The current rise in gas prices represents a rare insight into the problems with democracy. For over thirty years the United States has quit building energy infrastructure. The high energy prices of the 70s and early 80s led to smaller more fuel efficient cars which in turn drove the demand for fuel down. The new environmental regulations that came during the Nixon administration made it close to impossible to build new refineries. The SUV boom of the 90s, higher world population, and the current political strife in the Middle-East has led to record high energy prices. There is plenty of oil, supply isn’t the problem.
The United States cannot refine enough fuel to match demand, simple economics. The Congress who is hearing the groan of the American public keeps dragging “Big Oil” executives into hearings to figure out why the prices are going up. This kind of political posturing is infuriating to people who are informed about this issue. Either Congress needs to make it easier to build refineries, or they need to level with the American public and tell us that we’re going to have to start buying more efficient cars. There is absolutely no short term answer to the problem. Refineries take a long time to build, and cars have a long ways to go before they reach a level of fuel efficiency that reduces current output demands. Gas prices have more do with the EPA than they do with Iraq. It makes sense that Americans are too uninformed to know; however, the point of a Republic is to have informed representatives making the difficult decisions. In this case Congress has failed.
Right on, though your comment about democracy and its relationship to the current situation is a red herring. I don’t get the connection. Perhaps you can explain how the evil of democracy led to the evil of not building enough refineries.
My first sentence should have been more clear. I should have said representative republic instead of democracy. US energy policy (or lack there of) is a failure of immense proportions.
so, if this “energy infrastructure crisis” has been a long time coming, why were gas prices so much lower during the clinton admin?
Actually, prices have been going up since 1999 (the height of the SUV era). In fact, Bush made it a campaign issue in the 2000 election. When I point the finger at Congress it falls on both sides of the aisle, both parties have done nothing to solve this problem.
well, it’s only anecdotal, but i remember during clinton’s first admin gas prices actually fell sharply to around .85 per gallon. they were higher than that during bush 1 and then slightly higher than that during clinton’s second term. when bush 2 came in, natural gas prices soared and gasoline prices soared. how do you explain this? fact check?
I’m not sure what you’re asking, b/c it’s already been covered above, in the links and whatnot.