Crude prices zipped right past $100 today to $103.76 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, setting another record. Even when adjusted for inflation, economists tell us that it's higher than the $38 it cost for a barrel in 1980. And President George W. Bush is shocked that the cost of gas may hit $4 a gallon? Yeah, right. He is either not being honest or very dense about the business his family has been in for a couple of generations.
And in more Bush economic news, stocks continue to decline.
Those Bush presidents sure know how to take care of the economy. Maybe we need a Clinton (or Obama) to come in again and rescue the economy just like Bill Clinton had to do for W's daddy. If you have a Bush family member in the White House, you can count on a bad economy and the oil boys and oil-producing nations prospering at our expense.
No wonder Bush tried to correct a reporter the other day when he asked the president about gas prices approaching $4 a gallon. Bush appeared stunned at the question. I don't believe it. He knows what gas costs. But in the Bush way of looking at things, it's not $4 a gallon if you don't admit it's $4 a gallon.
He does it on all the bad news: We're not in a recession if you only call it a slowdown. The war in Iraq isn't going badly if you keep saying the surge is working.
I believe gas prices will hit $4 a gallon soon. Whoever wins the presidency must come up with ideas of us producing our own oil and following through with making it happen. We have oil fields here but sell it to others thus making it necessary to purchase ours from otherv places at astronomical prices. We also need to produce our own power by solar, wing turbines or something. The wind turbines down by Palm Springs power the whole city so lets just learn from others when something works.
Jim,
You woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. 4.9% unemployment. Record federal tax revenue. A bunch of US Senators that don't want to get our own oil in Alaska. Its called supply and demand. Imagine if the Saudis were as dumb as we are an left their oil in the ground. We can use wind turbines except when a bird is endangered.......
Bush might be just being honest about the price of gas. I'm sure he knows how much his family and friends are getting for a barrell of oil. But he probably hasn't had to buy a gallon of gas in years. It's like when his dad marvelled at the scanners in the grocery store - they're just out of touch with us ordinary people, in spite of W's "folksy" persona.
Don't like the price of gas? Stop blaming Bush and put the blame where it really belongs: democrats who steadfastly refuse to let America become energy independent. This shortsightedness has led to dependence on, and filled the coffers of, those who now seek to destroy us. The complete and utter incompentence of democrats in D.C. in this regard is truly breathtaking.
Roxanna,
Get real you've been duped into thinking thinking Dems are at fault.
Both sides are equal to blame and the current Administration just puts salt on the wounds on this issue.
Both sides point the finger at the other and make partisans like you mad at the other side.
In the end, no matter Dem or Reep everyone gets the shaft.
-----
You stated "democrats who steadfastly refuse to let America become energy independent"
From what source or facts do you come to this conclusion?
So, we are back to the "it’s all about the oil" argument. I’m not sure that the Demo libs want to go there.
Just ask yourself, who is it that keeps us from becoming energy sufficient? Who is it that won’t let us drill in Alaska? Who is it that keeps us from more off-shore drilling? We have capped wells in Kern County, the Southland, Oklahoma, Texas and who knows where else. Who keeps us from opening those wells? Who is that supports all the environmental wackos that keep us energy poor? Who is that keeps us from alternate energy sources - like wind machines? (See Teddy Kennedy and the Massachusetts mess). Who is it that fights tooth and nail, in the courts and in the media, against every effort to become energy sufficient? The Democrat party and their eco-freak weirdos, that’s who! It’s not the GOP! (Well, John McCain, if you consider him a Republican, is an exception).
Want to blame someone for high gas prices? The blame lies at the feet of the Democrat party. If we could get the Demo eco-wackos off our back, we could get back to doing what America does best - drilling for oil and providing a service at an increasingly lower cost.
And if you want a look at how the wacko eco- activists really feel, just read the post above this one entitled, "Eco-terrorists linked to Seattle fires."
As far as the wind turbines go, I don't want to kill birds but they have great eyesight so if they fly in there or in the proprller of a plane, then oh well. I am not sure either party will get their heads out of their butts long enough to do anything to fix anything. They must like being dependant on other countries which almost always goes back to special interests.
You really want to know who to blame for high gas prices (since we all seem to be in the blaming mood)? Blame ourselves - especially if you drive an oversized truck or SUV (and don't absolutely need to). Someone mentioned "supply and demand," but no one seems to want to touch the demand side of it. Demand for oil is rising all over the world. We can't drill ourselves out of this problem. We've got to start using less, and stop acting like there's an unlimited supply of oil. There isn't.
Just ask yourself, “Who fights raising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard? Who refuses to even acknowledge, much less do anything about, the polluting of our land, water and air by some of our less than concerned “corporate citizens”?
Extremist at both ends, such as TC and the eco-terrorist, have hijacked this issue (like most issues).
Perhaps a small site in ANWR could be opened for a trial run. Oil companies, the government and environmentalist could monitor it. If this works it could be expanded. Also, we could raise the CAFE standard, invest more in alternative fuels and raise more awareness for conservation.
In the end drilling is not a panacea. We’re only delaying the inevitable while continuing to pollute ourselves.
In this world wide economy, China and India's use of oil has increased faster than ours. Until our country gets off its duff and drills for more oil, builds more refineries and even goes nuclear we're never goint to overcome this problem.
Other utilities and services are government run or owned, why not petroleum? What other resource besides water and electricity (whose production is often dependent on using petroleum) is so crucial to our economy, yet soley in the hands of private profiteers? Gasoline production, marketing and sales should solely be a government-run and owned affair as it is in many other countries. This way, the price of a gallon would be the same in the middle of Texas as it would in Hawaii. Huge profits could be reinvested for the good of the nation, not the benefit of a few greedy old men. Some of these guys make obscene salaries, equal to the entire annual domestic product of small countries. A significant portion of profits should be invested in alternative and cleaner energy and transportation sources. I'm no socialist, but this is one area, like our postal service, the military, transportation infrastructures, and several others, that needs to be in government control.
I'll look for all you guys on the bus tomorrow.......
Fran,
What are you talking about China a communist state is already bankrolling our capitalist economy.
Yes (among other counties as well) we are indebted to a Communist State.
Maybe if most of us did ride the bus and bike we would not be at eachothers throats groveling and bickering the falt of one political party over another.
Mike which bus stop and what time?
Gas is almost $4 per gallon here already. I only buy supreme though. My last fill up was the most expensive ever.
You might catch me on a bike tommorrow, Mr. Der Manouel. You certainly won't catch me in a gas-guzzler. But why is the conservative reaction to requests to waste less oil always "you first"? Do we have to wait another 10 years or so for the conservatives to "get it," like on so many other issues?
Heh just pop a 5 dollar per gallon tax on there. Spend the money on healthcare and alternative energy sources. Poof we win.
We now know Jim is suffering from BDS(Bush Derangement Syndrome).Only time can cure him.Not Jobama Juice. How I deal with cost increases-I have a service business.First I ask if the customer is a member of a public employees union.If the answer is yes I add 25% to the cost of the service.Next I ask if they are a democrat. If the answer is yes I add an additional 25% to the cost.If the answers are no I give them a discount to offset what they have to pay to support the left.This system works well as I recoup the additional costs I am burdened with because of their employee benefits and the rising cost of energy and goods because of their foolish energy, social policies and myopic views of what is best for our nation.Most of the time they pay without blinking because there are a lot of lefties with a lot of money and they are mainly concerned with getting their things done.If they complain I tell them to go pound sand.
Not so fast John. The oil companies will make gas 10 bucks a gallon we still loose.
Brian,
Read your previous post and ask yourself who is deranged.
I think our readers can easily draw the same conclusion as well.
Jim, I can't believe you are some naive to believe a President whither past, present or future can have any direct effect on the economy of this or any other nation. The economy has been running very well for the past several years. It is now going through one of its normal correction phases. In anything as complex as a national economy as well as influences from outside our own economy, think oil it is impossible for any one person to effect that degree of change. Economics must not have been a required subject in your school of Journalism.
Rich: Communist or not. China uses a lot more oil than they did years ago as does India.
Riding the bus is altruistically great but most of us have jobs that demand mobility to get to appointments or deliver goods. Time waiting for a bus is time wasted when we can be producing.Especially in the Fresno area that is so spread out. Mass transit works in Chicago, SF and New York that are built up, not out.
Yea! I would like the gasoline industry run by the government.
The postal service is such an ideal of efficiency and service. Like every other government service. If the government ran it gas would be seven dollars a gallon and you would have to wait in line for an hour to buy it and the stations would be open 8:00 A.M to 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday.
Hello! Before you all start rambling about oil I would suggest that you all google Peak Oil. See "The Oil Drum.com."
Read the articles in the site and you will have a better understanding of the Oil crisis. It will also give you an idea that it's not just the U.S. that's suffering the from oil problem.
Brian is far more than just deranged. If a service person asked me any questions like he says he does I would simply say it is none of your damn business. I would tell him to get out and find someone else to do the service. Overcharging one person because of their belief or if they are part of a union is ridiculous. You should be working for the government. I hope I never call your business and have to tell you to leave.
There is no oil crisis, regardless of any media-driven hysteria.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120459389654809159.html
P.S. Jim, gasoline in the U.S. has never retailed for $4/gal. in history, even at nominal prices. In real terms, it's not even currently at a historic high, let alone as a proportion to household income. As far as his reaction to the press question, I guess the President just smarter and better informed than most reporters.
P.P.S. We're not in a recession until there have been two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. Bush didn't invent that definition. What is yours?
Tony, that link is an opinion piece by an oil executive. While I don't disregard it out of hand, it should be taken with a grain of salt. He relies largely on the assumption that our extraction methods are going to get a lot more efficient in the future. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Even if they do, the extra effort to extract the oil will drive up costs.
His conclusion is that by improved extraction we can postpone peak oil for another 25 years or so. What does that mean, that we can just go on as we are, on the assumption that our kids will have to deal with the oil shortages rather than us?
Re: Rich nah my guess is the oil companies would follow the same thing RJ Phillips did. When tobacco became a bad thing to be wholly invested in they branched out. Course they went to the next worse thing..snack foods ^^
Mike,
You're right to consider the source, and that it can affect credibility (positively and negatively). In the case of this article, we don't need to accept the author's numerical estimates in order to see clearly his basic points, namely:
1) No one has any clear idea how many trillions of barrels of oil reserves exist, especially because any estimates are based on not just geologic analysis but also constantly changing feasibility of recovery
2) Recoverability ratios change not only because of improvement in general technology, but because the higher the price of oil the greater incentive to invest in previously cost-prohibitive methods of extraction, and
3) Even relatively modest increases in efficiency (10% in his examples) result in decades-long increases in supplies, even at current consumption rates of 115MM+ barrels per day
The bottom line is not that our kids or grandchildren will have to deal with 'oil shortages,' but that free market incentives already are producing improved extraction technologies, fuel efficiency technologies, AND alternatives fuels that can take the place of petroleum at the time that they naturally become the energy source of choice because of simple free-market supply and demand.
If gasoline didn't exist, cars would run on something else. And they will.
I just went to 12 cylinders. Anyone need a ride? 8 wasn't enough. Had to offset the Hybrids.
Rich and Jackie-If the phone doesn't ring ,I'll know that it's you.
Sheesh, what do you conservatives do with that space where most people have hearts?
I am all up for uding cow manure or whatever can make the car go with as little pollution as possible. I'm still looking at getting a hybrid. If not a hybrid I will opt for one of those roller skate size cars that get 30-35mpg. I have never had a need for anthing with more than 4 cylinders. It is enough power for anyone unless they are towing something.
Michael Der Manouel,
Alaska should be left alone!
Jim Stacey