Wednesday, August 1, 2001

The current energy crisis, with high gasoline prices, rolling blackouts in California, and natural gas prices through the roof, is the result of the "no energy" policy of the Clinton-Gore Administration.

The "no energy" policy means that US oil production is down 17 percentthe lowest production since World War IIwith more cars on the road than ever, and consumption up 14 percent. If you know about the rules of supply and demand, you know than when a product is in short supply, the price rises.

Correspondingly, we are more than ever at the mercy of foreign oil, which makes up a third of the US trade deficit. Imports are at 56 percent and may be as high as 65 percent by 2020 if there is no change in policy. We were at 35 percent dependence during the 1973 Arab oil embargo when there were gasoline lines around the country.

Huge oil reserves exist in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota, New Mexico, Utah, and, of course, Alaska. The reserve in Alaska alone is 16 billion barrels, or equal to 30 years of Saudi Arabian imports.

The pre-tax price of gasoline, despite the Clinton-Gore "no energy" policy, barely changed between 1990 and 2000actually declining by 2 cents. However, during the same period, state and federal gasoline taxes rose by more than half, from 27 cents to 43 cents per gallon. Liberal Democrats are mostly responsible for these raises.

In addition, politically imposed requirements for additives increase gasoline prices. And additives imposed by one state cannot be used in anotherthus, when supplies run low in one state, gasoline may not be able to be transferred to meet the demand. The Federal Trade Commission has just concluded that last yearís price rise was not engineered by "big oil"...but by the above factors. Find it on Page 46 of your big city paper, while the latest accusation against "big oil" by the liberal Democrats "fighting for America's working families" makes Page 1.

One of these liberals, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, has just introduced a bill that would mandate a nationwide cap on the amount of petroleum which can be used for transportation. How's that for a "no energy" policy that would artificially create shortages and cause drastic price increases? That ranks along with Al Gore's "no energy" plan to tear down the critical hydroelectric producing dams in the Pacific Northwest. If this keeps up, the liberals might make the Republicans look smart!

hoostwo@earthlink.net

William Fielder

Peachtree City

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