State-sponsored "Natural Monopoly" at Work
According to CBS, several Con Edison repair men were filmed asleep at the wheel. Not only were they not working on repairing faulty electrical equipment but when asked by nearby residents as to what they were doing, they repeatedly stated that "we really can't say anything" and that "they were trying their best."
Of additional interest is the last 2 paragraphs which state:
Con Edison officials refused to look at the video of their workers or to explain on camera what they were doing.This is reminiscent to the Comcast technician that was filmed asleep at the job; he was later fired. John Stossel also had a good segment on private versus public road maintenance, anyone recall the name of the video it is found on?Someone from the public relations department at Con Edison spoke with CBS 2 on the phone, saying, "First and foremost, you're not allowed to speak directly to our employees...Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We'll look into it and call you."
Comments (5)
Curt Howland
Can't answer your question, but if you find Stossel's "Stupid In America", jump at the chance to see it.
Published: July 21, 2006 1:48 PM
A.B. Dada
Torrent of Stupid in America:
http://www.mininova.org/tor/199080
mods please delete if this isn't acceptable per TOS
Published: July 21, 2006 5:20 PM
Tim Swanson
I discussed Stossel's "Stupid In America" in Why Johnny Can't Read. Unfortunately it doesn't have the segment I'm looking for. The one I am thinking of is at least as old as March 2001 (I saw it at a FEE seminar).
Published: July 21, 2006 6:11 PM
Koen
'John Stossel Goes to Washington' is the name of the video where he interviews road workers who used to work for the gov't and then later for a private company
Published: July 25, 2006 10:08 AM
Tim Swanson
Thanks Koen.
For more information on "John Stossel Goes to Washington" here is a review from The Wall Street Journal. Or you can grab it at the ABC News Store.
Also, I found a couple clips of that show on YouTube: 1 2
Published: July 25, 2006 11:46 AM