No Rate Hike! No Way!

Lyrics by: Vicki Ryder
Gaggle: North Carolina
Tune: Solidarity Forever

[I wrote this song for the Triangle Grannies to sing at a public hearing on a proposed rate hike of 18.6% by Duke Energy, our local power company (monopoly). Despite record-breaking CEO salaries and bonuses in the multi-millions, they are crying poor. While this is a local struggle, I think the song has potential for being adapted for other struggles, as well.]
We’re the Raging Grannies and we’ve come to have our say,
To speak out for the people and to tell you there’s no way
To justify a rate hike for Duke Energy today…
No rate hike! No way!”

CHORUS:
         So listen to the people and just turn the rate hike down.
         We don’t want their toxic power plants polluting all our towns.
         We demand that you all listen to the citizens today:
         “No rate hike! No way!”

The bosses at Duke Energy grow richer every day;
They’re rakin’ in the millions and they now want us to pay.
They got a rate hike last year and they’ll get one next year, too.
That’s a thirty percent increase that they want from me and you!
REPEAT CHORUS

They’re burning coal and natural gas and it’s so plain to see
That they’re wrecking our environment and our economy.
They shouldn’t be rewarded for their wasteful business plans;
They’ll build toxic plants that should be banned.
REPEAT CHORUS

 If you cave in now to their demands there’ll be no end in sight
To the rate hikes that they’ll take from us; that gives us quite a fright!
They’ll be building nuclear power plants with ou-ur hard-earned dough,
Fukashima should have taught us that’s a crazy way to go.
REPEAT CHORUS