.....”The President doesn’t have that power.”
It’s far more than just drilling, and increasing gasoline production. It’s the President and Congress together getting government the “H” out of way, and returning our economy back to sanity, people working again will of course cause the other side of the effect Gingrich is talking about. It isn’t the oil companies that dictate what the price will be in this kind of market. It is the freedom of the free market, the overall market, and government getting the Hell out of the way that causes what the price will be.
The oil companies will charge what they must to maintain a profit, and remain in business in whatever economy exists at any given time. If employment ramps up once again, and the economy improves it will be strongly achieved by access to cheap, or say cheaper energy supplies.
Gingrich is right in saying what he is saying as he intends to get the economy moving by reducing, or cleaning out the Federal government of the infestation of the impaired minds of the Leftist block. Kinda like running a balloon through blood vessels to clean out all the muck so the blood of the free market can flow again.
I’m sayin’ don’t just focus on the oil companies alone, and go negative on what Gingrich, or Palin are saying. It’s the overall picture of a cleaned up small Constitutional Republican government free from stupid Leftist obstacles, and a free market that will bring back $2.00 a gallon gasoline.
I think you misunderstood my comments on the role of the oil companies. They will do everything in their power to balance production and prices to optimize profit. That is what the free market is all about. The problem with Newt's comments is that he has no way of knowing if the free market will support $2 gas.
As for the government getting the hell out of the way, lets not forget that the oil industry receives major subsidies from the government:
“The United States government provides a large subsidy to oil companies, with major tax breaks at virtually every stage of oil exploration and extraction. Revenue attributable to capital investment, including the costs of oil field leases and drilling equipment, are taxed at an effective rate of nine percent, which is a much lower rate than the 25% rate for general business taxes and lower than the taxes of virtually any other industry, according to a 2005 study by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. For example, while the Deepwater Horizon oil rig was registered in the Marshall Islands, since registering off-shore lowered the U.S. tax liability, the U.S. government was giving the rig’s owner, British Petroleum (BP), a major tax break when BP leased the rig: 70% of the rent was written off in the form of a tax break used only by the oil industry, for a tax deduction of more than $225,000 per day from the day the lease began.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry
Think what would happen if those subsidies were removed and oil companies passed those costs on to the consumer. Government polices are presently acting to keep gas prices below market value.
A move to a true free market approach might actual increase the price of gas.