Clueless Congress
Last Thursday, the US House of Representatives voted to continue a quarter-century-old ban on oil and natural gas drilling in roughly 85% of the country's coastal waters from Alaska to New England.
This is the same Congress that, in recent weeks, has been throwing a temper tantrum over the price of gasoline, accusing oil companies of "price gouging," and proposing all kinds of stupid legislative ideas that would end up making gas prices go higher, not lower (or, in the case of price controls, would lead to shortages like we had in the '70s).
If we're going to "do something" about the price of gas, someone needs to make some tough choices here. Either allow the oil companies to increase the supply, or stop using so much gas. It has to be one or the other.
By continuing the ban on offshore drilling, Congress has told us in no uncertain terms that it has no intention of increasing the supply of gas. Well, they're not likely to do anything to decrease the demand, either. So we're left with no action, and with $3.00 gas.
This is not in itself a bad thing. The price of gas is exactly where it should be -- where the supply and demand curves meet. But the next time you see your Congressman grandstanding on TV, fulminating about "price gouging" and conspiracy theories, remember all the roadblocks Congress puts in the way of allowing the oil industry to do what it would like to do -- namely, meet the demand for its products that we consumers exhibit every day.
Urb's Blog
This is the same Congress that, in recent weeks, has been throwing a temper tantrum over the price of gasoline, accusing oil companies of "price gouging," and proposing all kinds of stupid legislative ideas that would end up making gas prices go higher, not lower (or, in the case of price controls, would lead to shortages like we had in the '70s).
If we're going to "do something" about the price of gas, someone needs to make some tough choices here. Either allow the oil companies to increase the supply, or stop using so much gas. It has to be one or the other.
By continuing the ban on offshore drilling, Congress has told us in no uncertain terms that it has no intention of increasing the supply of gas. Well, they're not likely to do anything to decrease the demand, either. So we're left with no action, and with $3.00 gas.
This is not in itself a bad thing. The price of gas is exactly where it should be -- where the supply and demand curves meet. But the next time you see your Congressman grandstanding on TV, fulminating about "price gouging" and conspiracy theories, remember all the roadblocks Congress puts in the way of allowing the oil industry to do what it would like to do -- namely, meet the demand for its products that we consumers exhibit every day.
Urb's Blog
posted by Urbie at 9:16 AM
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