I'm writing a sort of polemical piece on the California electricity
crisis.
The prominent academic economists advocate confronting the customers
with the high prices, so that they will conserve, particularly on-peak.
The marginal price/cost of the most expensive unit running at the time
of the peak is the price that will save the day.
(Most of the kilowatt-hours supplied at the time of the peak are
produced at much lower cost in the big base-load plants -- so that there
is a very large daily over-collection above average cost if peak load
pricing is used.)
Here's my quest: I'm looking for a concise quote or two which make
"market prices" look absurd. I've looked at the period of the Irish
famine/starvation of the 1840s and some very cruel remarks were made.
But what I've found are from politicians or clergymen, not economists.
Nassau Senior said some unpleasant things about the Irish people but
I haven't found anything directly on point by him or another economist,
where charging very high prices for subsistence food is good for you.
Senior said something like it would not be enough if only 1 million
died.
It seems that there must be something I can use -- a la Larry
Summers dumping pollution on the lower races --- but I'm looking for
pricing statements.
Anyway, I've found nothing concise and on target on that British
imperial genocide. I can get to a decent library if there is a
document/book to look up.
Any suggestions?
Gene Coyle
