It's the gasbags that got us into this mess

It’s a perfect storm. A group of very loud pols (as if there’s another kind) pandering for votes claim to be able to do something about China and India’s fuel use to bring prices down in the U.S. One thing we know about American politics is that voters will vote their wallet – reality be damned. So pols point to high profit and instead of seeing American companies doing well and the potential for research and exploration, they see a cash cow to buy more votes back home.

Taxing oil company profit is dopey. First it’ll reduce supply. Then it’ll drive an already high price higher. Third, even if one and two are not true, how is the government taking corporate profit going to reduce gas prices? It’s just transferring the money from a private company to the government sector.

Pols demanding a reduction in gas prices are never asked to support suspension of all taxes on fuel. They are never asked to support ending federal regulations with regard to the endless number of blends oil companies are required to supply. They are never asked to support exploration in America and off our coast. They are never asked to support increasing refining capacities. They are never asked to support expansion of nuclear power. All they do is whine about oil companies making money.

Well guess what Mr. & Mrs. America? Oil companies are making huge profit because the demand for energy is at an all time high – and it is never going to decrease from where it is today. The only way to reduce cost is increase supply. Now, guess what Mr. & Mrs. America? If we decided to go crazy, drilling, refining and producing oil today, it’d be 10 years before the infrastructure would be in place to accommodate our plan.

There is no short term solution, save cutting all fuel taxes, to drop the price of fuel. And the people yelling the loudest are the people who got us into this mess. The pols refuse to let energy companies do their business without crippling regulation. The pols tax the commodity into unreasonably high pricing. The pols refuse to allow energy companies to search for and bring more energy supplies to the market. And now the pols are complaining about gouging.

And of course many of these pols were all for high gas prices as a conservation means. Now that high prices are here the same pols are outraged. Why? They have been advocating $5 a gallon gas for years. We’re headed there. They should be delighted. No. Why - because the prices are high due to market forces. These pols wanted gas at $5 a gallon because of public policy that would bring in more taxes so they could buy more votes.

We are in a long term mess brought on by long term ignorance of the governing class.