Unit 5302:
Good thread and I have little to add to the cogent comments already posted, although I do disagree with some of them, especially the fatuous ones that accuse President Bush of promoting an energy policy that was designed simply to enrich him or his 'friends'. That's wrong, as are the naive, 'Daddy' remarks that some seem to swallow whole from liberal media shills. But these are small points in a pretty wide-ranging discuassion.
I don't have the time right now to get into this in depth, but anyone who believes government price controls on gasoline are some sort of solution, are seriously misguided. Think 1973. Price controls do not work in an otherwise free economy and are not a viable response. We don't want to go there.
One simple reason for our gas shortage is obvious...more people. Our population (America) is growing and so is our vehicle ownership, which means bigger demand for gas, despite the huge advances in gasoline efficiency of todays vehicles.
Finally; taxes on gas are very high. They are not coming down. My state (Connecticut) has one the highest gas taxes in the nation.
We also are required to use the reformulated gas, which adds to the price. It all hurts.
The Bush energy plan (and I haven't studied it in detail) has over 40 conservation measures and is a plan for the future, not a quick fix, ala Clinton. There is no quick fix and I don't want the government trying to provide one and screwing up the situation.
This what usually happens when a bunch of self-serving politicians get in the way.
We cry for somebody to 'fix it' and they come out of the woodwork, like roaches.
Six months later you're paying still more and nothing is fixed, while the Republicans and Democrats try to pin the blame on each other and everybody wants to blame the President.
I may have a few more thoughts at a later date, but I've enjoyed the input on this subject which affects us all, liberal or conservative, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Independent. I don't believe the Bush plan is all that bad, and the fact that he was bold enough to propose one at all (unlike Clinton) is impressive, in itself.
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