Steven Birn
Steven Birn Speaks
Obama has spent the better part of his three years in office claiming to for the poor and middle class. His economic policies haven’t exactly helped the middle class, but that hasn’t stopped Obama from claiming to love and support middle class Americans. Obama and the GOP are fighting over a minor tax cut extension that amounts to around $20 a week for the average American. No doubt preventing DC from getting any more money is a good thing. But let’s put that in perspective. Americans spent on average over $4,100 on gas in 2011. That’s nearly four times as much as it will cost Americans if the government fails to extend the payroll tax cut.
The average price of gas was around $3.50 this year, an all time record. It’s slightly lower right now as December has historically seen lower gas prices because of lower demand. What has Obama done to reduce the cost of gas for middle class Americans? Obama will of course point to increased fuel standards for automobiles. But of course we have to acknowledge that with increased fuel standards there is a trade off. You’ll pay less at the pump but you’ll pay more for a car. At best the trade off is equal, in which cases no one is better off financially. Obama will also point to the failed Chevy Volt, which has cost taxpayers a fortune while failing to win the hearts and wallets of average Americans.
There is of course one thing Obama can do to reduce the cost of gas. He can approve the Keystone oil pipeline from Canada. The Canadians have oil coming out their ears from the oil sands in northern Canada. By approving the pipeline, Obama can immediately reduce the price of oil on the world market and thus the price of gas. The mere prospect of more oil on the market causes the price to drop as futures markets anticipate the new source of oil. We’ve seen this happen before, particularly when the strategic oil reserve is tapped.
There of course is another thing Obama can do to reduce the price of oil and gas. He can allow more drilling in the Gulf Coast and in Alaska. This coupled with the Keystone pipeline could nearly eliminate our dependence on middle east oil. We would produce oil ourselves and obtain oil from friendly Canadians. Yet Obama refuses to do any of this.
Obama has two main political groups fighting to prevent us from having cheaper oil. He has the environmentalists demanding higher energy prices to fulfill their socialist, anti-freedom agenda. He also has your run of the mill top down socialists who want Americans dependant on government and see high energy costs as a means to that end. Obama himself has talked about $5-10 gas in glowing terms.
For someone who claims to support the middle class, Obama is doing the opposite in refusing to approve the Keystone pipeline. If the price of gas were cut in half because of increased supply it would result in $2,000 in the pocket of the average American. That’s twice as much as the payroll tax cut extension. And thus you see why Obama doesn’t want to approve Keystone. The middle class is dependant on Washington for a measly $20 a week in tax cuts and Obama right now has the middle class begging him to extend it, be it for two months or a year. Keystone would put twice as much in the pockets of Americans, all without direct government involvement. And thus we see why Obama refuses the pipeline.
Steven Birn is an attorney and conservative political junkie and blogger. For more news and commentary visit Steven Birn Speaks.
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You know…theres other energy that would create jobs for the middle class….like Solar…Hydrogen…Biofuel/Ethanol….Geothermal…Wind….Hydroelectric..even nuclear for god’s sake.But you wouldn’t know that because your republican friends on tv brainwashed you to believe this bullcrap about this pipeline. Politicians and Corporations are so tied up in oil that they won’t let it go because they can’t make a profit off of renewable and sustainable energy. We went to war for this, they wont let it go and go to renewable clean sources.
By the way, your dear friend Beohner was paid to push this deal forward…there’s absolutely no benefit here for the american people other than 1 to 3 thousand TEMPORARY jobs (not 30 thousand) and potential environmental damage.
I dont understand why there even is a discussion about the e.p.a. There should be no debate about the health and condition of the environment. It should be unanimous that the air and water needs to be kept clean. They wont let them drill wherever they want and thats why they start to brainwash people on tv to vote against the e.p.a. Seriously now…no conspiracy bullshit…but the Repubs are doing everything against american people’s interests.
and there should be no discussion about obama’s effort to crate jobs…you know its hard to recoup. millions of jobs that were destroyed by failed Bush policies. Read a book, do some research, then blog about it. Youre not a benefit to society when you spew this bullcrap all over the internet