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Even worse than Congress’s recent NON-reforming “banking reform” bill, are its feckless and lame attempts at self-vindication over the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico .
The energy industry is, like virtually ALL sectors of American industry, very highly and tightly regulated and at great cost to you and I. Estimates are that we spend well over $10 BILLION/year regulating energy in the U.S.
Think about THAT for just a second!
We're spending over $300 BILLION/year regulating offshore drilling alone.....and THIS is what we get?
What other entity gets rewarded (expanded in size and scope with a budget increase) for its failures?
ONLY government agencies.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, also known as the Bureau of Ocean Energy (BOE), and formerly known as the Minerals Management Service (MMS) – Annual Budget: $310 million (USD) in 2009...sure to go UP in 2011 and beyond.
The EPA has requested $10.020 BILLION (USD) for Fiscal Year 2011 in its discretionary budget authority.
And these are just some of the direct costs we pay for in the form of taxes. The “indirect costs” of this regulation are the REAL costs for you and I, as the preponderance of the weight of all these regulations is found in how much they raise the cost of all the energy we use daily.
Government’s taxes and the costs of complying with its regulations are merely a “cost of doing business” for the energy companies and so, those costs are ALL happily passed on to you and I in the form of higher energy prices.
OK, so even if you don’t want to quibble over the cost of energy, don’t you think we deserve a LOT more “bang for our buck?”
You mean to say that, “All we get for this doubling the price of a gallon of gasoline is this crumby oil slick in the Gulf?”
the self vindication and self justification will go on forever Joe...Happy Monday :)
ReplyDeleteProbably, BUT to rail against non-existent "de-regulation," as most Liberals are fond of doing is not a mere lie, but a ridiculous attempt to divert the rightful blame AWAY from incompetent government and place it onto those who were regulated.
ReplyDeleteGovernment regulators (we've paid over $3 BILLION over the past decade to REGULATE offshore oil drilling alone) signed off on BP using cheaper wells, with unproven blowout preventers.
Government also allowed BP to use an untested bacteriological agent in the clean up (microbes that allegedly "ate oil" sending the "digested part down to the bottom as sediment) for over a month!
It turns out that even though no one knows the impact on the sea floor, it was 3 to 4 times cheaper (for BP) than the existing accepted methods.
From the start, Exxon-Mobil, Chevron and other major energy companies warned against this and noted that the Saudis had an even bigger offshore blowout and they used tanker vessels to separate the oil and water, recovered over 90% of the oil (able to be used) and returned actual salt water to the sea. In short, there was no reason to use this untested method other than to save BP a few bucks and assist one of Obama's biggest donors!
Amazingly enough, you just can't make this stuff up.
I finally got around to posting some ideas for the Gulf. Tell me what you think of them.
ReplyDeleteThe more government regulation, usually the more 'red tape', layers of bureaucracy and feckless inefficiency, and their answer to failings of the 'system' is ALWAYS MORE REGULATION. It's like a blob, ever growing, ever feeding, and never accomplishing anything good.
ReplyDeleteThis administration has out inepted any in my lifetime. Even Carter at this point, and I didn't think I'd live to say that.
With all the help that has been offered from the Dutch on day two or three to the rest of them, and all of them that got turned down by the president, just shows me that Obama is using this crisis. Remember they did say never let a crisis get wasted.
ReplyDeleteObama is using this crisis for exactly what he wants. To be able to shut down big oil. When that happens....goodbye electricity, and any cheap energy we may have.
"The more government regulation, usually the more 'red tape', layers of bureaucracy and feckless inefficiency, and their answer to failings of the 'system' is ALWAYS MORE REGULATION." (SF)
ReplyDeleteThat's a BIG part of the problem. Those in government seem to fall into that age old dilemma, "When all you have is a hammer (government) EVERYTHING looks like a nail."
Sadly, the bulk of those managing the largest multi-national Corporations, including banks, media conglomerates, etc. are the SAME jaded, leftist baby-boomers that rule the roost in government and they are always more than happy to make a deal with government - "Regulate our competitors OUT of the market and we'll run the world's economy together."
The saddest thing of all is that there are very few free market advocates within corporate America....and THAT has only emboldened the Kleptocrats in government.
"With all the help that has been offered from the Dutch on day two or three to the rest of them, and all of them that got turned down by the president, just shows me that Obama is using this crisis." (Robert)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right!
The Jones Act can be waived in emergencies, as it was during Katrina.
This clown posse chose not to.....that pretty much says it all about where this administration is coming from.
"I finally got around to posting some ideas for the Gulf. Tell me what you think of them." (Roadhouse)
ReplyDeleteDone.
I just read a very long liberal blog "proving" that the oil spill was Bush's fault because of lack of regulation.
ReplyDeleteThe real issue is, the liberals in DC, including liberal Republicans, would like to control EVERYTHING, and are working toward that end.