How is benefiting by hiring Americans and paying lower taxes at the same time a BAD IDEA?? If you are an American, you should be ashamed of yourself, really. YOu gotta be kidding me. Taxes will stay the same for corps that outsource. Lowering taxes would be a BENEFIT and BRING JOBS to U.S. You do know that bringing jobs to U.S. helps the economy right?
So you are saying that this is a bad idea, because people will just break the law and do it anyway? That sounds a great reason not to do it, OR you could actually enforce the law. But as an alternative I agree with oil companies drilling in ANWR too. I made that point earlier, oil companies can drill if they actually PAY for the land and oil, and not freaking pennies on the dollar. If you are going to ruin a wildlife preserve to make some money, then you better pay a ton for it.
Yes that's exactly what I'm saying. Any law which can't be enforced either due to economics or lack of collective willpower of the people shouldn't be a law to begin with. Look at the failure of Prohibition and today's war on drugs. The only people who benefitted from those policies are the entrepreneurs who figured out how to break the law and serve the incredible demand for the products from the general populace (like JFK's father). Legalizing marijuana, taxing the heck out of it (like cigarettes) and using the proceeds to actually enforce laws against the truly dangerous drugs would be much more effective policy. But I digress from the topic at hand.......
I think the OP slept through his Econ 101 class in college....that is if he went to college.....because he clearly misses the whole effect of supply/demand on price. Increase oil supply (i.e. open up ANWR) at MARKET PRICES, and prices will go down. Keep supply constant, while demand increases (think of all those moving into the middle class in China and India who are buying their first car), and price continues to rise. For a rational approach to policy solutions to address the oil/energy pricing problems take a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPch2k63uj4
This won't work. Why? because then the US oil companies would sell ZERO oil in the USA. They would sell every drop of their oil abroad. The US Gov would have to pump enough oil to run the entire country. Could never happen. Who would sell oil here for $40 when it sells abroad for 135? If you mandate that all the oil pumped here, whether by oil companies or the Gov, is to be sold at $40, then you are in effect nationalizing the oil companies, and we are back to the beginning of the thread again. It still wouldn't be enough. I believe I understand your thought process; if the US gov pumps the oil, then they can sell it for whatever they choose to sell it for. This would be great if we didn't demand so much of the stuff.
I hate to bump a post but I am getting lonely ... So why shouldn't we hold onto this oil for now? Taking it out at this point is like an early withdrawal from a 401k.
we need to drill and pump like mad AND pour bucks into alternatives. it takes years for the oil to come online, by why be crippled longer than we need to be. high oil prices, if they continue, are the best thing possible for the world in the long run, cause we will shift to other technologies. but in the mean time, until its feasible to use alternative on a large scale, the US needs to pump as much of its own as possible. they can do so in very environmental ways now as well. for example, even with the major damage to oil platforms from katrina, there were no spills. in ANWR, the total operation would cover an area smaller than disneyland. we need to pump, especially offshore. Some of the biggest tree hugger nations in the World do it big time (Norway, Holland, Denmark).
Enough already! Due to the incessant demands from this ET thread we've reluctantly agreed to start limited oil production on the north slope: Independent Starts Production at Oooguruk "Pioneer Natural Resources Co. of Irving, Texas, has started production from its small Oooguruk field in the shallow waters of the Beaufort Sea. Pioneer said this week production from Oooguruk -- an Inupiaq word for "bearded seal" -- is starting out at a modest 2,000 to 3,000 barrels per day." http://www.adn.com/money/story/435149.html You all should start seeing a savings of $.002 per gallon of gas in a week or two.