| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Captain Compassion" |
| Date: |
27 Apr 2006 10:13:24 AM |
| Object: |
Oily politicians |
Oily politicians
Apr 27, 2006
by Thomas Sowell
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/thomassowell/2006/04/27/195275.html
If there is anything worse than partisan demagoguery, it is bipartisan
demagoguery. Republican leaders have now joined the Democrats in
blaming the oil companies for the fact that prices rise when demand
expands more than supply.
Prices have been rising under these conditions for thousands of years,
long before there were any oil companies. This has happened with
everything from food to furs and it has happened among people in every
part of the world.
What has also happened in recent times has been that higher gasoline
prices bring outraged charges of "gouging" by Big Oil. Some of the
most emotionally powerful political words and phrases are wholly
undefined -- "exploitation," "greed," "social justice" and the
perennial favorite, "gouging."
Are the oil companies charging all that the traffic will bear? No
doubt. But they were probably charging all that the traffic would bear
when the price of gasoline was half of what it is today.
Even businesses that are losing money are charging all that the
traffic will bear. Otherwise they could raise their prices and stop
losing money.
Most of the people who are making this claim are charging all that the
traffic will bear for their own labor or the use of their own
products. Dressing up the plain fact that we all usually prefer more
to less in political rhetoric about "gouging" explains nothing.
Something that is true all the time cannot explain drastic changes.
Is it rocket science that, when oil prices hit new highs, gasoline
prices also hit new highs? Do you think the price of wheat could
double without the price of bread going up? Would we have politicians
running around spouting off about "gouging" by Big Wheat?
No matter how big American oil companies are, there are other oil
companies around the world and the price of oil is determined in
international markets. As for investigating Big Oil, that has been
done time and again already, with nothing to show for it.
Is it rocket science that, when huge countries like India and China
have rapidly growing economies, their demand for oil goes up by leaps
and bounds? Is it rocket science that, when demand shoots up but
supply doesn't go up as much, prices rise?
Prices are a symptom of an underlying reality. Politicians can seize
on the symptom and even pass laws dealing with it, without changing
the underlying reality.
Prices are like a thermometer reading. When someone has a fever, it is
not going to do any good to put the thermometer in ice water to bring
down the reading. If you think the fever is gone, it may not be long
before the patient is gone, if you don't do something about what is
causing the fever.
Ironically, the people who are making the most noise about the high
price of gasoline are the very people who have for years blocked every
attempt to increase our own oil supply. They have opposed drilling for
oil off the Atlantic coast, off the Pacific coast, or in Alaska. They
have prevented the building of any new oil refineries anywhere for
decades.
They have fought against the building of hydroelectric dams or nuclear
power plants to generate electricity without the use of oil. They love
to talk about their own pet "alternative energy sources," without the
slightest attention to what these would cost in terms of money, jobs,
or our national standard of living.
Even when one of their pet "alternative energy sources" -- windmills
-- is proposed to be built near them, suddenly it is not right to
spoil their view.
Politicians have indulged these spoiled brats for generations. Now,
when the chickens come home to roost, they are screaming about high
prices and Big Oil. That is world class chutzpa.
Liberal politicians have played this game for years. With the help of
the liberal media, they have so demonized oil producers and so
replaced economics with demagoguery that now Republicans are running
scared, which seems to be their favorite exercise.
Republicans have apparently decided that, if you can't lick 'em, join
'em. Republican "leaders" have apparently decided to give up on trying
to talk sense to the public. So we end up with bipartisan demagoguery.
--
"There are no absolute certainties in this universe. A man must try to
whip order into a yelping pack of probabilities, and uniform success is
impossible." -- Jack Vance
"Civilizaton is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant.
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography" -- Ambrose Bierce
"Long term commitment in relationships is only necessary because it takes
so damn long to raise children. Marriage may well be some kind of trick
to keep the males around beyond sexual satiation." -- Captain Compassion
"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant
Joseph R. Darancette
daranc@NOSPAMverizon.net
.
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| User: "abracadabra" |
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| Title: Re: Oily politicians |
27 Apr 2006 10:48:47 AM |
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"Captain Compassion" <daranc@NOSPAMverizon.net> wrote in message
news:ufn15217c6pr3gnjqqjodlrr2nclldadsv@4ax.com...
Oily politicians
Apr 27, 2006
by Thomas Sowell
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/thomassowell/2006/04/27/195275.html
If there is anything worse than partisan demagoguery, it is bipartisan
demagoguery
Hey - can Sowell explain why if the price for oil goes up today, oil that
was bought and shipped months ago goes up in price at the pump?
Sowell is a ***** for the Right, and deserves as much resect as the usual
***** gets!
.
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| User: "Captain Compassion" |
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| Title: Re: Oily politicians |
27 Apr 2006 11:46:06 AM |
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On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 15:48:47 GMT, "abracadabra" <abra@hotmail.com>
wrote:
"Captain Compassion" <daranc@NOSPAMverizon.net> wrote in message
news:ufn15217c6pr3gnjqqjodlrr2nclldadsv@4ax.com...
Oily politicians
Apr 27, 2006
by Thomas Sowell
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/thomassowell/2006/04/27/195275.html
If there is anything worse than partisan demagoguery, it is bipartisan
demagoguery
Hey - can Sowell explain why if the price for oil goes up today, oil that
was bought and shipped months ago goes up in price at the pump?
Sowell is a ***** for the Right, and deserves as much resect as the usual
***** gets!
You don't get oil at the pump you get gasoline. Gasoline prices are
more closely related to spot price than the futures market. It's a
LIFO kind of thing.
--
"There are no absolute certainties in this universe. A man must try to
whip order into a yelping pack of probabilities, and uniform success is
impossible." -- Jack Vance
"Civilizaton is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant.
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography" -- Ambrose Bierce
"Long term commitment in relationships is only necessary because it takes
so damn long to raise children. Marriage may well be some kind of trick
to keep the males around beyond sexual satiation." -- Captain Compassion
"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant
Joseph R. Darancette
daranc@NOSPAMverizon.net
.
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| User: "Randy Cox" |
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| Title: Re: Oily politicians |
27 Apr 2006 10:43:14 AM |
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"Captain Compassion" <daranc@NOSPAMverizon.net> wrote in message
news:ufn15217c6pr3gnjqqjodlrr2nclldadsv@4ax.com...
Oily politicians
Apr 27, 2006
by Thomas Sowell
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/thomassowell/2006/04/27/195275.html
If there is anything worse than partisan demagoguery, it is bipartisan
demagoguery. Republican leaders have now joined the Democrats in
blaming the oil companies for the fact that prices rise when demand
expands more than supply.
Well, you supported insane extremism at the Executive level for five years.
Insanity goes in two directions. It shouldn't surprise you that the
reaction to insanity is equally insane. Extremism is the order of the day.
Nothing makes sense anymore. Reasonable people have taken shelter from the
unreasonable masses of lemmings.
The only thing Marx was right about was than man never corrects but always
over-corrects. I'm a moderate with conservative fiscal ideals. I dislike
the insanity of extremism whether it is from neo-conservatives or bipartisan
partisans rushing to appease the anger of the lemmings in the street.
In times like this even the winners...............lose!
Randy R. Cox
.
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| User: "Captain Compassion" |
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| Title: Re: Oily politicians |
27 Apr 2006 11:40:36 AM |
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On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 10:43:14 -0500, "Randy Cox" <randd49@airmail.net>
wrote:
"Captain Compassion" <daranc@NOSPAMverizon.net> wrote in message
news:ufn15217c6pr3gnjqqjodlrr2nclldadsv@4ax.com...
Oily politicians
Apr 27, 2006
by Thomas Sowell
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/thomassowell/2006/04/27/195275.html
If there is anything worse than partisan demagoguery, it is bipartisan
demagoguery. Republican leaders have now joined the Democrats in
blaming the oil companies for the fact that prices rise when demand
expands more than supply.
Well, you supported insane extremism at the Executive level for five years.
Insanity goes in two directions. It shouldn't surprise you that the
reaction to insanity is equally insane. Extremism is the order of the day.
Nothing makes sense anymore. Reasonable people have taken shelter from the
unreasonable masses of lemmings.
The only thing Marx was right about was than man never corrects but always
over-corrects. I'm a moderate with conservative fiscal ideals. I dislike
the insanity of extremism whether it is from neo-conservatives or bipartisan
partisans rushing to appease the anger of the lemmings in the street.
In times like this even the winners...............lose!
Agreed!!
--
"There are no absolute certainties in this universe. A man must try to
whip order into a yelping pack of probabilities, and uniform success is
impossible." -- Jack Vance
"Civilizaton is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant.
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography" -- Ambrose Bierce
"Long term commitment in relationships is only necessary because it takes
so damn long to raise children. Marriage may well be some kind of trick
to keep the males around beyond sexual satiation." -- Captain Compassion
"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant
Joseph R. Darancette
daranc@NOSPAMverizon.net
.
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