June 12, 2008
Republicans Offer Real Solutions to High Gas Prices
Republican Whip Roy Blunt has produced this chart which illustrates the difference between Republican solutions to soaring gas prices vs. the Democrats:
Rep. Blunt adds:
Retail gasoline prices are the result of literally hundreds of factors including crude oil supply, global demand, refinery capacity, regulation, taxes, weather, the value of the dollar, etc. Therefore it is impossible to say with certainty what one individual action will do to the overall price. However, based on what we know about the impact of crude oil supply and prices it is possible to develop some potential ranges of impact on gasoline prices for certain policy changes. For example, using the methodology employed by Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats that suspending shipments into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (between 40-77,000 barrels of oil a day) would reduce gas prices by at least 5 cents, bringing ANWR online (at least one million barrels of oil a day) could impact gasoline prices by between 70 cents and $1.60.
The road out of the electoral wilderness for the Republican Party is to remind voters just which party is the party of ideas and real solutions.
H/T - Powerline
http://race42008.com/2008/06/12/republicans-offer-real-solutions-to-high-gas-prices/trackback/
June 12th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Amen and amen. Can we get this on a nationwide commercial or something? I’ll be passing this along to everyone I know.
June 12th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Yes, the party that’s mostly had control of the House since 1994 and of the Executive branch since 2000 and of the Senate for a good other number of years. What amazing solutions they’ve brought us…
June 12th, 2008 at 11:44 am
The solution for high prices is…high prices.
And anyway, the oil from anwar would be sold on the global market in 10 years, oil shale probably just as long, deepwater who knows.
The “gas tax holiday” is terrible economic policy and the SPR would presumably be soon.
Nobody (aside from uninformed pundits) seriously plans to construct a “new” refinery. That ain’t happening.
To say the graphic is totally misleading is an understatement, but I guess that is politics.
June 12th, 2008 at 11:52 am
If people want to save money on gas, they should do wehat I did: buy an old car. I paid $5500 and my car gets 13 mph (72 buick with a 455). A new prius starts at 21,000, Taxes, destination charge, etc. will knock it up to 23,000. I have already saved $17,500. This doesn’t even account for the money lost in interest.
Another way to save money is to learn to work on your car. Unless you have a fancy $30,000 Toyota computer you will be able to do very little work yourself on a Prius. So you are stuck paying $90 hour dealer shop rates plus sky high parts. I pay $0 an hour shop fee and 72 Buick basic maintenance parts probably run about 10% the cost of new Toyota parts since GM parts are cheap and readily available.
If people want a brake from gas prices, start thinking a little more before you buy your car off a lot.
By the time a Prius caches up money-wise to my Buick through better gas mileage, it will be an old relic sitting in a junkyard. And none of this accounts for the cool factor of Driving a 450 hp, 520 lb of torque street monster.
June 12th, 2008 at 11:56 am
The solution for high gas prices (besides all of the things mentioned above) is for OPEC to set the prices - the price of oil is, justifably, half of what it is now. That comes from market speculation and people trying to make a buck off the commodity bubble.
The producers should set the price.
June 12th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Here is what gets me in this debate about the price of oil. The world can’t decide whether this is a supply and demand problem or whether its speculators and large institutional investors bidding up the prices of all commodities. A number of oil execs, billionaire investors including Larry Fink this morning, and traders have said that oil should be near $50/bl. Oil at $50 relieves pressure on food, transportation, inflation, and a host of other problems. That is why I actually favor some investigation into the energy markets. Speculation can be ended a lot faster (by a matter of years) than any new oil can be brought to market.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
SteveS wrote: “The solution for high prices is…high prices.”
Rudy Giuliani made a salient point on Hannity & Colmes last night that should hit home with Democrats and Independents concerned with cost-prohibitive gas prices; one that Republicans would be wise to run with between now and November:
GIULIANI: If the Bush tax cuts are “expired”, and the tax cuts are done away with, that’s a major tax increase, and it’s going to happen with capital gains taxes, it’s going to happen with dividend taxes. How many people’s pensions are invested in the market? And how much of an impact is that going to have on poor people or middle class people?
HANNITY: We know (Obama) thinks that Iran and Venezuela and Cuba are tiny countries that are not a serious threat. He actually said that. We know he wants to — he wanted the windfall profit tax on oil companies, wanted to raise taxes on oil and — and natural gas. Wants an income tax increase, double the capital gains tax, nationalize health care.
GIULIANI: This idea that he’s not going to tax the poor is such a phony argument. What you just said would do tremendous damage to the poor because each one of these industries that you’re talking about exact a regressive tax on the poor because they have to buy those products — the price of gasoline is going to hurt a poor person a lot more than it’s going to hurt a rich person because it’s going to be a much larger percentage of whatever little money they have.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Unfortunately, our idiot nominee doesn’t want to drill in ANWR because it’s “pristine beauty”.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I’m all for more drilling and more refineries. But I really like the idea of going after OPEC. The Bushes have long been far too cozy with the despicable government of Saudi Arabia, and the country hasn’t exactly reaped the benefits of this relationship. I would love to have a president who gives the finger to the House of Saud, and then attempts to make OPEC’s life a living hell for the foreseeable future.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I’m all for the free market, but oil is critically important item in the world. It is really the one thing that is essential that doesn’t have an alternative.
Countries should set the price of oil drilled on their soil - the oil companies would be allowed to add a mark-up price. That way, countries and companies compete to provide cheap, relaible oil, and if prices do stay sky-high, we actually DO have someone who we can blame.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
OPEC doesn’t set the price - and hasn’t for three decades. The only real thing they can do is increase supply, and, right now, there isn’t a shortage.
Besaides, Saudi Arabia is the most important Arab nation - we need them to win the war on terror.
June 12th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Obama doesn’t have a problem with high gas prices he only wishes the price would rise more gradually. I’m not making this up.
http://www.blogsforjohnmccain.com/obama-only-wishes-gas-prices-would-rise-more-gradually-video-61108
June 12th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Ah, yes, to be saving money tomorrow on each gallon of gas based on
reserves that WONT come on stream for 5-15 years and unbuilt refineries
that have no guarentee they will have a supply of crude line up to
process.
Both parties are bankrupt on this issue. If we dont back away from
OIL dependence and soon, our $2 discount from Repub. ideas wont mean
squat when gas sells for $10 a gallon.
Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.