DRUDGE: White House Studies $4 Gallon 'Nightmare' Scenario

Drudge Report ^ | Sun Mar 20 2005 | Matt Drudge

[quantim]

The different formulas is a real annoyance. Cracks me up as I fill my tank at my cottage in northern MI then go to Nashville on a winter break vacation. It is pointless as the fuel is not burned where it is intended. It would be different if people only drove across the street.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

You are correct about the funds and big banks. I'd like to see their reaction when this market craters (I'm guessing end of March/first wk in April) and they've bought $55 crude in a $45 market.

[Shermy]

The Republicans need to NOW make it clear that we are not going to accept these prices.

Politicians respond to money, and opposition. The Dems have become incompetent and can barely make an economic argument on any economic issue.

I remember Gephardt, Kerry, early in there campaigns made noises about independent energy security programs a la the Manhattan Project. They dropped them, I suppose they're in the pocket to. Now that the hedge funds, the Dem moneymen, are invested in oil too hopes don't look too good.

[Iscool]

By congressional legislation, yank jurisdiction from the courts of all claims challenging the construction of oil and gas refineries based on environmental grounds

What oil company do you suppose would want to build more refineries??? There's no shortage of gas...Why would they want to increase production and sell for less??? They have to be lovin' it...

[Husker24]

I dont have one, thats just what ive heard they get.

[DaoPian]

15-20 miles to get to work and back. Biking isn't an option.

If every US citizen was capable of riding 15 miles, which BTW is really not that far, we would have of people with very nice legs. Plus, the morning and evening ride would be awesome. Imagine the pacelines, six lanes of bikes on the 405 freeway, no smog...

[Shermy]

Iraq oil should be flooding the market. What is going on?

For one, the planners didn't go in with enough troops to protect the Iraqi borders, or offer another solution. The saboteurs have been plinking the Iraqi pipelines. Neighboring regimes profit.

[traumer]

Looks like more financial trouble for GM....

[Shermy]

"What oil company do you suppose would want to build more refineries???"

Very true. They have little interest in building new refineries. In a general sense it would cut into their profits.

[mc6809e]

"Strip the friggin' taxes off and we immediately get about
"40% relief.

Bad idea. People already have their auto travel subsidized by income taxes. Reducing the gas tax just means that income tax will have to go up more to cover the difference.

And it's because of the income tax subsidy that people are a bad spot. The government made auto travel appear very cheap by putting the costs of roads, etc in income taxes rather than gas taxes.

By doing this, the government encouraged people to live further away from work than they should have.

Lower the gas tax just means people will put off what they have to do anyway: change their car purchasing habits, home purchasing habits, and driving habits.

Despite what some would have you believe, not all taxes are bad. Gas taxes tend to be some of the most fair since there tends to be a correlation between fuel consumed and the amount of road wear and tear a vehicle using that fuel is responsible for.

It's fair in that people are charged in proportion to the services they get from government.

Redistributive taxes are unfair. But that's exactly the sort of thing you get when you get rid of all gas taxes because income tax payers will be forced to foot the bill for those that want cheap auto travel.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I think you're on to something. The people most opposed to new refineries are the people who own refineries.

[Matrix1948]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/4354269.stm

This was the plan to take out OPEC

The industry-favoured plan was pushed aside by a secret plan, drafted just before the invasion in 2003, which called for the sell-off of all of Iraq's oil fields. The new plan was crafted by neo-conservatives intent on using Iraq's oil to destroy the Opec cartel through massive increases in production above Opec quotas.

[traumer]

"bike powered world "

America would get in shape..... PRONTO !

[rintense]

I'd like to see you ride a bike in Michigan in January. ;)

[hermgem]

Whatever we do, it must be to generate energy from all possible sources. This includes clean coal generating electricity, atomic power generation, windmills, corn, use of continental and off shore oil and natural gas exploration.
Alaska is a must go, as there is not only oil of a million barrels a day, but also trillions of cubic feet of natural gas.
Greens have thoroughly mislead us into lack of exploration, including burning down 6 or 7 million acres of good wood per year based on faulty and erroneous forest management techniques.
Waiting again till there is no juice for air conditioning on a very hot day, or for lack of generating fuel, or a overused electrical grid is past.
And by the way, Kyoto is a global affair, then how come that when it comes to halt exploration this turns into a "Valid for America only" affair.

[Teplukin]

By congressional legislation, yank jurisdiction from the courts of all claims challenging the construction of oil and gas refineries based on environmental grounds. By additional legislation, abolish all restrictions on offshore drilling imposed by the states.

That will make the federal gov't stronger, weaken further states rights, and won't begin to solve the problem. Your solution has dangerous left wing overtones!

You man, I expect better from you. Please rethink your position immediately.