we have been over this before, high oil prices reduce consumption, which saves the earth. high oil prices also increase interest and investment in alternatives, which save the earth. any efforts on your part to manage oil prices is directly and unquestionably bad for the environment. here is a quote from an article you might read: "For anyone with a fresh idea, expensive oil is as good as a subsidy - with no political strings attached. Indeed, every extra penny you pay at the pump is an incentive for some aspiring energy mogul to find another fuel. For the better part of a century, cheap oil has fatally undercut all comers, not to mention smothered high-minded campaigns for conservation, increased efficiency, and energy independence." article link this is because you are always in favor of controlling everything from both sides. there is no problem that you dont have a solution that involves taxation or regulation. we need to relax and let individuals manage their own lives without interference. we only hurt ourselves when we constantly scramble for solutions through collective action. when we over-regulate ourselves, we are our own worst enemy. this is an appropriate time for your favorite quote from pogo: "We Have Met The Enemy and He Is Us" small government is the cure for all ills. a small government puts the decisions in the hands of the people. the founding fathers would weep if they saw how much control and influence the government wields over us these days. because of human nature, government will always tend to want to grow and grow. leaders ALWAYS want more power and people will line up to give it to them. it is our duty to resist, even if we uncomfortable with freedom. when something perturbs you and you use the force of the government to intervene, you are causing unintended consequences, which 99% of the time makes things worse. the government that governs least governs best, amigo.
Even Bill Clinton understood cutting capital gains tax is a good thing. Plenty of middle income investors like myself.
Actually it is a balance between these two extremes that I advocate. There are regulations that are vital and clearly taxes are neccessary to run governments, but it can't be allowed to grow past the optimum point and become a burden and hindrance. I draw that line somewhere in the middle and you draw it near zero. Total-government is totalitarianism and clearly not a goal, but zero government is anarchy, which you might love, but most people would consider a disaster, since it leads to societal collapse.
the free market i advocate is by no means anarchy. what i favor is capitalism, and the freedom of people to trade as they please, to enter into voluntary exchange without manipulation. i favor a government powerful enough to enforce contracts and protect people from fraud and coercion. the government should protect me from bombs that blow me up, not things i can buy if i want but you think are expensive. that is not anarchy. "balance" and "extremes" are totaly subjective words, and have no real meaning in these discussions. everyone claims they favor the proper balance. things tend to "balance" themselves if the market is left alone. prices get too high, the buyers go somewhere else. oil damages our earth, people move along to a new energy source. but these things must be allowed to happen, not forced. you can be far more pro-freedom than i am. some people oppose government funded education and favor a far smaller government than i do. i do not simply label these people es "extreme", and myself "balanced" and win the argument. i have specificaly explained the negatives of government manged ol prices. and all you offer up is basically "fat cats are getting rich" as if igniting a little class conflict is enough to settle things for your side.
Just FYI, in California over the last 60 hours, out of the 15 lowest gas prices in the entire state, 11 are in Sacramento...............the state capitol. Lowest overall was $3.09 a gallon. Out of the 15 highest, many were popular Memorial Day vacation spots with the highest being $4.81 a gallon in Kirkwood. In my neck of the woods in South Orange County, we have 2 of the higher priced stations at $3.61 a gallon.
On this we both agree. My entire point is that many think the oil companies are guilty of fraudulent practices to keep prices high for the benefit of their corporate botton line. I haven't said that the oil companies don't own their oil. I haven't said that I want big government to set oil prices or to get into the oil business. These are imaginary arguments that you rail against. I ask for the government to properly insure that we are not being defrauded by the oil companies. It is not a free market if the oil companies collude with each other to enable the record profits they are all posting. We are a government of the People, for the People, and by the People . . . not for the corporations.
What do you want the government to do? They held hearings and found nothing. You might say this is a Bush admin coverup, but dems were involved in the hearings and none of them have produced any real evidence of fraud against the oil companies. Are all the politicians in D.C. involved in a coverup? How would windfall taxes help drive the prices down? Sure, it'll give the government more tax money to spend, but how would that help us at the pumps? It didn't help us in 1980 ... 1980 Windfall Tax
So is the government by using tax money thats suppose to being used for fixing roads for other things such as click it or ticket! Liars, I don't see the difference between big oil and big government. They both have their problems but no one wants to discuss big government issues here. Its big oil and always will be!:grin:
