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Replies to post #234302 on Simply Politics and News (GOV)
More Victims of Obama's Energy Policy
Another problem just as large as high gas prices for refineries is the administration's crippling regulatory regime. The list goes on and on, but impending initiatives like greenhouse gas regulations, ozone regulations, and renewable fuel mandates that impose fines on refineries for not using nonexistent biofuels cost billions every year are all making it harder to do business here.
[See a collection of political cartoons on gas prices.]
So what are the consequences of refineries closing? In addition to lost jobs, it means that we could become increasingly reliant on importing gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel that's refined in foreign countries. Not only does this deprive us of the economic benefits of doing it here, where we consume almost 19 million barrels of oil every day, it is a national security problem. The most basic need of the U.S. economy is affordable, reliable energy.
The reality is that the United States is, according to the Congressional Research Service and Institute of Energy Research's North American Energy Inventory, the most energy-rich nation on earth. We have the tools at our disposal to have a real, tangible impact on high gas prices and our energy future. However, the short-sighted decisions of policymakers and regulators are locking up resources and driving industries away.
Only when gas prices approach $4 per gallon nationwide does the administration pay attention—not when plants like Marcus Hook close or dozens of coal plants go shutter—and even then their answer is more taxes on oil and gas and more subsidies for their pet technologies. Of course, they forget to mention that as of January 2012, federal, state, and local taxes accounted for 12 percent of the price of gasoline, and the best we've done in three years of subsidies is Solyndra and failed plug-in car models like the Chevy Volt. When will they learn?
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