5/29/16

How Energy & Tax Issues Differ in 2016 Election Cycle



Traditionally democrats and Republicans have had substantial differences in policy approaches to energy and taxation during Presidential election cycles since the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973. President carter's synthetic fuel plant at Parachute Colorado never went to far. The Federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve did however, and even now that oil in salt domes seems quaint. Fracking has crashed the value of oil per barrel and the price may stay low the next 20 years or longer if foreign nations commence large scale fracking too.

It is a paradox that U.S. energy companies may look toward the rival solar and wind power producers, that they have already begun to buy in to, as a way to help keep oil from dropping too far in sales price. If solar power becomes ubiquitous as building coatings, automobile finishes; even highway repaving material and roofing material, and if foreign oil developers begin large scale fracking, the motivation to increase American fracking may decrease and oil supplies may thus be slower to increase in volume available overall.

If demand for U.S. oil decreases while solar and wind power dramatically increase a careful maintenance of the value of oil may follow because of the decrease domestically for it. Large U.S, multinational oil corporations have vast quantities of foreign oil as well they can import in a few days with supertankers to moderate price. Because restricting supply increases demand and sales price generally if there is an existing demand for a product, just as restricting labor supply increases the value of labor if there is an existing demand for labor, limiting the increase of demand for oil and increasing the availability of solar and wind power that oil corporations invest in may make the best price moderation criterion for the multinationals and consumers alike.

Fundamentally there is little real difference in U.S. energy policy from Democrats or Republicans in 2016. No one likes coal of course except for the honest, honorable workers employed in that difficult industry. Demagogic appeals from either side have different values of course, yet retraining workers and capping the dirty business is the best realistic plan.

Energy policy of either party isn't too different, yet neither is tax policy. Democrats in the majority with a Democrat President made tax cuts for the rich permanent. Yet rhetorically the President gave crocodile tears about wishing to increase taxes on the rich-nearly and impossibility without a Democrat majority, and of course it was the Democrats to passed the tax bill in the first place, so that issue is as much bunk as the President Obama dropping into Hiroshima to make a legacy speech about getting rid of all nuclear weapons. Seven years into his administration is too late to muse about that. Informed people are aware that arms nuclear arms reduction requires serious and substantive talks and require several elements to be aligned.

A certain trust must be established among nations. President Obama has increased distrust of Russian leadership and President Putin has little reason to trust the U.S.A. after its Ukraine and Syria policies. President Obama led sanctions against not only Syria, but Russia too and has done much economic harm.

The President hasn't exactly made India and Pakistan more trusting of each other, and neither North Korea. It is also hard to imagine China getting rid of its nuclear arsenal. If anything they are likely to increase it.

It the President's tax are nuclear disarmament policies are a sham, so are the differences between the Republican and Democrat parties on energy and taxation. Environmental policy is important however neither party has the slightest ecospheric economic foundation too its economic approach. Each have non-renewable economic value principles are from my perspective are primitive. Democrats say much about supporting good environmental policy and actually make a very slight difference, while Republicans honestly say they don 't give rats ass about keeping wilderness or restoring it and stopping mass extinction. The bottom line is that the environment loses 99 to 0 with Republicans and 89 to 0 with Democrats in the game of human life on Earth


No comments:

Imperfect Character is Universal

The question of why anything exists rather than nothing was a question that Plotinus considered in The Enneads. Why would The One order anyt...