High gas prices are good
By Juan MelliBear with me here...at least I'm not proposing something patently ridiculous like self-serve gas stations!
It's true that rising energy prices pose serious financial hardships, particularly for those with little to no disposable income, and politicians should take action -- possibly through targeted tax cuts for those hurting the worst -- to ease the burden while the economy adjusts to a new reality. But there is a silver lining to the energy crisis, and most politicians are unfortunately trying to run away from it.
Bucking a decades-long trend, Americans are actually driving less than they did last year, while public transit ridership is surging. Despite Al Gore's best efforts, a heightened public awareness of the effects of climate change couldn't accomplish what basic market forces could.
Yet instead of embracing this market-induced weening off of oil, even New Jersey's supposedly progressive politicians have been too eager to enable the addiction by trying to offer us just one more cheap hit in this era of expensive oil. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews embraced the ultimate political gimmick: a federal gas tax holiday. U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone wants the administration to tap the strategic oil reserve. And U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett and U.S. Senate candidate Dick Zimmer both supported drilling for oil off the coast, though Zimmer reversed course once he realized how politically unpopular the position was. (Update: see correction below)
Is it any surprise that the same people who encouraged us to buy Hummers and Cadillac Escalades with up to $25,000 in tax write-offs are now the ones complaining about how expensive it is to fill up a tank of gas? It's the same people who at election time like to perpetuate the fantasy that we can continue to feed those gas-guzzling beasts with cheap gas.
This crisis presents a unique opportunity for elected officials to take bold action and retool our economy, energy and transportation infrastructure to work efficiently in an era of expensive oil. It could take a decade or more and it wouldn't come cheap, but the solutions aren't novel: conservation and energy efficiency, a major expansion of mass transit, smart growth and mixed use communities, zoning that discourages sprawl and investments in clean, renewable energy would be a good start.
Politicians have a choice, but will they dig us out of this hole or just keep digging?
CORRECTION: Dick Zimmer has not changed his position. He still supports drilling off the coast, but not near New Jersey. He told Herb Jackson in a recent interview that "If the citizens of Florida want to have drilling along their coast, that's OK with me. I oppose drilling off the New Jersey shore and anywhere close to New Jersey that might endanger the New Jersey Shore."
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Yes, there is a silver lining
Juan, There is a silver lining, but it is not the one you mention. 1)Targeted tax cuts to the people hurting most won't work, because they don't pay taxes now. 2)Reduced driving means less economic activity and that is not a good thing, especially for those who are hurting worst. 3)The silver lining is that the political will to end our dependence on Middle Eastern Oil is taking root. To be energy independent we must exploit our own oil resources, be more efficient in our usage, and develop alternative sources like wind, solar and nuclear.
Art Gallagher
http://moremonmouthmusings.blogspot.com
In a perfect world...
In a perfect world all of this may actually happen. However, we are not energy independant yet, and may never be. Rising gas prices now will just hurt the middle and lower clases. Pumping more money into NJ Transit? As a NJ Transit rider on the Northeastern Corridor for 3 years, I would love to see them start to run it efficiently with what they have after the rate increase last year before sending them more money.
While we do need to use wind, solar,natural gas, and yes even nuclear power to lessen our dependance on foreign oil, we should explore domestic oil production as a way to lessen the impact for us in the coming years. As far as smart growth and the curbing of suburban sprawl - Mt. Laurel ensures that will never stop in this state. As far as investments in clean energy from the goverment - I'm sure they will get on that right after they pay off the Abbott funding, fill the Transportation Trust Fund, and get us out of our billions of dollars of debt.
Great message for the Democrats
If $4 a gallon gas is good, wait til it's $8 a gallon. This is a dynamite message and the Democrats should run on it: Vote Democratic for $8 a gallon gas! I can see the ads now! Go BO!
Not likely to happen...
Juan, you sound awfully optimistic with your assessment here. I love how some folks point to "people driving less" as a positive sign of events. But as Art pointed out, it hurts the economy and businesses that depend on trasportation and commuters to get to survive.
Besides, many New Jersey residents dont live or work near mass transit; so this does nothing for them. What are they supposed to do if they can't conveniently get to a train or bus?
I'm all for renewable energies - we need to invest in them. But creating a situation where we completely bar ourselves from surviving on cheap, domestic resources til those technologies become feasible is pure folly.
Liberals and Democrats can claim all they want about protecting the environment and how drilling is not the solution, etc. But the bottom line is that NOT drilling or using nuclear power essentially becomes another means of behavior modification for society to be shaped - just what many fringe-environmentalists and others want. After all, if we were to see some relief which would help businesses and families to get by, then the pressure would be "off" to quickly develop alternatives -- exactly what they want to avoid.
Problem is, this takes years and we need to survive from now til then. I for one, would not want to look families in the face and tell them that you are hampering their ability to get by now for the future promise of some technology that may or may not materilize down the road.
Besides which, the Left can't claim that we don't need an infusion of oil to bring prices down and drilling must NOT happen in one breath, then tell President Bush to open the strategic reserve and oil companies to drill on land they've already leased in the next breath. There's either a problem and a common sense solution or there is not. Can't have it both ways.
Veritas vos Liberabit
"Collecting more taxes than absolutely necessary is legalized robbery." - Calvin Coolidge