‘These are my people coming in here crying because they’re hot and they’re miserable and they’re dying,’ he says.
Houston, Texas, legend Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, owner and founder of Gallery Furniture, slammed utility provider CenterPoint Energy for putting profits over people in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.
Mattress Mack joined Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in the Monday press conference addressing mass power outages lasting days after the storm.
⚡️Mattress Mac lays down the law for the CEO of Centerpoint. pic.twitter.com/5rabMZj0Q5
— Merissa Hansen (@merissahansen17) July 15, 2024
Mattress Mack is known for opening his doors to citizens during past hurricanes and floods, doing so once again earlier this month.
In a recent press conference, McIngvale explained he turned his North Freeway location into “a cooling center” for locals who were without power in the extreme Texas heat following Hurricane Beryl.
He said, “We decided to feed them breakfast, lunch and dinner. We also decided to have a place where they could power their device. Monday through Thursday we had 15,000 people in there… We did that because it’s the right thing to do.”
McIngvale took aim at CenterPoint next, claiming the energy company’s executives are more concerned with fancy vacations and making more money than helping Houstonians.
“These are my people coming in here crying because they’re hot and they’re miserable and they’re dying. These are the people the hospitals sent out here that needed a heart rate charger otherwise they were gonna die. These are real people, mothers coming in here breastfeeding their children because it’s so stifling hot at home,” he explained.
The Houston icon added, “The executives at CenterPointless don’t get that. Put the people before the profit… you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”
Regarding the lineworkers employed by CenterPoint, Mack said, “The lineworkers are the greatest people on Earth. They’re working 16 to 18 hours a day in sweltering heat.”
Infowars reported on Tuesday about these same lineworkers being attacked and even poisoned by wild locals while trying to get the power back on in Houston.
He continued preaching to the energy execs, declaring, “Life is not about money. Life’s about making people’s lives better.”
Governor Abbott also criticized CenterPoint during the press conference and promised the Texas utilities regulator will investigate its response.
“Maybe they have too large of an area for them to be able to manage adequately,” he said. “It’s time to reevaluate whether or not Centerpoint should have such a large territory.”
Check out the video below where Mack offered locals to come down and grab some free food, cool down and charge their phones amid the widespread power outages.
MATTRESS MACK STILL HOLDING DOWN H TOWN 🤟
Tuesday July 9 still free food and charge your phone at GF 6006 N FRWY. When no one else steps up – MACK DOES 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/y8eG7yPmO1— @MattressMack (@MattressMack) July 9, 2024
