When I was in high school I had one great teacher. He was also the track coach. He taught a course in Civics. I don't think he had a political agenda, but he did describe something called a natural monopoly". The idea is really just common sense and good citizenship. There are some things so common to us all that they need to be managed for the good of all. Air, water and energy was studied in class. If he taught the class today, he might include health care. The idea is that these most fundamental and essential necessities of life should not be subject to the marketplace. The only entity that can ensure that no one is taking advantage of others is the government. Free enterprise is a great concept but it cannot be unbridled. And it isn't. Completely free enterprise would allow companies to make and sell harmful things. So when you hear someone preach "Just get the government off our backs and everything will be fine", you are hearing something that is thoughtless.

I am moving back to Oregon from Texas in December where I will get my energy and water from the Eugene Water and Electric board, the largest non profit co-op in the nation. My water and energy bills will drop to a third of what they are here in Texas. The people who run it are elected public servants in the best sense of the word. The employees are well paid (a lineman gets about $35 and hour), are friendly, helpful well trained, and run programs to make every home energy efficient. It is the best example of public servants doing the public good. It is a model that should be studied. It recognizes that it is a monopoly and so it's charter is very careful to be responsible and not predatory. Remember Enron? That evil entity was the opposite of EWEB. That was a corporation. Defend it or not, corporations are the most likely candidate for the new tyranny. And if what Brian says is true, that corporations are us, then we have nothing to fear but ourselves.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein