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Supply, supply, supply
By sage of monticello | May 3, 2008
An excerpt from an excellent article in the WSJ:
This tiff over gas and oil taxes only highlights the intellectual policy confusion – or perhaps we should say cynicism – of our politicians. They want lower prices but don’t want more production to increase supply. They want oil “independence” but they’ve declared off limits most of the big sources of domestic oil that could replace foreign imports. They want Americans to use less oil to reduce greenhouse gases but they protest higher oil prices that reduce demand. They want more oil company investment but they want to confiscate the profits from that investment. And these folks want to be President?
Late this week, a group of Senate Republicans led by Pete Domenici of New Mexico introduced the “American Energy Production Act of 2008″ to expand oil production off the U.S. coasts and in Alaska. It has the potential to increase domestic production enough to keep America running for five years with no foreign imports. With the world price of oil at $116 a barrel, if not now, when? No word yet if Senators Clinton and Obama will take time off from denouncing oil profits to vote for that.
Topics: WSJ, oil industry |
May 4th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Come on now…are you kidding me? First, it would be incredibly short-sighted and just plain stupid to try to only use a domestic oil supply by expanding production. Bottom line is, America has no direct control of world oil supply (try OPEC), although we do have enough marketshare of demand that we can control it. If we continue to be short-sighted and try to keep gas prices artificially low, then we’re (America) going to deplete the world oil supply faster than we should be, making the coming armagedon oil crisis come sooner and hit us harder. Prices of gas should go up forcing consumers to use less (I know, average citizens don’t want to hear that, nor do politicians, and politician sure as hell don’t want to say it).
Why should we expand domestic oil production now? It’s not going to really effect the market price of oil, because OPEC and other countries will alter their supply to maximize their profits and they control the world supply(meaning prices aren’t going to significantly drop and we’re never going to see $2.00 and below gas prices ever again). Ten years from now when we’re facing $6,$7,$8 gas prices, then maybe we should consider expanding oil domestic production - or, if we find a real alternative energy source we can start using domestic oil until the new energy source is ready for retail.
I think many Republicans are wrong on this issue. I also think subsidizing old fruitless programs like ethanol, wind mills, and bio-fuels is wasteful and not a solution to the problem. The solution to the problem is the free market and NO government intervention either way!!! Whoever develops the next energy source is going to be mega rich!!! Think Rockefella in the 21st century. There’s plenty of incentive out their for people to find a new energy source, so the government has no place in this issue at all.
Why are both liberals (who I expect to feel this way) and conservatives of the view point that government should some how control private good prices…come on! What happened to conservativism, liberty, small government, freedom, free markets, living people and businesses allone?