The politics of oil
Gas prices surged 20 cents over the past three weeks to an all-time high of $2.50 per gallon of self-serve regular, according to a national survey.This is a huge and complex subject, but what is the relationship between these soaring gas prices, the fact that America's stature in the world has sunk to an all-time low, especially among some of the largest oil producing countries, the supposed access to Iraqi oil, the fact that this administration is packed with oil industry figures, and the fact that it's recent energy bill provided enormous tax givaways and subsidies to oil and gas mega-corporations, despite the fact that they've posted record profit levels, while included absolutely nothing to encourage conservation or alternative energy development.
The price surge "does smash the all-time record high for the third time this year," Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey, said Sunday.
"Crude oil has caused this jump at the pump," she said of the survey, taken August 12 at about 7,000 gas stations in every state.
What impact will these huge jumps in the price of gas have on the cost of other goods and services? Is this nearing a crisis? Or will people simply go broke in order to keep feeding their gas-guzzling habit?
posted by The Inside Dope @ 8/15/2005
6 comments
6 Comments:
Well said Diehard.
We all wait for the day when the Bush dynasty comes to an end....
Oil rules the world. That fact can't be ignored. I just wonder how this game is being played by the international elites that cut the deals which affect what we pay at the pump.
It seems odd that there are over half of the refinery capacity in the U.S. that are shut down or volunarily running under peak production.
Once one reads two highly recommended books, "House of Bush, House of Saud" by Craig Unger and "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins, you'll never look at these seemingly random world events in the same way.
And how will this affect Bush politically, if at all?
So we can assume all Repubs drive gas guzzling SUV's and all Dems bike to work? All Repubs live in huge houses and all Dems live in abodes no larger than necessary with wind powered turbines and solar heat? Give me a break! We're all culpable in this mess. It's the public's appetite for fossil fuels that allows oil companies to make huge profits and the Arab countries to dictate the price.
Puzzler - you got it about right. Yes I have found most republican households have not one but two SUV parked in their 3 car garage - yes folks - 3 car garage - because sonny boy needs his own brand new jeep or some such.
And the size via sq ft of most republican houses I have seen - true Republicans - the ones who make so much money that they don't pay income taxes because they have loopholes and they bypass the Social Security deductions about half way through the year - they cap the wage deductions then -- their homes are so grand the property tax bill is higher than my mortgage payment.
Yes Puzzler - that is reality. The democrats don't bike to work - because the City planners don't make any bike paths for them - so they drive beater crappy cars to work and hope they start in the morning so that the boss won't dock their pay if they are late.....
While Anon is right on the mark for those certain country club republicans and those of the yuppie variety, there are no doubt deluded Republicans of the Dale Earnhardt worshipping variety or Ted Nugent idolizing variety that own or rent crappy houses and have to worry about their second hand truck making it to work.
While I find the quote "Methinks thou doth protest too much" from Shakespeare to apply to Puzzler's comment. They suddenly get all defensive when no one had accused Repubs of being the only offenders!
But the bottom line is that we're all going to be facing the same future, and while Republicans, particularly encouraged by those in this administration and a lot of right wing pundits, have tried to adopt this "to hell with the future" attitude, or worse yet, the Rush Limbaugh "don't believe science or your lying eyes" attitude which simply sticks it's head in the sand and doesn't beleive we even need to conserve, towards conservation.
There are far more on the right who both squander and actively work against any EPA rules or regulations and who the Republican congress routinely kills any measures aimed at increasing conservation or promoting alternative energy sources.
Have they mentioned our politicians yet, Rep Vershoore, Rep Boland, Sen. Mike Jacobs yet. It's almost time.
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