Friday, 13 June 2008
I Love Big Oil
« Beshear Thy Name Is Cronyism | Main | Back From Two Week Haitus »I have been critical of the modern incarnation of "unions" for years now. I understand that unions served an important purpose many years ago. They were a much needed balance to the problem of heavy handed management. Unfortunately, today they have morphed into nothing but shills for the Democratic party.
Take their latest stunt.
About 30 union representatives protested outside a Louisville gas station yesterday, accusing Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, and President Bush of backing tax breaks for oil companies and urging an end to it. Advertisement
At times during the one-hour protest, organized by the AFL-CIO, passing motorists would honk in support of the demonstrators, who held signs saying "Bush & McCain Love Big Oil."
The whole thing is completely idiotic. I know I love "Big Oil". If it wasn't for them taking oil from ground and transforming it into affordable gasoline, I would be forced into riding a horse to go anywhere. What do these union guys want? Are they going to do the work necessary to convert oil to gas? I doubt they have the skill. Do they want the government to do it? That is going to cost a heck of a lot more than private industry.
I assume this protest is one over the higher cost of gasoline. Personally, I think that oil prices have been artificially driven higher than true market values. If this is the case there is nothing government can do about it. So blaming Bush or McCain or Republicans is still dumb. The bubble will bust in its own time as they always do and prices will come down to more reasonable levels.
Even if the bubble doesn't exist. Why are they blaming Bush, McCain and Republicans for the high prices? Price is controlled by a simple mechanism called supply and demand. If the demand is high and the supply low then prices rise. The only way to lower the price is to increase the supply. Which party is against increasing supply? Let's see. Who is against drilling in ANWR? Who is against drilling off shore? Who is against opening new refineries? Who is against increasing coal usage? Who is against nuclear power? If your answer was the Democratic party then you are right.
The major reason we have not been able to increase supply to stabilize prices is due solely to Democratic opposition to increases in the supply. For union members to seriously claim that the increase in energy costs are due to Bush and Republicans, they would have to be detached from reality. Or they are nothing but shills for the Democratic party. I hope for their sake that they are the latter.
