By Antonio D. French
Filed Tuesday, July 25, 2006 at 7:38 AM
Labels: Events
Activist and former Presidential candidate Al Sharpton will be in town today leading a protest at the downtown offices of Ameren. Sharpton and local community leaders are asking the electric utility to postpone a proposed rate increase for one year while the community recovers from last week's storms and the ongoing power outages.
The protest will be at 10:00 a.m. at 1901 Chouteau Ave.
8 Comments:
Whether or not you support the rate increase, assuming there are those that support such a thing, we all have to agree that it is grandstanding ridiculousness for Rev. Sharpton, or any national figure, to be in St. Louis protesting the recent storm and the unrelated rate increase. This is a major problem with the Democratic party. We have major members that can only fly around the country to create face time for themselves rather than really addressing issues that matter--poverty, education, crime. Let's see Rev. Sharpton and these other self-promoting grandstanders aid the United Way in taking water to the elderly or getting the elderly to cooling shelters.
7/25/2006 10:41 AM
Travis, whether it's Al Sharpton or Angelina Jolie, when celebrities speak out, cameras follow. Anything that brings attention to the plight of poor people should be appreciated.
Does it also bring more fame to Angelina, Brad, and Al? Sure. But as long as they keep using it for good, more power to 'em.
PS -- Al Sharpton was taking water and food to old ladies when you were still peeing your diapers.
7/25/2006 11:43 AM
Antonio:
You didn't address the fact that his protest was misguided and misleading. The rate increase has nothing to do with the recent service outages. He was abusing the recent disaster endured by St. Louisans for his self-promoting grandstanding. His actions here are deplorable.
7/25/2006 6:06 PM
First of all, Sharpton didn't come to town for this. He was already scheduled to appear at an event for Yaphett El-Amin.
Secondly, of course the rate increases are relavent. People lost a lot -- the poorest of us lost even more. To ask for more money in the face of something that you are at least partially responsible for is wrong, and possibly immoral.
Instead of bashing Sharpton for saying something about it, maybe you should hold your elected representative accountable for not even bringing it up.
And how is Ameren partially responsible? Ask a European. They laugh at this system which is so dependent on above ground wires. Bury them!! Especially in urban areas.
7/25/2006 6:52 PM
Is Ameren responsible for the non-buried wires? Or are WE responisible because we don't want to pay for it? If citizens were advocating for higher rates, to offset the increased expense of the buried wires, I don't remember it. Citizens are like customers, they want the best bang for the buck. By choosing the a less expensive, above ground, wire system, we should acknowledge that, yes, there will be outages from time to time due to storms.
You get what you pay for and we have paid for an above ground system that will fail during storms.
7/26/2006 8:57 AM
Hey Anonymous,
Just what the Hell are you talking about! "You get what you pay for and we have paid for an above ground system that will fail during storms". And that’s OK with you!
I guess your dictionary stopped at the "O's" because it sounds like
you never heard of the words PROGESS. Why don't you tell that to
Robert Tackett wife or should I say WIDOW. Did you read The St. Louis Post Headline: Ameren worker electrocuted, another worker injured. 5 to date I believe, education is a great thing - so let me kick you some.
Do you know why they bury them?
When 120-volt AC power is balanced, one side of the circuit has +60 Volts to ground while the other has -60 Volts to ground. (Across the circuit, the usual 120 Volts is still present. A European 230 Volt balanced power system has +115 Volts and -115 Volts to ground on the conductors. This means Electrical Safety. If this same storm happen in Strasburg, France the score would be Strasburg 0 St. Louis 5. And I'm not talking about a Baseball game.
It's called Corp GREED: let's check some figures.
Ameren Corporation
Fiscal Year-End December
2005 Sales (mil.) $6,780.0
1-Year Sales Growth 31.4%
2005 Net Income (mil.) $606.0
1-Year Net Income Growth 14.3%
2005 Employees 9,136
1-Year Employee Growth (2.7%)
Employees At This Location 150
Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. "it is a sin directly against one's neighbor, since one man cannot over-abound in external riches, without another man lacking them...Anonymous#2
7/26/2006 3:11 PM
I am sorry for the loss of the Tackett family. Any loss of life is terrible.
If your conscience is a bit off as a customer of such an organization as Ameren, may I recommend getting off the grid and generating your own electricity 24/7/365, if you desire electricity that is. Don't say it can't be done, it justs costs more. That is really my point; electricty, and the electricity delivery apparatus, cost money. Where is the trade off between cost and efficiency?
If you want buried lines, please let the regulators know. I would like them too and probably could afford the increase in rates. The poorer among us? I don't know. You can ask for something for nothing, but please don't be surprised at the response.
7/26/2006 3:53 PM
Anyone that would take this clown seriously is a fool !!!!!
7/27/2006 12:34 PM
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