Bush tries to blame Congress for high energy costs

[Cousin Jethro]

All the more retained income to pay to his oil buddies

[x-nutmegger]

Cousin Jethro wrote:

All the more retained income to pay to his oil buddies

..........and Geo. Soros and Keith Olberman .

[Gerry]

x-nutmegger wrote:

<quoted text>
He also cut taxes for everybody else including me.
I don't whether you pay taxes or not.
But my overall affective tax rate dropped from 16-17% to 10-11%.My family income is between $70-110,000.The affective tax rate is after all deductions are included base on $ vs. pre-adjusted gross income.

Well, I think in economic you have to do several things to make something work. Most people who make 50,000 dollars or less and who got a tax cut, probably have seen this tax cut eaten up by high gasoline prices. The tax cuts did not create the prosperity or growth as we are in some sort of recession. And now we are having stimulus checks. The tax cuts did not bring in the revenue that was promised by the Bush administration.

So we are running 400 billion dollar deficits, an added 4 trillion dollars to the debt, a war not paid for, no cuts in spending, a slowing economy, good taxable middle class jobs going overseas, our money going to Iraq and the neglect of our infrastructure. We also have a worthless dollar. We have a housing crisis, an energy crisis, and a monetary crisis.

We are also importing 60% to 70% of our oil from foreign countries. We are also relying on China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia to finance our debt.

So it can't be just ideology alone, it has to be management and doing the right things in economics and working in all areas to make a great economy. It is working in 10 areas at the same time to make it work. Unfortunately we have about 10 major problems at this time going against us.

[Cousin Jethro]

Gerry wrote:

<quoted text>
Well, I think in economic you have to do several things to make something work. Most people who make 50,000 dollars or less and who got a tax cut, probably have seen this tax cut eaten up by high gasoline prices. The tax cuts did not create the prosperity or growth as we are in some sort of recession. And now we are having stimulus checks. The tax cuts did not bring in the revenue that was promised by the Bush administration.
So we are running 400 billion dollar deficits, an added 4 trillion dollars to the debt, a war not paid for, no cuts in spending, a slowing economy, good taxable middle class jobs going overseas, our money going to Iraq and the neglect of our infrastructure. We also have a worthless dollar. We have a housing crisis, an energy crisis, and a monetary crisis.
We are also importing 60% to 70% of our oil from foreign countries. We are also relying on China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia to finance our debt.
So it can't be just ideology alone, it has to be management and doing the right things in economics and working in all areas to make a great economy. It is working in 10 areas at the same time to make it work. Unfortunately we have about 10 major problems at this time going against us.

The first 3 or 4 of those 10 seem to be: 1) Cheney 2) Bush 3)Pentagon gone wild 4) media gone on vacation

[x-nutmegger]

Gerry wrote:

<quoted text>
Well, I think in economic you have to do several things to make something work. Most people who make 50,000 dollars or less and who got a tax cut, probably have seen this tax cut eaten up by high gasoline prices. The tax cuts did not create the prosperity or growth as we are in some sort of recession. And now we are having stimulus checks. The tax cuts did not bring in the revenue that was promised by the Bush administration.
So we are running 400 billion dollar deficits, an added 4 trillion dollars to the debt, a war not paid for, no cuts in spending, a slowing economy, good taxable middle class jobs going overseas, our money going to Iraq and the neglect of our infrastructure. We also have a worthless dollar. We have a housing crisis, an energy crisis, and a monetary crisis.
We are also importing 60% to 70% of our oil from foreign countries. We are also relying on China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia to finance our debt.
So it can't be just ideology alone, it has to be management and doing the right things in economics and working in all areas to make a great economy. It is working in 10 areas at the same time to make it work. Unfortunately we have about 10 major problems at this time going against us.

There is enough blame to go around for both parties.

In the last two weeks Sen. Schumer of N.Y. crashes a west coast bank and the folks loose $500,000,000 in 2 weeks.

I won't even start on the 30 year tale of NO ENERGY policy. A 30 year tale of Big Oil gets richer and the Tree Huggers celebrate victory after victory while the "$400 Haircut Clique "
gets rich off both sides. Of course we the middle-class get the shaft but not the mine.

[Gerry]

Cousin Jethro wrote:

<quoted text>
The first 3 or 4 of those 10 seem to be: 1) Cheney 2) Bush 3)Pentagon gone wild 4) media gone on vacation

Well, Bush did none other than "guns and butter." And this is what LBJ did and it caused 20 years of inflation. So now the federal reserve does not know what to do, and at some time they will have to protect the dollar and fight inflation. I see slow growth for years to come to fight inflation

Another pointer is that intellectuals will say competition is good. And I agree with that. The problem is in this globalized economy, we have ruined our economy and China and other countries will gain on us. Good for them and bad for us. We have done everything wrong in recent years, and China has done more things good.

[Tony]

Gerry wrote:

<quoted text>
Well, I think in economic you have to do several things to make something work. Most people who make 50,000 dollars or less and who got a tax cut, probably have seen this tax cut eaten up by high gasoline prices. The tax cuts did not create the prosperity or growth as we are in some sort of recession. And now we are having stimulus checks. The tax cuts did not bring in the revenue that was promised by the Bush administration.
So we are running 400 billion dollar deficits, an added 4 trillion dollars to the debt, a war not paid for, no cuts in spending, a slowing economy, good taxable middle class jobs going overseas, our money going to Iraq and the neglect of our infrastructure. We also have a worthless dollar. We have a housing crisis, an energy crisis, and a monetary crisis.
We are also importing 60% to 70% of our oil from foreign countries. We are also relying on China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia to finance our debt.
So it can't be just ideology alone, it has to be management and doing the right things in economics and working in all areas to make a great economy. It is working in 10 areas at the same time to make it work. Unfortunately we have about 10 major problems at this time going against us.

A "worthless dollar" can be a good thing. It makes our wages more competitive in the world market as well as our exports- i.e. it pulls jobs back into America. The downside is TV's and DVD players from China will cost us more. Also, oil costs us more to import- that's why we should be pumping more oil domestically now. Oh, but we can't- the greens have outlawed drilling in America. That "Not in my backyard" attitude is hurting Americans.

[Gerry]

x-nutmegger wrote:

<quoted text>
There is enough blame to go around for both parties.
In the last two weeks Sen. Schumer of N.Y. crashes a west coast bank and the folks loose $500,000,000 in 2 weeks.
I won't even start on the 30 year tale of NO ENERGY policy. A 30 year tale of Big Oil gets richer and the Tree Huggers celebrate victory after victory while the "$400 Haircut Clique "
gets rich off both sides. Of course we the middle-class get the shaft but not the mine.

I don't think what Schumer has said is out of bounds. There is a list of 30 banks that could go under. It is obvious under the conditions of a bubble.

Yes, we have had no energy policy for over 35 years and we have had oil shocks and all. It would be nice for someone to get serious on this issue.

While Carter made a mistake taxing oil, he was right on energy independence and he was the last president serious on it.
http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/38580-the-energ...

[Gerry]

Tony wrote:

<quoted text>
A "worthless dollar" can be a good thing. It makes our wages more competitive in the world market as well as our exports- i.e. it pulls jobs back into America. The downside is TV's and DVD players from China will cost us more. Also, oil costs us more to import- that's why we should be pumping more oil domestically now. Oh, but we can't- the greens have outlawed drilling in America. That "Not in my backyard" attitude is hurting Americans.

I see very little good with a worthless dollar. Yes, the internationals like Boeing, Honeywell, and Deere can do good under the conditions. And bringing tourists to this country. But it is bad in so many ways. There is not one strong country that has a week currency. And the danger is the dollar can be dropped in pricing oil and also inflation.

But you are right, we should be drilling for more oil.

You say "it pulls jobs back into America." Again you have to look at 10 things at the same time. The closing of plants and the loss of middle class jobs is a negative. We do have globalization, but we need to balance those loss of jobs by creating new ones that won't go overseas. The low dollar is cheating economics and it won't work.

[Cousin Jethro]

Gerry wrote:

<quoted text>
I see very little good with a worthless dollar. Yes, the internationals like Boeing, Honeywell, and Deere can do good under the conditions. And bringing tourists to this country. But it is bad in so many ways. There is not one strong country that has a week currency. And the danger is the dollar can be dropped in pricing oil and also inflation.
But you are right, we should be drilling for more oil.
You say "it pulls jobs back into America." Again you have to look at 10 things at the same time. The closing of plants and the loss of middle class jobs is a negative. We do have globalization, but we need to balance those loss of jobs by creating new ones that won't go overseas. The low dollar is cheating economics and it won't work.

Agreed about the worthless dollar -- a friend's wife got a hospital bill for $70,000 -- it's no comfort to her that it's only about $38,000 Euros -- seems to me we should free up the good battery patents and get off our dependency on Shoveron or whatever the big oil name is

[Tony]

Paying $129+ per barrel for oil is the root cause of our weak dollar. We are giving away our futures for a way overpriced commodity. Think about it- a barrel of oil was worth about 10 bushels of corn a few years back. Now a barrel of oil costs about 26 bushels of corn. We can and should be pumping oil domestically, but let them try to grow corn in the sand.

[slodrvr61]

Seems to me that offshore drilling now is to little to late. The Bush Boys&Girl have done irreparable damage to this country and now at this late date in his term of office he is trying to fix it all. The question I have is even if oil is discovered in an offshore location, how long will it take to set up and extract, pump the crude to a refinery, and finally get it to the consumer?? And will this lessen the consumer price?? I bet not!! Wake up America, George is blowing smoke!!!

[Tony]

slodrvr61 wrote:

Seems to me that offshore drilling now is to little to late. The Bush Boys&Girl have done irreparable damage to this country and now at this late date in his term of office he is trying to fix it all. The question I have is even if oil is discovered in an offshore location, how long will it take to set up and extract, pump the crude to a refinery, and finally get it to the consumer?? And will this lessen the consumer price?? I bet not!! Wake up America, George is blowing smoke!!!

I have the impression that a lot of rigs are capped off sitting idle and just waiting for "Government Permission" (licensing) to turn them back on. Am I wrong?

[Gerry]

Tony wrote:

Paying $129+ per barrel for oil is the root cause of our weak dollar. We are giving away our futures for a way overpriced commodity. Think about it- a barrel of oil was worth about 10 bushels of corn a few years back. Now a barrel of oil costs about 26 bushels of corn. We can and should be pumping oil domestically, but let them try to grow corn in the sand.

The weak dollar is monetary only. It is the federal reserve pushing down interest rates (in effect printing too much money) to keep the economy going. Printing too much money creates inflation. We have to buy oil with the worthless dollar competing against the Euro. So in effect paying a higher prices as it takes more dollars to buy oil. You can google inflation and the federal reserve to understand more.

Yes, I agree, we should drill more for oil and get away from OPEC and Venezuela and work for alternative energy. Alternative energy will take 20 years to develop.

[Gerry]

Tony wrote:

Paying $129+ per barrel for oil is the root cause of our weak dollar. We are giving away our futures for a way overpriced commodity. Think about it- a barrel of oil was worth about 10 bushels of corn a few years back. Now a barrel of oil costs about 26 bushels of corn. We can and should be pumping oil domestically, but let them try to grow corn in the sand.

Also we are running 400 billion dollar deficits and running up a national debt. That weakens the dollar more too.

[Gerry]

slodrvr61 wrote:

Seems to me that offshore drilling now is to little to late. The Bush Boys&Girl have done irreparable damage to this country and now at this late date in his term of office he is trying to fix it all. The question I have is even if oil is discovered in an offshore location, how long will it take to set up and extract, pump the crude to a refinery, and finally get it to the consumer?? And will this lessen the consumer price?? I bet not!! Wake up America, George is blowing smoke!!!

As much as 10 years to start drilling. There are some areas that drilling can be done almost immediately because some things have been put in place.(Whatever oil companies do.)

[Gerry]

Cousin Jethro wrote:

<quoted text>
Agreed about the worthless dollar -- a friend's wife got a hospital bill for $70,000 -- it's no comfort to her that it's only about $38,000 Euros -- seems to me we should free up the good battery patents and get off our dependency on Shoveron or whatever the big oil name is

I think plug-in hybrids are the next thing for autos. Toyota is doing this. But any alternative will take time. And to build new cars with batteries and to replace all of the regular cars will take 20 years. And that goes for anything else. So it is most important that we drill as much as possible domestically.

[Cousin Jethro]

Gerry wrote:

<quoted text>
I think plug-in hybrids are the next thing for autos. Toyota is doing this. But any alternative will take time. And to build new cars with batteries and to replace all of the regular cars will take 20 years. And that goes for anything else. So it is most important that we drill as much as possible domestically.

There's a potential for all electric, not just hybrid, but apparently Chevron's sitting on the patent, wonder why, then there's hydrogen -- one thinks it could be a lot less than your 20 year estimate...look how fast they came up with the A-bomb...the real drill is just stop using the gas guzzlers, more walking, biking, dogsled, whatever -- gasoline use in Florida hit a 35 year low on the recent spike so, there must have been some waste cut out and to cut out more permanently

[tom]

bush is not good for us. he is the one that is makeing all the problems. we need him out. me myself, i think we that we shouldn't even put him in there.

[x-nutmegger]

Gerry wrote:

<quoted text>
I don't think what Schumer has said is out of bounds. There is a list of 30 banks that could go under. It is obvious under the conditions of a bubble.
Yes, we have had no energy policy for over 35 years and we have had oil shocks and all. It would be nice for someone to get serious on this issue.
While Carter made a mistake taxing oil, he was right on energy independence and he was the last president serious on it.
http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/38580-the-energ...

Of course you don't think he was out of line , I would expect nothing less.

He was right to send a letter to the proper Fed authorities.Recommending that the bank be added to the list after checking on them if warranted.

He was wrong in having it published to the general public causing a run on the bank and a $500,000,000 drain on the citizens of California.

He basically yelled " Fire" in a crowded theater before any sniffing for smoke was done.

Some people are suspecious that maybe it was another Wall Street insider job like the Bear Stern squeeze .
Hedge Fund HQ Inc.

Why didn't he consult Fienstein and Boxer first or did he ?
After all Schumer's hommies are the Wall Street pros.