Meredith Vieira Ponders: 'Would We Be Better Off If Gas Prices Were Even Higher?'

NewsBusters.org ^ | June 21, 2007 | Geoff Dickens

[freemarket_kenshepherd]

NBC Today co-host Meredith Vieira opened her Today at the Pump segment cheering the recent decrease in gas prices as "sweet relief" but then wondered: "Would we be better off...if gas prices were even higher?" On this morning's Today show, Vieira invited on Chevron’s CEO, David O’Reilly, to harass him about getting America off its "dependence" on oil and cited critics of Chevron’s allocation of profits to find alternative sources of energy as merely, "symbolic."

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

Vote Democtratic so we can find out!!!

[RexBeach]

The press used this same old acorn back in 1974 and 1979.

Why don’t they ask states to lighten up on gasoline taxes, or the federal government for that matter.

No one, in the media, ever says anything about increasing the number of nuclear plants in America; none of them ever talk about building more refineries; none of them ever ask about drilling off shore or in ANWAR.

All they can do is whip up on the oil companies.

[ClearCase_guy]

1) Communism has the concept of "immiseration" -- it is good for people to be miserable, because it gets them in the mood for revolution. Higher gas prices help us in this way.

2) "Shouldn't you be investing more than one-tenth of one-percent of your total sales?" Is she pulling that out of the air? As he points out, they are investing $2.5B which is a lot more than she's giving them credit for.

[beethovenfan]

Stupid broad should confine her remarks to things she knows about.....like.....um...

[backhoe]

Well, this should make her mercenary little heart happy:

Senate Energy Bill Would Increase Gas Prices ($6.40 by 2016)

[pnh102]

Viera is such a dumb fool. We already have real world examples of what happens when gas taxes are high. Look at how “energy independent” countries in Europe are, and their gas taxes are amongst the highest in the world.

[Forrestfire]

“one tenth of one percent of total sales”
I believe that their margin or markup on a gallon of gas is 3%, and there has to be some profit for the share holders and reinvestment etc. You can’t calculate based on the gross,but instead the net.But said this way it makes them sound as if they are doing nothing, and the uneducated public will never catch on.

[weegee]

Only if Democrats were in total control of government would the media be championing high gas prices.

[brownsfan]

With a Democrat controlled Congress, and a soon to be Democrat controlled White House, the DBM will now wonder if higher gas prices aren’t better for the greater good. If the Republicans were still in control, there would be no wondering, high gas prices would be a plot to fleece the sheeple.

[silverleaf]

NBC Today co-host Meredith Vieira opened her Today at the Pump segment cheering the recent decrease in gas prices as "sweet relief" but then wondered: "Would we be better off...if gas prices were even higher?

Gee Meredith, I dunno. What does your limousine driver have to say about that?

[VRWCmember]

Attempts by any political party to demonize the other over the price of gasoline are the rankest kind of political grand-standing.

There is some truth to what you say, but when one party consistently thwarts efforts by the other party to open up BILLIONS of barrels of domestic oil reserves to production while simultaneously criticizing the other party for not doing enough to end our dependence on foreign oil there is some room for criticism of the former party.

[WildcatClan]

How much of her profit is she investing in alternative broadcasting, so we don’t have to be exposed to anymore idiocy from a twit from “The View”? Funding animal trank darts for Rosie is just symbolic and does not address the problem completely.

[The Great RJ]

Perhaps this twit should give some thought as to how Mr. & Mrs. Joe Sixpack are going to afford getting to work in the vast areas of the country where there is no mass transit alternative? ...or who will pay for the higher costs of anything moved in a truck? ...or who will have jobs when the US economy tanks in response to these higher prices?

[Random Access]

Stupid broad should confine her remarks to things she knows about.....like.....um...

If the discussion is about eye shadow or shampoo, then she could be considered an expert. For economics, I'll ask some one like Walter Williams.

[siunevada]

In the interest of reducing our dependence on foreign oil, I propose we flatten every hybrid vehicle we can find.

That way they can't use any oil at all. That should make their owners feel even better.

[Paladin2]

No. QED