Obama's Fix for Gas Prices

[xBiffx]

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/vi...up_a_task_force_to_look_into_speculation.html

Good for him! Glad to see him doing something on the topic of high gas prices. Although I think he is going to go as far it takes to get re-elected and not an inch further, as would any politician it seems. Also, I'm not sure speculation is the culprit. Rather I think its the other 400lb gorillas in the room that he refuses to talk about. Regulation and exploration. Who knows though, maybe they will come up with some decent findings and make a dent in prices, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Texashiker]

I thought a task force had been setup a couple of years ago?

 

[HumblePie]

What the hell kind of article was that?

 

[Franz316]

I could have sworn something very similar was created a few years ago. He probably just says it to appease us.

 

[desy]

Oil is a globally traded commodity there is nothing he can do regarding its price per barrell of crude in the short term.
There are minor things he can do long term to influence it slightly.

 

[Texashiker]

Here we go, the task force was formed in April 2011

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/02/436262/obama-oil-speculation-task-force/?mobile=nc

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/06/obama-fights-gas-prices_n_1325032.html

Oil is a globally traded commodity there is nothing he can do regarding its price per barrell of crude in the short term.
There are minor things he can do long term to influence it slightly.

And that is part of the problem, oil is treated like any other product on the market.

 

[xBiffx]

Here we go, the task force was formed in April 2011

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/02/436262/obama-oil-speculation-task-force/?mobile=nc

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/06/obama-fights-gas-prices_n_1325032.html

Guess this is the re-election speculation task force then. :sneaky:

 

[chucky2]

If this was really important to Politicians, they could have fixed it years ago. Is it fixed?

There's your answer....

 

[MovingTarget]

"I think the American people understand that we don’t have a silver bullet when it comes to gas prices. We’ve been talking about this for 30 years. The only way to stabilize gas prices is to reduce our dependency on fore oil and we just put out a report that over the last year or so, we’ve been able to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by a million barrels. That’s’ significant.

The writing is on the wall. Pursuing policies that do not try to reduce/eliminate our dependence on oil, from ANY source, is counterproductive to our interests. Many on the right don't seem to get this, although that situation is improving. Bringing more domestic oil reserves online may relieve some economic stress in the short term, but it is a long-term losing proposition.

In the meantime, cuz I know people are hurting right now and it feels like a tax out of their paychecks, what we’re doing is looking at every single area that can affect gas prices, from bottlenecks that are out there, we’ve set up a task force to look into speculation to make sure people are taking advantage of the situation on the global oil markets,"

This I do agree with, but again, without more action on reducing total dependence on oil, it will bite us long-term. Speculators should not be taking advantage of our current dependence. Some speculation is necessary, but like the financial sector, it has gone beyond its purpose and become a leech on our economy.

 

[nonlnear]

I thought a task force had been setup a couple of years ago?

Task force is code for "spend some money investigating this and don't get back to us." Not that there's any point pretending that it's worth investigating, but it's one of those blatant wastes that is demanded by people who believe that the President is to blame for everything.

 

[EXman]

Guess this is the re-election speculation task force then. :sneaky:

Yes he is in champaign mode. Even more stuff that comes out of his mouth is fluff for mushbrains to consume.

 

[desy]

Further evidence for this shift was provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a 2010 review of world oil prospects. In preparation for its report, the agency examined historic yields at the world’s largest producing fields -- the “easy oil” on which the world still relies for the overwhelming bulk of its energy. The results were astonishing: those fields were expected to lose three-quarters of their productive capacity over the next 25 years, eliminating 52 million barrels per day from the world’s oil supplies, or about 75% of current world crude oil output. The implications were staggering: either find new oil to replace those 52 million barrels or the Age of Petroleum will soon draw to a close and the world economy would collapse.



http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175515/tomgram:_michael_klare,_why_high_gas_prices_are_here_to_stay/

I will say though creating resiliance by sourcing from multiple locations is valuable and would ease spikes

 

[Jaskalas]

Further evidence for this shift was provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a 2010 review of world oil prospects.

The implications were staggering: either find new oil to replace those 52 million barrels or the Age of Petroleum will soon draw to a close and the world economy would collapse.

And they call me the cheerful one. :hmm:

Seriously, that's just downright depressing if you think about it and its implications. In a world with a billion more people than a generation ago, the price of food is going to skyrocket as oil rises.

 

[desy]

I know some scenarios are always end of days
I'm hoping there's some middle ground, I have two kids

 

[monovillage]

Whewww. I was beginning to get worried about the impact high gas prices would have on the economy. Now that President Obama has set up a task force everything will be A-OK!

 

[rudeguy]

oh good!

We'll spend more money on more government. This is always the answer!

 

[Modelworks]

Saw the governor of NC today talking about how NC would be considering doing fracture drilling. I am all for drilling but this form of it scares the crap out of me with the number of accidents that have occurred leaving whole towns uninhabitable.

 

[Modelworks]

I thought a task force had been setup a couple of years ago?

No, that was the task force to decide if they needed to setup this task force.

 

[rudeguy]

No, that was the task force to decide if they needed to setup this task force.

and they say those task forces never do anything!

But seriously...do they ever do anything?

 

[Jhhnn]

Capitalism! Free Trade! Free Market! Global economy! Deregulation!

It's what Righties have championed all along... It's kinda funny that they'd be whining about the all too predictable results...

It's all Obama's Fault, obviously. Everything. Ask 'em- they'll tell you.

 

[monovillage]

Saw the governor of NC today talking about how NC would be considering doing fracture drilling. I am all for drilling but this form of it scares the crap out of me with the number of accidents that have occurred leaving whole towns uninhabitable.

What? Where in the world did you hear that ? Maybe my sarcasm meter is busted.

 

[rudeguy]

Capitalism! Free Trade! Free Market! Global economy! Deregulation!

It's what Righties have championed all along... It's kinda funny that they'd be whining about the all too predictable results...

It's all Obama's Fault, obviously. Everything. Ask 'em- they'll tell you.

Obama has publicly stated that he wanted higher gas prices. So did his energy secretary.

Should we bump the threads from the Lefties saying W was making money off high gas prices?

 

[woolfe9999]

Task force is code for "spend some money investigating this and don't get back to us." Not that there's any point pretending that it's worth investigating, but it's one of those blatant wastes that is demanded by people who believe that the President is to blame for everything.

Bingo. We wouldn't be wasting tax payer money on useless task forces to change things the government cannot change if people weren't so hot to blame whoever is in power for it. Especially in an election year.

 

[monovillage]

Capitalism! Free Trade! Free Market! Global economy! Deregulation!

It's what Righties have championed all along... It's kinda funny that they'd be whining about the all too predictable results...

It's all Obama's Fault, obviously. Everything. Ask 'em- they'll tell you.

Let's see, we don't have pure capitalism, we don't have free trade, we don't have free markets, we actually do have a world economy and we don't have lack of regulation. You're batting at the Mendoza line, congratulations.

 

[Jhhnn]

Obama has publicly stated that he wanted higher gas prices. So did his energy secretary.

Should we bump the threads from the Lefties saying W was making money off high gas prices?

Feel the need to duh-vert, ehh?