OPINION:
The facts about the gasoline crisis and the role of Exxon and other oil companies in formulating pricing lay bare the disingenuousness and political posturing of the Democrats.
President Obama, the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency use such posturing in forming our energy policies. We don’t need enemies abroad to wreck our economy; all we have to do is elect and appoint more liberals and environmentalists to positions of power in our government, which Mr. Obama is doing at warp speed.
Mr. Obama talks about the “unconscionable” earnings of the oil companies, all the while ignoring the fact that most of those earnings go for business expansion, more jobs or dividends to millions of pensioners and people investing for their future. These “unconscionable” earnings amount to just 7 cents per gallon for the risk-takers, while the government, by the stroke of a pen, takes 40 cents to 60 cents per gallon.
One of the major causes for the increased price of gasoline is the uncertainty of supply. Mr. Obama and his cohorts have helped create this uncertainty with suffocating regulations that make it nearly impossible for us to tap into our own vast energy reserves. Thousands of domestic jobs are on hold because of this.
Another cause for the price increases is the falling value of the U.S. dollar. With spending out of control, debt mounting at an unprecedented rate and the Federal Reserve inflating our currency with its “quantitative easing,” we are lucky that our currency’s value hasn’t taken a bigger nose dive.
It may be politically advantageous for Mr. Obama to blame the oil companies, but we all know who is to blame. It is our government officials.
DAVID LIGHT
Pawleys Island, S.C.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.