Wealthy Water Whiners (Rancho Santa Fe: 2015, house, buyers)

[Elliott_CA]

Rich Californians balk at limits: ‘We’re not all equal when it comes to water’

From Wash Post article (link)

"Drought or no drought, Steve Yuhas resents the idea that it is somehow shameful to be a water hog. If you can pay for it, he argues, you should get your water.

People “should not be forced to live on property with brown lawns, golf on brown courses or apologize for wanting their gardens to be beautiful,” Yuhas fumed recently on social media. “We pay significant property taxes based on where we live,” he added in an interview. “And, no, we’re not all equal when it comes to water.”

Yuhas lives in the ultra-wealthy enclave of Rancho Santa Fe, a bucolic Southern California hamlet of ranches, gated communities and country clubs that guzzles five times more water per capita than the statewide average."

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Dear Mr. Yuhas,

All humans need about 3 to 4 liters of water per day to meet their body's needs. This basic human requirement is not based on income or wealth. We are all indeed equal when it comes to water.

[509]

Originally Posted by Elliott_CA

[b]
Dear Mr. Yuhas,

All humans need about 3 to 4 liters of water per day to meet their body's needs. This basic human requirement is not based on income or wealth. We are all indeed equal when it comes to water.

That is the funniest thing I have heard in years!!!

You really need to read more history.

Equal!! What a concept. There is no such thing in history, ecology or economics.

There has been talk about equal. Most notable by the Americans and the French who did try to implement the concept on a limited basis. The Soviets also talked about it, but were rather ruthless in suppressing the concept.

Given the rule by the Oligarchs in the US these days I suspect the rich in California will get all the water they need in the end.

You are, however, correct on the physiological needs of human being for whatever that's worth.

[Elliott_CA]

Originally Posted by 509

Equal!! What a concept. There is no such thing in history, ecology or economics.

There is a form of this equality and it exists in all 50 states: the concept of a public utility. Water and electricity are prime examples. The whole concept of a utility is to shield consumers from monopolies because, from a practical standpoint, there is only one power cable and one water pipe going into the house. The public utility concept was created specifically to stop price gouging, prevent a few buyers from cornering the market, and ensuring that each citizen has access to necessities like water and power.

If things get really bad then these wealthy whiners will find out fast that water rationing is on a per person basis and that money won't help them get more water. Hopefully we don't go there.

[DriveNotCommute]

Originally Posted by 509

That is the funniest thing I have heard in years!!!

You really need to read more history.

Equal!! What a concept. There is no such thing in history, ecology or economics.

There has been talk about equal. Most notable by the Americans and the French who did try to implement the concept on a limited basis. The Soviets also talked about it, but were rather ruthless in suppressing the concept.

Given the rule by the Oligarchs in the US these days I suspect the rich in California will get all the water they need in the end.

You are, however, correct on the physiological needs of human being for whatever that's worth.

There absolutely is such a thing in history, like when Mt. Vesuvius and buried people in Pompeii and Herculaneum regardless of their social standing. You also demonstrated understanding that humans are equally mortal with regards to water.

If you're speaking of equality as a social construct, then how about American suffrage? A vote by males or females, on welfare or a multi-millionaire retiree in town, are all counted the same way. This equality in suffrage didn't always exist in this country but was implemented over time as this country advanced, in other words our own history has shown progress. Why use failures of the past as setting the example of our future?

Water is a necessary condition for life and life is supposedly highly valued by contemporary American society. There was therefore some concern about wasteful consumption of a limited resource that is necessary for life.

Anyway, if you read the article I think the most inflammatory portion was the attitude from water wasters who didn't think that they should have to pay penalties for exceeding their allotment. From an economic perspective, paying penalties just means paying at the highest priced tier of rates and many complainers are saying that they shouldn't have to pay for prices (penalties) that have been clearly outlined and well explained.

When it really comes down to it, strict rationing is possible since there is precedent from past shortages of other materials during war. California's water districts will just have to cross that bridge if they are forced into that position, that is among the duties they as experts are expected to handle. That people can act inefficiently and then complain about pricing is simply a characteristic of our free society.

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Eliott_CA's link did not work for me so here's a direct link to the same article. If you are hit by a paywall try searching for it through Google or clearing your browser's cookies:

Rich Californians balk at limits: ‘We’re not all equal when it comes to water’ [washingtonpost.com]

[incognitoe]

If he's "wealthy" why cry about it then? Just pay the fine and keep your lawns green.

[that412]

Reads alarmingly like an Onion article. I suppose I should be numb by now to the sheer selfishness and obliviousness of people, but this is beyond the pale.

“It angers me because people aren’t looking at the overall picture,” Butler said. “What are we supposed to do, just have dirt around our house on four acres?”

Privilege blindness,

“California used to be the land of opportunity and freedom,” Barbre said. “It’s slowly becoming the land of one group telling everybody else how they think everybody should live their lives.”

gross perversion of the concepts of democratic freedom and liberty,

“When we bought, we didn’t plan on getting a place that looks like we’re living in an African savanna.”

total ignorance of geography, it's all in there.

Sigmund Freud, on narcissism: "they arrogate to themselves the right to demand lifelong reimbursement from fate."

That about sums it up.