And while the AMT remains on the table, Nancy Pelosi and her merry band of fleecers have moved to pass an energy bill that...well...does absolutely nothing good for Americans. The bill requires an increase in automobile fuel efficiency to an average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020 and also requires an increase of ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, a nearly sixfold increase over expected 2007 production. It also requires new efficiency standards for appliances, light bulbs and commercial buildings.
Pelosi says this will save people money at the pump and put us on the road to energy independence. Sounds great!
But what she didn't say is that ethanol is a very inefficient fuel and, mile-for-mile, is no cheaper than gasoline (in fact, it will likely cost more). So automakers will have to figure out how to build fuel efficient cars that run on inefficient fuel. Sounds expensive to me. She also didn't mention what these government mandates will do to the corn market. How much do you pay for a gallon of milk nowadays? Expect it to go up. She also didn't mention that gasoline use in automobiles accounts for only a small percentage of our foreign oil consumption. She also didn't mention that all of these requirements will increase costs for corporations, who will subsequently pass those costs to us the consumer.
So, we will be putting fuel in our cars that is less efficient and will likely cost more than gasoline, while paying more for milk than we do gasoline, and not getting any closer to energy independence, all while our overall cost of living increases. Thanks, Ms Pelosi and (if he signs it) Mr. Bush.
By the way, there is nothing in the bill that addresses additional domestic oil drilling, especially the prospect of drilling off-shore in the Gulf of Mexico where China and Cuba are eyeballing the rich oil fields. There is nothing about increasing nuclear power, a clean fuel that could greatly reduce our foreign energy dependence. There is nothing about building more refineries, the lack of which contributes greatly to high gas prices.
Oh yeah, Congress still hasn't fixed the AMT.
1 comment:
More farmers will put aside other crops to produce corn. That corn however will not be used for food. We will see an increase in price for all our food. So, how does that help us? We stop seeing it at the pump and see it when we walk in the grocery store?
I just wish that people would get it together and realize how much oil we have in America and how little environmental impact that drilling will have on the wildlife.
It is quite hypocritical to talk about energy independence and not allow us to do what we can in the immediate future to achieve that. While I have nothing wrong with alternative energy, while those technologies are being developed (I don't consider ethanol a viable long term/wide spread solution), we need to use the resources available to us now!
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