Oil Prices Set to Escalate

We vividly recall the election of 2006, when Hillary Clinton promised lower fuel costs if only Americans would overwhelmingly elect democrats to the Congress. Americans did, and judging from the price of gasoline at the pump and winter home heating fuel prices, Hillary Clinton (unsurprisingly) told the American people a bald-faced lie.

Currently, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline is $3.00 (or more) per gallon, necessitated because a barrel of sweet crude costs $90.00. Former Shell Oil Company CEO John Hofmeister now predicts a gradual increase to $5.00 per gallon by the end of 2012. Moreover, Mr. Hofmeister predicted supply and demand will become so out of balance that entire regions of the United States will experience gasoline shortages.

Hofmeister criticized the Obama administration for its decision to curtail offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico —a ridiculous decision that resulted in a substantial increase in unemployed Americans. Some pundits suggested that George Soros was behind this idiotic decision and that since the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Soros has made hundreds of millions of dollars in his Venezuela oil investments. Given the present cat fight between Obama and Chavez, Soros may stand to make hundreds of millions more. Hofmeister said, “"It is pure politics that keeps us from drilling more of our own resources.”

Energy Secretary Ken Salazar apparently agrees: “As a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill we learned a number of lessons, most importantly that we need to proceed with caution and focus on creating a more stringent regulatory regime.”

It seems to us this is a good summary of liberal energy policy. To leftists, the central issue is stringent regulatory regime, not jobs for Americans, or more affordable oil for the American consumer. We mention this because we think it is important that Americans know their enemy.

What the Obama administration has offered the American consumer is “alternative energy resources” that are not viable, no one can afford, nor anyone with a lick of sense would buy. According to Fox News, “While clamping down on domestic energy production, the Obama administration has invested billions in renewable energy sources via last year's stimulus bill and has pushed improved energy efficiency for a range of products in a bid to at least keep demand a bit lower in the long term. New emissions standards for cars and trucks will soon mandate an average fuel economy of just over 35 miles per gallon for new vehicles by 2016.”

Let’s be succinct: the real winners are manipulative bastards like Al Gore and George Soros who have made hundreds of millions of dollars. The real losers are the American people whose refusal to pay $40,000 for an all-electric car will permit the government to force them into a death trap powered by a two-cylinder Briggs and Stratton engine.

What, exactly, is the problem? According to Hofmeister, seventeen successive administrations and congresses have refused to address America’s energy needs. Our government is closing down oil and gas drilling sites when they should be expanding them; we continue to rely on foreign oil, when we should be expanding domestic oil and gas production. Moreover, as we expand this important and responsible use of natural resources, we must proceed with developing alternative energy and transportation resources to serve the needs of our cities and surrounding areas. This is America, not Italy. The American people will not convert to the primary use of Vespa motor scooters. If Disney can create an elevated rail system, why must our large cities retain smog-belching buses and continue to spend billions on the so-called diamond lanes? Why must our government continue to make the American people dependent upon foreign (Saudi) oil?

I think we know the answers to these questions. Do you?

Posted by Mustang