We’re seeing some disturbing and un-conservative comments. My previous comments disagreed with implications in many contemporary publications on energy consumption and production, but tariffs and controls against exports are bad ideas except for some kind of war emergency. We should not try to hinder our energy producers from selling their products. Those are needed exports.
Without those exports, the debt game will collapse sooner. Most Americans with good incomes are only continuing to receive those incomes through exports and the consequently reduced balance of payments deficits. We must trade something out to Charlie for all of his nice toys and the money to buy them (treasuries, etc.). If not, then Ronny the regulator and Tammie the teacher will be out of work much sooner (bond problems, skyrocketing interest rates, general decline in activity, avalanche of foreclosures, extreme declines in property tax revenues, defaults on debts,...the vicious cycle).
One answer is to deregulate on local levels to allow for more manufacturing production from small shops across America without the commuting paradigm that we’ve seen. Services in a sane economy follow production on our own soil instead of leading it (debt economy in decline). If we don’t export products made here, we’re not really paying the foreign debts. Charlie is sending us products and the money to buy them with. He won’t be fooled forever.
So the tradeoff: energy exports to keep the debt game going longer (no choice this late in the game) and a little austerity in some locales in regards to tourism revenues (fuel prices, etc.). Those locales could have second thoughts about their local anti-manufacturing zoning laws instead of only sponging from tourists and unwary newcomers (regulations like big cities).
Looks we nay disagree some on Russia but we think alike on this.