To paraphrase H. L. Mencken, no one has ever lost an election by underestimating the intelligence of the voting public. This truism has once again been made apparent by the pandering of politicians in response to the recent jumps in oil prices. There are several reasons why oil prices have increased, none of which seem to be able to penetrate the brain of the average American voter.
First, demand for oil worldwide has increased rapidly in recent years. India and China have developed an insatiable thirst for petroleum and, as a result, altered the landscape of the oil buying marketplace. Further, supply is down, no not primarily because of the war in Iraq, but because of other factors such as unrest in Nigeria and the damage to refining centers caused by Katrina. Lower supply and higher demand equal higher prices whether you're talking about oil, food or cocaine. Supply and demand is the basis of all economic theory, but the politicians know that the American public is oblivious to simple economics.
Enviroworshippers are also to blame for reduced supply. Burdensome regulations enacted at the urging of tree huggers have succesfully stopped the building of new refineries for the past 30 years. The kooks have also prevented oil companies from exploring for oil in and around the United States, not just in ANWR but also in the Gulf of Mexico.
In spite of all this, we have politicians getting on the news daily shrieking about "excessive", "outrageous", "uncontrolled" profits being made by the oil companies. Memo to the American public (although I know you won't listen): Oil is a commodity. It is traded just like cattle futures, grain and the like. There is no fat man in a smoke filled room named "Big Oil" unilaterally setting prices.
Additionally, profits aren't what the politicians are pretending they are. Yes, Exxon/Mobil made gross profits of $36 billion last year. So the hell what? Who incurred the costs and risks required to drill for, refine and transport that oil? The government? Not hardly. In any event, the actual net profit was less than ten cents on every dollar sold. Hello ignorant American voter! Check and see if that small a mark-up would be acceptable for most other businesses. It won't.
In spite of truth, logic and common sense, we have Democrats wanting to stick it to "Big Oil" and Republicans afraid to tell the American people how stupid the Democrats are. In the meantime, the willfully blind American voter falls for the propaganda. The truth is that if the Federal government wants to stabilize energy costs, it needs to get the hell out of the way and allow the ingenuity and determination of the American people to take over combined with a healthy dose of profit incentive. In other words, let the market handle this.
The United States has raised two or three generations of crybabies that expect the Federal government to kiss boo boos and wipe away tears. The politicians pander to that mentality. If it keeps up, in another generation or two, the United States won't be worth saving. We need to fight the stupidity NOW.
5 comments:
Ward thanks for your comments. You have hit the nail on the head even tho, as you say, it will not be popular. The investigation of Big Oil has been done over and over and this industry was in the doldrums just over 10 years ago. The whole world has geared itself up for cheap energy and products made from crude without the latitude of being able to seek and discover new supplies due to the envior wackos. No exploration in our own nation, no nuclear power plants, no hydro-electric dams and no wind mills in certain parts because of the so called eye sore. Drill wherever it is and put out the wind mills regardless of Kennedy's line of sight.
You nailed it! To add another viewpoint, what's the fuss? Last evening we dined out. We spent approximately $1.50 in gas and $30.00 for dinner. It's a matter of perspective. When gas gets to $5.00/gallon, we'll buy more gas and fewer dinners out.
I heard a rumor that some politicians were advocating a $100 dollar government check to each family to help make up for the increased gas prices. If that is true, I have little hope for Congress to make sense of any issue.
Cuffie
Your comment on the net profits of big oil reminded me of a question posed to me by one of my friends--how much of a net percentage did I think big oil companies made?
When he told me what you just posted, I was amazed--not just at the amount, but that it seemed "common knowledge" that the evil corporations were raking in 50% profits, while the rest of us huddled around a candle at night for warmth.
This same friend told me something that is obviously true for everyone--making money is harder than we think.
We could change all this by drilling in this country.and not like the Arabs, keep the oil flowing until the oil is there for the demand..In Texas alone there are new fields and they are drilling everyday, in fact there are several new fields where they are drilling in Wyoming and Colorado..Why aren't we doing more of this?...Now it does cost more to drill in this country than in the Mideast, where oil is just underneath the sand..Here, we must drill deeper, and the deeper, the more the cost, but we could pay more, but not near as much as it is now, because this could be OUR oil, and we could pump everyday, and the oil business has new equipment and cleaner ways to drill than 30 years ago, no environmental problems should be involved at all....The rabid environmentalists are to blame for he cost of oil in this country, so fuss at them, and don't blame big oil.
You are 100% correct in all your statements but I would like to pose one thing that bothers me. This is free enterprise..right? This is supply and demand..right?
Where the hell are the little gas wars we saw back in the day when one neighborhood station would lower their prices and everyone would go there, then the rest of them would follow suit in lowering their prices?
Now..no matter where in the country you live, all the stations in that area all have the same prices. No one lowers their's..not even for a nanosecond. I think there is something going on here that is not in the spirit of free enterprise and supply and demand. They are all in cahoots with each other...whoever they are.
Some things are for sure..taxes on gasoline are too high, the EPA's requirement for many many recipes for gasoline dependent on which state that gas is going to causes higher prices and the green moonbats on this planet so far are in charge since apparently Republicans don't have the cajones to fight them so we can tap into our own resources. The countries who are selling oil could bring us to our knees in a heartbeat and just what are we doing about it? Verbage totally. Action nil. Business as usual. Politics as usual.
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