Monday, April 18, 2011

GAS PRICES ARE CRIPPLING THE ECONOMY! WHAT CAN BE DONE?

It should come as no surprise to you that your wallet or purse is a lot lighter than it used to be, and that your credit or debit card has a lot more wear than it has had of late because of the amount of use it has had at the gas pump. Gasoline prices have taken a big bite out of everyone's budgets and we all have cut back on the other spending we normally do. We have stopped buying extra food items at the grocery store. We have stopped having auto repairs if they can possibly wait. We will wait for a movie to come to DVD or Netflix rather than spend the money to go to the theater. We have even made conscious decisions to make coffee at home instead of stopping at Starbucks.... what's the world coming to... the prices keep going up and up and there isn't a thing as consumers we can do to stop it.

Well, what is causing the constant increases in price. Is there a shortage of gas because of the trouble in the Middle East? No, there is no shortage of crude oil on the market. The is plenty of supply and inventory, that is not the problem. The problem is speculation in the commodities markets and that is not necessarily associated with any specific reality. Those markets are driven by emotions, feelings, and sometimes pure conjecture. People bet on what might happen based on what might be happening months and months from now assuming facts that do not yet exist. Is it ridiculous, yes. Should it be illegal, probably. Is there anything that can be done about it, NO!

We are our own worst enemy here. Our government has created the mess we are in by failing to have an energy policy that included building new modern refineries to increase capacity and provide security to our nations energy reserves. I'll say it again, like many others... We have not built a refinery in this country since the 1970's. Our current refineries are old, they are operating at less than their capacity because they are constantly being rebuilt and refurbished. Many are located in areas that are dangerously close to hurricane prone areas. We are days and hours away from a major energy disaster and no one is lifting a finger to do anything.

That said, the immediate problem is putting money back in your pocket so that you can get to work, and put money back into the economy. They guy at the Quickie Mart needs your money and so does them man at the Quickie Lube and the woman at the Dry Cleaner and all the other people you deal with in your day to day life. Truckers need lower cost fuel to help keep the cost of your groceries lower. How can this be done? The Federal Excise Tax on Gasoline (Gasohol) and Diesel can be suspended and this would drop prices 18 to 20 cents immediately. Congress and the President can work together to temporarily suspend these taxes. Second with the summer driving season comes the boutique blending of gasolines to reduce vehicle emissions. This drives the price of fuel up by at least 10 cents but by as much as 15 cents. The blending is an EPA regulation that can be suspended by the President. Both of these moves would help every American NOW.

You should take time to call your Member of Congress and Senators to demand that they work to suspend the Federal Excise taxes on Motor Fuels and call the White House to demand that the boutique blending on gasolines be suspended until gasoline prices fall as the result of market forces (not due to the suspension of the excise taxes) and not before. Congress and the President must hear from the American People. They must be pressured to take action NOW. They must be made to hear we are all fed up with this nonsense brought on by people playing on the Commodities Exchanges.

You should also demand that Congress legislate changes to allow for permitting of new refineries. We must have new refineries to protect our energy security and to achieve the amount of capacity we need to be able to meet the needs of the American people. We cannot depend on 40 year old facilities that could disappear at any time due to a natural or man made disaster. We have to know that our demands will be met. We have to know that when we pull up to the pump in our neighborhood or on the highway across the country that we are able to purchase low cost high quality fuels. We do not want to be forced to import refined gasoline into the United States.

Come on Congress! Come on Mr. President! You say you want to do something to save America's Energy Future... Put Up or Shut Up. We don't need or want Cap and Trade. We want Security and Low Cost Energy and we want it NOW!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

It is time for the Republican Party to Take Charge!

The Republican Party controls the United States House of Representatives which is one half of the Congress of the United States. The Democratic Party controls the United States Senate the other half of the Congress and the Presidency. The President has Veto power and with a super majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate being required to override a Presidential Veto; the upper hand in terms of power in terms of the Government lies with the Democratic Party, or so one would think.

The Constitution provides that the spending and taxing authority begins in the House of Representatives. The government cannot perform it's day to day operations without the funding approved by appropriations from the House of Representatives. The Senate cannot act until it receives legislation from the House. The President cannot sign a bill into law or veto it, until it has been passed by both houses of Congress. So, if a political party is going to have control of one of the two bodies in Congress, the power certainly is in the House of Representatives. That is not to say that the Senate does not have exclusivity, but when it comes to spending money, nothing happens unless it happens in the House.

The Senate is a fickle place with lots of rules. The minority in the Senate has many protections. These have been developed over the years by all parties who have had control of the Senate because they knew at some point they would lose control and would be once again in the minority. The most effective tool in the arsenal of the minority, say of any one Senator is the Filibuster. A single Senator can stop all legislative business for as long as that Senator can hold the floor. There are some fairly significant records when Senators have spoken on and on and on to make their position clear and generally gain some sort of compromise from the Senate. Whether it is a concession for a Senator's state or for a Senator's party this tool can be very effective. However, it is rarely ever used in this manner. What is used in the modern day Senate is an implied Filibuster. The threat of a Filibuster is enough to get the attention of the majority. If the Minority decides not to participate, the Majority cannot move forward without them if the Minority has at least 41 votes. If the Majority has 60 votes or more, then it is impossible for an implied Filibuster to be used.

Currently the Republican Party has 47 seats in the US Senate. This is 6 seats more than is needed to use an implied Filibuster. If all 47 Senators stay together they can effectively stop all Senate business, or they can prevent particular Senate business from being considered. This provides a considerable position for negotiation. The Majority cannot run rough shot over the Minority. In effect The Democratic Party cannot do anything unless at least 7 Republicans go along with them.

With Control of the House of Representatives, and the ability to shut down business in the Senate, the Republican Party has much more power than it has been exercising and much more than they have been putting forth to President Obama. It is time to take off the gloves. It is time to stand up and take charge. The Democrats cannot beat the Republican's into submission with lies about starving children, elderly, and poor. The Republicans can force the President and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to tell the truth. They can force them to come clean about spending and about taxes. They can force the President to lead or get out of the way.

I call upon Speaker Boehner and Senate Minority Leader McConnell to get on with it and pull out all the stops. Stop going along to get along. Make the hard choices and show the American people that THEIR government can function in a way that is responsible and responsive. Stand up to the Media and tell them that business as usual is over and that the days of rhetoric have passed. Give us a government that will deliver to us a future we might not like but that we know our country will be proud of, one that does not rob its citizens of a dime more than is necessary to accomplish that goal, and one that spends not a penny more than is required to do a proper job.

We don't need a political campaign. We need someone to get off their ass and do the job! Thank you!