PHP: [QUOTE=LsuCraig]Wait ,wait,wait. And the government knows what's best for us? Many people seem to forget, the American government was established to represent the people. As it was intended, you, martin, me, and everyone else are the government. The government should be here to allow us to do collectively what we cannot do as individuals. It is in our best interest to restore the government to what it was intended to be, not do away with government, as some favor. If it takes the government to slowly bring about change to keep our country from having to go through a depression to get there, it is to the benefit of our nation. We are at war (with the arab world, as I see it), we cannot afford a depression at this point. More on that later. PHP: The SUV or the big trucks we drive has nothing to do with the price of a gallon of gas. And how long we run our AC has nothing to do with it either IMO. As long as we refuse to build new refineries, refuse to allow drilling for oil and have to import 60% of our main energy source the problem of higher gas prices will persist. The very same people complaining about the high price of gas, are the ones keeping us from drilling for more oil and build new refineries. California had brown-outs a few years ago in LA and other cities. That's because they made a decision about 20 years ago to stop building power plants because of the environmental hazards they pose and to buy "cheap" energy from Arizona and Colorado. But when the price of oil and natural gas went sky high, they were left holding the $600 electric bill. Coloradians weren't. Neither were Arizonians. Because they built new power plants. The key is to find alternatives, not more oil. Continuing our dependence on oil only pushes the problem further down the road, leaving it for another generation to resolve. And it wasn't just Californians who were hit hard, many people here in Mississippi saw their electric bills double, and natural gas bills go up as much as 1000%. PHP: If we refuse to drill for our own oil and build new refineries we will be at the mercy of world oil production. Which is where we are now. We need to find alternatives. All these other countries will then jump on our alternative fuel bandwagon and reduce their demand for oil. This will leave our Arab enemies to fall apart financially. We can't fight a war against the entire Arab world and we can't spread democracy throughout that region, contrary to martin's belief. Democracy must spread itself, and as long as the trillions of dollars keep pouring into these countries, democracy will never spread. As with the Soviet Union, we must bankrupt our enemy to bring about change. As Reagan's arms race succeeded in killing the Soviet Union, a race to alternative fuels could potentially have the same impact in the middle east.
Like the TV commercial says: shut your refrigerator door and save the planet? Hogwash. If we did away with fridges all together or SUV's, the price of gas wouldn't drop a penny. There are a million other items that drive demand a hell of a lot more than an SUV.
Like I said earlier, a temporary fix. A few years down the road, we end up in the same situation. As long as we have plenty of oil and the price is reasonable, the energy industry will not be motivated to produce alternatives. I agree with martin in that there needs to be something to force these alternatives into production. He believes the principles of economics can do so. I don't disagree, they will. My concern is what it will do to the economy as a whole until afffordable energy sources are found. I don't have much of a problem with the government forcing prices to be held at certain levels, as long as they are also forcing the energy industry to find affordable alternatives. Cutting their profits on oil related products can accomplish that, along with other regulations. If they are interfering in pricing to simply maintain the status quo, then I do have a problem with that. My opinion on this issue is formed from one simple fact, energy prices go up, the stock market goes down. Energy prices stay up, the stock market stays down. This is not good for our country.
Two things IMO, I don't see how it is Exxon's problem to invent an alternative fuel. Secondly, we may be 20-50 years from a legitimate alternative. I mean for more than cars......I mean for homes, everything. You want to pay $4 a gallon for 30 years if we don't continue to drill? As a side note, we have an alternative for homes.....nuclear power. But nobody wants it.....so again, we keep using oil.
"hold them accountable"? accountable for what? what are you talking about? the energy companies are not responsible for providing you with anything if they dont want to. i dont understand why everyone is communist all of a sudden. these are private companies, owned by private people, who have the freedom to sell or not sell you whatever they want, at any price they want. how have we forgotten this?
And there are no real substitutes available at this time, and won't be for years to come. I have no choice. I must buy what they sell at the price they sell it. As I have said before, energy impacts everything; it is a unique industry, and some unique industries require regulation. This protects the economy of the entire nation. Those are the rules. Those private companies owned by private people also have the freedom to find other avenues of investment if they don't like the profit margins available in energy.
yes you do, you just choose not to. you buy far less oil, and start using alternatives. but why would you, oil is so cheap, because there is no real problem, at least not until you invent one with more government regulation. right, and with that attitude, no one will be motivated to develop new energies. why bother, if you are gonna stamp out their profits with your rules? why risk investing capital in something if the government just restricts you when you succeed? this is what restricts growth and innovation. once again, we come to the same conclusion. some people are scared of economic freedom and need protection from the government. what you fail to realize is the government is always a limiter on the prosperity of the economy. the more you try to forcibly adjust the economy to your liking, the more you hurt it. yunno, the principle of unintended consequences. so one more time i ask, what % profit is fair? at what % profit should the government not allow me purchase a product voluntarily? at what point am i too stupid to choose not to buy something on my own?
