THIS WEEK’S QUESTION:
“Is the U.S. government doing enough to address the rising gas prices?” ” Yes: 5 No: 4
? Karen Anderson: “Yes. It is addressing the long term, not the short. If there are price controls, we will have 1974 all over again with too small a supply and lineups at the pump.”
? Dave Appling: “Probably. In the short run there is little that government can or should do. In the longer term, governments at every level must start managing transportation as an integrated system. This means seriously raising fuel taxes, expanding and improving mass transit and investing in R&D and infrastructure. There are plenty of alternatives, but they all require time, money, and that ever-elusive political will.”
? Chris Bryant: “Yes, with a non-renewable resource it is only to be expected that it becomes more rare and more expensive. If prices are kept artificially low, then sooner or later it would be far more disruptive when supplies do finally run out.”
? David Cohen: “Yes, because there really isn’t much that the government can do. Oil and gasoline prices are set on the New York Mercantile Exchange and their rise is the result of out of control speculation by rich people trying to get richer more quickly.”
? Dennis Kennedy: “No! Some limits need to be set on unrestrained speculation and excessive profiteering from it by the oil companies.”
? Julian Mancias: “No. The government does not appear to be looking out for the best interest of its citizens. There is to much complacency in regulating oil production and distribution.”
? Henry Miller: “Yes. And it seems they are doing nothing, which is just as it should be. Prices will drop when supply exceeds demand (re.: Marketing 101). However, if the government interferes, soon it will own the oil industry like some Tea Party members said would happen when they bailed out the banks and auto manufacturers.”
? Jeff Smith: “They’re doing the wrong things. What they can and should do is get out of the way and lift the bans on drilling in our own country. This is what would help. We should drill offshore, onshore, Alaska, and everywhere else we can. We should be using natural gas as much as possible since we have an abundance of it. Why should we be stimulating the economies of the rest of the world by buying their oil, while our own economy is floundering? It doesn’t make any sense. We have allowed the crazy environmentalists to dictate our energy policy and it is an utter failure.”
? Steve Staloch: “No. Measures could include: Temporary relief on per gallon taxes that is formulated to help spur economic growth and job creation; replacement of the more than 17 different mixtures of fuel blends found around the country that add up to 10 cents to every gallon with one standard mixture; replace our antiquated traffic signal system that today results in wasteful idling and restricts efficient traffic movement with more intuitive monitors; responsibly tap our strategic oil reserves.”Vote in
