You know, I'd be a LOT more confident that Congress had a clue if they'd authorize drilling offshore. And building new refineries. And tap oil sands.
But they're not.
Peculiar, ain't it?
Update - As noted -
Supply and demand can't be repealed - Paradise PostI'll believe there's an 'energy crisis' when the folks in Washington start acting like it. They're messing around with a 'housing crisis' because it's simple to legislate something quickly - regardless of whether it's the right thing to do or not. Oil is... more difficult. Any solution started NOW won't come on line for two years or more. That's essentially 'forever' to a politician.Democrats along with some Republicans have done everything within their power to block oil drilling off our coast, and in Alaska. Environmental groups continually use our courts to block drilling, and they own a large number of the people in the House and Senate, so drilling in ANWAR is on the shelf.
The two countries with the largest oil reserves, Canada and Saudi Arabia, will not increase their output because they are making huge profits on their oil. By not increasing output, prices rise! If Wall Street acted in this manner, those attempting to manipulate the market by artificially shrinking supplies of available stocks forcing the price up, would go to jail.
However, since our government is refusing to allow an increase of the supply of oil to meet the demand, they are not subjected to these same rules. If we could pump oil from ANWAR, the California coast and the Gulf of Mexico, we could force gas prices down. In order to keep the cash flowing to maintain profit levels, oil producers would have to increase their output.
As the Arabs and others pump more, we could then slow the supply from ANWAR and oil rigs off the coast "stabilizing" the price. Environmental groups have played a major role in all this by using their enormous political clout to halt even modest logging in our forests (which raises the cost of building materials, and the cost of a new home, which in turn sets the price of an existing home). They were instrumental halting drilling off the West Coast and in Alaska.
They abuse the legal system by filing frivolous "nuisance suits," which should be illegal. (Most politicians are lawyers so don't hold your breath hoping someone will do something about it.) Want lower gas prices? Tell Congress to allow drilling in ANWAR, and along the coast. Supply and demand and gravity are two laws not even Congress can repeal.
So they posture and preen and blame the oil companies - and in 2 years nothing will change.
J.