President Obama hasn’t a clue what to do about high gas prices. Not a clue.
For proof, just look at what happened in one single day last week. The White House opened by angrily haranguing oil companies for making a profit; then the brain trust in the Oval Office blamed “speculators” for pushing up the price of oil; then the president demanded that Congress do away with $4 billion in oil industry tax breaks; and finally, at day’s end, Mr. Obama begged world producers to increase crude output.
All four are wrong-headed: Oil companies do make lots in profits, but they also pay upward of 50 percent in taxes (and employ a lot of people); speculation isn’t to blame for high prices, the lack of U.S. oil exploration and production is; ending tax subsidies for oil companies will just make the price higher, not lower; and OPEC said last month there is no shortage of oil in the market, it’s just expensive — especially if you’re paying with weak dollars (another action point on which Mr. Obama is clueless).
At midday, the ill-prepared White House spokesman, Jay Carney, had no idea how to handle a simple question: If, say, you end all those subsidies to oil companies, won’t they just pass the cost on to consumers?
“Look,” he said, “what I know is that gas prices are very, very high, no question. So the idea that with these subsidies oil companies are artificially depressing gas prices, tell that — go out to a gas station in Virginia or Maryland and tell that to somebody who’s paying the price.”
The reporter broke in. “No concerns from you guys that the oil companies are going to pass this through? …”
“What I’m saying,” Mr. Carney started saying, “is that on balance, overwhelmingly the right thing to do is eliminate these subsidies and — because the American taxpayer should not be subsidizing companies that don’t need subsidies by any stretch of the imagination.”
“But,” the reporter pressed, “you don’t know that they won’t pass it on, do you? Is there any …”
“I think I’ve addressed this. I’ve addressed this. What I’ve said is on balance, knowing what we know and looking — and analyzing what we know, that this is overwhelmingly the right thing to do.”
Story Continues →
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 … or-pump-p/
Edit. If I want to spend a lot of time reading the news I read the news not you or hubpages.
Last year, the US used less gas than any year since 1989. There is so much crude in Cushing OK, they are running out of room for it. Canada is our largest supplier of crude. Supply is not the issue, nor is demand. Prices are artificially inflated by commodity traders.
Geithner said we should accept the high prices and be ready for even higher prices. How often does he fill up at the pump? Guessing his driver does it for him and the American taxpayer pays for it.
Dead Bin Laden will get the gas crisis off the front pages for a few days.
by Brian 12 years ago
This may not be news to a whole lot of people, but, I am getting sick of this. Why isn't the Government doing anything about it, especially when they know that it is killing our economy? Not, to mention that we are fighting wars over it, only to have the countries we are "Aiding" are...
by Gary Anderson 12 years ago
Worried about the price of gas? Our oil companies aren't. They export oil in the SF Bay and in April will start exporting West Texas Intermediate (WTI) from the Gulf of Mexico. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-asto … rum-2012-3Here is my response. We can thank libertarian thought for the...
by Stump Parrish 13 years ago
How do we make sure this doesn't happen again you ask? Deregulate further and open more of the gulf to drilling. That could only makes sense to those in the oil companies back pockets.
by Mike Russo 11 years ago
Obama was blamed by the conservatives and the Romney camp for the price of gasoline increasing. Now that it is coming down, does he get credit for it?...something to think about! Your thoughts please.
by Doug Hughes 12 years ago
When gas prices were going up, Wingnuts were tripping over each other in a rush to blame the president. Even though he had nothing to do with it.President Obama ordered a release of strategic reserves. Prices have dropped over 50 cents per gallon in Florida.What do we hear now?
by Sharlee 21 months ago
With inflation rising and gas prices surging, Biden faces hard political realities ahead of the November midterm elections. Part of the problem could be if he pushed too quickly to initiate his plan for clean energy. He came into office and used his pen to truly piss off "big...
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