You know, kids, anything that puts President Bush's polling numbers in the dumper is a good thing as far as I'm concerned...usually. But I'm amazed that concerning the price of a gallon of gas, people don't seem to be getting the bigger picture. President Bush, and Congress for that matter, are not directly responsible for the price of gas. It's all about world economics. Primarily the economies of India and China. In years past, neither of these countries placed that huge a demand on oil, and in India's case, they couldn't have afforded it if they had wanted it. Now, those two countries are using more oil than ever before. Why?
My theory, at least in part, is that it's because the United States has exported so many jobs to both India and China, there are a lot more people there who can now afford to purchase cars. I have tried googling to find some statistics and have so far come up wanting, but I bet some astute reader could come up with the relevant figures that would show a direct correlation between the number of American jobs recently sent to India and China, along with a rise in automobile sales in those countries, and hence a rise in the overall price of oil worldwide. I just betcha.
At any rate, the American people shouldn't expect the President or Congress to be able to do much about the price of gasoline. At least directly. What they (the President and Congress) should be doing is promoting alternatives to fossil fuels through real incentives. Rather than offering a rebate on the price of a Hummer to folks who say they'll be using it for work (a law which was supposed to make it easier for farmers to buy new farming equipment), rebates should be given to consumers who purchase flex-fuel or hybrid cars. Tax breaks should be given to the companies that manufacture autos with super high mileage rates, and so on... The way to not pay such high prices for gasoline is to just not use so much! Oh, and maybe they shouldn't offer tax breaks to companies that outsource so many of our jobs.
Well, that's my two cents worth.......
My theory, at least in part, is that it's because the United States has exported so many jobs to both India and China, there are a lot more people there who can now afford to purchase cars. I have tried googling to find some statistics and have so far come up wanting, but I bet some astute reader could come up with the relevant figures that would show a direct correlation between the number of American jobs recently sent to India and China, along with a rise in automobile sales in those countries, and hence a rise in the overall price of oil worldwide. I just betcha.
At any rate, the American people shouldn't expect the President or Congress to be able to do much about the price of gasoline. At least directly. What they (the President and Congress) should be doing is promoting alternatives to fossil fuels through real incentives. Rather than offering a rebate on the price of a Hummer to folks who say they'll be using it for work (a law which was supposed to make it easier for farmers to buy new farming equipment), rebates should be given to consumers who purchase flex-fuel or hybrid cars. Tax breaks should be given to the companies that manufacture autos with super high mileage rates, and so on... The way to not pay such high prices for gasoline is to just not use so much! Oh, and maybe they shouldn't offer tax breaks to companies that outsource so many of our jobs.
Well, that's my two cents worth.......
Comments