That’s the point this Bozo fails to grasp. Sure, even with oil independence, we’d still be a player in world markets. But we’d have the ability to ‘buy within’ instead of being dependent on the rest of the world.
The other fact lost here, is that our ‘independence’ would greatly affect the world market in a positive way, our being the largest consumer.
American energy independence would be good for the world but bad for non American energy producers. No doubt the outsiders are aware of this and do all they can to make sure we aren’t producing.
Not only that, but they also don’t see (or don’t care) that we’re dissipating our wealth at the rate of 500 to 800 billion dollars a year paying for imported oil. What should be obvious is that we’d be much better off spending that on American oil, where the dollars would be recycled into our economy.
Do you realize that we are the only country on Earth with substantial oil and gas reserves that is not activly working to exploit them? The only country.