In A Word: Futile
Gerald Eisman
May 09, 2006
Futile: 1. Having no useful result. 2. Trifling and frivolous; idle:
Our politicos, both Republicans and Democrats, are desperately trying to soothe the pain of the latest gasoline price hikes. This is, after all, an important election year and as such, the less irritated the public is, the more receptive they will be to the messages delivered by politicians. And how do they propose to correct the problem? Why, tax the big oil companies, naturally.
Republicans in the Senate have gone as far as to suggest a rebate of up to $100 to consumers to offset some of the costs incurred since the latest upsurge in oil prices. The end result of such a folly would be another up tick in the budgetary deficit and a further burden to our next several generations of offspring.
ON the Democratic side of the aisle, suggestions leaned toward a temporary suspension of the federal 18.4 cent tax per gallon of gas. There, too, nothing could be gained since the only result would be a loss of federal income with a very small corresponding drop in gasoline prices.
In addition to those suggestions came the thought of fining, or taxing the refineries and big oil companies. Numbers such as 100 million dollars were bandied about as fitting punishment, but that would only result if the government could show the companies were making excessive profits and gouging the public.
Last year the oil companies made billions in profits and those obscene numbers were not seen to be excessive. There is widespread agreement among economists that there are few, if any avenues open to the government to alleviate the situation.
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke uttered the most telling quote on the subject. He said this:
"Unfortunately, there's nothing really that can be done that's going to affect energy prices or gasoline prices in the very short run."
The Senate, in an attempt to show its sympathy for the current situation, voted to require oil companies to pay more taxes on inventories, abolish the favored tax treatment for exploration in difficult areas of the world, and eliminate tax credits for taxes paid overseas.
Unfortunately, the House rejected the Senate proposals in an entirely partisan way by rejecting the proposal along party lines, 232 to 190. So much for our elected representatives representing the people who put them in office. Seems they have once again risen below their principles.
Taking another tack, the administration is seeking other sources of supply to bolster our ever-growing need for oil imports. That would be a good move except that we are seeking those supplies from countries that have a good supply of oil and gas but a poor reputation in the area of human rights. Since we are the supposed champions of human rights, reaching out to those countries and their leaders leaves us in a rather poor light.
It seems that whichever way we turn we will find ourselves acting out of futility, much like trying to have the last word when arguing with an echo.
There is one avenue, however, that hasn't been explored yet. That is the automobile manufacturers. There is absolutely no reason why they, both foreign and domestic, can't develop engines that get 50 or more miles to the gallon of gasoline. There is also no reason why they can't put out lighter, more efficient vehicles that, in conjunction with better carburetors, couldn't get even greater mileage.
Toyota and Honda have already developed hybrids that give far better mileage than any American vehicle and the government has recognized consumers who purchase said cars with tax breaks. In this case, the tax breaks make sense. If the administration made it clear to the auto manufacturers that such changes are expected, and within a given deadline, we would soon be much less dependent of foreign oil.
Another area where we could help ourselves would be in seeking alternate sources of energy. Some could bear much more vigorous research and result in far less expensive energy costs which would, again, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is one, as is hydrogen and, of all things, magnetic energy, all of which are of unlimited supply. When you add solar and wind energies, the possibilities are endless. All it takes is courage from the administration and a desire to serve the public rather than self-interest and we could once again surge into the forefront of nations.
We really have no choice but to shake off the yolk of futility and aggressively pursue new energy sources while reducing our need for fossil fuels. America, no, the world needs to accomplish this and we must take the lead.
Our politicos, both Republicans and Democrats, are desperately trying to soothe the pain of the latest gasoline price hikes. This is, after all, an important election year and as such, the less irritated the public is, the more receptive they will be to the messages delivered by politicians. And how do they propose to correct the problem? Why, tax the big oil companies, naturally.
Republicans in the Senate have gone as far as to suggest a rebate of up to $100 to consumers to offset some of the costs incurred since the latest upsurge in oil prices. The end result of such a folly would be another up tick in the budgetary deficit and a further burden to our next several generations of offspring.
ON the Democratic side of the aisle, suggestions leaned toward a temporary suspension of the federal 18.4 cent tax per gallon of gas. There, too, nothing could be gained since the only result would be a loss of federal income with a very small corresponding drop in gasoline prices.
In addition to those suggestions came the thought of fining, or taxing the refineries and big oil companies. Numbers such as 100 million dollars were bandied about as fitting punishment, but that would only result if the government could show the companies were making excessive profits and gouging the public.
Last year the oil companies made billions in profits and those obscene numbers were not seen to be excessive. There is widespread agreement among economists that there are few, if any avenues open to the government to alleviate the situation.
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke uttered the most telling quote on the subject. He said this:
"Unfortunately, there's nothing really that can be done that's going to affect energy prices or gasoline prices in the very short run."
The Senate, in an attempt to show its sympathy for the current situation, voted to require oil companies to pay more taxes on inventories, abolish the favored tax treatment for exploration in difficult areas of the world, and eliminate tax credits for taxes paid overseas.
Unfortunately, the House rejected the Senate proposals in an entirely partisan way by rejecting the proposal along party lines, 232 to 190. So much for our elected representatives representing the people who put them in office. Seems they have once again risen below their principles.
Taking another tack, the administration is seeking other sources of supply to bolster our ever-growing need for oil imports. That would be a good move except that we are seeking those supplies from countries that have a good supply of oil and gas but a poor reputation in the area of human rights. Since we are the supposed champions of human rights, reaching out to those countries and their leaders leaves us in a rather poor light.
It seems that whichever way we turn we will find ourselves acting out of futility, much like trying to have the last word when arguing with an echo.
There is one avenue, however, that hasn't been explored yet. That is the automobile manufacturers. There is absolutely no reason why they, both foreign and domestic, can't develop engines that get 50 or more miles to the gallon of gasoline. There is also no reason why they can't put out lighter, more efficient vehicles that, in conjunction with better carburetors, couldn't get even greater mileage.
Toyota and Honda have already developed hybrids that give far better mileage than any American vehicle and the government has recognized consumers who purchase said cars with tax breaks. In this case, the tax breaks make sense. If the administration made it clear to the auto manufacturers that such changes are expected, and within a given deadline, we would soon be much less dependent of foreign oil.
Another area where we could help ourselves would be in seeking alternate sources of energy. Some could bear much more vigorous research and result in far less expensive energy costs which would, again, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is one, as is hydrogen and, of all things, magnetic energy, all of which are of unlimited supply. When you add solar and wind energies, the possibilities are endless. All it takes is courage from the administration and a desire to serve the public rather than self-interest and we could once again surge into the forefront of nations.
We really have no choice but to shake off the yolk of futility and aggressively pursue new energy sources while reducing our need for fossil fuels. America, no, the world needs to accomplish this and we must take the lead.
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