Originally posted by ivanhoedon't you think the bush threads are getting a bit boring?
President Bush stated a while back that Americs is addicted to oil. Do you agree with that statement ? Should anything be done about it and, if yes, what ? For instance should the consumer gasoline prices go up considerably in order to decrease demand ?
Originally posted by ivanhoePrices are set in an ogliopolistic market and go up all the time. Do you mean should the government take steps to increase prices by say a VAT on gasoline?
President Bush stated a while back that Americs is addicted to oil. Do you agree with that statement ? Should anything be done about it and, if yes, what ? For instance should the consumer gasoline prices go up considerably in order to decrease demand ?
Originally posted by aging blitzerI guess 'reliant' can also be used in place of 'addicted'.
To reduce consumption?
I don't think so. Maybe the UK is addicted also.
I expect some people try to use less petrol, but it's outweighed by increased car ownership/usage.
Much greater fuel prices absolutely must be combined with huge drops in public transport prices if it's going to be a good solution. Still have to account for people who need to use vans/lorries though (haulage companies, tradesmen, etc.) - huge travel costs either put them out of business or just feed onto the general public also through their own higher prices.
The United States should do everything in its power to reduce our consumption of foreign oil. If the Democrats and the radical enviros would back off on the issue of drilling in ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Florida, we could turn Hugo Chavez off like a leaky faucet. The second thing that needs to happen is we need to build more oil refineries. Also, the EPA needs to eliminate or relax CAFE standards. A fourth recommendation would be for the United States to explore the nuclear option:
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?page=article&Article_ID=10402