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Sounds like Progress customers will pay, 12/24

Progress declares a higher dividend Dec. 14

On one day, an article said Progress Energy will increase its quarterly dividend to shareholders for the 19th straight year. On the next day, company CEO Jeff Lyash said bills could come down, but the article further states a new law allows utilities to recover costs, from customers, for borrowed money $5-billion to construct a nuclear power plant. And once built, the utility can again be allowed to earn a return on the nuclear plant investment. And, down the road, the higher costs might be offset to some extent by lower fuel costs.

Am I missing something here? Progress Energy customers get increased rates for the interest on the $5-billion to build the plant, then get increased rates so Progress can earn a return on their investment and shareholders, for the 19th straight year, get an increase in their quarterly dividend. Unless I'm missing something, it sounds like customers are going to be paying higher rates for a long, long time.

Tom Vath, South Pasadena

It's better to be a Progress stockholder

Who could have guessed that Progress Energy would be increasing its dividend to its stockholders? After the 2005 hurricane season, it was in dire straits because of the depletion of its catastrophe fund and feared it would not remain profitable. But then came the rate increase to replenish that fund. Has that rate increase been overturned so its users have cheaper rates? No. Have the increased rates to replenish that fund gone into that fund? I think not. They got that rate increase and it looks like they are going to keep it.

I asked in a 2005 letter when the rate increase was approved if the increase was to make up a shortfall or to protect the dividend. Apparently it was to protect the dividend.

When is the Florida Public Utility Board going to figure this simple matter out? Or maybe the lobbying money and campaign contributions are just too good to pass up.

John Edwards, Pinellas Park

Property insurance

We're more likely to die than lose our houses

Why is it that a 55-year-old, healthy man can buy $500,000 of term life insurance for around $1,500 per year but $500,000 of homeowners insurance costs two or three times as much? Which is more likely to occur in any given year; the man happens to die from any one of a dozen possible causes or his home is destroyed by a disaster such as a hurricane? It seems to me that, at best, they are equal, but realistically, he is more likely to be gone by next year than his house.

The cost of insurance should reflect the amount of money at risk and the likelihood of a covered event occurring. When it costs more to insure lower probability events of equal value, then something is wrong.

Larry Tittle, Largo

Employment

Bush's job numbers just not adding up

The Bush administration spent a great deal of time and effort touting the "low unemployment" figures and "growing economy" this past election season. What puzzles me is why no one seems to be arguing those figures when they are obviously wrong.

Over the past six years, the Department of Labor has changed its protocols for counting the unemployed at least four times, each time leaving more and more people without jobs in the realm of the uncounted.

The Department of Labor Statistics' charts show we added 17.8-million people to the ranks of the employed from 1994 until 2000. But from 2000 until conveniently before the 2004 election, we lost jobs, then started adding slowly until we had regained several million by 2005, for a net gain of about 2.6-million at the beginning of 2005 over what the work force had been in 2000.

Each year, the United States adds about 1.8-million people to the work force from high schools and colleges, after reductions from the work force by death or retirement.

This means that from 2001 until 2005 we added approximately 9-million people to the work force, not counting the estimated 3-million illegals each year from our southern border, or an additional 12-million people, some of whom are potentially workers and others who are presumably their dependents.

Meanwhile, our government has allowed corporations to cry wolf and bring in a couple million foreign workers on programs like the H1B visa program to fill supposedly unfilled positions in engineering and computer science.

I know several of the highly educated and well-paid people who originally held those "unfilled positions" who were required to train their foreign replacements. These people are being told they should "retrain" and find new jobs, despite the fact they had college degrees and years of experience in the jobs they held.

Many are saying, "Why bother? The government will just allow some foreigner to take my new job next year." The public needs to learn the facts, and with just a few exceptions, our news media are not giving people the real facts.

Allan Horn, Redington Shores

On 'seismic' problem, column Dec. 18

Gov. Bush deserves only a C grade

You graded Jeb Bush with a B+ for his handling of the Florida economy. I grade him with a C. His administration caused the huge property tax problem by reducing state taxes, which resulted in the lowering of the state public education contribution to the counties, in turn forcing the counties to greatly increase property taxes for public schools. Jeb robbed Peter to pay Paul. Jeb Bush's legacy is that he presided over the largest tax increase (property taxes) in the history of the state of Florida.

William Whitfield, Tallahassee

Special interests fill the policy gap

I keep hearing that Jeb Bush is a popular governor. He deserves to be popular with the insurance industry, the developers, the power companies, the telephone companies, any large Republican donor and the companies that have been feeding at his privatization trough.

In the eight years Bush has been governor, we have seen our property taxes, insurance, power and phone bills increase dramatically. All of these increases are approved by our government. Columnist Robert Trigaux says Bush has insulated himself from the insurance crisis by assigning "others to run task forces and committees, heavily dosed with insurance officials." Gee, if they come up with a solution, who will it favor, the public or the insurance companies? Thank you, Mr. Bush.

There is a huge gap between issues facing the public and public policy. That gap is filled by special interests. We will never be represented by our politicians until we publicly finance their campaigns.

Debbie Terhune, Treasure Island

National catastrophe program is the only solution

Your article hit the real problem with insurance. It is one of a lack of political willingness to solve the problem because of the solution. The solution should be obvious to everyone. But being a Republican, I know they do not want the solution. The solution needs federal involvement, which is not going to come from Republicans.

Surprisingly, it seems Charlie Crist may be on a track to consider the type of solution needed as evidenced by his visit to Washington and our congressional delegation.

The only way to solve this crisis is with a multistate coastal compact, a regional plan or a federal program. The feds manage the flood program, so the apparatus is in place. The problem is persuading states not subject to hurricanes to participate.

I submit that the way to do it is a national catastrophe program encompassing all types of disasters: tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, mudslides, hurricanes, "no name" storms, tsunamis, etc. This program would have a multibillion dollar threshold for claims made to trigger the program to support all the insurance companies. Incorporated into this would be rules that require insurance companies to set up much larger reserves for future claims. The program would provide IRS rules to allow the increase in the reserves without taxation.

Hopefully, some national leader will see the light and carry through to start such a program. Otherwise, I fear that our Florida economy is headed into the trash bin. I keep hearing from residents planning to move out and some large business, as well.

Our tax assessors reacted too quickly to the last real estate run-up in prices. I keep hearing from others who wonder where that increased tax revenue is going. These situations combined will push our whole economy toward a collapse.

G. Wayne Wihbey, Pinellas Park President, Capital Underwriter Service

Retailing and holiday spirit

Be rude all year. Just try to be nice this time of year.

I am not a cynical person. I try to be quite positive. I enjoy my job and the people with whom I work. However, every year the consumers seem to become angrier and more bitter during the Christmas season, making it hard for any of us to want to go to work.

I could never say that everyone is rude. But the numbers are climbing as the years go by. This whole country has turned to the "every man for themselves" mentality, which most of the time is fine. At Christmas time, it's not supposed to be that way.

People push their way through with no "excuse me's" to be heard. People cut in line whether its in a store or at the food court where I, the mall employee, am trying to get some lunch before my 30-minute lunch break is over. People treat the retail employees horribly sometimes. Not all of the time, but it is getting worse. No one wants to be helped anymore. You say hello they say, "I'm just looking." Then the moment you're busy with someone who wants help, they need help and they want a manager because they can't find help or they just storm out and never shop there again.

Let's not forget about the people who don't pay attention to the time and come into our stores two minutes before close and stay for a half hour. Or the people who try to get in when you've locked the doors and expect you to re-open for them.

I just think we've forgotten the importance of Christmas.

Vanessa Wall, St. Petersburg

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[Last modified December 23, 2006, 20:57:33]