Sunday, April 15, 2012
Hold Fast!! - A Southern Libertarian's View: The First Three Steps America Needs to Take. Now.
Hold Fast!! - A Southern Libertarian's View: The First Three Steps America Needs to Take. Now.: My wife and I went grocery shopping this morning, as we normally do, and we have assumed the habit of using a calculator and a precise list ...
The First Three Steps America Needs to Take. Now.
My wife and I went grocery shopping this morning, as we normally do, and we have assumed the habit of using a calculator and a precise list as weapons in the fight to minimize waste and cost in feeding our family. It's working, but it is troublesome that a man who works 50-60 hours a week and his physician wife with a full patient load have to take these determined steps to avoid an over-drawn checking account. Today, we saw that the cost of Great Value wheat bread has gone up thirteen cents in a week. It is still the best value for our sandwich making dollar, by a long shot. But why did this happen? I'm certainly not a baker at the generic bakery, but I can safely assume the culprit is fuel cost in getting the bread to the store.
Americans are bleeding their bank accounts dry in order to fuel their vehicles, paying around four dollars a gallon for gasoline. The cost of fuel increases the cost of just about everything transported by aircraft, ship, train, truck or car. In order to lower prices of these items, we have to lower the price of fuel. How does America do this? Simply-
First, dramatically increase American oil production, which has declined for decades. We need to drill for oil and we need to start immediately. Yes, there is increased risk for the environment in this, but there is an even more increased risk for the environment of our beautiful nation if our fragile economy collapses. Will we use our proven and estimated oil reserves more rapidly? Of course, but we all know that American technology and research will soon find more reliable and cost efficient fuels for our vehicles- the electric/battery powered/hybrid cars we are seeing now are just the first edition, they are today's equivalent of the model T. We can still import oil from our friends in Canada and South America, but not the fiends in the Middle East, Asia, and Venezuela. In the same way, we need to aggressively use our natural gas reserves. Both of these enterprises will be massive undertakings, and will employ Americans seeking long term, high paying jobs.
Second, in order to make best use of this oil, we need to build many new, advanced refineries, pipelines, and perhaps even ships to export, yes, EXPORT our refined oil and petroleum. Refineries have been made far to difficult to build thanks to our government... no new ones have been built in America since 1976. These facilities will require more employed and trained Americans.
Steps one and two go hand in hand, and will dramatically lower prices and employ hundreds of thousands of Americans within a few years. Step three goes in a different direction, needs to apply to everyone, and needs to be implemented as fast as possible. It is in my opinion the most necessary, will be the most difficult to start,but once it gains momentum, the easiest to maintain.
Americans need to be told the truth, we need to get on the same page, and we need to start being smart with our resources. Recall if you will the efforts used in World War Two to get the populace behind the war effort, the push to salvage everything, grow victory gardens, and generally all pull together to win. America needs a version of that today, and the focus needs to be on wasteful spending, the very real and horrible habit American's have of making just flat out stupid decisions with their money.
We use credit cards like drunken sailors on leave after 6 months at sea, or rather, like Congress writes a budget. We get tattoos, multiple piercings, ATV's, DVD's, new cell phones just to have them, plastic aerodynamic wings for our '92 Nissan's, make-up for our 8 year old daughters, and underwear designed to stay on when our pants are sagging to our thighs. These are wants, they are not needs, and what Americans need to do, as one, is spend a few years focusing on the needs in our lives. I want to see commercials on TV and billboards on the highway decrying horrible economic decisions. It needs to be cool to be basic, not flashy, to save rather than spend. This needs to come from everywhere and everyone. If planking can be made to be cool, so can having a large savings account, I have no doubt. This may be the most effective way to get our government to become fiscally responsible.
But in order for this to gain traction, we need to find and elect leaders who are unafraid to stare right at America and say, "This is the solution. It isn't always going to be fun or pretty, and for a while it will hurt, but if we sacrifice now, for a few years, together as a team, fight through it, we can come out a stronger nation, for ourselves, for our children. If we don't, we we don't fix this now, we are lost."
Personally, I think Americans not only need to hear this, but they want to. Everyone who is part of our economy knows, at some level, how close we are to real trouble. We all want a way out, a way up. Do these three steps solve all our problems? No, not even close, but they are a solid start, but time is running out. We need to start now.
Americans are bleeding their bank accounts dry in order to fuel their vehicles, paying around four dollars a gallon for gasoline. The cost of fuel increases the cost of just about everything transported by aircraft, ship, train, truck or car. In order to lower prices of these items, we have to lower the price of fuel. How does America do this? Simply-
First, dramatically increase American oil production, which has declined for decades. We need to drill for oil and we need to start immediately. Yes, there is increased risk for the environment in this, but there is an even more increased risk for the environment of our beautiful nation if our fragile economy collapses. Will we use our proven and estimated oil reserves more rapidly? Of course, but we all know that American technology and research will soon find more reliable and cost efficient fuels for our vehicles- the electric/battery powered/hybrid cars we are seeing now are just the first edition, they are today's equivalent of the model T. We can still import oil from our friends in Canada and South America, but not the fiends in the Middle East, Asia, and Venezuela. In the same way, we need to aggressively use our natural gas reserves. Both of these enterprises will be massive undertakings, and will employ Americans seeking long term, high paying jobs.
Second, in order to make best use of this oil, we need to build many new, advanced refineries, pipelines, and perhaps even ships to export, yes, EXPORT our refined oil and petroleum. Refineries have been made far to difficult to build thanks to our government... no new ones have been built in America since 1976. These facilities will require more employed and trained Americans.
Steps one and two go hand in hand, and will dramatically lower prices and employ hundreds of thousands of Americans within a few years. Step three goes in a different direction, needs to apply to everyone, and needs to be implemented as fast as possible. It is in my opinion the most necessary, will be the most difficult to start,but once it gains momentum, the easiest to maintain.
Americans need to be told the truth, we need to get on the same page, and we need to start being smart with our resources. Recall if you will the efforts used in World War Two to get the populace behind the war effort, the push to salvage everything, grow victory gardens, and generally all pull together to win. America needs a version of that today, and the focus needs to be on wasteful spending, the very real and horrible habit American's have of making just flat out stupid decisions with their money.
We use credit cards like drunken sailors on leave after 6 months at sea, or rather, like Congress writes a budget. We get tattoos, multiple piercings, ATV's, DVD's, new cell phones just to have them, plastic aerodynamic wings for our '92 Nissan's, make-up for our 8 year old daughters, and underwear designed to stay on when our pants are sagging to our thighs. These are wants, they are not needs, and what Americans need to do, as one, is spend a few years focusing on the needs in our lives. I want to see commercials on TV and billboards on the highway decrying horrible economic decisions. It needs to be cool to be basic, not flashy, to save rather than spend. This needs to come from everywhere and everyone. If planking can be made to be cool, so can having a large savings account, I have no doubt. This may be the most effective way to get our government to become fiscally responsible.
But in order for this to gain traction, we need to find and elect leaders who are unafraid to stare right at America and say, "This is the solution. It isn't always going to be fun or pretty, and for a while it will hurt, but if we sacrifice now, for a few years, together as a team, fight through it, we can come out a stronger nation, for ourselves, for our children. If we don't, we we don't fix this now, we are lost."
Personally, I think Americans not only need to hear this, but they want to. Everyone who is part of our economy knows, at some level, how close we are to real trouble. We all want a way out, a way up. Do these three steps solve all our problems? No, not even close, but they are a solid start, but time is running out. We need to start now.
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