conservation. Colorado Springs must study their experiences. It's time for the city to innovate. Another bold, monopolized rate increase - to punish good behavior at a time when consumers are struggling to get by - is the last thing our community needs.

CARICATURE CONS HURT GOP

   The conservative movement, under Ronald Reagan, did great things. Government growth slowed. Americans were led to seek freedom, not aid. Today's conservative community, defined by caricature conservatives, seems less in the business of intelligent, rugged individualism and more in the business of fear, entitlement and glamorized ignorance.

   Consider Wednesday, when Barack Obama - a liberal Democrat - told Americans to learn and compete. He told them to forget government language mandates. "They want to pass a law, we want English only. Now I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with that. But, but understand this. Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English - they'll learn English - you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual. We should have every child speaking more than one language."

   This sounds like a conservative telling citizens to stop fussing, stop waiting for government solutions, and start elevating themselves. Twice Obama said immigrants should learn English. But Americans, if they want greatness, should learn the most common language in the western hemisphere.

   Instantly, caricature cons went haywire. A typical post on Sean Hannity's site said: "I am furious about Obama's idiotic statement that we need to teach our children Spanish. Why? Are they going to live in Mexico?"

   Perhaps. But maybe they'll want to trade with Spain, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Colombia, Panama, etc. They may want to teach English to an immigrant, or travel.

   Bobby Eberle is CEO of GOPUSA.com, which says he's "recognized as an emerging leader in conservative politics," profiled in USA Today and Insight magazine. The emerging leader fears Americans learning Spanish: "We need a president who will put America first, not push for our culture to be forgotten. ... We need to make sure our kids can speak Spanish? Why? ... It's because the liberals are quite happy seeing millions of illegal aliens pour across our border."

   Actually, demands of our economy have drawn immigrants over the border - a concept genuine conservatives comprehend. Caricature cons see the immigrant as a minority and therefore a liberal. Their assumptions defy facts: Latino immigrants, even illegals, are typically church-going, family values, workhorse traditionalists who oppose abortion and hold dear the values of social conservatives. But caricature cons, in control of the GOP, have shoved them away.

   The conservative movement is in trouble when its members resort to attacking Obama for advocating home education and personal growth. It's in trouble when members think citizenship, handed to them at birth, is so intrinsically valuable that Americans should snub bilingual education to preserve a culture that will otherwise be "forgotten."

   Genuine conservatives advocate family education and a competitive edge. Caricature cons promote provincial stupidity and an official language. They fear foreign language and culture will destroy us, as if we're that weak. If they keep it up, Obama will appear as the man who promotes personal responsibility and prosperity. And millions of Republicans will vote for him.