President Obama, like his predecessors, has no real oil or energy policy. Today's efforts to open up some restricted offshore drilling is purely political candy, lacking substance and effectiveness. Here's my complete plan that would work for everybody:
Current leases would be honored and grandfathered as they currently stand. This would please the oil companies.
No drilling allowed within 10 miles of shore, including the shores of populated outlying islands. This should please the tourist industry and environmentalists.
Between 10 and 50 miles off shore the choice would be left entirely to the appropriate state. Royalties and leases would be negotiated by that state, though no leases would be permitted to be sold to foreign owned companies. Any operations would be subject to regulation and inspection by both state and federal environmental authorities. The state and federal government would be allowed to declare certain vital areas (such as shipping lanes, fisheries, reefs, etc...) off limits. This should please the states.
From 50 to 200 miles off shore, royalties and leases would be negotiated by the U.S. Govt. Leases would be made available only to U.S. owned and taxpaying companies. The federal government would regulate and inspect all facilities/operations and would have the authority to declare certain vital areas off limits. This should please taxpayers, consumers, and oil companies.
Oil on federal lands (Think ANWAR) would not be made available for commercial drilling. Drilling for oil and gas reserves here would be exclusively done by the Army Corps of Engineers. Extracted oil and gas would be entirely sent to our national reserves. This should please the military and taxpayers.
As part of the national reserves, the Corps of Engineers would also operate refineries to turn that crude oil into the fuel needed for our military vehicles, planes, and ships. This would free up more commercial production capacity for consumer use and guarantee a fuel source for the military. Fuel for the military would be blended with biofuels. This should please the military, taxpayers, consumers, environmentalists, and farmers.
Reserve policy would be to cease drilling for oil and buy foreign oil only when the price dropped below $50 a barrel as a means of propping up the price in a down market and protecting domestic supply. This would please oil companies. Furthermore, excess reserves would be sold when the price exceeded $100 per barrel as a means of lowering the price in an inflated market. This would please consumers and taxpayers.
A similar policy to curb volatile natural gas markets would be followed.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Health Care
The bill has passed, not a good thing. I admit the current system had to go. Our government (and therefore our current and future taxpayers) pays a LOT of money on the current health care system, and gets less for our money than most do. This, however, was not the answer. Like most of the congress voting on it, I haven't actually found the time to read it though. It makes valid criticism of the particulars difficult and even disingenuous. That doesn't mean it is exempt from valid criticism.
First of all, it is too big. A bill so large that a mainframe is required to download and store it is too big. That much memory wasn't required for the Manhattan Project or Apollo Program. If carrying a hard copy necessitates the use of mechanical devices it is too big. If the bill is too big to read, it is to big to vote on, much less pass into law. No bill on any issue should ever be close to this big and complicated. It needs to be MUCH simpler, so the consequences (costs and benefits) are somewhat predictable.
Second, it is unpopular. REALLY unpopular. We live in a republic, not a democracy. This important distinction allows us to have a government that is not governed by mob rule and that can, when necessary, protect the minority from an oppressive majority. This was not one of those times where such protection was necessary. In this case the will of the overwhelming majority should have been listened to. We have once again crossed into the realm of a government becoming powerful enough to give us what ever we want and also therefore being powerful enough to take away everything we have. The country was founded and fought for by those that thought the people should be free from such a tyrannical government. It does not matter how benevolent or good intentioned that government is or thinks it is. It is just entirely un-American to pass a bill giving the government so much control over our should be private lives.
Third. It is really expensive. REALLY expensive. The GAO office says it might reduce the growth of our debt a decade from now provided there is a massive increase in taxes and tax revenues. It is an unrealistic assumption, and the debt is quickly becoming a burden that can never be paid. The Bush and Obama stimulus packages and record debts were probably already more debt than the country could bear. This is yet another nail in the corpse, and makes a real recovery next to impossible.
As for the particulars, I have no comment. No one really knows how this is going to shake out. Maybe overall health care will improve. Probably it won't. Time may or may not tell, but in the end those particulars don't really matter. The basic concept of the bill was flawed from the get-go, and we really can't afford it.
First of all, it is too big. A bill so large that a mainframe is required to download and store it is too big. That much memory wasn't required for the Manhattan Project or Apollo Program. If carrying a hard copy necessitates the use of mechanical devices it is too big. If the bill is too big to read, it is to big to vote on, much less pass into law. No bill on any issue should ever be close to this big and complicated. It needs to be MUCH simpler, so the consequences (costs and benefits) are somewhat predictable.
Second, it is unpopular. REALLY unpopular. We live in a republic, not a democracy. This important distinction allows us to have a government that is not governed by mob rule and that can, when necessary, protect the minority from an oppressive majority. This was not one of those times where such protection was necessary. In this case the will of the overwhelming majority should have been listened to. We have once again crossed into the realm of a government becoming powerful enough to give us what ever we want and also therefore being powerful enough to take away everything we have. The country was founded and fought for by those that thought the people should be free from such a tyrannical government. It does not matter how benevolent or good intentioned that government is or thinks it is. It is just entirely un-American to pass a bill giving the government so much control over our should be private lives.
Third. It is really expensive. REALLY expensive. The GAO office says it might reduce the growth of our debt a decade from now provided there is a massive increase in taxes and tax revenues. It is an unrealistic assumption, and the debt is quickly becoming a burden that can never be paid. The Bush and Obama stimulus packages and record debts were probably already more debt than the country could bear. This is yet another nail in the corpse, and makes a real recovery next to impossible.
As for the particulars, I have no comment. No one really knows how this is going to shake out. Maybe overall health care will improve. Probably it won't. Time may or may not tell, but in the end those particulars don't really matter. The basic concept of the bill was flawed from the get-go, and we really can't afford it.
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