Our lousy Saudi Allies
Posted on 03/20/2005 5:09:02 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
**Exclusive**
President Bush's inner circle has become preoccupied with soaring gas prices and its toll on the economy, a well-placed White House source said over the weekend.
Bush has quitely asked for a review of any and all economic fallout on the nation if gas prices continuing racing up and over the psychological line of $3 a gallon, as they have in recent weeks in some locations, the source explains.
Bush's top economic advisers have conveyed to the president that a "nightmare" scenario of $4 a gallon is extremely unlikely in the short term.
"The seasonal run-up of gas prices has been tough this year, but like every year in the past two decades, we expect we will will see some easing," the source claims from Washington.
Developing...
Of course, the real solution is to "thank" every Left wing Liberal puke you meet and reinforce that "thanks" with a well placed comment about how they're traitorous and anti-American for allowing the 'common folk' to suffer with artificially high fuel prices via their environmental and twisted political and social agendas.
Washington D.C. (is) the "WIND Capitol" Of the world!
Price caps don't do anything but discourage conservation and de-incentivize production. Your solution is to Carterize the economy? LOL.
Price fixing falls apart over time. That can be solved by prosecutors with half a brain. Price gouging is a matter of perspective--and you're arguing they are gouging right now! Price caps are government intervention in the market to regulate prices, and who will decide what 'a fair profit' is? You? Legislators? Government bureaucrats? And what is to stop government from deciding that, having established a 'fair profit' margin for petroleum companies, they should not do the same for others?
Price caps are counterproductive for all sorts of reasons, perhaps most notably because if we don't allow prices to rise to the appropriate level, no incentive is there to actually produce some different fuel, develop new sources of the same fuel, or develop a different mode of transport that solves the problem. Price caps are anticapitalism at its best, and if you advocate them for anything, you should be advocating them for everything like a good little socialist.
if the gas taxes are percentages of price, then definitely they need to reduce them,,, they can afford deferring some of that windfall back to us... BUT, aren't the taxes a fixed amount per gallon?
All I was saying was that if it becomes easier for people to make these changes, they will.
"The dirty little secret here is that there's a lot of left-wingers in America who WANT the price of gasoline to go way up"
And half the Freepers on this thread!
Honestly, I thougt that I was reading a DU thread at first, with all the class hatred of SUV's, and "let-them-eat-cake" attitudes...
Ed
"people will begin to work from home, get a job closer to home, carpool, plan travels far in advance, purchase smaller cars, scooters and motorcycle..."
Sounds like a wonderful socialist paradise!
Force everyone to shrink, conserve, give up unecessary driving, turn down the thermostat, stop buying cars to hold your family, stop camping and RV trips, don't live in the country, don't go on long drives for enjoyment and to see the country, man, let's just get Jimmy Carter to run for president again!
In fact, let's tax the hell out of ALL conspicuous consumption, let's tax all hobbies, anything unecessary, force everyone to become grey and small, just like East Germany!
Did someone from the Maryknoll Institute accidently hijack Free Republic on this thread???
Ed
""People will begin to work from home" -- I'm sure that's a viable option for a small percentage of people in this country, but please explain to me how those who work in retail environments, production environments, teachers, law enforcement officials, etc. could work form home."
Let them eat cake...
At least according to some, seemingly.
Ed
Our lousy Saudi Allies
So please socialist talk about putting price caps on oil companies here is ridiculous.
Really?
Then if gas is a luxury item why is their a national reserve incase of emergencies?
Why does the government supplement gas bills for welfare bums?
But in that case I agree and the government should stop supporting these people after all gas is a luxury!
If Monopoly games went up 400% because the little metal dog supply dwindled, I dare you to tell me you'd be for dropping taxes on the sale of Monopoly games. I double dog dare you. You cannot say that, because you know as well as I that doing so would infringe on the rest of the game market. So it is with gasoline--if we want to allow capitalism to flourish, the rest of the country's transportation and fuel options must be allowed a level playing field. No fair tilting the court to allow gas an advantage (the government subsidized roads and highways are ALREADY doing that).
I'm not against dropping taxes on EVERYTHING, or even gasoline! But timing is important here. If the market raises gas prices or any other prices for that matter, the "solution" should not be dropping the taxes on that item to keep its sales level--that's an indirect subsidy on gas use if other transportation options aren't so subsidized. The solution to energy problems should be market imposed, not government imposed.
While conserving is nice and useful in reality the Government needs to be reigned in so real market Captialism can exist in our energy policy!
hey i didn't say it was fair. but the fact remains. it is what it is.
We do. It's called corn. Subsidized and expensive to produce, sure, but it's "our own" and at least no one but red-state Americans with traditional values would be holding us "over a barrel". Flame away.
Show me where I use the word "force" anywhere in a my post. Go ahead. If living closer to my family, having a shorter commute, and riding a motorcycle makes me a socialist then sign me up, Chairman Mao.
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