Nancy Pelosi, What ever happened to your promise of doing your best to bring down the prices at the pump? Remember the pledge you made? Ever since your party won back Congress in 2006, the price of a gallon of gas has skyrocketed. *crickets chirping*
From Family Security Matters, comes a most excellent opinion piece. I will dissect it as you read on.
Ready?
At $130 a barrel, the real, hidden cost of the liberals' refusal to open up the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the oil resources off our coasts is 10 million jobs.
So what? To the environmentalists, not drilling is the definition of "progress." Why drill when we can halt progress?
Ten million jobs for middle-class,working-class Americans that are being "outsourced" to OPEC daily, even as the Senate debates bizarrely complex "carbon cap and trade"legislation that would charge American businesses (most of them) that produce carbon emissions for the right to stay in business; then let those that reduce their carbon emissions sell or "trade" their carbon credits to other businesses that need to grow but will use more energy in the process. The effect of this fiasco will be to impose a new tax on all businesses and on all business growth, which will stunt business growth, economic growth, personal income growth, job growth,and tax receipts.
Democrats just don't get it. Or, could it be they don't want to get it? "Turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the American people" ought to be the motto of the Democrats.
It's intended to fix the biggest non-problem in history, human-induced global warming - the fraud that has made Al Gore a centimillionaire.If we look at the real climate data, the long term temperature trends show us that the climate is 0.4 degrees warmer than 1,000 years ago, and 3 degrees cooler than 8,000 years ago (http://www.globalwarmingart.com/).The Hadley Center for Climate Prediction charts the global temperature falling 0.4 degrees from 1988 to 1992, then rising 0.8 degrees from 1992 to peak in1998, then falling 0.7 degrees by January 2008.
Facts don't matter to these global warming climate change disciples. Don't you get it? It just doesn't matter.
The climate has been changing as long as there has been a climate. It's not our fault, and we can't stop it.
That is 100% correct. However, facts don't matter when you're a subscriber to the madness of global warming climate change. After all, it's their religion.
But I digress.
Currently, the U.S. imports roughly 25% of its oil, 5.4 million barrels a day, from OPEC, mostly from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela, Nigeria. At $130 a barrel, we are exporting over $700 million dollars a day to OPEC. $1.4 billion every two days. $256 billion a year.That's more than one-third of the US trade deficit of $720 billion. And that's why the value of the US dollar is falling.Not the only reason, but a big reason.
For 20 years, environmentalists, Democrats, and a few misguided Republicans have been busy keeping Big Oil out of ANWR and out of the oil fields on the Coastal Shelves, where there are an estimated 635 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to heat 60 million American homes for a century, and 115 billion barrels of oil, enough to replace 100% of the oil we now buy from OPEC for 21 years. At $130 a barrel,that would cut out trade deficit by $5.4 trillion over 21 years.
Keep in mind, China is off the Florida coast drilling for oil we should already be drilling for in the first place. But no, we have to cater to the environmentalists instead. Remember when I said we'll simply "sit back as a nation and bleed to death?" How's it feel to have the Democrats running the show in Congress? How do you like those high gas prices? A big giant "Thank You" definitely should go out to you environmentalists, too. Way to go, folks!
Yes, $5.4 trillion, which is enough to pay the entire federal budget for nearly two years.
Critics say that opening up 2,000 acres of the 19,049,236 acre Alaska National Wildlife Refuge for oil production would do little to bring down the price of gas, and that may be so. But it would add jobs by the millions, to the U.S. economy. With an estimated 10 billion barrels, ANWR could produce 1 million barrels a day for 30 years.At $130 a barrel, that's $130 million a day. That's $47 billion a year.
How many times do I have to tell you. It just doesn't matter!
A million dollars creates 40 jobs at an average pay of $50,000 a year. $130 million creates 5,200 jobs at $50,000 a year.$47 billion creates1,880,000 new jobs for American workers at $50,000 a year.At current oil prices,by keeping ANWR off limits, Democrats reduce employment for the middle-class, working-class Americans they pretend to care about by 1,880,000 jobs. And that's enough jobs to cut the unemployment rate from 5% to 4%.
But what if we open up the Coastal Shelves for oil production, too? And produce 5.4 million barrels a day, to replace all the oil we buy from OPEC?
Heaven forbid we become completely self reliant in terms of our own oil production. After all, we don't want to piss off the environmentalists. No! No! No! We can't do that! We must show the American people what the Democrat definition of "progress" is. How do you all like that "progress" so far?
That would re-invest the $256 billion a year we now deport to OPEC back into the U.S. economy. And that would fund 10,152,000 new jobs for working-class Americans, jobs that pay an average of $50,000 a year. And that's enough new jobs to reduce the unemployment rate, in theory, from 5% to 0%. Zero. And that is the high cost of keeping ANWR "pristine." We can lay the blame for 100% of America's unemployment at the feet of the Democrats, liberal Republicans and environmentalists who keep ANWR and the coastal oil reserves off limits.
That's okay, we'd rather sit back and bleed to death as a nation as we wait patiently for the alternative sources of energy out there to become viable. In the meantime, we need to "cut down consumption" all the while people like Al Gore, John Travolta, and Leonardo DiCaprio continue to live their lives status quo generating massive "carbon footprints" of their own (let's not forget the near countless numbers of all the other global warming climate change ideological demagogues out there). As an added bonus, these very same people expect you to change your way of life. Why should they change their lifestyle when you are required do it for them? After all, they are better than you and I. Isn't that a much better idea?
Put another way, every year that we continue buying 5.4 million barrels of oil a day from OPEC, we "outsource" more than ten million American jobs to OPEC. If politicians really cared about working-class Americans, they would be rushing to open up ANWR and other oil and gas reserves on federal lands as quickly as possible to create ten million new jobs, revalue the falling dollar, stimulate the economy, and write a declaration of independence from OPEC.
But, they don't.
Of course they don't. Why? Because they are either complete morons, or they are certifiably insane. Personally, I think it's a little bit of both. The Democrats in Congress are so out of touch with reality. These are the same people who will stand on their heads and tell you that the rest of the world is upside down.
If you're a liberal though, it all makes perfect sense to you when you read about rejoicing when we hit $8-a-gallon gasoline.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- For one of the nastiest substances on earth, crude oil has an amazing grip on the globe. We all know the stuff's poison, yet we're as dependent on it as our air and water supplies -- which, of course, is what oil is poisoning.
It's also completely natural. It comes from the earth. Haven't you figured it out yet?
Shouldn't we be technologically advanced enough here in the 21st Century to quit siphoning off the pus of the Earth? Regardless whether you believe global warming is threatening the planet's future, you must admit crude is passé.
That "pus of the Earth" as you so refer to it is what drives the world's economies. But what do liberals know about economics in the first place?
Americans should be celebrating rather than shuddering over the arrival of $4-a-gallon gasoline. We lived on cheap gas too long, failed to innovate and now face the consequences of competing for a finite resource amid fast-expanding global demand.
I have an idea! I'll celebrate with you when you pay to fill up my tank at $8.00 a gallon. How's that? Have you even thought about the negative impacts $8.00 a gallon gas would do? Or, are you simply one of these rich liberals who doesn't care because you have all the money in the world?
A further price rise as in Europe to $8 a gallon -- or $200 and more to fill a large SUV's tank -- would be a catalyst for economic, political and social change of profound national and global impact. We could face an economic squeeze, but it would be the pain before the gain.
Yay! We can slow the economy down even further! That makes me so happy! See, I told you! Capitalism doesn't work!
The U.S. economy absorbed a tripling in gas prices in the last six years without falling into recession, at least through March. Ravenous demand from China and India could see prices further double in the next few years -- and jumpstart the overdue process of weaning ourselves off fossil fuels.
Yeah, and we could be drilling, and building new refineries to keep up with the demands. But no, we'll cater to the environmentalists instead.
Consider the world of good that would come of pricing crude oil and gasoline at levels that would strain our finances as much as they're straining international relations and the planet's long-term health:
1. RIP for the internal-combustion engine
They may contain computer chips, but the power source for today's cars is little different than that which drove the first Model T 100 years ago. That we're still harnessed to this antiquated technology is testament to Big Oil's influence in Washington and success in squelching advances in fuel efficiency and alternative energy.
Given our achievement in getting a giant mainframe's computing power into a handheld device in just a few decades, we should be able to do likewise with these dirty, little rolling power plants that served us well but are overdue for the scrap heap of history.
Yay! That evil internal combustion engine has got to go! All the other renewable alternative energy sources are nearing readiness! In the meantime, let's all go back to riding horses. No wait, we can't ride horses because horse flatulence contributes to global warming!
2. Economic stimulus
Necessity being the mother of invention, $8 gas would trigger all manner of investment sure to lead to groundbreaking advances. Job creation wouldn't be limited to research labs; it would rapidly spill over into lucrative manufacturing jobs that could help restore America's industrial base and make us a world leader in a critical realm.
Lucrative manufacturing? And how do you plan on powering the plants which would fall under "lucrative manufacturing jobs?" Gerbil power?
The most groundbreaking discoveries might still be 25 or more years off, but we won't see massive public and corporate funding of research initiatives until escalating oil costs threaten our national security and global stability -- a time that's fast approaching.
That's right! 25 years off! What do we do in the meantime? We don't drill for oil. And then when the crap hits the fan, we blame it on oil companies, even though the Democrats and environmentalists wouldn't let the oil companies do their job in the first place. Makes sense to me.
3. Wither the Middle East's clout
This region that's contributed little to modern civilization exercises inordinate sway over the world because of its one significant contribution -- crude extraction. Aside from ensuring Israel's security, the U.S. would have virtually no strategic or business interest in this volatile, desolate region were it not for oil -- and its radical element wouldn't be able to demonize us as the exploiters of its people.
In the near term, breaking our dependence on Middle Eastern oil may well require the acceptance of drilling in the Alaskan wilderness -- with the understanding that costly environmental protections could easily be built into the price of $8 gas.
You don't need "costly environmental protection." We can drill for oil safely with minimal impact on the Alaskan wilderness. Where in the heck did this guy come from?
4. Deflating oil potentates
On a similar note, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently gained a platform on the world stage because of their nations' sudden oil wealth. Without it, they would face the difficult task of building fair and just economies and societies on some other basis.
How far would their message resonate -- and how long would they even stay in power -- if they were unable to buy off the temporary allegiance of their people with vast oil revenues?
All the more reason to drill for our own oil.
5. Mass-transit development
Anyone accustomed to taking mass transit to work knows the joy of a car-free commute. Yet there have been few major additions or improvements to our mass-transit systems in the last 30 years because cheap gas kept us in our cars.
Confronted with $8 gas, millions of Americans would board buses, trains, ferries and bicycles and minimize the pollution, congestion and anxiety spawned by rush-hour traffic jams. More convenient routes and scheduling would accomplish that.
With the price of gasoline at $8 per gallon, not many people would be on the roads unless they were driving to work. On weekends and holidays, there won't be many on the roads at all; if any. And with no one filling up at the pumps, tax revenue would be lost. So, that said, how do you plan on developing mass transit solutions with no money? Oh wait, we'll tax the living hell out of the current mass transit systems so people will be discouraged from it, too!
6. An antidote to sprawl
The recent housing boom sparked further development of antiseptic, strip-mall communities in distant outlying areas. Making 100-mile-plus roundtrip commutes costlier will spur construction of more space-efficient housing closer to city centers, including cluster developments to accommodate the millions of baby boomers who will no longer need their big empty-nest suburban homes.
Sure, there's plenty of land left to develop across our fruited plains, but building more housing around city and town centers will enhance the sense of community lacking in cookie-cutter developments slapped up in the hinterlands.
I like where I live now, and I don't want to enhance the sense of community. I don't want to live in your god forsaken cities. How dare you tell me where I should live, you little Marxist you.
7. Restoration of financial discipline
Far too many Americans live beyond their means and nowhere is that more apparent than with our car payments. Enabled by eager lenders, many middle-income families carry two monthly payments of $400 or more on $20,000-plus vehicles that consume upwards of $15,000 of their annual take-home pay factoring in insurance, maintenance and gas.
The sting of forking over $100 per fill-up would force all of us to look hard at how much of our precious income we blow on a transport vehicle that sits idle most of the time, and spur demand for the less-costly and more fuel-efficient small sedans and hatchbacks that Europeans have been driving for decades.
And now you want to dictate as to what kind of car we should all be driving? Like I said, you're a Marxist. Who do you think you are, sir? Man, it doesn't take much to see this guy's a devoted Communist.
8. Easing global tensions
Unfortunately, we human beings aren't so far evolved that we won't resort to annihilating each other over energy resources. The existence of weapons of mass destruction aside, the present Iraq War could be the first of many sparked by competition for oil supplies.
Here we go with the "The war was about oil" argument! Why do I get the feeling this guy's a liberal Democrat? If that's the case, where is the oil, sir? It's the evil oil companies hoarding it all!
Steep prices will not only chill demand in the U.S., they will more importantly slow China and India's headlong rush to make the same mistakes we did in rapidly industrializing -- like selling $2,500 Tata cars to countless millions of Indians with little concern for the environmental consequences. If we succeed in developing viable energy alternatives, they could be a key export in helping us improve our balance of trade with consumer-goods producers.
We are developing viable energy alternatives. They just aren't ready yet. So, what do you propose in the meantime? Taking delight in higher gas prices! Yay!
Additional considerations
Weaning ourselves off crude will hopefully be the crowning achievement that marks the progress of humankind in the 21st Century. With it may come development of oil-free products to replace the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, fertilizers and pesticides that now consume 16% of the world's crude-oil output and are likely culprits in fast-rising cancer rates.
I'll wean myself off of crude when you step up the plate and do it first. I bet I'll be waiting a long, long time before that ever happens.
By its very definition, oil is crude. It's time we develop more refined energy sources and that will not happen without a cost-driven shift in demand.
No sir, you are crude. You're a crude, idiotic human being who knows about economics as much as Bin Laden is a practicing Moron. You complete moron.
Man, these people are freakin' scary, aren't they?
Can you now see the complete madness it is to not drill for our own oil?