The Conservative Edge

I’m sure people aren’t thinking too much about the high price of gasoline right now. It’s as cheap as it’s been in roughly 2-3 years. Here in southwest Ohio, we’re paying $1.89 for a gallon of regular gasoline. It’s funny how, when gas was costing $4 a gallon earlier this year, everyone was blaming George W. for the high prices, but nobody now will associate him with bringing prices down.

Actually, oil and gas did start declining in price after President Bush made a public statement about expanding U.S. exploration and drilling efforts here at home. When he made the statement in July, oil dropped every day during the following two-week time period. Apparently, the mere threat of increased supply was enough to cause oil speculators to begin pulling money out of the futures markets.

And now, we are seeing that the spectre of decreasing demand for oil is having the same effect on prices. But what’s going to happen when demand goes back up? Are we increasing our supply capabilites in anticipation of future use? If not, then we will surely see another spike in prices. I don’t think the current price levels will remain for long.

As other countries cut back on production and exporting, we should be endeavoring to find and secure more of our own energy supplies. Some countries like to routinely stage some kind of oil crisis, just to have an excuse to withhold oil from the evil United States. We shouldn’t let them affect us so much.

Here’s an example of what regularly happens abroad (from Yahoo Finance):

“Prices this week fell even as militants in Nigeria resumed attacks on the country’s oil installations. The military said it killed eight people while guarding a facility in the oil-rich south of the country.

Militants frequently attack oil facilities, seeking to hobble Africa’s biggest petroleum industry and force Nigeria’s federal government to send more oil funds to the southern states where the crude is pumped.”

Just click on the link for the full article:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Gasoline-continues-plunge-apf-13535926.html

The American government should allow Americans to use energy provided BY Americans. What could be more patriotic?

So now that the election is over (although the media is still obsessing about Sarah Palin’s clothes), it’s time to think about what to expect after January 2009.

I personally believe we will see higher oil/gasoline prices beginning in Spring of next year. President-elect Obama is already considering using Presidential authority to reverse the executive decision made this year by President Bush to expand drilling in U.S territories. Many Democratic leaders and other liberals are expressing concern about the fragile and delicate environments in Utah and Alaska. I wish they could show equal concern for the tremendous economic price we pay for buying foreign oil. It is truly mind-boggling to think that there are Americans who adamantly oppose the production of American energy.

I recently read an article in my local newspaper about the difficulties many communities are experiencing in keeping their roads paved. Some towns are cutting back on repair and repaving of roads and streets. This is due to the dramatic increase in the cost of asphalt, which is a PETROLEUM-based product. Simply put, we could get more people working to pave more roads, if only asphalt was cheaper. What are we to do—start driving our cars on solar panels, instead of blacktop?

Let’s take it further—what other products have become more costly due to higher oil prices? How about all of the plastic containers that store all of those food products in the supermarket? How about cosmetics? Vaseline, for instance, is actually PETROLEUM jelly! Think of all the plastic chairs we sit on, or the computers made with polycarbonate materials. Think of how it costs more to get the oil changed in your car—you never see any $9.99 service specials any more. Tires cost more too. And let’s not forget how much more shipping charges we pay now, when we buy something from QVC or Amazon or eBay.

So, if the Democrats want to stimulate the economy, they should EXPAND oil and gas production, not restrict it. Think of all the jobs that would be created in the exploration, drilling, production, refining and transporting of oil, gasoline, and natural gas. Not to mention all of the related industries such as service and repair companies, trucking, and others that would increase hiring as well.

And we needn’t get upset with the oil companies’ profits, either. We’ve made the Saudis far richer with the money we’ve been sending them for the past few decades.

By the way, have you ever see the Democrats who are so concerned about the environment, actually spending time IN the environment? I’m not sure they could tell the difference between a maple tree and a pine tree. There aren’t too many of them I could equate with a Teddy Roosevelt!