For TVA, Obama “change” is coming
September 11, 2009
As the Obama blueprint of federal government reorganization gradually unfolds, some of it startlingly clear since January, each move is certain to be scrutinized very carefully. In a small move on Thursday with the nominations to two of the four unfilled seats on the TVA board, not much different strategy is revealed.
A Legal Aid lawyer and a labor-economics professor, it could be said, are typical left-leaning nominees to a right-leaning board and to be expected of this administration. The question is, why were not the remaining slots filled with those with similar administration views? Now that the Senate, the confirming body, is almost totally left-footed, it would seem that the administration may be blowing a chance to confirm all four board positions of their liking in relatively short order. It should come as no surprise that these two picks are Democrats or democrat supporters. After all, they are political appointments that would be serving at the behest of the Obama White House.
Regardless of whatever the future holds for TVA, these four new members could hold sway to the “changes” promised by the Obama administration in a very short time.
The TVA has been called many things but one thing it ain’t is a regular tax-paying, competitive, investor-owned electricity utility. It has played a confusing role in the history of America since 1933. FDR wanted it to be “as flexible as a corporation with the power of the federal government” to paraphrase his statement. A couple of these kinds of federally-backed agencies are the two disastrous mortgage twins, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
Over the years, TVA has wielded much eminent domain power without evincing anything near a competent, quick moving corporate entity. TVA is so bogged down and strangled with its own version of red tape trying to be a fish in a fowl world that it has wound up with an impossible debt of $25 billion (and growing) with no way but a bailout to save it.
I’ve written a lot about the TVA and in a forthcoming article I will investigate possible scenarios of the future of TVA.
For a recent article, see http://norsworthyopinion.com/TVAunhappinessinMudville.aspx
Ernest Norsworthy
tva@norsworthyopinion.com
http://norsworthyopinion.com
P.S.
Sens. Alexander and Corker, left entirely out of the loop, must see themselves as impotent to change the “change machine”.
EN