OK…seriously???? WTF is going on with this country’s Politicians? Hate is a very strong word and I do not like to use it, but this warrants it. I hate politics! I don’t like to say I am a Democrat or Republican. This just pisses me off about what the republicans have done. When $4 gas is basically sucking the life out of every person in this absolutely fantastic [said sarcastically] country the republicans go and do this shit.
So yesterday the democrats try to pass a bill that would tax the huge Big Oil profits. Obviously you have been living under a rock if you do not know what I am talking about. A quick catch-up - The five Big Oil giants the past couple years have made, and continue to make, record breaking profits each and every quarter. I mean we are talking tens and tens of billions of dollars. The bill that was presented also allowed for it to be a federal crime to price fix. Now, taking this all in and remember how your stomach churns every time you drive past (or worse yet - pull into to “fill ‘er up”) a gas station and notice the price has gone up another 10 cents a gallon and has now surpassed the $4 mark why the fuck did the stupid ass republicans block this bill? Oh yeah, and this bill would have removed the subsidies that we are STILL giving Big Oil. Why, may I ask, are we still giving Big Oil subsidies when they are making Billions of dollars in profit every three months?
Oh and get this shit—I also just read that the republican’s have ALSO killed a bill that would provide tax incentives for energies that are environmentally friendly. WHAT – THE – FUCK? I do not get it!!!! Am I completely missing something? I would be 100% ok with Big Oil getting away with these profits if they put all, or most, of that money back into renewable energy sources. With billions of dollars, imagine how many wind turbines they could erect. Lets just work this out…so lets say a wind turbine costs $2.5 million (higher than what the Dept. of Energy Estimates) to get into service. Now let’s take the $36 billion that those bastards have made and divide it into that $2.5 million. With those profits and with a wind turbine costing $2.5 million (kind of high, but conservative taking into consideration the cost of GAS to truck that bitch to the site) that would mean that 14,400 wind turbines could be erected in LESS than a year of profits. I know that “wind” is not "Big Oil’s” forte, but we [the US], if we wanted to be, could be the Middle East with Wind Power. We could be driving electric cars and be 100% independent of oil. If we were independent of oil, we could easily have all the national debt paid off, and be the richest country in the world. A few of the European nations (I believe Denmark was one) that made it a goal to be oil-independent is now one of the top 3 richest in the world. BUT, I guess when Big Oil has such an influence on the world financial market it is apparently tough for politicians to think about a greener world and cheaper gas at the pumps versus their local Big Oil buddy giving them cash for keeping things the way they are.
Oh yeah, another thing. This is my prediction for the near future and is only my prediction. This country is going to be in a world of hurt in a year to two years due to the current US economy being in the shitter. I mean we have the highest unemployment in 22 years, gas prices that lead to many people not being able to drive to work, sky-rocketing food prices, and . People’s personal debt is snowballing exponentially because people need to charge things just to afford things we need. I hope to god I am wrong, but I believe within 1 to 2 years Americans are not going to be able to afford to drive at all, will not be able to afford food, and are simply going to be screwed! And 90% is the government and Big Oil’s fault!
So this is another thing that would piss off the general public if everyone knew this, but for years our great government has said inflation has not gone up. This is complete and utter bullshit! If companies and individuals cooked our books the way our government does we would all be in jail soooooo freaking fast! What I am talking about is the fact that the government does not take into consideration the price of “energy” or “food” when figuring inflation rates. Yeah…WTF, right!?!? When the price of my gallon of ice cream goes from $4 to almost $8 or my box of corn flakes going from $3 to $4 in the matter of a year, how can the government really say there is little to no inflation? The oil companies want to blame it on ethanol taking away corn from food production. You know the whole “Food for Fuel” debate, right? That is complete bullshit too! A short time ago that $3 box of Corn Flakes had only 11 cents worth of corn in it. Corn has NOT increased in price as dramatically as Oil. The remaining increase in cost of that, now $4 box of Corn Flakes is transportation and production – both of which require ENERGY. Obviously I am pissed off that the government can say there has been little to no inflation when I KNOW my grocery bill has gone up, yet most of our salaries only go up 2-3%. Interesting isn't it!?!?!? I would like to see the REAL cost of inflation – an inflation index that DOES include both FOOD and ENERGY.
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2 comments:
You are wrong to simplify the problem as 90% the fault of the government and Big Oil. Do we not relish driving our SUVS to places we could've walked to. Do we not live in a bubble that views oil as a renewable resource like water. The oil companies already pay an exorbanant amount of taxes to the federal government. A profits tax would make oil more expensive. Price fixes and goverment intervention don't work. Market solutions work. With 4$ gas how many people are scaling down and buying smaller cars or becoming conscious of the issue for the first time? Demand will drop. The free market works. The ability to drill in Alaska and offshore will have a psychological impact on market speculators, and will restore sanity to prices. Expansion of renewable energy is clearly needed, though grants, etc but there is no magical solution to this problem and blaming and whining probably wont do it.
Let me guess, you have stock in Big Oil. Good for you as you are probably making some nice cash. Cash the majority of America does not have to fill up their vehicles.
You are right. We DO relish driving our SUV's and the $4 gas problem was also brought on by all of us. I own an SUV myself, but I also drive a scooter every day to work and around town, which gets 101mpg. However, contrary to what you have said, how does the price at the pump suddenly decrease AFTER congress announces that speculation should be watched and WHY does Big Oil then say the price drop is due to the sudden decrease in demand? I doubt that demand really deceased that quickly. So, I still think the majority of the problem stems from the government and big oil. However, I might change my estimation to 80% of it being big oil and government, with the remaining 20% being our fault.
Expansion of renewable energy is needed through GRANTS? Are you talking government grants? In some respect I agree, but I think you missed my point...let me reiterate what I said, I would not care about Big Oils huge profits if THEY reinvested those profits into renewable energy. I don't think that we, as taxpayers should be making up for what Big Oil and the government as already raped us over. We [Americans] missed the boat a couple decades ago when we first ran into the energy crisis. We should have changed our ways for good rather than short-term then forgetting. If Big Oil and the government did not have such a strong hold on the American auto makers we would have CARS that could get 101mpg. I’d gladly give up my SUV (which gets 26mpg) for something that gets 101mpg (I’ve already done it with the scooter). Other countries are well on their way to this goal, but it is Big Oil, Government, and the US auto makers that are the ones whining. The technology is there. They can do it if big oil didn’t try to regulate the change to being 10 years from now. The government needs to make the legislation and force those bitches to change. I would rather see the government subsidize the auto makers in making this happen than helping Big Oil drill off shore.
You are right though. WE have done this to ourselves and WE are the ones that need to change it since Big Oil is not likely to change their ways. There needs to be change or, like I said before…we are all screwed.
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