Is it merely a coincidence that since Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney (and both are oil men) have been in the White House gas prices nationwide have steadily risen from around $1.42 a gallon at the time of the 2001 Inauguration ceremony to the current outrageous prices? ($3.49 here in Michigan)
After their two (undeserved) terms in office and with our economy in dire straits and worsening, value of the US dollar at an all time low, gas prices continually spiking and likely costing 3 x more per gallon than when they were sworn in at the 2001 Inauguration, and no end in sight for the costly and disasterous occupation of Iraq (and it's precious oil) Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney are likely going to just walk away from the White House with smirks on their faces after the 2008 election, and handsomely rewarded by their cronies and old pals in the oil and fossil fuel industries, and indeed very very wealthy !! And likely neither with any sense of conscience whatsoever..
Why blame the Bush Administration? In 2000 Bush chided the Clinton Administration for not having effective energy policy. That was when gas was $1.42 a gallon. Then in 2004 when gas was $2.05 a gallon, the voters of America elected Bush and Cheney to four more years. Frankly, the voters of this country are getting exactly what they deserve. Don’t blame me, I voted for Gore and Kerry.
I also voted for Gore and Kerry Nobody who voted both times for the Bush Adminitration should complain about the price of gas or the state of the economy. They are getting exactly what they deserve…
They will keep the lid on it until after the elections, but after that inflation will rage. The price of EVERYTHING will go up…
When China has lost enough money by holding/supporting U.S. Dollars, and they stop buying them and holding them, the economic conditions you see today will look like a picnic in the park…
Have you heard that the dollar is falling? This is the result of us sending so much money to buy forien stuff including oil that people in forien countries don’t want dollars as much as they used to. There are only so many bathrooms in the world to wall paper with worthless dollar bills. Interesting thought though, 40% of the oil we use is coming from american wells so these folks are doing well, too bad george bush got out of the oil buisness when he lost money in the 90’s. Otherwise he could be rich and retire like now already.
Forgetting about oil for a minute. All this discussion about the falling value of a dollar so forth and so on is part of a natural cycle. fact is, we have not had the opportunity up until now to realize or see the impact of it in our own pocketbooks. However, economically speaking, the falling value of a dollar would in essence make it cheaper for foreign countries/companies whose currency appreciation is greater than ours, to invest in the U.S… Possibly in the forms of establishing manufacturing plants, distribution centers, or technology development etc… Same thing as what we have done with countries abroad with outsourcing. It was cheaper on the books to go overseas due to the appreciative value of our currency over theirs. New events dictate that the tables are turning, and we will become the country who will carry outsourced activities. Not a bad thing if you ask me. Creates jobs, stimulates the economy, and creates growth. Just as China, India, Malaysia, and other commercializing nations we have outsourced are experiencing surges in their own respective economies, the same is expected of ours if it were the other way around. We need to come to the realization that we will not always be #1, so get over it, lets work together, stop bitching, and play a round of golf
You can’t just print money and call it wealth, it just doesn’t work that way. NOBODY is going to invest in America when they have unlimited labor in their own countries will to work for $1-$2 a day. Invest in America and pay 39% corporate income tax?? Not going to happen. The only decent jobs, good, steady full time jobs with health care and a pension left in The U.S. are GOVERNMENT JOBS. The only problem with government jobs is that they are 100% non-productive pastimes supported by the people who actually produce something.
The price of gasoline and every other petroleum product will soon be out of reach for “ordinary Americans”…
“NOBODY is going to invest in America when they have unlimited labor in their own countries will to work for $1-$2 a day. Invest in America and pay 39% corporate income tax?? Not going to happen. The only decent jobs, good, steady full time jobs with health care and a pension left in The U.S. are GOVERNMENT JOBS.”
Have you noticed that there are Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Honda, BMW, and Mercedes Benz plants in the USA? It’s cost effective for Japanese and European manufacturers to build and sell here, and hs been for many years. We might expect to see accelerated job creation in the USA if the dollar continues to fall with respect to other currencies. And don’t forget commercial trucks. Except for Ford and GM, almost all the large truck manufacturer’s are owned by MB or Paccar (European).
We don’t need citizens with you attitude. Move… Although slow, we will make necessary government policies to invite and stimulate growth. Are you helping in this effort? I’m sorry you have a shi**y job, get a new one, work harder, have a contributive attitude and stop b*tching.
Caddyman–Yes, the corporate tax rate may well be 39%, but then there is the issue of “corporate welfare” (better known as corporate tax shelters) that enable a huge percentage of corporations to pay NO taxes to the Federal Government. And, many of these corporations that paid no taxes over the past few years are the same ones that are shifting US-based production to lower-cost foreign countries. In reality, the percentage of the US government’s revenue that is actually paid by corporations is astoundingly low.
By some estimates, corporate tax shelters cost the U.S. Treasury an estimated $18 billion a year. The most impressive statistic of all is that corporate taxes now account for only 7.4 percent of federal tax receipts, the second-lowest level on record.
Would you like to guess who is paying the remaining 92.60% of the revenue going to the US Treasury? If you guessed that it is the US citizenry, then you are correct.
And, just in case you think that I am some kind of wild-eyed, anti-business radical, I can tell you that the majority of my income is from stock dividends and capital gains. However, I know when things are unfair, and the current tax structure favors the corporation (the same ones that are eliminating jobs in this country) over the middle class of our nation.
There will be a rebalancing effect if things continue on this track, no doubt about that. Albeit tax structures in our country may remain the same, favorable taxation will also be imposed on multinational foreign companies that hold interests here in the US. The problem exist where profits from companies increase, pay less taxes due to tax shelters, and do not pay employees respectively to the company’s marginal after-tax profits. This creates the gap we are complaining about. If companies pay less taxes, excess profits should be passed down to the employees. We would pay more taxes based on the increased income, governement would collect on it, and we would all have a higher paycheck.
The inmates are running the show as it has been for the past 7 years, Everything from trade to energy consumption/pricing is pretty much left to the business profitability…all you libertarians, self included, should have loved the last 7 years.
We are where we are because of it. If you think that govt. accountability is the answer as in the Clinton administration where 200 plus Nafta complaints were adressed per year, you’ll be happy if things change. If you like to each his own like the last 7 years where fewer that 20 total Nafta complaints were acted upon total, than things should be left alone…
No one is really going to investigate price gouging.
Energy prices are just folowing the lead of corp. greed throughout the rest of the economy. There really is no separation between the lack of self control between the banking industry and the energy industry.
Just keep sprouting “supply and demand” mantra and keep our heads in the sand.
The energy companies see and big technology shift away from their control in the next 20 years and are “milking” the liquid goal for all it’s worth.
Point well taken. Human nature expresses the beleif of good-will. We search for answers and explanations for the world around us through our evolutionary gift of cognitive thinking. We can’t help it. But if we turn to beleive everyone is out to get us, our way of life and evolution will cease to progress towards tomorrow, and become our catalyst of self-destruction.
It’s not supply and demand. Even OPEC admits there is plenty of oil. It isn’t the weak dollar. The dollar has been weak before and the price of oil didn’t soar to record levels. ENRON is exactly the answer. As soon as Americans learn about the ENRON LOOPHOLE and how it’s responsible for the unregulated oil futures trading going on maybe they will demand the people on Capitol Hill start working for the voters and not the Big Oil lobby. Congress created the loophole, Congress can close it. How many of you reading this have taken the time to educate yourselves by visiting www.closetheenronloophole.com?
Google Enron Loophole and check out how much info is available. We are so close to seeing a tipping point in getting this loophole closed, but the American public needs to be told on a grand scale. The major news networks could report on it, but chose to ignore it. Why? Maybe because of all of the advertising dollars the oil companies are spending. Therefore the info of this has to be spread word of mouth. If any of you know any Connectors, Mavens or Salesmen (see The Tipping Point) tell them about the Enron Loophole and help spread the word.