Prepare for the end.
Posted on 05/19/2004 6:27:52 AM PDT by snooker
With the election season moving into full swing as Americans start thinking about their summer travel plans, it's sadly predictable that politicians will try to curry favor with voters by playing silly blame games and proposing simplistic quick fixes for rising gasoline prices, which are averaging more than $2 a gallon. A case in point is the demand made yesterday by 20 Senate Democrats that the government release as much as 60 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next two months.
President Bush is rightly resisting the call. Since 9/11, the administration has been adding to the reserve in a disciplined manner, and it is closing in on its goal of filling up the reserve's capacity, 700 million barrels. Tapping the reserve to assuage motorists at a time of increasing security threats to already tight fuel supplies would be foolish.
As the energy secretary, Spencer Abraham, correctly noted yesterday, "The reserve is not there to simply try to change prices." In fact, the law calls for it to be tapped only in the event of supply disruptions. And even if Washington wanted to alleviate rising fuel costs, the reserve is not a very effective instrument for doing so, as President Bill Clinton learned in the fall of 2000. Experts estimate that at most, turning on the spigot now would knock only a few cents off a gallon.
excerpt from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/19/opinion/19WED1.html?ex=1085544000&en=c93135afa0e4fbf3&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Someone needs to tell the dems that the word 'strategic' refers to the strategic protection of the United States, and not election strategy.
Sorry, I lost my mind momentarily. The dems don't care about the U.S. compared to their goal of being in power.
but...but...John F'n Kerry sez this is exactly what we should be doing.
How can this be?
How about we tap ANWR instead of the Strategic Reserves? How about the Govt takes the official position of "Screw the greenies".
The lack of perspective and stupidity is there for all to see. This has the collective effect of wearying a nation to submission.
I think I woke up in the Bizarro world!!
The NYTimes must think this will hurt Bush in the long run.
If we would of tapped ANWR in 95 when Clintoon vetoed it, ANWR would be cranking out 1M barrels of oil a day TODAY. Just what the Dem's want to take out of the strategic reserve.
This has to be a hoax even though I heard it on Hannity yesterday. The Slimes would never agree with Bush.
"Senator Kerry should be talking about bolstering conservation efforts and fuel economy standards, and encouraging new investment in refining capacity."
Most of the experts out there agree that refining capacity is what is needed, But does the NY Slimes really think that John F'ing Kerry cares about that.
I suspect that the Slimes wrote this editorial just so they can say they bash both sides.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't clinochio use some of the reserve meant for the US and sell it overseas? I seem to remember that to be the case.
Bush could also drop the gas tax and have congress vote on it.
Would love to see what Kerry and the libs do with that one.
I do not know what the added cost is, however it has caused a decrease in the amount refined in the US and what is shipped in from overseas. It cost millions to comply and the older plants will not do it. Overseas it's cheaper for them to sell to the growing markets in China and India instead of making the investment. The Saudi's are the only people who have promised some relief in the form of two upgraded plants.
It should also be noted that the Bush administration wants to relax the standards but the big international oil companies are raising hell because they have already made the investment and don't care what our supplies are in the US.
That why the stock market is faltering in a recovery.
If they don't step in the derivatives market could implode and the debt bubble would quickly collapse into a deflationary spiral.
BUMP
Of course, I would've used the prisoner abuse photos to argue for gays out of the military, too, but then again, I'm a conservative.
You seem to have a reasonable understanding of what has caused this price spike. I have heard different theories, such as boutique fuels, refinery shut downs, China's increased demand, etc, but what would you say has created these record new highs?
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