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When unexpected good things happen, we call it Serendipity. Not so with unexpected bad things. The Law of Unintended Consequences, abbreviated LUC and pronounced “luck” as in “If it weren’t for bad LUCk I’d have no LUCk at all!”, is perhaps the most famous non-scientific Law. No need to be a rocket scientist to recognize no matter how hard you try to avoid it, bad things will happen which you did not foresee and did not intend.
BCM’s corollary to LUCk postulates the larger the pool of original actions from which to derive consequences of any sort, the greater the odds of realizing a Spontaneous Unintended Consequence, abbreviated SUC and pronounced “suck” as in, well, you’re likely way ahead of me here! All of which puts Democrats, with their emphasis on more regulation, bigger Government and expanding bureaucracy at huge risk for SUCking on a regular basis.
News reports this week show Dems SUCking in 2 ways which don’t bode well for Americans. As always, in November, remember who got you into this mess.
Both instances of Democratic SUCking stem from their Energy policy which refuses to acknowledge both the value of drilling for American oil and of increasing our ability to refine oil we are able to acquire from any source. While Democrats publicly pretend to hate high prices for items impacted by oil costs, privately they are jubilant. High fuel prices are particularly joyous as they force Americans to drive less thereby ushering in the long awaited dream of planetary salvation. But just here, things start to SUCk for the country.
World Net Daily reports BusinessWeek is running a story on a new Ford, the Fiesta ECOnetic. It gets a stunning 65 mpg, but the carmaker can’t sell it in the US. Only Europeans will be able to buy the ECOnetic.
“We know it’s an awesome vehicle,” says Ford America President Mark Fields. “But there are business reasons why we can’t sell it in the U.S.” The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.
Automakers such as Volkswagen (VLKAY) and Mercedes-Benz (DAI) have predicted for years that a technology called “clean diesel” would overcome many Americans’ antipathy to a fuel still often thought of as the smelly stuff that powers tractor trailers. Diesel vehicles now hitting the market with pollution-fighting technology are as clean or cleaner than gasoline and at least 30% more fuel-efficient.
Yet while half of all cars sold in Europe last year ran on diesel, the U.S. market remains relatively unfriendly to the fuel. Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline. Add to this the success of the Toyota Prius, and you can see why only 3% of cars in the U.S. use diesel. “Americans see hybrids as the darling,” says Global Insight auto analyst Philip Gott, “and diesel as old-tech.”
Higher taxes, higher production costs and decades of irresponsible environmentalism - all thanks to Democrats - leave Americans out of fuel, walking on the roadside. Meanwhile, world citizens in Europe reap benefits from American technology, manufacturing jobs and the economic benefit of both.
The second instance of Democrats as LUCky charms also comes via World Net Daily, this time pointing to an ABC News story that the Highway Trust Fund, in which monies are held to be disbursed to the several states for infrastructure upkeep and repair, will run out of money at the end of this month.
… the Transportation Department said that this month it is expecting to bring in $2.7 billion in gas tax revenues but anticipates needing $4.4 billion to reimburse states for their highway and road projects. The department said it will start the upcoming fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 with no money in the trust funds if patterns continue as is.
Why? The story reports that Americans are driving less due to the high cost of fuel. A lot less. Try 10 billion miles less in May of ‘08 than in May of ‘07. Music to Democratic ears. But wait. The Highway Trust Fund is kept chuck-full-o-bucks by fuel taxes. Less driving means less fuel purchases. Less fuel purchases means less revenue to the Fund. And less Fund revenue means that “…starting next week [The Transportation Department] will begin delaying payments to states …” for the projects they are working on. Oooops, the favorite Democratic tactic of raising taxes to generate income doesn’t work yet again!
The solution? Democrats want yet another $8 billion in tax money for the Fund. Is there no end to the SUCkiness? The Bush administration recently opposed that plan. Democrats merely criticize the President, pointing to projects that will suffer if the Fund stops paying. Leaving alone, for this post anyway, the waste inherent in sending money from the states to the Feds to be sent back to the states, another factor is at work here. Railing at the GOP, Democrats conveniently forget another truth.
In this highly charged political season, Transportation Secretary [Mary] Peters blamed the financial crisis on earmarks included in the last transportation bill, which she said amounted to $24 billion in pet projects.
The last transportation bill, the one passed by a Democratic Congress, the Congress with a 9% approval rating, contained enough Pork to fund the Highway Trust Fund for almost 6 months! But it’s the GOP who is wrong for not simply ponying up another $8 billion. Democrats in control of purse strings don’t have to exercise fiscal constraint or oversight. If Bush and Co. won’t go along, open fire on the GOP. If the Right continues to balk and Dems need another few billion dollars for something, they’ll just raise another tax.
The invaluable Michael Silence gets the hat tip this morning! He links to a Knoxville News Sentinel story reporting that, effective October 1st, TVA is increasing rates. Remember this post when you vote this November!
Customers can expect a 20 percent rate increase on their October electric bills — the largest jump in more than 30 years.
TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore announced a fuel adjustment rate increase of 17 percent at the agency’s board of director’s meeting this morning at its Knoxville headquarters. The increase will go into effect Oct. 1. The board also approved an additional 3 percent base rate increase, also to take take effect Oct. 1.
TVA’s quarterly fuel adjustment, a provision approved by the board of directors in 2003, passes along fluctuations in the price of coal, natural gas and other fuels to its customers.
As they say on late-night commercials, “But wait, there’s more!” I’d say this fell into the arena of “unintended consequences” for the Democrats and their Energy policy. However, if they are not sharp enough to have seen this sort of thing coming, then they aren’t smart enough to trust with taking out the trash. Anyone opposing their strategies has been warning about exactly this sort of thing for years. What thing?
KNS reports there were people at the TVA hearing that spoke in opposition to the increase. Among them was
Bobby Glenn, general manager of a Panasonic electronics facility at Forks of the River Industrial Park in East Knox County, said a recent pattern of increases in electric rates threaten the company’s continued local presence. Three Panasonic facilities employ 300 people. Glenn manages an aluminum foil division that operates a high voltage electroplating operation that supplies process foil for use in capacitors produced in Knoxville and at other plants worldwide.
Previous base rate and fuel-related increases this year have already added $3 million per year to the company’s electricity costs, Glenn said, making the plant less competitive among the Japanese company’s international operations.
“We, as an internationally headquartered company, have to give our top management some view of the future operational costs and profitability at this location, but TVA has not put forth a plan that gives a road map for the future or that gives us any hope that the situation will ever change,” Glen said at the hearing.
The Democrats badly flawed Energy policy now threatens industry and employment in addition to hammering consumer’s pocketbooks. A company acknowledges that higher energy costs may force relocation. That means lost jobs, wages, taxes and a host of other consequences that impact “the little guy”; the very people Democrats claim to be defending.
What is it that Democrats expect of the real world? Is TVA supposed to run in the red and lose money when their costs for producing energy skyrocket? They cannot continue to produce power indefinitely if they lose money. Is Business supposed to run in the red and lose money when their costs for consuming energy skyrocket? They cannot continue to produce goods and services indefinitely if they lose money. Are consumers supposed to simply smile and live with choosing between heating their homes and feeding their families as their costs for consuming energy skyrocket?
The media is filled with stories about Consumers, at every level and in every sector, dealing with the problems high energy prices produce. It’s time for that same media to add the ‘Why’ and the “Who’ of that debate to the other 3′Ws’. Why does Energy cost so much? Who is preventing common sense, sound Economic principles from being applied to the matter? It’s not an effect without an easily identifiable cause. Democrats won’t drill. Democrats won’t debate. Democrats just shill. They won’t even legislate. And you and I are left to pick up the pieces.
Lost in all of this is another question that also needs asking. When some common sense and practical Economics are finally brought to bear on the discussion and Energy prices come back down, will the TVA immediately lower their prices or will they operate under governmental practices which resemble nothing so much as the Ferengi 1st Law of Acquisition, “Once you have their money, you never give it back!”?
The folks at Porter County have an excellent pictorial posted that clearly shows Democratic deceptions when it comes to where ANWR drilling would take place as well as the emptiness of their complaints when it comes to whining about how badly drilling would disrupt the local wildlife. The final deception exposed is that drilling somehow endangers the entirety of the Arctic eco-system as opposed to simply taking place on 2,000 acres out of over 19 million.
But no one has ever accused the Left of being honest and thoughtful in their opposition.
I first read about this project several months ago. I didn’t have the time to do much research on it and so I didn’t get to posting on it then. But it sounded interesting and the fact the US Military was looking into it lent it that much more credibility. Still, like cold fusion and cars that run on water and so many other energy stories that pop up and then vanish or are debunked, this one had that “too good to be true” ring to it.
While there hasn’t been much interest by private business, the US Military has taken a keen interest in the process. So much so they’ve green lighted construction of 7 test facilities around the country to give the process a fair chance to prove itself viable. One of them is even at Fort Stewart, GA where my son is stationed. The Much Younger Trophy Wife and I already have a trip planned to see The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy so I’ll try to get to visit!
These 7 facilities will serve as the engineering models for larger commercially viable plants. According to the founder of the company, the larger plants will produce serious quantities of oil!
“In 18 months or so, we will start manufacturing oil directly from waste and we will build up to about 500,000 barrels a day within two years. In another six months, we’ll reach a million barrels a day.”
…
“We should have all of the plants running within 60 days,” he said. “This is a big step in our growth, from the engineering that we develop with these plants, we will be able to build our full-scale production facilities and be in full production in the next 12 to 18 months.
“Everyone now accepts the fact that we can make oil through bacterial action and now it is just a matter of time and money until we are turning out one million to two million barrels per day,” he said.
He told WND the first full-scale facility probably will cost $100 million to $125 million to build, and that an investment of $2.5 billion likely will be needed to reach a production level of a million barrels per day.
But he said the return – even if the oil were sold for $70 a barrel, just half of what it was going for six weeks ago and still substantially lower than the current market rate of about $110 a barrel – would be significant.
…
How big does Bell believe the process eventually could be?
“With minor changes in the agricultural and forestry products, we could create two to two and a half billion tons of biomass a year, and you’re looking at five billion barrels of oil per year,” he said.
This would be a phenomenal technological and environmental breakthrough! Not only that, the Democrats lose their stranglehold on Energy and Environmental Policy since the government would no longer control the production of oil. Watch for more here as the plants are built and begin the larger scale testing of the process. While I’ll not be holding my breath, I will have my fingers crossed. Maybe the Democrats are right on this one; maybe we can’t drill our way out. Maybe we won’t have to!
I got the following email from the nice folks over at American Solutions, Newt Gingrich’s Energy Policy group.
Congress is failing to adopt a long-term American energy plan, and it’s standing in the way of developing more American energy now. Politics is once again trumping common sense in Washington.
Since Congress is not doing its job, American Solutions would like to offer one lucky American a break - free gasoline for an entire year!
Today, we are launching a video contest called “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Nothing.” We call it “Pay Nothing” because that is exactly what the winner will pay to fill up their gas tank for the next year.
American Solutions, and our General Chairman Newt Gingrich decided to have a little fun in announcing the contest.
To hear Speaker Gingrich’s special announcement, please watch the video below:
Using YouTube, we are asking contest participants to create videos that demonstrate why a “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” approach is best for our wallets and our country. After you all get to vote, the winner will be announced on our second annual Solutions Day, which will take place on September 27, 2008.
This is your chance to send a message to Congress and the American public.
So get creative, get your cameras rolling, and head over to American Solutions Video Contest to learn how you can “Pay Nothing” for gas for a whole year.
Why are you still here? Go get your video cameras, already!
A friend emailed me about Bob Corker’s involvement in the Gang of 10. He asked, “What is Corker doing?” To quote Bob Corker himself, he is doing “…exactly what I came to the Senate to do.” To the host of Tennesseans who bemoaned the choice of Corker over Ed Bryant as our Senate choice in 2006, he’s doing exactly what we feared. In fairness, for two years Corker has been a pleasant surprise. However, he couldn’t have picked a worse time to begin living down to our expectations.
Just like GOP Senators in the Gang of 14 and judicial nominees, Republicans in Energy’s Gang of 10 are undermining GOP leadership and strategy. Mitch McConnell and GOP leaders have worked this issue for months with the backing of Republicans and Democrats; legislators and voters. Pressure was mounting on Democrats to surrender their sellout of Americans. Gas and oil prices were falling. Support for Energy Independence via drilling and R&D for alternative and renewable energy sources was growing. It seemed inevitable the GOP would get their vote and sooner rather than later. Now, thanks to meddling by Corker, instead of continuing to exploit flaws in Democratic policies, Senate GOP leaders might be forced to regroup and decide if they can even continue in the face of the Gang’s treachery.
Worse is Corker’s betrayal of Tennesseans and Americans in general. The Gang’s proposals ask for less concessions than GOP leadership would likely have been able to get from the Senate. The Gang does call for drilling. But they accept serious restrictions on drilling the GOP would likely not have needed to give up; restrictions which make the oil produced more expensive. Drilling 50 miles offshore is more expensive than drilling 15 miles offshore. Unmentioned is most oil we already know about is inside the Gang’s 50 mile ban meaning more time and expense for exploration.
The proposal also seeks to provide tax incentives for converting cars to non-oil fuel sources, including $20 billion for research and development, grants to help U.S. automakers develop alternative fuel vehicles and consumer tax credits for purchase of highly efficient cars.
5 Republicans signed on to this? How exactly will this help Americans pay for fuel anytime soon? What widely available, inexpensive, “non-oil fuel source” currently exists for Americans to convert to? Propane? Driven past a commercial propane station lately?
R&D grants to automakers clearly indicate any benefits are expected to be future ones. Even the current existence of increasingly fuel efficient cars to which proposed tax credits might be applied is misleading. They are brand new cars, not used ones; many sporting new technology making them even more expensive. Corker’s plan is to give Americans a $2,500 tax credit, for example, to buy a $25,000 car? This is making things more affordable?
Add to this the plan’s call for 85% of cars on the road by 2028 to run on non-petroleum fuel and you see how much this will cost American families already unable to afford $4 gas. Considering there are at least 100 million vehicles now on the road, Americans and American business will have to replace or modify 85 million vehicles in the next 20 years. At $2,500 to $25,000 per vehicle that’s a $212.5 billion to $2.125 trillion high drag, low speed burden the Gang imposes on Americans and the American economy in the name of saving us from high prices. It sounds like the joke about buying things one doesn’t need because they are on sale and justifying the purchases based on “savings”!
Worse, there won’t be any real savings. Adding $84 billion to oil companies’ cost of production only means the product produced will cost $84 billion more at the pump. Americans are going to pay more thanks to Corker and the Gang. R&D is fantastic. Even if it takes years to bring something to market, the wait is generally worth it. But at issue is what do Americans do in the meantime? Cheap oil now while we transition is better than expensive oil now until we transition.
The final insult is that oil produced under the Gang’s plan cannot be sold outside the US. Democrats have whined for years about losing good jobs and weakening the Economy. Here is an opportunity to create jobs and fuel the Economy and Corker and the Gang won’t allow it. Brazil has enjoyed record economic growth and job creation as it has changed from a net oil importer to a net exporter over the last 5 years or so. But for Corker and the Gang, oil production beyond that necessary to eliminate US oil imports cannot be sold on world markets. The jobs, economic growth and general prosperity oil exporting nations enjoy is denied to America and her citizens, corporate and individual.
Thus the next command from government beyond where we drill and where we sell will be how much we produce. Only produce here; only sell there - as if government owned the oil. Couple these restrictions with government requirements that Big Oil finance R&D which makes their product less marketable and you complete the picture of the ignorance the Gang wants foisted on the American public as beneficial. And Bob Corker says this is exactly what he wanted to accomplish in DC. Corker and the Gang would be better advised to join up with their GOP House colleagues’ #Don’t Go Movement. It provides all the benefits they say they want with none of the drawbacks.
To recap, the R&D the Gang proposes won’t be helpful for years. They tease you with tax credits for far off R&D results you’ll end up paying for later anyway via the same high prices they claim to be fighting. As beneficial as R&D is for tomorrow, today’s prosperity requires inexpensive, readily available oil. The immediate burden of surviving lean R&D years falls on Big Oil. But they must work while prevented from drilling in the best places, selling for the best prices or providing the best wages and profits for Americans; all the while dealing with government imposed reductions on the value of their market and product.
Thanks, Bob! Do us a favor and don’t Gang up on us anymore. We can’t afford it!
What does it take for random people associating with like minded others around an idea they jointly support to coalesce into a group that moves beyond approving of the idea to actively promoting the idea? In short, how does one go from harmless to honed? How does one progress from a mob to a movement? Right of Center activists are getting a crash course in answering that question via the object lesson of a new website, #Don’t Go Movement. The brainchild of Eric Odom at Fresh Vision Media, #Don’t Go Movement has traveled really far, really fast!
Just 5 days ago, House Democrats, led by Nancy Pelosi, left Washington, DC for a 5 week break. They left mountains of unfinished, important and urgent People’s business behind. High on the list was a failure to address, in any way, the energy crisis gripping our nation from decades of flawed Democratic policy. Despite poll numbers showing 74% of Americans favor expanding supply via drilling, Democrats went home after doing nothing. Despite increasing numbers of House Democrats supporting expanded drilling, Pelosi didn’t even bother to go home. She left on a book tour promoting herself and her pocketbook; content to support only drilling in the People’s pocketbooks.
Democrats voted to adjourn and left. The GOP did not. They stayed in the People’s House and began to call for Pelosi and Democrats to return to complete important business before leaving. The Left is branding this as mere political posturing but a look at the adjournment vote says otherwise. It was 213-212 in favor of leaving.
House GOP members who stayed behind began giving impromptu speeches, spectators in the gallery were invited down onto the floor and the few MSM reporters on hand interviewed members. Pelosi responded by having the C-Span cameras turned off, the lights turned off and the microphones turned off leaving the GOP in the dark. The GOP finally left the House chambers late Friday night but promised to return this week to renew their call to the Democrats to come back to DC and do what the People expect of them.
So what does this have to do with a movement? It’s just a bunch of middle aged Republicans speechifying in the dark! It only started that way. Less than an hour after the Dems departed and the GOP got going, Eric Odom and Allen Fuller from Flat Creek put up a Twitter site, ‘Don’t Go!’, so GOP members could get their message out along with any citizen or Social Media savvy activist. That site hit the blogs and it was off to the races. They had multiple Tweets per minute beginning mid session Friday evening and it has continued unabated to this very moment!
Some feared the issue would die across the weekend. After all, the news broke late on Friday, the worst possible time for a story to break. Further, there was practically zero MSM coverage of the story. It tends to be difficult to report when there’s no lights and no sound available. But Odom and Fuller kept doing what they knew was working, keeping the issue alive in the blogosphere and via online Social Media such as Facebook as they added to their Twitter efforts. They were joined by other well known Right of Center online activists like Patrick Ruffini.
When Monday rolled around, the GOP was true to their word and returned to a darkened House chamber to continue to ask Democrats “Don’t Go!”. The Twitter tweets continued unabated. But by now the concept was picking up steam. There were a LOT more people involved and a way had been found to conduct interviews with participants so video and audio clips were emerging. The Twitter site alone was not enough to keep up with the information flow. So Odom added a full website that went live Tuesday afternoon. Named ‘#Don’t Go Movement’, the site features videos, blog posts from around the country, links to the original Twitter and Facebook sites and more. There’s even a petition to sign where you can add your voice to those of the House members to ask the Dems, please, Don’t Go!
Why a movement? The Right has not been as excited or mobilized about an issue since Harriet Meiers and the Amnesty Bill. The arrogance and hubris of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of the Democratic leadership has chafed the GOP for months. The Energy debate was the place where GOP chafing, activist chafing and the People’s chafing came together. How dare they simply go off on a tax payer funded vacation without representing the tax payers? What started as a relative handful of Congressmen on Friday night turned into thousands of online activists by Monday morning. By this afternoon, Wednesday, just 5 days after it began, it had crossed over to the MSM with Radio, Print and TV reporters and personalities clamoring for time with Odom and his colleagues. The next up is an interview with Hugh Hewitt this afternoon at 4PST, 6CST and 7EST. Eric is a friend and so I was able to reach him at his office in Chicago and he confirmed the growth. “#Don’t Go Movement had 62,000 hits at the site in the very first 24 hours!”, he said. I checked the running total for signatures at the petition site. It was over 22,500 for the first 24 hours and climbing several signatures per minute!
That’s why a movenent. The question is, can it continue? Pelosi foolishly shows no sign of returning. It may be too late for her. Her best chance to derail the GOP’s efforts was Friday night. She hoped it would die, instead. That miscalculation means she can’t come back now without being seen to be bowing to GOP pressure and she can’t stay away without being seen as unconcerned with the People’s plight. It’s a lose-lose. In chess, it’s called getting “forked” when you are maneuvered into a position where your only option is to lose one of two pieces after you complete your move and your only choice is which loss is the least severe. Pelosi has done this to herself. She’s going to pay the price. The GOP and the Right are not going to stop pounding the drum of “Don’t Go!” until the Dems come back on Sept. 8 or until Pelosi calls them back early. Even still, they will be plagued with the question, “What took you so long to do the right thing?”
For the GOP to turn this event into a movement that outlives its original purpose will take some doing. With sharp operators like Odom, Fuller and Ruffini at the helm they have an excellent chance to turn the “Don’t Go Home for Vacation Without Doing Your Job!” of August into the “Don’t Go Back to the Democrat’s Failed Leadership of the Last 2 Years!” of November. From there, there’d be no stopping the call to “Don’t Go!”
Just a couple of thoughts in the midst of a busy day.
THE SPIN: The Left, including Barack Obama, continues to maintain the charade that increasing domestic oil production and refining capabilities will have no impact on energy independence in the long run or to reduce prices for oil and gas in the short run. The mantra and talking point is “We can’t drill our way out of this!”. As late as a day or so ago, Speaker Pelosi called continued GOP efforts to boost domestic energy production “a hoax”.
THE TRUTH: 3 days ago, the President rescinded an Executive Order banning offshore drilling for oil in US coastal waters. Within 48 hours, not only had financial markets bounced significantly, but the price of light, sweet crude for August delivery dropped by almost 10%. There was a corresponding, immediate $.05 to $.07 drop in the price of a gallon of gas at most retailers I pass by.
This is significant because the President’s rescinding of the ban on offshore drilling, in and of itself, will not produce more domestic oil. Even though it is now legal for companies to drill, Congress must still act before they can actually do so. Thus, even essentially meaningless talk about drilling produces an overnight effect on the price of both oil and gas. What do you think might happen if we seriously moved forward with plans and actions to actually drill?
There are two competing energy philosophies currently at war on Capitol Hill. The Left says, “We can’t drill our way out of this!” The Right is saying, “Drill Here! Drill Now! Pay Less!” Only one of those premises can be true. A glance at any gas station sign while you’re running errands or headed home will tell you which one is.
And please remember which side is which on election day.
On a recent Sunday morning drive to church, I saw this sign. I was immediately struck by two things.
First, it hasn’t taken long for players on the Left to start marching to the beat of misinformation, deception and lies that must be part of Obama’s campaign if he is to win. He cannot be seen for who he really is or he will lose. Second, this is the Union’s marquis, not just Greg Stallings’. How many members believe gas prices are Bush’s fault?
Lies and deception? Those are harsh words. However, the question is, are they justified? An objective consideration of facts says they are. The sign’s point is the price of gas has increased from $1.46 p/gal to over $4.00 p/gal since 01/01. It was Bush’s watch so it must be Bush’s fault. Voters should, therefore, punish Bush and the GOP for their mismanagement and vote Democrat this Fall.
However, questions must be asked. Can only politicians impact price or might other factors explain the increase? If politicians are to blame, might a politician other than Bush be responsible?
Market forces and events impact price. 9/11 happened on W’s watch and had such an impact. But unless W generated more US hatred in 8 months than Clinton did in 8 years, you cannot conclude price changes after 9/11 were Bush’s fault. They may not be Clinton’s but they sure aren’t Bush’s. Yet for Leftist coalition members like Unions, there are no market explanations. It’s all political! Where is the Union’s objective consideration of the impact of market forces? They offer only political solutions. It doesn’t have to be true, just effective. How does misrepresenting the issue serve their members?
If, however, we assume politicians can impact the market, why assume only the Executive branch can? According to Energy Information Administration data, graphing gas’s price over time yields interesting results. From 01/01 when Bush took office to 01/07, when Democrats took back Congress, the price of a gallon of gas went from $1.49 to just $2.29. That’s just an $0.80 p/gal increase over 6 years! This time frame includes 9/11 ($1.56 in 09/01), the Gulf War ($1.73 in 03/03) and Hurricane Katrina ($2.95 in 09/05)! There were several drops in price during that time. Once the price actually fell below the $1.49 starting price! However, from 01/07 to today the price rose from $2.29 per gallon to $4.11! Almost a $2 per gallon increases in 18 months! 150% worse performance in 25% of the time! There was one dip in price which never neared the starting price! What event marks this time period? Democrats regained control of Congress. So why doesn’t the sign read “When Democrats took office gas was $2.29”?
It’s actually worse since Congress could reduce the cost of gas tomorrow if they’d rescind the federal tax on gas. All Americans would benefit, including Union members. But it isn’t about helping Americans, unionized or not. It’s about power for Democrats and their Union allies. If access to tax dollars to dole out is reduced, the Left loses power. It’s unlikely Democrats would permit that to happen.
But the real tragedy is not that Unions and Democrats are selling out the country for personal gain. It is that misdirecting the people’s attention away from the real reasons for high fuel prices guarantees the problem will not be fixed. Is this really the sort of representation Americans need in Union halls and legislatures? It cannot be said too many times. The Left says they are for the common man. But their actions say different. Despite deceptive signs, it’s actions, not words, which mean the most.
Perhaps Americans will reconsider voting for the Left in November. They may want to reconsider union management votes as well. Gas may not cost less in the short run but there will be people interested in fixing the problem in office. Elected officials, union and governmental, who care enough to tell you the truth.
Thinking that’s a good sign, both for unions and for government …
