Quote: (03-13-2012 05:28 AM)Smitty Wrote:
The people elect a President to enact the policies on which he campaigned. Obama campaigned heavily on removing America's dependence on foreign oil. 3 1/2 years in and what progress has he made?
First off, domestic oil production has soared under Obama, so it's not like he didn't deliver on that: http://thinkprogress.org/green/2012/02/2...?mobile=nc
Secondly, he didn't promise energy independence in 4 years. Energy independence is impossible here when we have 2% of the world's oil supplies yet consume 25% of the world's oil. Rather than blaming the high prices on the president, every American should be asking why they chose to buy an SUV/crossover instead of a fuel-efficient vehicle. Or why they drive to work alone in these single passenger tanks instead of carpooling or taking public transit. Or why they choose to live in decentralized suburbs where you have to burn a gallon of gas to go buy a gallon of milk rather than opt for higher density, mixed-used urban planning. Or why we live in very large houses with high heating/cooling expenses compared to most middle class families in other industrial nations. Americans CHOOSE a high-energy dependence lifestyle, then blame Obama because the oil prices are high. It's mind-boggling.
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I think most Americans know Obama cannot flip a switch,
No, read the link I posted prior, a slim majority think the president has a lot of control over gas prices.
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but polls show the majority of Americans support drilling in this country as they believe it would drive prices down. Why hasn't Obama pursued this option?
Read the link I posted just above.
Quote:joehoya Wrote:
Even if the president doesn't ultimately get oil speculation reform passed, the real possibility of it being enacted would cause oil speculators to panic and start selling off/shorting oil. The result would be that oil prices would drop dramatically. The biggest downside to this policy politically for the president is twofold. First, hedge funds and oil companies would absolutely flood anti-Obama superPACs with money to defeat him. Second, it would make it easier for Republicans to throw the "socialist who doesn't believe in capitalism/the free markets" label on him.
Exactly. This is a perfect example of how big business interests and concentration of wealth subvert the democratic process. Obama should tackle this and enact speculation reform, but only after winning a second term. My question though how would this legislation stop speculators overseas? Since oil is a global commodity, I'm not sure passing legislation here would stop the speculation.