Wrong. One man can block domestic exploration and drilling. One man can kill a pipeline. One man can withhold permits for drilling. One man did, and his name is Barry O. All that aside, your comment is still wrong. What do you think would happen if Chavez or Nutjob decided to stop or reduce oil production or sales?
I dunno but one of my States friends was howling over gas prices until I pointed out to her that she was paying $0.97/litre compared to our equivalent of $4.88/gallon and we LIVE, work and breath in oil country and somehow I don't think Obama has much to do with up here.
Chavez could affect oil prices because he is part of OPEC. You don't seem to understand the oil market. Killing a pipeline that doesn't already exist would not raise oil prices.
You sure about that? Aren't oil prices are based on speculation? Seems to me that the anticipation of the pipeline would have lowered prices, and the cancellation would have raised them again.
Much of the price of a barrel of oil is derived from speculation of future availability. While the pipeline wouldn't immediately decrease the price per barrel substantually it would have an effect on future pricing and a decrease in price, at least unntil the next "crisis" were manufactured to keep them up. By not allowing it, not allowing drilling in the gulf, and hamstringing drillers at every turn it most definately has a negative effect. It's apparent to me the goal is to get the prices up to try to force Americans to seek alternatives for energy but ultimately the end of this road is hewn with bolders and potholes that ultimately comes to the bridge that is out and the ravine of recession/depression. I for one would rather not take this road since the economy is strapped to the hood of this vehicle.
You said "one single person". He is one single person who can effect prices even without other OPEC nations. On the contrary, it is you who have no clue about the market for oil. Futures is a big part of it. Part of the price point is current available supply and part is projected near and long term future supplies. When a major pipeline project is killed, that means the projected future supply is less, which drives up prices.
Anyone who thinks that the President of the United States has nothing to do with oil and gasoline prices is naive at best. The Diplomatic stances of the United States and our military forces in the region are often big influences on OPEC's decisions. Our participation in a conflict with Iran over the Straight of Hormuz would have a direct impact on the price of oil. An American condoned, or supported, strike by the Israelis against Iran would have a direct impact on the price of oil. Increased taxes on oil companies, playing politics with the oil pipeline, the offshore drilling debacle, etc. etc. etc. Those all have an impact on what we pay at the pump. Can the President do it by himself? No. But, he does have a big impact on it.
Still, prices are climbing because of fundamental changes in global demand. What the president does or does not do is not going to have a radical impact on that. The US still enjoys the lowest gas prices in the developed world. Simply increasing oil production at whatever expense to the environment is not a long-term sustainable solution to the energy problems, nor will it affect gas prices in the short or even medium terms. Americans will have to bite the bullet one way or another, and figure out how to save energy.
\ Fuck you. We've got oil, and we need to fucking use it. You are not going to "steer" us towards better alternatives that don't fucking exist by making it more miserable to make use of the one viable option we have available.
I agree with most of this. My only difference is that the President as the leader and the one who sets the policies and actions of the country can do a lot of damage by himself. There is less good that he can do without Congressional cooperation, but he can do lots of damage without them.
It's not just Gas prices. In order to make Solar Power more competitive, the Obama administration needs to find a way to make conventional energy sources more expensive. This will have a positive effect on the economy. People will buy more clothes, because their homes will be cold. Old People will die. Who needs them anyway? Household appliances will become luxury items. People will watch a lot less "Two and a Half Men", which will make the country a lot smarter.
I've got it. A syrup that makes gas a delicious foamy fruit drink! Then, people will devour it, making the supply for cars more scarce, then the price goes up, then people seek alternatives. All without messing with the free market.
What about those who think that when there are high gasoline prices and a president they like in the Oval Office, but who think the opposite when gas prices go down for a president they like, or go up for a president they don't like?
Yep, gas prices are set globally. They always have and always will be just like soy beans, wheat, oats, pork bellies or any other commodity. Can there be very minor price variations? Sure, but that only reflects inefficiencies in the market. Don't believe it? Well, then your dumb ass failed econ 101.
