Ahhh, Republicans. Gotta love 'em. So compassionate and all. So concerned with the common man. Well, given all that, I hope you're not too upset when the price of gas goes to $2.25, $2.50, or even $3.00 per gallon this summer, because Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan (R-Atlas Shrugged) says the Almighty Market and Magical Invisible Hand will cure all! And, for god's sake, says the "maestro," don't let those crazy policymakers "distort or stifle the meaningful functioning of our markets.'' The problem is, oil prices are not determined by the "market" in any meaningful sense. For one thing, we've got an obscure little organization known as OPEC -- perhaps Alan Greenspan might have heard of it -- that acts as a cartel to fix prices and to maximize its own revenues. Last time I checked, that type of behavior is considered illegal in the United States. I believe it's known as "collusion." Apparently, though, it's ok when unfriendly foreign countries do it to us.
Perhaps Republicans don't care about legal technicalities like "collusion" anymore? Or perhaps they've simply concluded that "what's good for ExxonMobil (or Enron, or OPEC for that matter) is good for America?"
Aside from our friendly OPEC cartel, oil prices are determined by another factor that doesn't exactly spring out of thin air: demand. So, when our Republican "leaders" take no action, year after year, to do anything to reduce U.S. oil demand, what exactly do they think will happen to prices? Let's see, we've got OPEC restraining supply on the one hand, and the U.S. Congress encouraging wasteful consumption on the other. Well, I don't know about you, but back in Econ 101 I was taught that when demand rises and supply is flat, prices RISE! Which is exactly what is happening now, in large part due to failed Republican policies.
What are those policies? Tax breaks for rich oil companies. Massive military spending, in part to defend Middle Eastern oil fields -- not to mention the sea lanes to transport that oil to the United States. "Trickle down" economics to encourage a massive wealth transfer to the mega rich, while screwing the middle and working class with the burden of huge deficits for generations to come. And no effort to deal with the implications of burning 20 million barrels per day of oil here in the United States. Don't worry, Republicans like Alan Greenspan say, the MARKET will solve all those problems!
Let's be blunt. The Republican Party has no problem with high oil prices. Why would it, since those prices help their buddies in Big Oil and pump money into Republican Party coffers? So what if $2.50 per gallon gasoline screws the rest of us. In "compassionate conservative" philosophy, as practiced by the Tom DeLays and Jerry Kilgores of the world, the wealthy and powerful DESERVE to be rewarded, since the very fact that they are wealthy and powerful proves their essential worthiness. Can we say, "self-serving, circular reasoning?"
Meanwhile, where do our brilliant, courageous Republican leaders in Congress and the White House think the billions of extra dollars we're spending to fill our gas tanks end up exactly? In the coffers of nice, friendly countries that love America? Uh, don't think so! In the pockets of hard-working independent truckers, taxi drivers, delivery persons, motorists, or U.S. manufacturers? Again, you'll have to guess again. Sorry, but higher oil prices simply fill up the coffers of big oil companies and countries that are not our friends, while acting as a huge tax increase on hard working Americans. Yeah, I just love how that supposed "free market" works, Mr. Greenspan!
Sadly, this is the crazy brand of economics practiced by today's Republican Party. Do nothing to deal with wasteful consumption, depend on foreign countries for a key raw material like oil (while sending billions of dollars to our enemies), borrow like there's no tomorrow, and rely on the omnipotent market to solve all our problems.
Does this sound like a party that ever passed Econ 101? Or is it simply a bunch of smug fat cats who love rich corporations while telling the rest of us to drop dead?