Tuesday, January 22, 2008
MAYBE JIMMY CARTER WAS RIGHT
Maybe President Jimmy Carter was right when he made the famous “malaise” speech in the late 1970’s during a period of energy crisis and problems with OPEC. Some of us still remember the lines at gas stations and the limits on purchases during those years.
Carter called for decreased consumption of energy. He imposed lower speed limits nationally. He pressed for increased mileage requirements on vehicles made in, or imported into, the United States. Ethanol blends were popularized temporarily.
Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House and installed a wood stove to set an example. He turned down the thermostats, he donned his famous tan sweater, and he demanded that public buildings lower their thermostats.
The much praised President Reagan, who followed the much maligned Carter, finished the deregulating of domestic oil prices and drilling. He engineered the abolishment of the “windfall profits” taxes on oil companies, and cut other taxes as well, starting the spiraling budget deficit. His dealings with OPEC allowed the escalation of oil prices and imports and set the stage for years of huge profits for domestic oil interests.
He also took off the solar panels, turned up the thermostats, and let vehicle standards lapse.
But he is much praised by some business economists because domestic oil production went up, imports went down temporarily, and the price of oil then dipped temporarily. Never mind that it later took off for new highs, eventually reaching the recent record prices.
When gas prices went up, suddenly there was plenty of oil. The pickup truck and SUV market thrived, and people loved big, luxury vehicles. And, we drove them at uneconomical speeds on unnecessary trips.
Nevertheless, we are back again to Carter’s recommendations after thirty years, and we are in serious economic straits. Oil imports have contributed heavily to the export of our currency and our nation’s capital.
The foolishness of our trade, tax, and borrowing policies has further compromised our economic strength in the world. The unnecessary Iraq War has drained our resources and increased our borrowing.
Citizens appear to have followed the urging of the country’s president to step up and buy, buy, buy. They have bought and consumed until their money ran out, and then they went into debt with credit cards and for housing loans they cannot pay.
China and the Arabs own much of our debt, and now they appear to be stepping in to fill our needs for capital and to buy up certain of our major capital infrastructure businesses. Strangely enough, the U.S. treasury has new limits on citizens’ buying of E bonds and I bonds at $5,000 per year.
Our nation, as well as a majority of its citizens, is in debt up to its eyeballs. Our economy is in malaise. Values of our pension plans and 401K’s are plummeting. The net worth of investors is sinking.
Our leadership proposes what economists call “lollipop” booster plans. Most candidates for president make similar calls. It is almost as though no one wants to recognize publicly the causes of our problems or move to take real corrective actions to stop the bleeding of our jobs and our capital.
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
Carter called for decreased consumption of energy. He imposed lower speed limits nationally. He pressed for increased mileage requirements on vehicles made in, or imported into, the United States. Ethanol blends were popularized temporarily.
Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House and installed a wood stove to set an example. He turned down the thermostats, he donned his famous tan sweater, and he demanded that public buildings lower their thermostats.
The much praised President Reagan, who followed the much maligned Carter, finished the deregulating of domestic oil prices and drilling. He engineered the abolishment of the “windfall profits” taxes on oil companies, and cut other taxes as well, starting the spiraling budget deficit. His dealings with OPEC allowed the escalation of oil prices and imports and set the stage for years of huge profits for domestic oil interests.
He also took off the solar panels, turned up the thermostats, and let vehicle standards lapse.
But he is much praised by some business economists because domestic oil production went up, imports went down temporarily, and the price of oil then dipped temporarily. Never mind that it later took off for new highs, eventually reaching the recent record prices.
When gas prices went up, suddenly there was plenty of oil. The pickup truck and SUV market thrived, and people loved big, luxury vehicles. And, we drove them at uneconomical speeds on unnecessary trips.
Nevertheless, we are back again to Carter’s recommendations after thirty years, and we are in serious economic straits. Oil imports have contributed heavily to the export of our currency and our nation’s capital.
The foolishness of our trade, tax, and borrowing policies has further compromised our economic strength in the world. The unnecessary Iraq War has drained our resources and increased our borrowing.
Citizens appear to have followed the urging of the country’s president to step up and buy, buy, buy. They have bought and consumed until their money ran out, and then they went into debt with credit cards and for housing loans they cannot pay.
China and the Arabs own much of our debt, and now they appear to be stepping in to fill our needs for capital and to buy up certain of our major capital infrastructure businesses. Strangely enough, the U.S. treasury has new limits on citizens’ buying of E bonds and I bonds at $5,000 per year.
Our nation, as well as a majority of its citizens, is in debt up to its eyeballs. Our economy is in malaise. Values of our pension plans and 401K’s are plummeting. The net worth of investors is sinking.
Our leadership proposes what economists call “lollipop” booster plans. Most candidates for president make similar calls. It is almost as though no one wants to recognize publicly the causes of our problems or move to take real corrective actions to stop the bleeding of our jobs and our capital.
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
