High gas prices means it's time to invest in renewable energy alternatives
Gas prices are up again- and who's to blame? The oil companies, of course. But is this really a big deal? When prices go up, Americans are forced to conserve. Our economy is dependent on oil, and the Republicans have done absolutely nothing to get us off of oil.
After Reagan captured the White House in 1980, he took down the solar panels Carter had put up on top of the White House and the country slowly shifted back into its old ways: higher speed limits, limited or no conservation, cheap gas.
A great opportunity was lost to get off of oil. All because Republicans wanted to preserve the status quo. That, in fact, is what Republicans seem to want to be doing all the time. They don't move ahead. They think that government is doing too much.
Where's the vision of how our economy will operate when oil runs out? It won't last forever. We need renewable energy- now. We don't need more oil. See the NPI Energy & Power Section for more information on renewable energy.
In today's world, government does a lot more than it used to, whether you like it or not. And rather than serve large corporations and wealthy people, the government should serve the people. Trickle-down economics are not successful, and they do not bring about change.
Neither does laissez-faire. Both concepts are employed by the Republicans as ways of managing the economy. Many Republicans (such as Bush) go even further, though: they grant HUGE subsidies to big businesses: for example, America's oil companies, the biggest companies in the world after mammoth Wal*Mart (another bad big business), get billions of dollars, just in subsidies, every year.
These same companies, which manufacture pesticides and other products, have almost no regulation and are free to do whatever they please. This is unacceptable. We cannot give our blessing to corporate executives and trust them to do right.
The Republicans can employ every argument in the book. Their arguments fall apart easily. All you have to do is look at Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco- and the case for deregulation falls apart.
To learn more about OPEC and why OPEC has a lot less to do with the pump price than you think: OPEC to cut output despite high oil prices (from the Seattle P-I).
To learn more about massive subsidies to the oil companies:
After Reagan captured the White House in 1980, he took down the solar panels Carter had put up on top of the White House and the country slowly shifted back into its old ways: higher speed limits, limited or no conservation, cheap gas.
A great opportunity was lost to get off of oil. All because Republicans wanted to preserve the status quo. That, in fact, is what Republicans seem to want to be doing all the time. They don't move ahead. They think that government is doing too much.
Where's the vision of how our economy will operate when oil runs out? It won't last forever. We need renewable energy- now. We don't need more oil. See the NPI Energy & Power Section for more information on renewable energy.
In today's world, government does a lot more than it used to, whether you like it or not. And rather than serve large corporations and wealthy people, the government should serve the people. Trickle-down economics are not successful, and they do not bring about change.
Neither does laissez-faire. Both concepts are employed by the Republicans as ways of managing the economy. Many Republicans (such as Bush) go even further, though: they grant HUGE subsidies to big businesses: for example, America's oil companies, the biggest companies in the world after mammoth Wal*Mart (another bad big business), get billions of dollars, just in subsidies, every year.
These same companies, which manufacture pesticides and other products, have almost no regulation and are free to do whatever they please. This is unacceptable. We cannot give our blessing to corporate executives and trust them to do right.
The Republicans can employ every argument in the book. Their arguments fall apart easily. All you have to do is look at Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco- and the case for deregulation falls apart.
To learn more about OPEC and why OPEC has a lot less to do with the pump price than you think: OPEC to cut output despite high oil prices (from the Seattle P-I).
To learn more about massive subsidies to the oil companies:
- Vital Statistics: 15 Largest US Government Subsidies to the Oil Industr
- Fueling Global Warming: Federal Subsidies to Oil in the U.S
- U.S. GAO Report Shows Oil Industry Tax Breaks Dwarf Ethanol Incentive
