When Bush first ran for the presidency, one of the assurrances he gave us was that oil prices would be stable, and remain low, due to his families influence with the Saudis and Kuwaitis.
When Bush first proposed the war in Iraq, one of the assurrances he gave us was that the Iraqi oil revenues would pay for the war.
The Iraqi War has now cost the American taxpayer in excess of 200 billion dollars. And oil prices are through the roof. This, however, has not hurt American oil companies, in fact, it has helped increase their profits. Meanwhile, they are paying less taxes, and soon will be paying even less due to incentives given them in the president's energy bill.
The American public, though, is held hostage by a preisdent, his administration, the oil companies, and by dependence on foreign oil. But they'll stil travel. They'll still buy, though possibly in substantially reduced numbers, SUV's, mini-vans, trucks, and large luxury automobiles.
And that's a lot of the problem. The American public is buying into the president's repeated ugings to spend and to travel. As long as they do so, nothing will change. Because, in reality, the only thing that is holding the economy together is the continued patronage of the American public.
Me, I'm walking anytime I can. And I'm driving only when I have to. If everyone would do the same thing, things might change, and quick. But there's just no accounting for the gullibility and innate stupidity of the general public.
Stil, I have a feeling that if things aren't reigned in by the time the 2006 mid-term elections come around, the economy might very well be out of gas, and the Republican Party might indeed be left stranded at the side of the road.
