Bush Lays Out 4-Point Plan to Fight Oil Prices

[underpants]

Source: Fox News

Bush said gasoline prices could eventually be eased with a four-point plan, the main plank of which is to open up the Outer Continental Shelf to oil exploration.

Bush also laid out three other options: He renewed his call to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration; he also said the the country must be committed to development of oil shale — a type of rock that can yield petroleum if heated, for instance — in the western United States; and he said there must be more refinery capacity.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,368221,00.html

[Parche]

1. 7 Years Too Fukin Late

The gall of that SOB


What we really need is

1. Conservation

2. Alternate fuels, look at Brazil

3. Get rid of all SUV's


:hi:

[BonnieJW]

6. How about a president with a brain?

That would be good.

[PugNot]

26. On the other hand

1. Conservation
>>Will only delay the ineveitable

2. Alternate fuels, look at Brazil
>>A ton of provate equity is being poured into alternative fuels already. Wont
payoff for a while yet.

3. Get rid of all SUV's
>>All ready happening; sales of these have plummeted.


4.Shutting down NYMEX
>>Speculators will just go offshore; NYMEX is not the only exchange.


5.Tax the oil companies
>>Oil companioes will only pass the tax on to the consumers. (real DUMB idea)


6.Drill more.
>>If this increases supply while demand plateaus, it will reduce prices. But for how long as demand inevitably goes up?

Solution: Keep prices high--will make alternatives more competitive. We will have to just ride this out.

[bdamomma]

31. just think if we did this to Ford Company

we could do alot more.....

3. Get rid of all SUV's
>>All ready happening; sales of these have plummeted.

[Parche]

37. Number 5 is a Fallacy

5. windfall profits tax, is a tax on their huge profits, does not have anything to do with their
actual gross income, it is ignorant to think in those right wing Republican talking points about how the oil companies would pass that on to us.

[underpants]

2. re: expanded refinery capacity

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/underpants/45

The important factor here is the companies' margin on refining and not over-investing in capacity; they are dealing with a finite supply, you know. There are currently half as many oil refineries in the U.S. as there were in 1981 but refining capacity has only decreased 10 percent. Google "Chevron memo refineries" and read for yourself (search for Texaco and Mobil memos, too). Big Oil has control over supply primarily through control of refining.

Oil companies enjoy the rare ability these days of price control and they apparently have willing followers to chant their message for them. Would you make a U-turn to get a $2.50 gallon of gas? Would you have a year ago?

[SteppingRazor]

3. Wow. Four points and not a one of them addresses renewables.

I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.

[DJ13]

4. .......and all the speculators remain in the market?

Not going to do a damned thing to bring down the price unless the NYMEX gets re-regulated, closing the Enron loophole on margin accounts.

[underpants]

5. *DING*

Exactly

[redqueen]

12. Thank you. Should we call that the McCain energy-profiteering loophole?

:shrug:

[DogPoundPup]

23. More Con games - Oil Trading's Powerful "Dark Markets" CBS investigation

But far away from the hue and cry, hundreds of millions of barrels of oil futures contracts are traded electronically every day, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports.

More than 30 percent, experts say, exchanged in so-called "dark markets," the exact size and scope unknown to U.S. regulators.

"If you can trade out of the sight of U.S. regulators, you can manipulate these markets," said Michael Greenberger, a former top staffer at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, which regulates the trading of commodities like oil in this country.

He recently told Congress that speculation is placing a huge premium on the price of oil.

"How much per barrel?" Keteyian asked.

"Well, there have been various estimates - anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent," Greenberger said.

"People can actually corner the market and drive up the price," said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. "When there is no policeman on the beat, you know that crime can go up."

More and more fingers are pointing at one of the least-known but most powerful foreign exchanges - the InterContinental Exchange, or ICE.

By the end of 2007, the all-electronic exchange accounted for nearly a 50 percent market share of all global oil futures contracts, a total of 138.5 million contracts - up 49 percent from 2006.

Today it boasts more than 2,100 individual traders representing virtually all of the major players in oil - banks, hedge funds, energy companies, investment giants.

And according to a securities filing, two of those giants, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, were founding partners of ICE.

"The fact that they started this shows the intent of where they wanted to go," Greenberger said. "Which was to trade crude oil and energy products without any police in the United States supervising it."

That's because it's considered a foreign exchange. Taking advantage of a loophole created by the CFTC, the company says its "energy futures business" is conducted in London, it is not subject to U.S. laws. Over strong criticism, the CFTC agreed.

All this despite the fact ICE headquarters are on the fifth floor of a building in Atlanta, it's primary data center in Chicago, and nearly all its trades settled in U.S. dollars.

"It is a charade, and ... it defies explanation," Greenberger said.

In a statement, ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher told CBS News that ICE is committed to providing "the same visibility in our oil markets that exists for U.S. Exchanges," and that ICE Futures Europe is "fully regulated" by the British government.

But British financial authorities are notoriously lax.

Now Congress and others are asking just how much of the crude oil futures market is being manipulated by either excessive buying designed to drive up the price, or phony transactions that imply a supply problem that does not exist.

Today, under pressure, ICE finally agreed to impose stricter limits on certain trading, shedding some much needed light on the dark side of oil.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/17/broadcasts/main4188620.shtml

[groovedaddy]

7. Funny, he forgot to list IMPEACHMENT!!! n.t

[Beetwasher]

8. So All This New Drilling Will Produce Oil In How Many YEARS Exactly?

And that's supposed to do something about prices NOW??? What a fucking idiot.

[PugNot]

27. No it wont reduce the prices NOW

And neither will Obama "windfall profits tax"..So I guess we are dealing with two fucking idiots...?

No instant gratification in this case Im afraid.

Bring on Biodiesel and diesel cars!

[Beetwasher]

38. "And neither will Obama "windfall profits tax"..'

Umm, Jeenyus, Obama doesn't make the claim that that will reduce oil prices, so, the only two fucking idiots here are apparently Bush and YOU. Troll.

[ForPeace]

9. and just how is this going to help

with global warming - oh er, right, silly me!

[NMDemDist2]

10. yeah yeah yeah, where's he gonna find the rigs and the workers for this? n/t

[redqueen]

11. How about CAFE standards?

Oh yeah I forgot he works for big oil, not us.

[gasperc]

13. how about developing the 68 million unused acres?

as a 5th point

“Today President Bush dusted off the worst of the Cheney special interest giveaways that have created record profits for big oil and a 250% increase in gas prices for consumers these last seven years. Selling off our nation’s coastlines to the oil and gas companies won’t make a dent in gas prices. If you started drilling tomorrow, you wouldn’t even see a drop of oil until 2017. President Bush and his new ally John McCain should use a little straight talk and explain why we’re even having this debate when the oil industry has 68 million acres available today that they aren’t developing. This is a fraud of a policy and a false choice. Rather than doing the bidding of the oil companies, we need a serious long-term energy strategy that reduces our dependence on oil and promotes affordable clean energy sources to address the urgent threat of climate change and help consumers.”

[Orrex]

14. Quick quiz: Who said this on 1/26/2000?

What I think the president ought to do is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots. One reason why the price is so high is because the price of crude oil has been driven up. OPEC has gotten its supply act together, and it's driving the price, like it did in the past. And the president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price.

[BrklynLib at work]

16. but...but..if THAT happened the Bush cronies would not make as much profit as from drilling in the

US

[BrklynLib at work]

15. Not one word about conservation or alternate energy sources.

Of course, not that I would have expected any ideas that made sense for the planet and its inhabitants from prez shit-for-brains.

[Javaman]

29. honestly, do you really believe moron* would ruin a bad track record with

something that actually makes sense?

just WHAT are you thinking?? LOL

[BrklynLib at work]

36. If he ever did anything that was a pleasant surprise, I would question my lying eyes and ears.

[vinylsolution]

17. It's always about increasing the oil supply.....

... Isn't it? We never hear a word from the Bush Administration about energy efficiency, or how each of us could choose responsible ways to cut down on our use of non-renewable energy. Those options are always branded "Un-American" by the corporate media's talking (dead)heads.

[Sagan]

18. does anyone think he REALLY cares about oil prices being too high?

How shocking is it, that with TWO oilmen in the White House, we have record high oil prices? Color me unsurprised.

Of COURSE he wants to focus on the solutions that will not only maintain high oil prices for years, but when his "solutions" come online, they do so at the express benefit of the oil companies that are profiting NOW.

Win Win Win situation.

[pattmarty]

19. Bottom line, your answer is the correct one.

[Ganja Ninja]

20. Personally I think a good old fashion lynching would do more

to bring oil prices under control than finding 2 more Saudi Arabian style oil deposits.

[diane in sf]

21. Fuck him, let's get off of oil and in the meantime let's tax the excess profits

and get rid of the tax breaks for the oil companies.

I want my plug-in hybrid car now.

[Oregone]

22. 1) Subsidies for Big Oil, 2) Tax cuts for his Dad's friends, 3) Smokin out terrorists, 4) Beer

[xxqqqzme]

24. All about destruction

this asswipe can do NOTHING unless he is destroying something that doesn't belong to him.


I want him gone!

[bdamomma]

33. and we all know how he likes to break things, and just does not

give a sh$t about it. This POS has to be challenged, he is not above the law.

[montanto]

25. I'm sure * will do everything he can to fight those low prices.

[Javaman]

28. and here moron* comes to be "out in front" on the oil issue...

I can see it now, meet the press, one year from today...

moron*: I was the first to come put publicly that we were addicted to oil and proposed real sound energy policy.

:banghead:

[bdamomma]

30. he can take his plan and shove it.

do not let him drill in ANWR, he has ruin this country now he wants to ruin the oceans. God, get this lunatic out of office please.

[bdamomma]

32. just like those rebate checks, are they helping the economy?

another band aid or more in the pocket for his rich corporate cronies.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

34. I thought he only had a 2 point plan: 1. lick Saudi balls 2. Send Cheney to lick Saudi balls. n/t

[underpants]

35. As Orrex points out in post #14 the slang for that is "jawbone"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3357835&mesg_id=3357870


:bounce:

[RBInMaine]

39. Hey "prez", how about a REAL plan. Something with some VISION involved.

[Zorra]

40. Must be a bad idea, since Bu*h has been wrong about everything

since he was a fetus.

[Jack Rabbit]

41. The Dow dropped 130 today.

That is the knee-jerk result of Bush saying, "I have a plan!"

[lyco]

42. Your all crazy

If anyone here thinks that oil supply is running out then you are crazy we had crazies in the 70s saying the same thing everyone is now and we still have oil IF WE COULD RUN OUT OF OIL WITH THE AMOUNT OF OIL THE WORLD CONSUMES WE WOULD HAVE ALREADY RAN OUT OF IT. The supply has stayed the same while prices have gone up due mostly to speculation, government environmental drilling concerns, and greedy oil companies. Global warming is the biggest reason we do not have more refining and drilling and the funny thing is Global Warming is a myth. It is just as hot this summer as it was the summer of my 12th birthday that was 12 years ago. You people think that all the stuff you are saying about coming up with alternative fuels is the answer but guess what that will just make the price of food go up because WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY MAKE BIODIESEL AND ETHANOL OUT OF. The answer is more drilling domestically like in the ANWR and on offshore oil rigs and building alot more refineries in the US. We need the capabilities of producing our own fuel and not have to rely on the middle east but not sacrifice our precious food supply to do it.

[entanglement]

43. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[ima_sinnic]

44. it's "you're" --but from the blather you've posted, I gather you're not well educated

--just one small point makes that clear: you think oil is in unlimited supply? you think it will last forever and ever?

yes, "they" said in the 70s it was dwindling. If I look in my pantry, see three cans of a discontinued brand of tomatoes, and say, gee, my supply of that brand of tomatoes is running low, and then a month later I still have two cans left, was I wrong a month earlier?

[winston61]

46. Are you sure you are in the right place?

Free Republic is just a mouse click away.

[winston61]

45. Bush's plan:

1. Fuck the public
2. Again, fuck the pubic
3. Did I mention fuck the public?
4. Sponsor another massive giveaway to the oil companies of public land and more tax benefits
5. Fuck the public and raise prices again

Oh wait, that's five ain't it? Math never wuz my strong subject.