GF Herald scolds us about low gas prices
It was heartening to see that Lloyd Omdahl cares enough to scold me for my profligate ways (Herald opinion piece Dec 1, 2008), here As my Dad used to say, ”That’s good advice, but I don’t need it”.
Omdahl worries aloud that now, with gas prices falling, we will not have an impetus to push for a National Energy Policy. To a casual observer, the question occurs- Did we ever have one? But then upon further scrutiny, the question becomes- Why on earth would we let the government set one? What has government done for US lately?
He bemoans the fact that ethanol subsidies may waste away to nothing, and CAFÉ- corporate average fuel economy- standards for vehicles will no longer be pushed higher. Clean burning coal research also will now be relegated to the back burner. (Cue tape of ominous clouds and dark, threatening music here): Revenge of Global Warming? Son of Global Warming? Return of Global Warming? Beneath the Valley of Global Warming? What?
Someone who should know better, Mr. Omdahl is being disingenuous here, trying to lead us to think that the inertia of government programs will somehow cease to be. That the Democratic majority Congress will somehow take some cue from a temporary aberration in gas prices, and just totally abandon the efforts of liberals for the last 30+ years to structure society and markets to their liking. Lloyd, dude, get a clue.
We should be so lucky as to be able to abandon the misbegotten biofuel subsidies that, when they were working to their fullest in the last few years, actually led to more problems than we ever imagined. Higher food prices. Flex fuel vehicles of increased complexity and higher service costs across their life span, in exchange for- what? Oh, lower fuel economy when running on E85. Who is served by that contradiction?
Regarding CAFÉ- the point of diminishing returns was realized years ago with automobiles. My 1986 Olds 88 got 30 MPG hiway day in and day out, and had all the creature comforts I needed. A 2008 Impala does no better and has half again the number of complex systems to maintain and repair when they fail.
Biodiesel runs up maintenance costs for truckers who have no choice but to drive through states that mandate its use. A diesel injection shop owner once told me there had never been anything better for his business than biodiesel- it tears the heart out of the finely machined parts in a modern fuel system. One could take consolation in the fact that the farmers who cheer on and benefit from biofuels mandates are also the ones footing a lot of the resulting repair bills, I suppose. Heh.
Omdahl seems almost in mourning when he writes, “Some energy pundits have suggested a heavy tax on gasoline to keep the cost high and the political pressure on. But support for such a tax in the public is nonexistent and will not be passed without broad support.” Well, boo-hoo. What’s wrong with me that I don’t want $4 gas as a permanent fixture in my life? Greedy right winger that I am, my cold heart refuses to feed the beast that is Washington (or Bismarck for that matter) any more than I have to.
I was willing to pay higher gas prices as a consequence of our global war on terrorism, and I said so to anyone who cared to listen. Small price to pay to rid the world of the Islamic vermin who sought to do us wrong, I say. And as the despicable owner of a gas guzzling SUV, I put my money where my mouth was. So now I am to feel bad because our government’s carefully arranged house of cards has come tumbling down, bringing commodity prices down with it? Feh.
Omdahl worries that we didn’t freak out enough back in the 70’s, when prices went up, and we’re not freaking out enough again. He says we are doomed because we refused to listen to the lessons of history. How is it that he expects government to set “Energy policy” for any meaningful time into the future? If we are to believe our government leaders they were unable to foresee even just one short year ago what has happened the last quarter of this year. And now he expects them to predict the future twenty years going forward, and we all have to live by their judgment? Too bad the market cannot determine who represents us in Congress. Well, I guess were it not for incumbency protection, it could, but that’s another post.
