Many Americans understandably are upset with the sharp spike in gas prices …, and are concerned by reports of oil company profits. But we must understand that high oil prices are not the result of an unregulated free market. On the contrary, the oil industry is among the most regulated and most subsidized of U.S. industries. Perhaps we need to ask ourselves whether too much government involvement in the oil markets, rather than too little regulation, has kept the supply of refined gasoline artificially low.
What can Congress do to provide Americans with some relief at the pump? First it can suspend federal gas taxes, which would save consumers nearly 20 cents per gallon. In the long term, Congress must pass legislation [that would take a] comprehensive approach by allowing offshore drilling, eliminating regulations that restrict refining, and suspending harmful tax rules that discourage domestic oil production. If we hope to have a stable, affordable supply of gas, we must allow the free market to operate. – [Ron Paul in 2005]
Have we really considered what this conservative approach would do for our economy? The politicians talk about jobs. Whose jobs? They pretend to ‘care’ about the peasants’ whining about high fuel prices.
Before we look into the high cost of tortilla chips via increased government intervention into ethanol production, let’s try to let the people, not the government, solve it first.
If this election proves anything, it will prove that the Republican rhetoric of putting the economy into the hands of the people is nothing more than smoke.
Filed under: Free Market | Tagged: Fuel Costs, Gas Prices, Ron Paul
