It's The Oil Stupid

Oh thank God. The Democrats have plan to fight high gas prices. They want to go after the oil companies in a big way. Their plan is to impose a huge “windfall profit tax” on the big, evil oil companies. You know, “Big Oil.”
I know what you’re thinking too. Like me, you’re having a hard time believing Democrats would raise taxes on anything. But it’s true. In a nutshell, that’s their plan. Raise taxes, the same answer they have for everything.
How many of you believe like I do, the only thing this plan will achieve is to separate us from even more of our money just to keep gas in our tanks? Do they really believe the oil companies are just going to sit back and absorb the new taxes imposed on them? Do they really believe the oil companies won’t simply pass them on to the rest of us, raising the prices even higher? If you’re a multi-millionaire, member of congress I guess that’s not that big a deal. But if you’re like most of us and are already struggling to keep your head above water, it’s a huge deal.
No, I don’t claim to have all the answers. But I think it’s stupid for us to just sit here on top of some of the biggest oil reserves in the world and not recover it. I think it’s stupid we haven’t built a refinery in America for the last 30 or so years. And I think it’s stupid that we quit investing in nuclear power plants. Why do we do it? I guess so the polar bears can live and so we won’t interfere with the mating habits of the caribou or something like that.
I know it’s not late breaking news but Cuba and China are recovering our oil right off the coast of Florida. Yes, I think that’s stupid too. The Dems tell us it’s impossible to drill our way out of the mess we’ve created for ourselves. Besides, they claim it’ll take at least 10 years to develop any future oil fields and bring the oil to market.
Part of that is true. It is impossible to drill our way out of this mess. It’s impossible as long as we just here whining and wringing our hands and doing a whole lot nothing else. And you know what? Ten years might sound like a long way off but it’ll come and go before you know it. Tell me, where do you want to be in ten years? Do you want to live in an America that is capable of taking care of her own energy needs or the one we’re becoming? The America who depends on foreign countries, some of them very hostile towards us for almost all of our energy needs?
Don’t take this as an endorsement for the Republicans either. We saw what could happen in the 70’s when America was held hostage by OPEC. Remember that? Remember the gas lines? Remember gas being rationed out in some parts of the country? We’ve had almost 40 years to develop alternate sources of energy. We’ve had Republican as well as Democrats in office and neither party has done a thing about it.
Go ahead and develop your wind mills. Develop your hydrogen cars and such. I have no problem whatsoever with solar power either. I don’t care what it ends up being as long as it works and works well. But in the meantime, America needs oil and we have plenty of it.
Here’s my plan. Let’s quit the whining. Let’s quit being stupid. And let’s develop our own resources and tell countries like Saudi Arabia to shove their oil up their, oh never mind, you’d probably be offended by what I was going to say. Let’s just say this. If we have the guts to get to the point where we didn’t need their oil, you’d be amazed at how fast they’d be willing to deal. But what do I know, I’m just an old guy.
Kevin McGinty can be reached at: kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net