More Financial Crises and More Bailouts

So the news was full again this morning about more financial woes. Besides the northern auto industry, now Las Vegas is in trouble. No one seems to be attributing any of these problems to the rapid rise in fuel costs or at least they are not discussing it. So, three years ago, when we started to see fuel prices dramatically increase, the housing market also started to slump. Yes, some people took on risky mortgages. It no doubt was a problem. Most of those mortgages were being paid. They didn't immediately go into default. The problem was that as fuel costs increased and the escalating prices of groceries and other important commodities rose, people had to feed their families and their cars to get to work. Other things went by the wayside, such as eating out and other leisure activities. People quit buying cars, especially the larger, less fuel efficient cars and yes, those with the risky mortgages couldn't afford them anymore. There, folks is what began this economic crisis we are currently in. Yes, poor decisions and bad investments were made. Yes, most people have way too much debt and don't follow sound financial strategies and don't plan for that "rainy" day. Yes, we are responsible for that. People living on the edge didn't forsee it coming and they have paid, as we all have.

What about our leaders? They should have known the fuel crisis would come. The cost of a barrel of oil has been out of our hands for a very long time. OPEC has been less and less influenced by our government's pressure for a long time. Drilling has been a subject for decades. As technology has increased, so our knowledge of the vastness of our own reserves has increased. Yet, even as world demand for oil has astronomically increased our Congress tells us to "conserve". Jeff Bingaman, our US Senator from NM, responded to my questions about drilling with, "Another major increase in the wise use of energy will come from a major increase in efficiency standards for lighting, particularly form light bulbs. These new standards will result in major savings for consumers on their monthly electricity bills, once they are fully implemented in 2018. The energy saving impact of these changes roughly doubles the energy efficiency gains from every other Federal energy efficiency standard enacted to date." Light bulbs, REALLY!We have VAST oil reserves. Many oil-producing nations, as is Alaska, are taking their profits and investing them and utilizing only a portion of the investment proceeds annually. Nations like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and others have huge budget surpluses every year and we're talking BAILOUTS AND LIGHTBULBS!!!

As you talk about the economic crisis we're in, think about what we can do to give our children a future WITHOUT MOUNDS AND MOUNDS OF DEBT. One SIMPLE solution is to quit blathering and get drilling! Drill, Drill, Drill and BUILD MORE REFINERIES! It is about time we solve our own problems and quit being at the mercy of OPEC, which may or may not increase production depending on how they are feeling about us the day we BEG them to increase it. Which by the way, the Saudis and Venezuelans don't really like us too much.

As you are feeling great relief when you fill up your tank, just remember why those prices are dropping... The backs of people that got broken when gas hit over $4.00/gallon. Our economy is failing because our leaders failed to do something years ago to protect us from the whims of OPEC. Our leaders are still failing to deal with the "elephant in the room." We've got the answer to most of our problems in the ground.

I went to this left-wing website and signed their petition "undo the damage". They want to prioritize things for the Obama administration to tackle when he takes office. Overall the choices are very crappy to say the least. However, I clicked on "other" and wrote in: DRILL NOW in ANWR, the Rockies, and offshore. Yes, I did have to agree to get more emails from them in the future. You can easily unsubscribe when you get one. It is important that our voices be heard, especially by the radical left. They are the ones in charge. We just cannot let them blow money on bailouts without doing something to plan for the future and take advantage of our God given natural resources. Write, write, write, to your representatives. The pen is mightier than the sword.

A Contrast

This is how we used to vacation - in a nice, spacious conversion van.

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This is how we vacation now -- in a cramped minivan because gasoline costs so much more now.

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Thanks, Democrats, for consistently opposing any proposal that would allow us to use our own country's natural energy resources. Now, because we are dependent (you Donkeys like us people being dependent, don't you?) on foreign energy producers, who don't really like us very much and demand vast sums of wealth in exchange for their energy that runs our country, we have to pay exorbitant prices, due to world-wide demand.

Energy would be so much cheaper if we produced our own, and revenues from it would go a long way toward improving our economy instead of those of the OPEC countries.

Snooze Ya Lose; Why We Need to Get to Drilling

Previously and currently, our elected leaders in Congress have refused to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling, as well as drilling in other areas where vast supplies of oil have been confirmed. Lifting the ban is currently being discussed in Congress, but may still leave us with severely restricted drilling. We have vast amounts of oil off the Florida coast in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. While Congress debates and debates and debates, the Chinese are leasing oil reserves from Cuba and drilling right off our coast. The scary part is that the Chinese are working on technology that would allow them to drill horizontally and siphon off our oil, sucking it up as if drinking with a straw. If Congress keeps waiting to lift their ban on drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, it may be a moot point anyway. There won’t be any oil there; it will be used up by the Chinese. Poof, it WILL be GONE!

The Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) has a similar story. It sits in the far northwestern corner of Alaska on the Canadian border. If the Chinese can drill horizontally under the ocean, the Canadians could do it even easier to ANWR where the oil reserves are on both sides of the border.

We CAN Drill Safely

I am having trouble understanding the Democrats’ opposition to drilling. At first the opposition seemed to be that there was doubt about whether or not we could drill without affecting the environment. There were worries about oil spills like the Exxon Valdez and the fragile ecosystems in ANWR. We CAN drill safely. We ARE smart enough to figure out how to drill AND protect the environment. FACT: There is more natural seepage into the ocean floor from the oil sitting below it than there is from the drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Therefore, removing oil from beneath the ocean floor would prevent it from seeping into the ocean. FACT: The oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico have helped create vibrant ecosystems around them.

Why Drilling Now and Here Makes GREAT Economic Sense

1. Bush lifted the executive ban on oil drilling, with great results in the worldwide crude oil markets. Even though Bush lifting the ban was useless without Congress lifting their ban, crude oil still dropped. If the Congressional ban were lifted and drilling could begin, we would see an immediate drop in the crude oil prices, long before the oil starts coming out of the ground.

2. Drilling in our own country would keep money here and quit transferring it to the Arabs and dictators who hate us. Countries like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have NO income tax. They have HUGE budget surpluses and billions of dollars invested so that they will NEVER have to pay taxes even after the oil runs out.

3. Complaints from Congress have centered on the oil companies making too much profit. It seems to me that Congress has an awful lot of control over how oil companies conduct business, especially when it comes to their leases. Why doesn’t Congress DO their job and negotiate leases that are acceptable in the first place? They should have a fluctuating value for the oil coming out of the ground on public lands. If crude oil prices go up, then the amount they pay us for the oil should go up correspondingly. Money brought in from the leases should go into funds set aside for the future of our country. Alaska and Kuwait have such funds. There is a base fund which is never touched, but invested. Half of the investment interest made is reinvested and the remaining half each year is paid out to residents in dividends. The profits could go into saving social security, lowering taxes and research into alternative energy sources.

4. Alternative energy seems to be a big focus on the political scene right now. Great, let’s plan for the future. But what about all that oil sitting in the ground. It has real value TODAY! And there is A LOT of it! We have as much oil as the Middle Eastern countries who hate us. That oil could be converted into cash and used to improve the economic conditions for our nation. When alternative energy sources become the main energy sources, the oil sitting in the ground will be worth LESS! It is analogous to saving your money in a mattress and the house burning down. NOW is the time to start cashing in on our nation’s tremendous natural resources.

Remember, we too, could be running our country on oil profits instead of taxes. We could quit having to worry about social security. The price of gasoline would come down with a rippling effect on many other things, including food prices. Our leaders need to start leading and looking out for what is in our best interest. They need to start considering families just trying to get by. With gas prices where they are right now and our oil just sitting in the ground with everyone’s hands tied, they are NOT showing that they care for the average American family. Please, please contact your Congressman and Senator and tell them to open up A LOT of drilling in many areas of our country. Tell them to negotiate appropriately with the oil companies. Tell them to use the money to benefit the FUTURE of our country!