Congressional behavior is reflective of the anti-capitalist mentality.
This mentality gave us the price controls and windfall profits tax of the 1970s resulting in the current dependency we are living with today.
This mentality has systematically used the political system, bureaucracy and courts to kill off exploration of proven reserves domestically, thus, making us more dependent on foreign sources of oil. While they have limited oil production, they have also worked to destroy the nation’s capacity to generate power.
This mentality has regulated the construction of new refineries out of business, effectively limiting the output of gasoline and other products over time, driving up the price of these products. The only way the oil industry has had to increase refining capacity has been to increase the size of existing facilities over the past 30 years. In reality, the United States should have increased production (refining) capacity by one-half (50%) over the past 20 years, instead we have increased it by about one-twentieth (5%).
This mentality has regulated the construction of new nuclear power plants out of business, effectively limiting the output of electricity overtime, driving up the price of electricity. There has not been a new nuclear plant constructed in the United States in 30 years. To keep up with the demand for electricity and bring about a conversion of oil to more economic uses, the capacity to generate electricity should have increased by at least one-half (50%) over the past 30 years. Yet, we have only expanded the capacity of fixed assets (nuclear plants) to generate about one-tenth (10%) more electricity over this period and forced utilities to adopt more antiquated ways of generating electricity like coal burning plants to make up the difference.
This mentality has been allowed to regulate the refining process in to a maze of bureaucratic bottlenecks substantially running up the cost of gasoline and other products beyond the base cost of the raw material (crude oil). The myriad of regulations of the refining process runs up the price of gasoline and other derivative products. In addition, we have innumerable regulations on the types and processes that can be used to generate electricity through coal burning plants.
At every step in the production of power for this nation, government regulations have worked to drive up the price to the consumer, NOT oil or utility companies.
To add insult to injury, it is government who is the real gouger - benefiting daily, gallon by gallon - through windfall taxation of the consumer. State and Federal taxes make up from 12.5% to 25% of the price of a gallon of gasoline depending on the State. This does not include the taxes they reap through taxing utility (power) consumption. And while government reaps windfall taxes, what was the profit margin by ‘Big Oil’? Eight-point-eight percent (8.8%)
Disclaimer: The views, opinions and ideas are those of the Southern Agrarian and do not represent those of any other organization. I usually think about this stuff when I am working out,praying (yes infidel - God speaks to me like he will to you, if only you will let him in your heart), or suffering from a lack of sleep. ...torture me, kill me but just don’t bore me with your left-wing tripe. Semper Fidelis.
