Posted by
ROWELG on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 7:03:29 PM
Talking about simple ignorance, most Americans are ignorant and have not figured it out when it comes to energy and oil, and global economic politics. Oil is a strategic commodity, not a free market. Being strategic, it is an economic and political power eqivalent to any military force. It is not cornflakes or Starbucks with alternatives. The last great strategic commodity goes back to salt, back only a century. Salts ability to preserve food was the foundation of civilization. Salt created and destroyed nations. Salt carried heavy taxes. During the war of 1812 salt was used to pay solders. Ghandi had his great India Salt March to the sea in 1930 against the English salt tax and for the freedom of citizens to make their own salt.
Just as new technologies in canning and electricity-refrigeration brought an end to the strategic power of salt, the same will be required to break free from the powers of Muslim Arab oil. Oil has to do with gas, petrol, with the TRANSPORTATION industry worldwide, essential to western economies. Less than 2% goes to making electricity. Wind, solar, nuclear technologies advanced by politicians will do nothing for the transportation industry, for gas prices. Like it or not, the short term breaking the OPEC Arab Muslims bleeding and transfer of massive USA wealth (that they use to buy USA properties and businesses) will take alcohol from many sources, ethanol (corn, sugar, switch-grass, etc) and Methane (coal, natural gas, waste), along with DRILL DRILL DRILL!
Keep in mind that there is no tariff on oil, but there is an equivalent $25 per barrel tariff on imported ethanol, thanks to the ag lobby. Drop that tariff and start importing sugar ethanol. Drop that tariff we have on sugar that forces the food industry to use corn syrup. Stop trying to make corn a strategic commodity.
Oil is political and the ARAB's, not the USA, are in control. Who controls the supply? In 1973 OPEC put out 30 MBPD. In 2007, 30 MBPD, the same. In 1973 the non-OPEC nations put out 25 MBPD, and in 2007, 45 MBPD. OPEC has held their output constant for 35 years. Why, when the Non OPEC has almost doubled theirs? Actually, as the world puts out more, the ARABS back down their production. The current big drop of about 1 MBPD is being done by OPEC's Venezuela'n marxist Hugo Chevez who hates the USA. (Venezuela contains some of the largest oil and natural gas reserves in the world. It consistently ranks among the top ten crude oil producers in the world).
In 2008, oil is in an all out world war. Muslims believe oil is Allahs gift to them and they deserve reparations for past cheap oil. Chevez is anti-capitalist. With the $3 Billion daily flow from the world into OPEC, into Arabs, and to Muslims and Marxists beyond, the western economies are funding both sides of the Iraq-Afganistan war. Getting out of Iraq does nothing about our continual funding the other side through oil. Muslims have the USA wrapped up in their spider web, and not by accident. It has nothing to do with India and China prosperity. We can flounder, or fight back!
Understand that OPEC was formed in 1960 with five founding members Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Not many friends there! By the end of 1971 six other nations had joined the group: Qatar, Indonesia, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Nigeria. Angola joined in 2007. In 1973 when Syria and Egypt attacked Israel the United States and many countries in the western world showed support for Israel. As a result of this support several Arab exporting nations imposed an embargo on the countries supporting Israel. Arab nations curtailed production by 5 million barrels per day (MBPD). Hi story repeats itself. American public learned nothing in 1973.
Although new countries join OPEC, they do not increase output to include the new countries, so many member nations like Iran decrease their share of output. As we produce more, they will produce less as in Iran and Venezuela. They, not American consumers, control the price. Supply, not demand, controls the price, and for all purposes, the ARABS at the moment have a monopoly. Economics 101. The American task is to turn technology loose, destroying oil as a strategic commodity, making it as commonplace as salt. And congress really needs to review tariffs and subsidities that hinder our freedom from oil.