ARE WE LEARNING OR NOT?

Reality looks us straight in the eye as we approach the gas pump. That reality is the fact that we didn’t learn our lessons from the 1973 oil embargo. It seems we are not learning yet.

Our reliance on oil from the Middle East is absolutely ridiculous and something has to be done quickly because our reliance our heavy debt is sucking the economic blood from our nation. The redistribution of wealth in the last two years is greater than ever before in our history and it’s time we do something about it.

It should have been evident to all of us that the so-called “greenies” would sooner or later break our backs with environmental constraints of gargantuan proportions. Attempts were made to completely block offshore drilling for new oil and drilling in the ANWR (Alaska National Wildlife Preserve).  It has been estimated that the ANWR site would produce, or could produce, enough oil supplies to last at our present rate of consumption approximately 200 years. Drilling for oil in this area poses absolutely no problem to the environment, as a matter of fact, it is probably an area where the least damage to the environment could be done by such activity.

ANWR is comprised of 19 million acres the area upon which drilling would be performed is approximately 2000 acres along the coast. The entire ANWR refuge is the size of 10 states in the central US. Further disturbance by pipelines would not be a factor. The fact that this site is only 160 miles from the present oil drilling facilities on the North Slope at Prudhoe Bay no further oil pipelines would be needed to across the state of Alaska.

It is my understanding that great deposits of oil are available in the Dakotas as well as offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. It seems that the time has come to tell the Greenies that we've had enough and we are going to become independent of oil from the Middle East. The uprisings in almost every country in the region are not doing the prices of oil any good and it is further making us benevolent to those who would destroy us. It is a sin that we must buy oil from our enemies.

Several days ago the president was pondering whether or not the US should get involved in the Libyan crisis and I believe the answer is absolutely not. We have little to zero interest in that area only to the extent that we get about 2% of our oil from Libya.

There are many myths involved in the activities and earnings of oil companies. Today our gas-bag politicians are plying on our ignorance of facts to make themselves look good. For example, Sen. Durbin of Illinois has made two statements that are totally ridiculous. The first being that we should open up our emergency reserves to lower the price of gasoline. That has been tried in the past and it did only two things. First, it only reduced the cost of gasoline by about two cents per gallon. Secondly he claims that the oil companies are making huge profits while the fact remains that they are not. The average profit for oil companies is not any different than any other industrial endeavor, which usually averages about 7%.

The oil industry important to the US? The number of workers involved in this industry is approximately 9.2 million people. Another myth is that oil executives receive exorbitant salaries. That is untrue, the fact is that oil company executives own only approximately 1.5% of the shares while millions of Americans own shares of their stock through their pension plans, 401(k)s etc. These are very large entities and as a result it makes him capable of investing in new reserves. However they are the target for every politician that comes down the pike. The industry must have strong cash reserves and remain in a position to be able to invest in new oil in our country alone.

It has been stated that the oil companies get unfair subsidies and the fact is that the oil and gas industry received no subsidy whatsoever yet they produce about $9 million per day in taxes to the federal government. As a mater of fact, these companies pay an average of 48% while other S&P industries 28%.

Should we continue buying oil from our enemies or should we insist that the Greenies stand aside and quit picking on the oil companies. Let’s make way for producers to get on with their business of finding and producing more oil in the U.S. and as a result the prices our gasoline prices will drop reflecting the strength of our economy and not the strength of  Ali Baba and his 40 thieves.