On the issue of energy, America finds itself at a crossroads. One road leads to higher taxes, more regulations, and economic stagnation. The other leads to lower taxes, fewer regulations, and energy independence.
The first road is premised upon the now-popular dogma of the Cult of Global Warming. It’s the path of economic suicide. What remains to be seen is if the path of free markets – the road less traveled – will become the major thruway to American prosperity.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) yesterday proposed a summer-long moratorium on the 18.4 cent Federal gasoline tax. He also called for a temporary halt on purchases of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And, he promised to further address the issue of energy policy:
“The grave problems in the housing market have been viral, spreading out to affect the credit and buying power of Americans even as the price of oil and gas is rising as never before. There are larger problems underlying the price of oil, all of which I will address in my energy plan, but in the short term there are crucial measures we can take.
“I propose that the federal government suspend all taxes on gasoline now paid by the American people — from Memorial Day to Labor Day of this year. The effect will be an immediate economic stimulus — taking a few dollars off the price of a tank of gas every time a family, a farmer, or trucker stops to fill up. Over the same period, our government should suspend the purchase of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve [SPR], which has also contributed to the rising price of oil. This measure, combined with the summer-long ‘gas-tax holiday,’ will bring a timely reduction in the price of gasoline. And because the cost of gas affects the price of food, packaging, and just about everything else, these immediate steps will help to spread relief across the American economy.”
A gasoline tax moratorium would certainly be a welcome gesture, and the halt of SPR purchases might help to provide some temporary relief, but Mr. McCain really does need to talk about his energy plan – because as he notes himself, these are just short-term measures which will not solve the problem.
First and foremost, he must address the government-imposed barriers to oil exploration, production, and delivery, issues which he frankly has a poor record on. He opposed oil exploration in ANWR. He supports cap-and-trade. America must become energy independent for the remainder of the 21st century, but we will not get there unless there can be increased oil exploration, more gasoline refineries, and less artificial pressures to “control” consumption (like cap-and-trade).
One of the major factors in the rise in the price of oil has been a substantial increase in demand. In order to bring the price down, the supply must be increased. That means removing the shackles from the free market and allowing profit incentives to increase production.
McCain cannot have it both ways. Either he embraces the gospel of the Cult of Global Warming and therefore accepts economic suicide as national policy. Or, he courageously rejects the doomsday cultists and opens up the engines of economic independence.
It’s time for McCain to steer his “Straight Talk Express” onto the road less traveled.
ALG Perspective: McCain’s approach to energy is frankly very confused. In trying to please everybody, he’s going to wind up pleasing nobody. If he wants to join the cultist’s Crusade against global warming, he must admit that lowering oil prices will become impossible, because attempts to control carbon emissions can only mean increased costs for energy. What America sorely needs right now is a free market approach to energy, but instead the American people may have to wind up choosing between the well-traveled road of government interventionism and overregulation embodied by Democrats, or an equally treacherous road traveled by a man whose own party knows is a dead end.
