Good day world!
I just read an article reporting a push among Dems in Congress to nationalize all the refineries so that the government can control how much fuel is on the market and avoid price manipulation. The statement was made more as a threat to the big oil companies that if prices as the pump don’t come down, the govt will do it by controlling the refineries and their output levels. This of course makes no sense because ANYTIME the government steps in to provide a service, it virtually ALWAYS costs MORE. Government brings with it bureaucracy and hosts of additional Federal employees to oversee new agencies and services. Its the nature of the beast. Of course, the lemming consume may buy into this concept – especially if prices at the pump were lower. But the shell game will be lower gas at the expense of HIGHER TAXES to pay for the operations, maintanence, and oversight of the service.
Its a bad idea. Just as nationalized medicine is a bad idea. Want to look at a micro-example of a national health-care system, look at the military provided health care and VA services. Or the NHS in the UK or Canada. Long waits, substandard service when compared to private service provisions. The claim they want you to believe is that these nationalized services are cheaper and better. The reality is that things may be cheaper at the point of service (doctors office, hospital, gas pump) but the higher taxes that go to subsidize all of these gets ignored.
To think that the government can provide something better and cheaper than a for-profit company is fools folly.
There’s a Hyundai commercial that advertises “think about it”. We as a populace need to start using our BRAINS and our VOICES. Don’t just listen to a little new-clip or sound-bite on the news and accept what is said at face value. Most issues are complex and warrant more investigation and analysis before just venturing down the road.
Case in point is the quick fix that Ethanol/Bio-fuels are the solution to both high fuel prices and green-house gas emissions. The amounts of energy (and greenhouse gases) emitted by the production of these fuel alternatives make any savings a wash.
Congress may want you to believe that immediately opening up more US lands for drilling and oil production will solve the gas price crisis. They also like to say we need to end our dependence on Middle East Oil. What is never ever mentioned is how long it will take to locate the oil, drill the wells and start the oil flowing. Months or years. Nevermind that we would simultaneously need to build some additional refineries to process that new oil there by impacting the supply/demand equation. They also don’t like to include the percentages on where oil comes from. Last I checked, the majority of our oil imports are from either Canada or South America with Saudi Arabia the biggest mid-east contributor.
High gas prices will eventually lead to commercial solutions reducing the overall impact of the increases. Car manufacturers will finally start building more fuel efficient vehicles. NOT just hybrids or tiny death-mobiles but also more fuel efficient engines. The technology will come. Electricity production will become more efficient. Its going to be painful for a while, but the solutions will come and they will come from for-profit companies seeking to scratch the consumers itch. MORE help from BIG government with the piling on of more taxes isn’t the solution in my opinion.
Tags: goverment gas production, government services, refinery nationalization, US oil imports
