Oil prices hit another record and it looks like there is no end in sight. I still remember, not that long ago, all the expert said it would never hit $100 a barrel, now its headed for $200! This rapid rate of increase is doing massive damage to our economy; I think we could absorb higher priced fuel, but these rapid jumps are happening way too fast. Companies cannot plan, fuel is going up aster than people like us truck-drivers can pass it to our customers. States are complaining they didn’t budget enough money to fill pot-holes at these prices. The average consumer can’t even plan their food budget for the week, groceries are rising almost as fast as oil. I’m usually pretty optimistic, even with higher oil our economy should be able to handle it, but now I am starting to doubt it.
My mind keeps going back to the Enron scandle where speculators manipulated power production in California to drive up electrical cost. Do we have the same thing going on here? It sounds very familiar, lack of electrical production causing brown-outs and hiked up rates and it turned out to be the boys at Enron pulling power generators off-line during peak demand hours. Maybe some of the increased prices can be blamed on this kind of action. But, the scandle at Enron was possible because of California’s screwed up power policy. Now we have the same thing happening at a National level because of our screwed up energy policy.
For the last twenty plus years, government lawmakers have ignored the need to get off of oil. They have relied on a supposed never ending supply from over-seas to allow them to coddle the environmentalist and the not-in-my-backyard groups to prevent domestic drilling, nuclear energy production, coal and oil shale production, and putting real dollars into finding a better way to produce clean reliable energy. If we had put the effort in for the last twenty or so years that they all want to do now, think how we would be standing now. Possibly the Saudis would be back riding camels instead of Rolls Royce’s paid for by Americans.
I still hear people saying, It won’t lower oil prices now if we drill here or there, it would take years to make a difference, well if we had started years ago instead of sticking our proverbial heads in the oil-sands, then we would now be reaping the benefits. We need a real and realistic energy plan for this country, not just something that politicians spout for votes. We need to throw a few of the bums out of Congress that have allowed the environmentalist and nut-jobs to decide National Energy policy.
That’s my rant for the day, time to go fishing. Everyone stay safe and look out for the other guy.
Don
Check out these great blogs while your looking:
Pirates Cove
Michelle Malkin
Rightwing Nuthouse
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