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Oil at $300 (Democrat-controlled Congress intends to destroy the middle class)
HUMAN EVENTS ^ | 07/04/2008 | Terry Easton

Posted on 07/04/2008 8:26:52 PM PDT by neverdem

You would think that this story is right out of science fiction. But the facts appear to be that the US Democrat-controlled Congress intends to destroy the Republican middle class with $11 per gallon gasoline.

The Democrats’ base -- wealthy white “limousine liberals”, and very poor people -- won’t be harmed, but the families who live in suburbia will be devastated.

The multi-millionaires like billionaire Senators John Kerry & Jay Rockefeller, financial speculator George Soros, filmmaker Michael Moore, and actors George Clooney & Meg Ryan can easily pay for their auto and private jet fuel. Poor people are forced to take public transit.

Here’s the reasoning behind the move.

The so-called “Global Oil Crisis” is an invention of the US liberal ruling class, which has successfully managed to export their disastrous ideas worldwide. Oil supply and demand has been on knife-edge balance for years. With the growth of the newly well off Chinese and Indian car-consuming populations, oil consumption has been rapidly increasing in the developing world even as it has been dropping in the US. No wonder India and China, with nearly half the world’s population, refused to sign on to the Kyoto “global warming” treaty.

Cheap energy -- and specifically oil -- is what made America the powerhouse of the 20th century. When gasoline was $1 a gallon in the US, it was $2-3 a gallon in high-tax Europe. Low US excise taxes enabled the country to grow and our vast middle class to prosper. Even today, the American consumer is paying $4-$5 per gallon of gasoline while his European counterpart is paying $10-12.

To meet this new energy shortfall, economists would assume that the rational market would increase the supply of oil and other oil-substitute energy supplies. But they would be wrong.

First, US the anti-nuclear lobby got the nuclear power industry banned from building new safe and clean fifth-generation power plants, abandoning the field to countries like France, which runs its super-fast trains on nuclear plants scattered throughout the country. In fact, fully 90% of France’s electricity comes from 59 non-polluting “carbon neutral” nuclear; they also recycle 99% of the spent fuel into new fuel using a breeder reactor at the La Hague chemical complex. We don’t do this either.

Next, the eco-greens got the drilling for new known American oil reserves in the barren wasteland of the Alaska ANWR’s near-coast sites, and along the east and west-coasts of the continental US, and in the Gulf of America. Now China & Venezuela are set to start drilling off the coast of Cuba - but not Exxon or Chevron. They’re forbidden by law.

Then, the construction of new modern and efficient US-based refineries has been halted for 40 years. So there is a perennial shortage of heating fuel in the winter and gasoline in the summer. One hurricane can take out 5% of the nation’s refining capacity for months. A 5% shortfall can now easily cause a $25 price increase.

Meanwhile, the nation’s electricity generators, primarily fuelled by coal-burning plants, were forced to convert to natural-gas, previously mostly used in industry, agriculture and home heating. This has, in turn, driven the price of natural gas through the roof, from $3 per thousand cubic feet to over $11.

Finally, the hundreds of older existing oil fields and pumping derricks were closed and not allowed to re-open due to “environmental concerns”. California alone has scores of older fields just waiting to be re-opened to increase the US oil supply. And these could be re-opened in a matter of months, not years.

But wait, there’s more.

To make matters worse, Congress then mandated using a toxic and polluting chemical -- ethanol -- inefficiently converted from corn, to help alleviate the oil shortage. Corn farmers promptly sold their commodity to the highest bidder, the ethanol refiners. The price of corn-based foods, like cornflakes - and sugar, chicken, milk, eggs and beef has now shot up.

In the process, a minor supply-demand problem has been artificially legislated into a full-blown crisis. The stock market’s response has been predictable: down, down, down.

The liberal solution, of course, is for Congress to raise taxes, increase the fuel excise tax, and force industry to adapt wacky “carbon credit” schemes to line the pockets of the rich liberals who are capitalizing on the global warming scare by selling newly-invented credits, like Al Gore’s new company is doing. Wrong. This will stress the mostly-Republican middle class even more.

So what is the solution? What’s right for America is wrong for the limousine liberals. It’s simple, really. Unleash the supply-side forces of economics.

Open up domestic oil drilling immediately. Turn back on the older wells now capped off. Fast-track new safe nuclear power plants. Stop creating global food shortages by killing off corn-based Ethanol production. Waive the punitive duty on cheap Brazilian sugar cane ethanol. Plant lots of domestic switchgrass for cleaner & cheaper ethanol manufacture. Begin a crash construction program of 50 new advanced nuclear power plants nationwide. Stop burning up natural gas to generate electricity. Build new clean coal-burning electric power plants nationwide (China is turning one per week for the next 5 years), and construct coal-to-oil conversion plants. The Germans were doing this in WWII. Alternative-energy sources like cheap 4th-generation solar panels will ramp up as their prices continue to fall.

In other words, return to the old policy of cheap domestic energy that has made America the powerhouse (pun intended) that it once was. The US will become oil-independent of our enemies whose treasuries are now overflowing with a flood of newly-printed dollars we’ve been using to pay our oil bills with, and the dollar regain its strength as the world’s reserve currency.

And the irony? All of this can be done now with results beginning in 90 days, and using new super-clean super-efficient and environmentally-friendly technology. The result: oil will drop down to well below $100 per barrel and the economy will once again boom. If France and China and Brazil can do it, why can’t America? Why not indeed?

Oil sells for $145 per barrel mostly because of artificially-created supply-side shortages. A small part of its price is also determined by speculators and uncertainty over a future cut-off of oil from the middle east that a war with Iran could cause. Assuming that Iran’s nuclear bomb program is destroyed by Israel this fall -- with or without America’s help - look for oil to spike up to $250-300. And 40 years of congressional bumbling will be the cause.

Mr. Easton teaches University economics and is passionate about technology and entrepreneurship.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 110th; 2008; 2008election; bigoil; congress; conspiracy; crushliberalism; democratparty; democrats; drillheredrillnow; drilling; easton; electionpresident; energy; energyprices; envirowackos; gasoline; globaloilcrisis; greenparty; greens; liberals; limousineliberals; millionaires; naturalgas; obstructionistdems; offshoredrilling; oil; oilprices
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To: WHBates

Heard a talk show today that made the very astute observation that when the ‘worker bees’ of this nation decide to stay home because it costs more to go to work and hire baby sitters than it is worth it will definitely be the beginning of the end.
The truckers will probably be the first to go then it is downhill from there.
EVERYBODY had better wake up quick.
The ‘preaching to the choir’ folks keep bringing up how much the cost of gas has risen since the Libs took control of the House and Senate, but the MSM keeps quoting Pelosi & Co about how bad Bush, Cheney and Big Oil is screwing us.


21 posted on 07/04/2008 9:22:15 PM PDT by xrmusn
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To: Dustbunny

Sign the petition here to drill for more oil.

http://www.americansolutions.com/Actioncenter/Petitions/ThankYou.aspx?guid=54ec6e43-75a8-445b-aa7b-346a1e096659


22 posted on 07/04/2008 9:26:31 PM PDT by tflabo (Truth or tyranny)
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To: neverdem
But the facts appear to be that the US Democrat-controlled Congress intends to destroy the Republican middle class with $11 per gallon gasoline.

That's just plain weird. Since when is the "middle class" as a rule "Republican?"  That mush in the middle cannot be labelled.

23 posted on 07/04/2008 9:29:27 PM PDT by quantim (Victory is not relative, it is absolute.)
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To: Dustbunny

I don't understand why more people are not signing the Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less petition At American Solutions for Winning the Future.

They're Obama supporters.

24 posted on 07/04/2008 9:34:13 PM PDT by quantim (Victory is not relative, it is absolute.)
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To: neverdem

Anyone surprised about this knows squat about history and Marxism. A strong middle class is the enemy of state rule. So of course the dems want to destroy it by converting it into a state dependent lower class. From such arises their power. See the African American community for a prime example. The dems have successfully degraded most of that community to the point of utter dependence, and they get 90 plus percent of that vote. They are now working on the rest of America, and the “green” movement, domination of govt schools, and ownership of the MSM are their tools. Sadly, they are succeeding.


25 posted on 07/04/2008 9:54:20 PM PDT by piytar
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To: WHBates

The November election is still far enough away to get the discontent messaged out to Washington, D.C.

We all need to write, call or fax representatives and senators to tell them that drilling needs to get started pronto. And the rhetoric that it doesn’t matter because it will be ten years before it gets to the consumer is hog wash. This is America and we could invent oil in ten years if we had to. Well, maybe not invent oil, but how about a substitute for oil. And I don’t mean something stupid like ethanol that takes a food crop away from hungry people.

What a boondoggle that was. Didn’t it occur to anybody that taking all that corn out of the grocery market would make a difference in the food bill? Yep — all the way from corn bread to steaks.

Anybody who thinks it would take ten years to get new oil to market doesn’t (1) have faith in good old American ingenuity and persistence, and (2) doesn’t give credit to all the chemists and engineers in the United States who could solve problems if the 110th Congress hadn’t tied their hands with a kadzillion places where oil can’t be drilled.

We absolutely have to lay this oil problem at the doorstep of the 110th Congress because the Democratic controlled congress has the power to authorize repealing the ban on offshore drilling.

Will someone go down to Brazil, please, and get some fresh ideas on how they became independent of oil.


26 posted on 07/04/2008 9:55:20 PM PDT by janereinheimer ((I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.))
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To: janereinheimer

“The so-called “Global Oil Crisis” is an invention of the US liberal ruling class, which has successfully managed to export their disastrous ideas worldwide. Oil supply and demand has been on knife-edge balance for years.”

The liberals are promoting the envio-terrorists agenda and refust to tap our own resources. Vote the bums out!


27 posted on 07/04/2008 10:01:33 PM PDT by JaneNC (I)
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To: xrmusn
EVERYBODY had better wake up quick.

People are waking up but they don't really know what to do. It seems obvious to me and maybe to you but all they have heard for the last six year is how evil Bush is and the Republicans haven't help themselves at all by acting like Democrats. Memories are short when not reminded how the Dems said the were going to fix gas prices 2 years ago they blame the guy's they perceive to be in charge. Collectively we forget that the Democrats have been obstructing any reasonable energy solutions for more than 20 years, heck 30 years. That why I think it will be the 2010 elections before the s**t hits the fan electorly. I just hope things don't take a real ughly turn in the mean time.

28 posted on 07/04/2008 10:06:03 PM PDT by WHBates
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To: LaineyDee

IIRC the I.R.S. just raised those rates. Might want to have your employer check on that for you...


29 posted on 07/04/2008 10:08:23 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (McCain could never convince me to vote for him. Only the Marxist Obama can!)
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To: WHBates

“I just hope things don’t take a real ughly turn in the mean time.”

I used to think that way. Now I think that the Tree of Liberty needs to be watered.


30 posted on 07/04/2008 10:22:48 PM PDT by piytar
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To: JaneNC

Vote the bums out!”
________________________

RE-ELECT NO ONE !


31 posted on 07/04/2008 10:58:12 PM PDT by cowdog77
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To: quantim
“Since when is the “middle class” as a rule “Republican”?”

At least for the last half century, that has always been the case. The ultra-poor and the ultra-wealthy are Democrats. Working people, especially those with college-graduate-type professional occupations tend to be Republicans.

It is also true that the Democrats ultimate goal is to turn the US into a third-world country, with only two classes; the wealthy and the peasants. This is easy to see from all of their policies. You simply have to look past their PR/rhetoric, though. Because they are good at labeling things as other than they really are. For example; the Dems always want to tax the “Rich”, but the actual rich folks (like trust-fund Ted Kennedy) already have their wealth, and we don't have a wealth-tax (other than the estate tax, which the uber-wealthy manage to minimize). We have an income-tax, which hit hardest those who are successful, but still working and trying to accumulate wealth. In other words, the middle class.

32 posted on 07/04/2008 11:42:06 PM PDT by ChicagahAl (So your bumper sticker says: "Don't blame me, I didn't vote!"? Duh!)
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To: neverdem
I think this is a prescient point and I'm grateful someone has put into words the very things I have been thinking for weeks!!!

Thanks for posting this powerful warning! These are the very people that have been ignorant and appethetic, saying:"I'm so busy trying to keep my head above water that I don't know and I don't care!"

It is now time for all of us to care very deeply!!!

33 posted on 07/04/2008 11:58:11 PM PDT by SierraWasp (My tagline has been aborted without mercy! They said it had no redeeming social value!!!)
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; george76; ...

Thanks neverdem.

Environmental support dips vs. economy - poll
(nearly three in four favor offshore drilling)
CNNMoney.com | July 3, 2008 | David Goldman
Posted on 07/04/2008 11:56:59 PM PDT by neverdem
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041007/posts


34 posted on 07/05/2008 12:50:16 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_________________________Profile updated Friday, May 30, 2008)
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To: All; yldstrk; pepsionice

“We can’t drive our SUVs and, you know, eat as much as we want and keep our homes on, you know, 72 degrees at all times, whether we’re living in the desert or we’re living in the tundra, and then just expect every other country is going to say OK, you know, you guys go ahead keep on using 25 percent of the world’s energy, even though you only account for 3 percent of the population, and we’ll be fine. Don’t worry about us. That’s not leadership.”

Senator Barack Obama


35 posted on 07/05/2008 3:08:34 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (McCain could never convince me to vote for him. Only the Marxist Obama can!)
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To: cowdog77; JaneNC

And yet the RATS seem destined to add to their majorities in both houses. Certainly you can blame the Republicans for ineptness on a Clouseau scale, but not to this extent. You’re talking mass suicide by the voters.


36 posted on 07/05/2008 4:20:12 AM PDT by Dahoser (America's great untapped alternative energy source: The Founding Fathers spinning in their graves.)
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To: Dustbunny
I don't understand why more people are not signing the Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less petition At American Solutions for Winning the Future.

Because signing on-line petitions is a waste of time.

37 posted on 07/05/2008 8:10:53 AM PDT by SC Swamp Fox (Join our Folding@Home team (Team# 36120) keyword: folding)
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To: LaineyDee
I drive no less than 500mi a week doing Hospice nursing. Gas prices have doubled since I started this job last year.... and I’m not sure how long I can continue. Our mileage compensation didn’t go up with the increase in gas prices. (we set our mileage reimbursement with the federal guidelines)

What kind of car are you driving that 50.5 and 58.5 cents per mile this year doesn't more than cover your gas costs?

38 posted on 07/05/2008 8:12:00 AM PDT by mvpel (Michael Pelletier)
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To: Dahoser; El Gato; Robert A. Cook, PE; Squantos; wardaddy; Jeff Head
You’re talking mass suicide by the voters.

We will see in November. Competitive Congressional Districts will be the proof in/of the pudding. These polls are deliberately inarticulate. They want to hear themselves talk. With the question, "Is the country going in the right or wrong direction," they add the Moveon.org crowd to the religious right, among others including libertarians. IMHO, it's the dumbest question ever asked. Most people live in gerrymandered Congressional Districts.

Look for more specific questions like drivers licenses for illegal aliens. It's not too popular.

Eighty-eight percent (88%) of Republicans oppose giving drivers’ licenses to undocumented immigrants. So do 68% of Democrats and 75% of those not affiliated with either major political party.

39 posted on 07/05/2008 12:37:17 PM PDT by neverdem (I'm praying for a Divine Intervention.)
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To: neverdem

Fourth thread? If this $300 thing happens the planet will be out of business. Population should be back to 1900 level in a couple of years.


40 posted on 07/05/2008 12:39:12 PM PDT by RightWhale (I will veto each and every beer)
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