This one’s going to take a while for some of you to understand. Be prepared, you might need to tote lunch for this one.
First, we’re not dealing with record prices… Not by a longshot. The most expensive gas we’ve ever had to contend with was under the Carter administration. In FY 2004 dollars, we paid $2.91/gal. So, what we’re paying now doesn’t qualify as a record. Sorry.
Now as to what’s causing the prices there are several factors, and I’ll try to list out the bigger ones.
1: ‘Seasonal Blends’ It’s ‘Enviro friendly’ to create gasoline that burns at it’s best under certain driving conditions. Supposedly. Yet, it does cause supply restrictions, given point 2, which is a limited refining capacity. Re-tooling this limited capacity to create these blends every few months, costs the refineries millions every year. And they actually have to stop making gas while the production line is shifted to the new blending, thus making supply/demand even worse. Where do you think that cost difference goes? Thank you, un-American left for forcing this enviro-wacko nonsense on us. If the Democrats were really serious about lowering the costs of fuel, don’t you think we’d see them eliminate this enviro-wacko madness?
2: Limited refining capacity: We have not built one new refinery since 1976.Our current systems are running at around 95%, despite the gyrations of the different blends we’re forcing though every few months… see point 1. Worse, we’re losing some of the refineries we now have online because they can’t deal with the regulatory load placed on them in the name of the ‘environment’, and the outrageous taxation on the investors in those companies and the companies themselves, al of whom make such systems possible. Thank you, un-American left for forcing this enviro-wacko nonsense on us. If the Democrats were really serious about the cost of gas and heating oil, don’t you think they’d get serious about eliminating the mountain of red tape and impediments we’re up against in the task of increasing our refining capacity?
3: World demand: The third world, along with places like China, for example, are seeing their energy demands increase. It’s interesting to note that as such they’re not working under the same environmental regulations nightmare we are here in the states and thus their gas prices are far cheaper. Wonder why manufacturing jobs are moving to China, and what is responsible for such shifts? The cost of energy being lower there is a large chunk of the deal. Thank you, un-American left for forcing this enviro-wacko nonsense on us. If the Democrats were serious about the cost of fuel, don’t you think they’d call for our *adding* to the world supply? Which is a nice tie-in to;
4: Lack of domestic drilling: We have oil here in the US; lots of it, but the usual suspects won’t let us drill for it; ANWR, for example would be turning out about a million barrels a day. Think that’d help? Remember, Bill Clinton vetoed drilling there, and the Democrats in Congress blocked the idea when Mr. Bush re-proposed it more recently as a part of his energy bill. Thank you, un-American left for forcing this enviro-wacko nonsense on us. If the Democrats were serious on this topic, don’t you think they’d be willing to allow us to drill for our own oil?
5: Taxes: Not only are we dealing with tax levels amounting to as much as 70 cents per gallon in many states, particularly in the left-leaning north eastern states, but we’re also paying a very heavy tax burden when is placed on the oil companies, and everyone in the delivery process… all of which adds to the cost you and I pay at the pump…. Because they pass it along as a cost of doing business. If the Democrats were really serious about lowering the costs, don’t you think they’d lower the taxes both on the oil companies and direct taxation on the buyers at the pump.. Both of which come out of your wallet?
6: The growing world economy; More or less a good tie-in to point 3… As the World economy recovers from Clinton, we’re seeing increasing demands and somewhat shorter supply. This is normal in an economic growth pattern. But this wouldn’t be a problem, but rather a blessing, had the rest of the factors not been in place. And all the rest of the factors are directly attributable to the left.
Remember that when you go to the pump, gang. You’re paying for the snail darter. Doesn’t it feel good?
Oh, sure… Kerry claims he has a solution… He now wants to open up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Funny; he didn’t agree with President Clinton’s doing that, back in 2000, when the situation was more serious than it is now. He said at the time, the SPR was for emergencies, not countering market flux. Wonder why the change of mind? Could his running for office now, combined with Bill Clinton being a Democrat have anything to do with it, I wonder?
Trying to blame Mr. Bush for the factors I’ve listed is utter nonsense of a quality you can only find among Democrats, or among second graders trying to talk their way out of a homework assignment. As for you, you need to remember how Kerry pandered on the issue come November.
And by the way, I’ll predict a serious price drop come about July. You’ll see why tomorrow morning, as news of the OPEC meeting hits. OPEC… A group we’d not be nearly as dependent upon, were the left to stop opposing domestic drilling, refining and stop demanding specialty blends…
UPDATE:
Jeff Jacoby [1] today adds his voice to the list of people commenting on this subject. His points are in line with my own. Does it bother anyone other than me that the suppsoed mainstream press STILL isn’t touching these facts?