One of the greatest legislative giveaways in recent Oregon
history moved one step closer to reality Friday, March 26,
when the state Senate approved SB 142.
In return for modest infrastructure investments outside
the Willamette Valley, the main mover behind this effort,
US West, stands to reap unjustified benefits.
Given the forces the phone company has arrayed on its side,
such favorable legislative treatment is not surprising.
After all, US West's longtime lobbyist (and former legislator)
Gary Wilhelms is now a top aide to Senate President Brady
Adams. Another ex-US West employee, former House Speaker
Larry Campbell, is Salem's most powerful lobbyist.
What is surprising is that the editorial board of the state's
most powerful communications medium, The Oregonian,
appears to have signed on to Team US West, as well. With
help like this, SB 142 may well become law. If this happens,
the "Largest Newspaper in the Pacific Northwest" will have
played a significant role in a process that will cost its
readers millions in unfair rates, to say nothing of the
service problems they will probably continue to encounter.
On March 20, The Oregonian stated its case in an
editorial ("Telecom Bill Deserves OK") that was both factually
and analytically off base. Here are a few choice bits of
the misinformation it contained:
* "[T]he rate case [is now] out of the bill." This refers
to US West's ongoing challenge to a Public Utility Commission
ruling that would require the phone company to refund customers
in excess of $300 million. Originally, US West wanted to
use SB 142 to undo the rate case entirely. The version of
the bill that passed the Senate would instead limit the
amount of the refund.
* SB 142 is necessary because unregulated competitors are
"eat[ing US West's] lunch." In reality, US West maintains
a market share of more than 96 percent in its service territory.
* SB 142 "promotes competition." It does nothing of the
sort. Rather than leveling the playing field, the bill would
reinforce US West's home-court advantage: monopoly power.
The crux of The Oregonian's argument is that SB
142 offers "a fair deal." The reality is an incredibly lopsided
proposition. In return for substantial regulatory concessions,
US West agrees to place a cap on rates for basic service.
Given that the provision of such service involves costs
that decline--rather than increase--over time, capping the
rates at current levels ensures higher profits from basic
service in the years ahead.
The cap certainly does not mean that consumers should expect
reduced rates. According to Public Utility Commissioner
Joan Smith, the bill actually would force an increase in
the rates residential customers pay--somewhere in the range
of $3.25 to $19 a month. Even more significant is that SB
142 will let US West charge whatever the market will bear
for additional services like call waiting and message forwarding.
Who at The Oregonian is responsible for staking
out so misleading--and so reader-unfriendly--a position?
"I wrote it," says Bob Caldwell, editorial page editor.
That in itself is significant. Wayne Thompson, The Oregonian's
editorialist with decades of experience in the area of regulated
utilities, usually takes the lead on such matters.
"I'm more interested in this particular topic than he,"
Caldwell told WW. But in nearly the same breath,
he allowed, "I'm a newcomer to the argument. I'm trying
not to pretend that I understand any more than I understand."
Sadly, such self-deprecation can hardly justify the careless
way in which The Oregonian has misrepresented SB
142. PUC Chair Ron Eachus is more direct. "It is so inaccurate,"
he told WW last week. "They just ignored the material
we sent."
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Willamette Week | originally
published March 31,
1999
|
