Mandela Barnes: “The Game is Rigged Against All of Us
Wisconsin Has Frozen Rates Before—Mandela Barnes Will Do It Again
It’s Time To Freeze The Rates.
Mandela Barnes sat down with WisPolitics Capitol Chats to talk about his campaign for Governor, where he discussed his plan to Freeze the Rates and take on Wisconsin’s greedy utility monopolies who are price gouging Wisconsin families.
With Mandela Barnes as Governor, Wisconsin will not see another rate increase approved. He will only appoint Public Service Commissioners who will freeze the rates and deny any price hikes from the utilities.
When asked how how utilities will be able to cover “reasonable costs,” Mandela Barnes set the record straight, and goes on to remind listeners that Wisconsin has frozen utility rates before:
“Being able to reasonably turn a profit doesn’t include huge executive bonuses at a time where people are struggling to keep the lights on. Acting reasonably doesn’t include spending millions of dollars on lobbying and political expenses.”
“The PSC is set up for a reason. We want the Public Service Commission to act in the interests of the public versus the interests of profit for these for-profit companies. It speaks to the system–the game being rigged against all of us.
“We see families that are rationing food and medicine just to keep the heat on in the dead of winter. And at the same time, these greedy utility monopolies post the highest profits across the entire country and those big bonuses and million dollar checks that go towards lobbying, political expenses, you name it.
“We are going to ban ratepayer dollars from being used on lobbying and political expenses and we are going to cap executive pay for utilities,”
When Mandela Barnes becomes Governor, Wisconsin will Freeze the Rates again and take on the greedy utility companies with pro-ratepayer policies, including:
- Closing the Revolving Door. He will close the revolving door that lets PSC commissioners who use their roles as a stepping stone to becoming wealthy utility executives running the very companies they used to be regulating.
- Holding Greedy Monopolies Accountable. Mandela Barnes will pass legislation caps the pay of wealthy executives for utility companies and companies from using ratepayer money on lobbying and political expenses.
- Stopping Greedy Utilities from Profiting Off Shuttered Fossil Fuel Plants. Mandela Barnes will close the loopholes that have forced rate payers to pay for the debts of shuttered coal plants just so greedy utility monopolies can rake in massive profits even after a plant has shut down.
- Cutting Taxes and Costs for Property Owners. Tom Tiffany and Republicans in Congress recently repealed tax cuts for property owners who can take steps at home like sealing windows to prevent heat loss and updating HVAC systems to save money on monthly heating bills. Mandela Barnes will pass state-level tax cuts to help Wisconsinites afford these commonsense improvements to lower their utility bills.
- Bringing More Renewable Energy Online. As Governor, Mandela Barnes will build more renewable energy here in Wisconsin, including cutting red tape to get more renewable power built at home and invest in battery storage so that energy reaches the people who need it. More Wisconsin-made energy means lower bills and steady, good-paying union work for Wisconsinites.
REMINDER: Wisconsin’s utility monopolies have nation-leading profits, but continue to increase costs for Wisconsin ratepayers, causing a quarter of Wisconsin households to miss utility payments and more than a third to cut back on food and medicine to keep the lights on. Greedy companies like WE Energies recorded over a billion dollars in income last year and paid their executives over $32 million, while customers report increases of more than $300 per month.
