President Obama has no more to do with the recent rise in gas prices than he had to do with the storm that blew through where I live last night. Now that's an ironic statement of unintended support for a moot position that Obama used himself against W. Bush four years ago. Why do we continue to let politicians insult our intelligence?
Uh...you're probably not going to like my answer here...
We live in an unprecedented age of information. With the click of a few keys, I can summons information on anything from making explosives to an awesome chicken casserole. Biographical information is available on most anyone in the public eye, as well as, information on corporations, legislations and litigations.
But we're just lazy and don't take the time to become informed consumers/constituents. Period.
True or False...The price of gas goes up at the beginning of summer each year because Big Oil knows demand will go up with warm weather?
False.
Demand is much higher across the board in colder months. Sorry....your summer vacation just doesn't have that much of an impact on gas prices. Some. Not much.
During winter months, butane is used as an additive in the production of refined gasoline because it is cheap. However, butane can't be used in the summer because it evaporates in warm temperatures, so refineries must replace it with more expensive ingredients.
Blame chemistry for higher summer prices...not DisneyWorld or Obama.
True or False...If we drilled for more oil, all our problems would be solved!
Don't think so Sarah. Crude oil is not the problem. We have an abundance of oil overflowing from the North American crude trading hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. The problem is refineries are at near capacity in this country. While refining capabilities have actually decline in recent years do to aging facilities, no new refineries have been built in decades. Not to mention, U.S. exports of gas to fuel-thirsty foreign countries tripled over the past year!
So just build more refineries to fix the problem.
Seriously...think that's going to make gas prices go down? The huge cost of building new refineries would be directly past along to the consumer straight per the capitalism playbook. Hey, I love capitalism, but facts are facts. Besides, who's volunteering to have one of those built in their backyard?
Before you take this post as defense of failed economic leadership from the White House, just hear me out. The danger in blaming the wrong things on the wrong people goes beyond the obvious moral implications. If the electorate links the presidential election this fall to gas prices, what happens if gas prices fall? That's right. Point of contention lost. If Obama can be blamed for higher gas prices then he surely will take credit for lower gas prices, and the emotions of the moment sweep him back into the White House.
The fact of the matter is he has nothing to do with either stinking one!
Become an informed voter. Seek information on issues and don't just swallow what the left and right media sources feed us each day. Trust me. They're not working for a higher, nobler cause. The bottom line is all that matters on both sides, and that profit is sadly boosted when the public debates become toxic and less civil...as well as less cerebral.
I'm not afraid to give credit where credit is due even if that recognition falls on an opposing ideological figure. President Obama has been very successful from a foreign policy perspective.. in my opinion. But, that opinion thinks we were completely within our rights to go into Pakistan, without their consent, to kill Bin Laden. I don't think he has weak knees when it comes to these matters.
I also don't think he is a Muslim or wasn't born in this country. Those are both absurd and purely emotional arguments. Not to mention, we Christians need to be very cautious about blindly judging where another person is with the Almighty. I have no reason to question his proclaimed Christian faith...or at least any more than I did Bush or Clinton...and I shouldn't try to judge according to the Good Book.
My problems with the current administration are much more politically fundamental. President Obama believes government can solve all the ills of society. I most strongly disagree. While that's enough to turn me against his politics, it doesn't have to be bitterly personal.
If I vote for Obama, I know I'm voting for a liberal-minded ideology, and I can't do that in good conscience. Unfortunately, the catch here becomes that while most Republicans stand proudly on that platform of conservative policy making, their actions (read legislation) reflect a different motive. Some claim one thing and do another, and that does makes me mad.
Don't listen to the spin. Read how your public figures vote on the issues that matter to you. Hold them accountable for your vote. Become informed.
Click...click...click...
3 comments:
I still want him out. :)
I don't think that gas refineries are the total problem here - not even close. The real problem is that we don't want to get off oil whether it from here or over there. Everything that happens in Washington is for the good of the companies that support whichever presidents is in office. IE: Obamacare was for the benefit of the health unions. The lack of energy alternatives is because there is no mandate from a sane Fed. Instead they keep kicking the can down the road to make another election cycle.
This administration does have something to do with the oil prices, though, of course, not all. But supply and demand, the biggest factor, is affected by the policies he has set out or supported, like no drilling in the Gulf, no Keystone pipeline, and environmental drags on finding more oil or building refineries. When you say that drilling more will not ease the price you forget about the 'evil' speculators, who are also a factor in oil prices. Speculators look at the future and if they think oil prices will be high, they buy it up, thus creating more demand. If, however, new drilling promises bigger supply in the future, they sell or stay out of that market. This President has also added more regulations and restrictions that "necessarily make the cost of energy skyrocket" (his own words). His recent audacious extra-Constitutional power grab foreshadow his likelihood to seize even more control on these issues.
But you are right not to link gas prices with whether or not to get rid of Obama. That is only one of many issues, which all stem from his radical ideology and his arrogant assumption that he knows better than our authorized representatives or the Constitution.
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