Affordability and the Art of Regulation

Affordability is a topic that has crept into every passionate pursuit I have had past or present. Whether it was in my previous career as a utility regulator or in my current role as the guy who does some paintings (and question and answer sessions) for Public Utilities Fortnightly, affordability has been at the core of how I pursued my work. In fact, these two passions have more in common on the topic of affordability than I realized. Let me explain.

As a poor starving art student who was pursuing the dream of becoming a poor starving artist, affordability was front and center. When I went to buy my art supplies, I quickly learned that the earth tone colors were far less expensive than the flashier, bright oranges, yellows, and blues. A tube of raw umber is far less expensive than two ounces of cobalt blue. So, I gravitated toward a painting style that relied heavily on dark colors in the background that were accentuated with midtones and highlights of the more expensive paint.