More about entitlements and Big Business

I used to work for the phone company, so I have a little bit of firsthand experience with how utility monopolies work. I know utilities are an industry where people at the top effectively receive handouts but have little incentive to improve their product. (That's probably why your phone service has gotten so shabby.)

Utilities are supposed to be regulated by state committees. But these committees are filled by political appointees who were appointed by elected officials who were often backed by the utility companies. So if a utility wants a rate increase, that's considered an entitlement. This belief has become so entrenched that it afflicts both major parties.

I mean that literally. A few years ago, when a utility in Kentucky wanted to raise its rates on residential customers like you and me, the state vowed to fight much of the hike - but wouldn't touch part of the increase, because that part was considered a "right", even if the company failed to demonstrate that its service had improved.

Yes, I know: How dare I criticize Big Business, because they provide jobs. But like I said, I worked in the phone biz only a decade ago, so I'm not completely alien to the corporate world. I know the entitlement culture that pervades Corporate America isn't limited to utilities, but the prevalence of monopolies makes it stand out more.

If someone has a sense of entitlement, it means they think someone owes them without having to show they've earned it. Their priority isn't what they can contribute, but what they can receive. I believe this culture afflicts executives and wealthy stockholders in Corporate America. They too often believe a business's only purpose must be to serve the people at the top - namely, themselves. They believe it isn't there to serve workers, because we workers are considered machines to be exploited for the profits of the folks at the top. They believe the business isn't there to serve customers, because we as consumers are just dollar signs to them.

Corporations should be damn thankful for average employees and customers. Still they hamstring us with endless rate increases.

You know a utility company has gotten bitten by this bugbear when it demands (and gets) a yearly rate increase just because - even when wages haven't gone up a penny. (It's called stagflation.) In fact, sometimes they do it more than once in a year.

Is this a handout? You bet your bizcream it is! The only difference between this and what we normally think of as a handout is that it eliminates the middleperson of taxation.

Act like utilities are there to serve you - not the other way around. You pay your bills every month, so hopefully they'll deliver. People have made sure I delivered in every job I've taken, because that's what this country's supposed to be built on: accountability.