Give Us the Facts?

The City of Boulder moves steadily forward with its plan to municipalize the electrical power grid in Boulder, buying our the Xcel infrastructure of wires, transformers, substations, poles, underground facilities, etc. The purchase cost to the City will run into hundreds of millions of dollars. The City will need to create a power commission and department to take over the duties of expansion and maintenance of the grid. They will need to respond to emergency power outages and other problems.

Some the funding for the purchase will be provided by selling bonds. Bonds require interest payments, and these payments will be borne by those who purchase power from the City (i.e., you and me.)

I continue to believe that Boulder's plan for municipalization of Xcel's franchise is a serious mistake. Part of that belief stems from the City's failure to provide any hard facts about the issue. We have been given nothing in the way of financial analysis, operating plans, staffing plans, or rate estimates. Does the Council have the data? It seems that if they do, and it supports justification of the municipalization project,they would tell us about it. We have many, many good thinkers in Boulder. Let us have facts.

The Boulder Daily Camera has frequent letters-to-the-editor, editorials or op-ed pieces. Some favor municipalization, others do not. It is an interesting, uninformed debate!

Give us the fact, Boulder City Council. We can think for ourselves.

Dialog versus Argument

Dialog, in its pure sense, means conversation among people who listen carefully to others in order to understand their values (from which beliefs spring), so that together they can develop solutions to difficult problems.

For example, first and foremost, some people value the enjoyment of their work more than they value the creation of wealth. Others, on the other hand, value creating wealth more than the enjoyment of their work. Most people lie somewhere on the continuum, enjoyment on one end and wealth on the other. Others, lie on the extremes of the continuum. These are the extremist.

From values grow our beliefs about working. You believe in working long, hard hours, while I believe in working less. We both feel we are right.

Now, if we have an argument about getting work done in a certain amount of time, we have difficulty creating a solution to the issue. In our argument we take positions based on our beliefs. Once positions are taken, creating a solution to the issue meets with great difficulty. I think I am right and you are wrong, and vice versa.

The argument, from positions, is not a dialog. In this argument we probably flare up in anger, and call each other names. Working out a win/win solution is impossible, so we compromise on a lose/lose solution.

If, instead of having an argument we have a dialog, in which we listen carefully to understand each other's values, we can usually create a win/win solution that satisfies our values.

For many years I have worked as an intermediary in business mergers and acquisitions. Frequently the buyers and sellers take opposing positions; positions based on their beliefs. It falls to me to move the parties to dialog; to listening to each other to understand values; and to develop win/win solutions.

Now that is fun.

No more politics

A few of my readers have said to me that they read enough, or too much, about politics as it is, and don't want to read more about them from me.

So, read my lips, "NO MORE POLITICS."

Ungovernable?

Sometimes I believe our country is ungovernable. Political parties are so wacky (all three, Democrat, Republican and Tea) and so rigid in their positions that true dialog leading to true solutions no longer seems possible

And with a chief executive who apparently has gone wishy-washy, leadership seems to have died.

Once again our government has put a band-aid on the fiscal policy of the United States.

What do we the citizens need to do to get long term solutions to these serious problems?

As an idealist, I suggest firing congress and the executive, and firing the lobbyists, and firing the special interest groups, and starting all over.

Oh well.

Pragmatists, as well are as others, are invited to comment.