Posted by
Boomer911 on Friday, June 20, 2008 3:01:17 AM
There are varying opinions as to why oil and gas prices are so astronomically high. Most deal with unrealistic scenarios and outright lies concerning the quandary we are currently in. As usual, a majority of politicians are playing the blame game and want to accuse the other of contributing to the high energy prices. But the truth is far more interesting than all the finger pointing. The economic law of supply and demand is the greatest reason. The world's demand for energy is at an all time high and continues to grow every single day. The supply has not been able to keep up with the demand and therefore, the price goes up. There are various reasons why the supply has not been able to keep up with the demand. Whether it be attacks on supply lines, middle east turmoil, weather related delays, or OPEC's decisions to keep supply consistent by insisting supply should not be increased, supply is low compared to demand. But one of the main reasons the supply has been kept down, specifically in this country, has been the environmental protections placed on oil rich lands in ANWR and off the coasts of the continental United States. These environmental groups are heavy hitters within liberal circles and have been driving the current global warming "crisis". But some blame goes to some ill-fated decisions by republicans as well as the democrats (socialists). After all, it was George H.W. Bush who, in 1990, signed a directive order preventing off shore oil exploration and drilling. The same directive was renewed again by president Clinton in 1998 who extended the order to 2012. The good news is that current president Bush has said he will lift the ban if Congress will okay the off shore exploration and drilling.
But to dole out equal blame to both parties for the current situation concerning our domestic oil and energy is a little unfair and frankly, not true. The reduction in refineries and the environmental restrictions placed on ANWR have been the direct result of the left and their appeasement to the "green" lobbyists. Simply put, the biggest reason the oil supply is down in this country is due to the democrats crazy environmental policies. Yet even today, given the high prices at the pump, they will still not allow the supply to increase so we can have some relief. Barack Obama has stated that we cannot drill our way out of the problem. I have to say that I finally agree with something the man has said.... he's right. But where Obama is wrong is that this drilling would provide us some relief until we have developed and perfected alternative fuels to replace our dependency on oil. Besides, the oil would be from within our borders and not from the middle east or Central America, reducing our dependency on foreign oil, the mantra of the left for the last decade. The people of this nation, and specifically the members of Congress, need to realize there is no magic quick fix for ending our dependency on oil. We are an oil nation and our entire economy is based off of the use of oil for energy. In fact, there is not one sector of the economy that is not effected by high oil prices.
The Department of Interior has released a statement about the new domestic oil and gas finds in which it said "estimates put the amount of energy in these off-limits areas at 19.1 billion barrels of oil and 83.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas—approximately 30 years' worth of imports from Saudi Arabia and enough natural gas to power America's homes for 17 years. It should also be noted that these initial estimates tend to be low." Can we not use these sources now so we can have some relief and get the economy rolling again? What would be wrong with using all the sources of energy we have to help out the average American while we work on perfecting alternative energy sources? The democrats deserve most of the blame for our crisis by implementing Big-Government regulations that have prevented energy companies from tapping America's bountiful natural resources.
The only plan I have heard from democrats concerning a solution to the crisis we face is a "windfall profits tax" on the oil companies. Can anyone explain to me how more money in the hands of the government helps us pay less and ultimately gives us relief at the pumps? (Boy, if you let a democrat talk long enough, they will prove your point for you.) This plan is laughable at best and shows the democrats inability to understand the basic economic principle of supply and demand.
And don't be surprised to see your "earthy-crunchy" green environmental friends doing handstands at the thought of high gas prices at the pump. All those "pick-up truck driving conservatives" they abhor are getting what they deserve, a popular consensus throughout coffee shops and college campuses the world over. They think they can get us off oil to save "mother earth" from global warming by watching us all pay through the nose for a fill-up. The Heritage Foundation says it best: "The most important thing to remember as the debate over
energy prices becomes a major issue in 2008 is that liberals want Americans to pay higher energy prices. That is why they sue to stop
natural gas drilling in Wyoming,
new refineries in South Dakota and
coal power plants nationwide . The whole purpose of the Lieberman-Warner carbon capping bill was to increase the cost of energy to force Americans to use less of it. But now Americans are beginning to catch on to the left’s game, and they are not happy." In fact here is the link to The Heritage Foundations comments on 3 liberal myths concerning the lefts new message when it comes to oil:
http://blog.heritage.org/2008/06/20/morning-bell-holding-the-left-accoubtable-on-energy-prices/
More government interference and regulations along with higher taxes on oil companies is definitely not the answer to our problems. We need to increase the supply in order to offset our demand and only then will Americans feel any sort of real relief at the pumps.