Profiles In Panic
This article outlines why citizens can not rely upon government (the GOP in particular) to handle oil issues –
The response so far has been profiles in panic. Some conservatives dropped their philosophical opposition to tax hikes and business regulations and began complaining loudly about oil companies and the auto industry.
President Bush last week announced that he wanted the authority to raise fuel economy standards on automobiles. One aide acknowledged the idea was devised on the fly, with almost no planning or discussion among relevant agencies. This became obvious within hours when White House officials cautioned that Bush had no immediate plan to use the authority even if he had it.
A few days earlier, Bush backed diverting crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an idea he dismissed less than two years earlier as a political stunt.
Republican lawmakers likewise have responded with a mishmash of solutions — some barely vetted, others with little chance of becoming law.
They proposed an accounting-rule change that would have amounted to a tax increase on any company that maintains an inventory, including oil firms. Then they dropped it after business supporters yelped. House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) yesterday called the idea “stupid.”
Well said.
-Shlok
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