Governmental Policy of Regressive Energy
Al Ritter
The year was 1977, and then President Carter was still reeling from the gas embargo. As a direct result of the gas crisis the Department of Energy was formed to “release us from the dependency on foreign oil.” As time went on the Department of Energy was saddled with other responsibilities, and as often happens with governmental excess the original reason for its inception was lost in bureaucracy.
Obama has declared the burning of fossil fuels as harmful to the world, even though Al Gore’s original claim has been shown to be a scam on the public. Cap and Trade is what this greedy President believes in, and he is poised to present it one way or another, even if it circumvents the senate through executive order. Originally Obama claimed that our aim was much like President Carter……to decrease our dependency on foreign oil. Obama has now proved that his REAL aim is to drive the price of oil so high that it can compete on an even scale with renewable resources.
Unfortunately the Administration is driving prices through the ceiling by driving more people into the unemployment line. Denying America the oil industry denies Americans jobs. This isn’t a big secret, the less domestic production of oil ties the hands of capitalism. We don’t need one man’s personal vendetta on fossil fuel we need JOBS to recover our economic status in the world. We need a fast line to approve drilling permits to put people back to work, and to lower fuel prices.
The Department of Energy needs to either reorganize, or the responsibilities need to be redistributed and the whole department dissolved. The bureaucracy of government has once again lost its way.
Obama wants to blame high oil prices on price gouging and speculation, but his view is rather skewed. Let’s look at supply and demand this way. China and India, along with the US are the largest oil users in the world, and at present they produce more oil than we do. This figure doesn’t just happen by choice. China and India run their oil exploration at full capacity, but we do not. We artificially hold production low……our country only produces 2% of the earth’s oil production, we could be MUCH higher. Now take into account that countries such as China, India, Egypt, Venezuela, etc. not only don’t charge tax on fuel, they actually subsidize gasoline and diesel to their citizens! Is there any incentive for their citizens to use less fuel when they can buy gasoline for 18 cents a gallon? You have to understand, when in a country of poverty, (making less than $2 a day), they can’t compete with a world price on oil, so the government has to subsidize it.
Obama has actually increased our dependency on foreign oil, and thusly puts our national security in jeopardy. He has shown his hand in the oil problem as being a grand falsehood, he doesn’t care at all about being dependent on foreign, in fact it plays better for his “one world order” intent. The people who suffer are Americans, and it’s up to us to change the direction of self-destruction.
