The Rising Costs of Bad Policy
We have seen the Bush energy policy at work now for nearly eight years, it seems to be a plan based on not leaving any big oil and gas company behind. The policy appears to be the following simple formula: give a free pass to these massive special interests in any way possible, give them record amounts of handouts from the public and then allow them to ‘thank’ the public by gouging them at every possible turn. This energy free-for-all has most definitely had an impact, unfortunately it has been a hugely negative one for individual citizens and the entire economy.
Consumers are paying record amounts at the pump, while Big Oil pulls in record profits. This has a major impact on the price of things like food and other essentials. In many ways it is responsible for a 17 year record high in inflation. As if working people weren’t hurting enough in this Bush economy, now we are getting early warnings about just how much more it will take to heat our homes this winter. Estimates from the Department of Energy project that heating costs will climb 21 percent in the Midwest this year. There is an expected 26 percent increase for homes that stay warm with heating oil.
Even with all of the bad news, John McCain has decided to follow the Bush economic and energy ‘plans’. As it has been previously documented, McCain has already learned how to roll over for Big Oil interests by reversing his own positions. Actually, McCain plans to go even further than Bush in many ways when it comes to appeasing Big Oil. He has not only decided to back Bush’s irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthy but he also gives away the treasury on even more tax cuts for big corporations. Big Oil would receive some $4 billion in additional handouts. It would be difficult to imagine, but such a McCain economy could make a terribly bad situation much worse.