Tennessee Valley Authority Privatization Act

[Ebowed]

Tennessee Valley Authority Privatization Act

1. The Tennessee Valley Authority shall be auctioned to private persons or corporations.
2. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to make necessary rules and regulations relating to the process of privatization.
3. The privatization of the Tennessee Valley Authority shall be completed before the year 2007.

Sponsor: Sen. MasterJedi

[DanielX]

Sounds good.

[CheeseWhiz]

Definitely looks good to me

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Auctioning it off? No. Not good. Crazy actually. Simple privatization would be a different issue (I'd still disagree, but for admittedly ideological ones) but this is (and no offense is meant to anyone here) just plain daft.

[12th Doctor]

I am for privitization... but auctioning it off... no.  We can do this in a far more responsable fashion, I think.

[Bono]

Can any of you just point out what is wrong with auctioning off, instead of simply saying "it is horrible because i think so".
Personally, I think expecting irrealistic benefits offered by buyars is much more irrealistic, just look at Russia.

[Colin]

We should privatize the TVA not auction it off as several members have said above. I personally believe that auctioning it off would overall be a bad idea and could either lead to less than reputable corporations buying the TVA, it being split up between several different companies who may be competitors, or it could be auctioned off to a non-stable firm that may go into backruptcy. Privitization, yes, auctioning, no, to put my thoughts into the simplest of terms.

[12th Doctor]

Can any of you just point out what is wrong with auctioning off, instead of simply saying "it is horrible because i think so".
Personally, I think expecting irrealistic benefits offered by buyars is much more irrealistic, just look at Russia.

Well. what's wrong with it is that there is no telling who will buy, and what they will do with it.  I am all for privatizing it, but only on the condition that we are responsable for who ends up with it, and that determination is made by a seletion process that assures certain standards of quality, rather than just giving it away to Joe Billionaire.

[12th Doctor]

This isn't lie privitizing the post office.  People's homes, lives and livelyhoods are a stake, here.

[Emsworth]

Well. what's wrong with it is that there is no telling who will buy, and what they will do with it.  I am all for privatizing it, but only on the condition that we are responsable for who ends up with it, and that determination is made by a seletion process that assures certain standards of quality, rather than just giving it away to Joe Billionaire.

Why would anyone spend billions of dollars to buy the TVA, and then intentionally misuse it? Such an eventuality is extremely remote and unlikely.

Remember that this authority will end up costing about $50 billion. No single person will be able to purchase it. Rather, it will be sold (auctioned) to a group of investors. This is no different from a company's Initial Public Offering (IPO).

[12th Doctor]

Well. what's wrong with it is that there is no telling who will buy, and what they will do with it.  I am all for privatizing it, but only on the condition that we are responsable for who ends up with it, and that determination is made by a seletion process that assures certain standards of quality, rather than just giving it away to Joe Billionaire.

Why would anyone spend billions of dollars to buy the TVA, and then intentionally misuse it? Such an eventuality is extremely remote and unlikely.

Remember that this authority will end up costing about $50 billion. No single person will be able to purchase it. Rather, it will be sold (auctioned) to a group of investors. This is no different from a company's Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Yes, I am well aware of the mechanics of such a deal.  However, an investment won't mean that abuses will not take place, if we do not set guidelines.  If one of these dams breaks, and 50,000 people are dead, and Chattanooga is under 20 ft of water, I don't think too man people are going to care about who gets to sue whom.

[Emsworth]

If one of these dams breaks, and 50,000 people are dead, and Chattanooga is under 20 ft of water, I don't think too man people are going to care about who gets to sue whom.

With all due respect, that seems like a rather irrational fear. Why will selling the TVA to anyone lead to the destruction of a dam? Frankly, the likelihood that a private company will waste billions of dollars is much lower than the likelihood that the government will waste billions of dollars.

[12th Doctor]

If one of these dams breaks, and 50,000 people are dead, and Chattanooga is under 20 ft of water, I don't think too man people are going to care about who gets to sue whom.

With all due respect, that seems like a rather irrational fear. Why will selling the TVA to anyone lead to the destruction of a dam? Frankly, the likelihood that a private company will waste billions of dollars is much lower than the likelihood that the government will waste billions of dollars.

Okay, let me get right to the point...

We need to find a group that is trust worthy and willing to buy, and then make sure that they follow certain standards of safety and are willing to put the money and effort into the upkeep and repair of their facilities.

[12th Doctor]

If it takes time to find a responsable group that is willing to invest, so be it.  Better to take the time to do it right, now, instead of wishing that we had not been so foolish a 10 years down the road.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I suppose as a compromise we could sell off half (or a third or whatever) of it, while keeping a majority stake or summet like that.

[Bono]

I suppose as a compromise we could sell off half (or a third or whatever) of it, while keeping a majority stake or summet like that.

Good thinking, that way, both parts will feel like they lost...

[The Dowager Mod]

I just hope the president has the cajones to veto this after it passes.

[MasterJedi]

We could change it to "sell" and look for a buyer so we can get a good deal of money off of it?


And I hope the President is smart enough to sign this when it passes. It was needed back in the 30's but not now. And it would help us get rid of some of our debt.

[MasterJedi]

I know double posting but how about this amendment for people concerened about this? It changes the first part and adds another section.


1. The Tennessee Valley Authority shall be sold to private persons or corporations.

4. The government of Atlasia shall look for a proper buyer to sell the TVA to.
 

[MasterJedi]

I know double posting but how about this amendment for people concerened about this? It changes the first part and adds another section.


1. The Tennessee Valley Authority shall be sold to private persons or corporations.

4. The government of Atlasia shall look for a proper buyer to sell the TVA to.
 

Any comments on these two amendments? Like/dislike?

[MasterJedi]

As there has been absolutly no debate on the following two amendments (and it doesn't look like there will be any) I hereby open up the vote on them seperatly. Please vote Aye, Nay or Abstain.

1. The Tennessee Valley Authority shall be sold to private persons or corporations.

4. The government of Atlasia shall look for a proper buyer to sell the TVA to.

[MasterJedi]

Aye on both.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Nay on both

===
Missed this. Sorry.
Look, this bill and the amendments are totally unrealistic; you will not find a buyer (unless the GM waves a magic wand or something) at the sort of price that the TVA is worth (which is why the intially auctioning idea was so absurd).
If you want to make a quick buck out of the TVA, then your best bet would be to sell off (say) a third or so of it's value to shareholders or something... and if it works maybe sell more off. And so on.

[MasterJedi]

Colin's absentee vote:

TVA Privatization: Aye on MasterJedi Amendments

[DanielX]

ABSTAIN on MasterJedi's amendments. I can see the advantages and disadvantages, either way.