California Emissions Suit: An American Tragedy
Congressional Hearing Today on California Emission WaiverCongress, led by Barbara Boxer of California, intends to overturn the EPA's decision to deny California a waiver to determine its own tailpipe emissions. Yet, it's no wonder that the EPA ruled as it did, despite the fact that most EPA staffers felt the EPA had to rule in favor of California.
Ultimately, the entire US auto industry and a very important slice of the American manufacturing sector is at stake. And, while some might argue that automakers will get what they deserve, I still have the same lingering angst: Why does Congress continue to artificially deflate the cost of gasoline?
Cheap gas is and has been the root of America's foreign oil dependency, yet neither Barbara Boxer nor Nancy Pelosi have the guts to address this issue. Nor does the President or any other member of Congress. Of course, since we the people keep voting for these idiots, I guess we're the real fools.
Labels: Congress, epa, Foreign Oil Dependency
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:03 AM
2 Comments:
While I personally do not like the foreign oil dependency, I am confused about something - often times the same individuals telling us that offshoring tech jobs to India and manufacturing to China is just "free trade" and good for all, then tell us that importing oil from countries with a large comparative advantage in oil production is bad. Explain? How is importing oil any different than importing software from India, cars from Japan, electronics from China and all sorts of other stuff from other countries?
Importing oil is not any different.
I'm talking about paying the real price of imported oil at the gas pump, rather than through hidden taxes designed to protect the military industrial complex.
For example, it costs, minimally, about $10 billion dollars to secure foreign from the Middle East anually. These are coast guard costs, military protection, etc ( though non-War costs).
Others have put that estimate, when environmental factors are included, etc, as more than $100 billion per year.
Thus, in the 90s, for instance, it cost as much - again, minimally - or possibly significantly more to 'secure' oil along its journey from the Middle East to the US than the oil was worth.
If that's part of the cost of doing business, then that should be part of the price at the pump.
Unfortunately, the government has been using the military to 'guarantee' cheap oil, which means extra military funding.
So, let's be honest, for an industrialized country, such as the US, even $4.00 per gallon gas is cheap. In fact, $4.00 gas is retardly cheap because it actually costs far more than $4.00 per galloon when the military and coast guard costs are added.
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