Declaration of Independence
……from imported oil and gas
We hold this truth, a natural resource critical to the economic wellbeing of our nation must not be exclusively owned and controlled by any other nation. Such control leverages influence on all that we do internationally and nationally, be it diplomatic, economic, or military. We cannot absolve or ignore our responsibility to protect our shores. The great engine of industry and economy that made this country prosperous and powerful is due in large part to the availability of cheap energy. That cheap supply of energy is oil and gas.
Absent our ability to absolutely control the availability of oil and gas, prices soar. Higher priced oil and gas impact all of us.
BIDEN BEGS OPEC FOR MORE
Rather than produce more oil from the USA, Biden wants to strangle domestic production and beg OPEC for more to cut gas prices. Gas cost less than $2.00 at the pump under Trump and more than $4.00 under Biden. Voters notice. They are motivated to vote away from higher retail gas prices. Biden knows this and desperately clings to power.
GREEN NEW DEAL FAILURES
The greatest threat to our Independence from Imported Oil and Gas comes from the insidious Green New Deal agenda of the current administration. By forcing the use of expensive and inefficient forms of renewable energy, the government strategy has been to strangle domestic oil and gas production, eliminate any new pipeline distribution within our borders, and penalize all of us for the use of petroleum products. Gas prices at the pump jump. Heating oil prices heat up. Shocking electrical production costs spark rolling brownouts and blackouts across California. The Green New Deal is a disaster being forced down our throats by a government which cares less for its citizens than it does for a slice of “pie-in-the-sky.
National Security
*www.worldoil.com
Imports from “unstable” countries place a double burden on the US Taxpayer. First, we pay higher prices because we do not control the amount produced. Second, the money we pay funds countries that are generally hostile to the US and to our way of life. You can see from the chart below, many of the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are in the Islamic Sphere of Influence. The governments of these countries (except Saudi Arabia, and Columbia) are vehemently anti-US.
International challenges in just the past fifty years demonstrates just how dangerous it is to depend on imported oil and gas.
1973-Oil Crisis; Syria and Egypt attack Israel. US government sends military aid to Israel. Arab states suspend all oil shipments to nations supporting Israel.
1978/1979-Iranian Revolution; revolutionaries take over US Embassy. US embargoes oil from Iran. Gas prices more than double.
1980-Iran/Iraq War. Oil production drops by four million barrels a day.
1990-1991: Iraq invades Kuwait. US releases thirty-four million barrels from the strategic oil reserves to thwart anticipated oil-price-shock.
1999- Russia and Venezuela nationalize much of their oil resources and restrict access by international oil companies.
2006-2008 Skyrocketing Oil Prices. Gasoline averages above $4.00/gallon at the pump. The economic rise of China and India are factors in the rise of commodity prices like oil. Higher fuel and food prices begin to cause unrest around the world. Global financial crisis begins.
2011 Libya uprising. Global oil prices spike nearly 10% in one day. Concern over impact of Arab Spring uprisings could lead to a new global oil crisis.
2015 US Government rejects Keystone Pipeline which would have transported more than 800,000 barrels of oil a day.
Real freedom from foreign interference in our economy comes from independence of our domestic production of critical energy requirements.
Economic Growth
Oil and gas have helped make some countries rich in the past, but they are not a precondition for economic development in the future. Oil and gas can impact economic development in both positive and negative ways, directly or indirectly. As energy systems can take time to respond to technological change, oil and gas will play a role in the near term. But the availability and lower cost of renewable energy make the development of economies dependent on oil and gas in the medium and longer term unlikely. *
Oil prices affect far more than just the finances of those investing in oil and gas directly. Even with the development of alternative energy technologies, oil is still a core economic driver, impacting the health of the American economy on multiple levels. Political, social, and economic instability in many of the world’s oil producing regions contributes to a sometimes wild price volatility.
Those price fluctuations are felt throughout the economy, influencing everything from unemployment rates to food prices. Fuel costs drive transportation costs which drive retail costs on most goods. Retail prices pass along those increased transportation costs. When government policy artificially keeps fuel process high (by limiting or banning domestic production) this becomes a tax on the population. This is a regressive tax which hits low- and middle-income families the hardest. As low and mid-level income families spend a disproportionately higher amount of their income on food and transportation to/from work the tax impacts them the greatest. To believe that limiting domestic production will drive dependence on new technology energy sources is a “mugs game”. Such national policies stab working Americans in the economic heart.
The more oil we import, the more exposure our economy has to potentially damaging oil price volatility and price manipulation. The Council on Foreign Relations points to oil price shocks as being directly associated with “recessions, economic stagnation and high inflation.”
*www.odi.org
Improves Our Way of Life
Moore’s Law: applies to all technologies; “over time technology becomes more efficient and costs go down.” This is true in the production of oil and gas. As this industry improves production processes and distribution efficiencies prices fall. As prices fall demand rises. Employment rises. As employment rises the economy grows stronger. Employment in the oil and gas industry in 2020 (pre-Covid) was 902,000. (* oil industry statistic)
Stopping the Keystone Pipeline project caused the loss of 10,000 to 40,000 jobs (depending on who you ask). There is (again) a double kick in the groin with this action. One, it slams workers and keeps them from good paying jobs. Two, it drives up the prices of oil and energy related products and services. Yes, we do see $4.00+ today at the gas pump. These bigger costs for all of us are just another tax from a government more interested in pandering to Russia and our potential enemies than in the protection and wellbeing of our citizens.
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