April 23, 2006
All Is Lost
After throwing all I had into a vicious bout of optimism in a comment yesterday, I have been laid low.
The Everyday Economist links to a NYTimes story on the correlation between Presidential approval ratings and gas prices. Here's the chart, read and weep:
I'm rethinking this democracy thang, that is a stunning chart.
Posted by jk at April 23, 2006 5:00 PM
Despite the greatest bully pulpit in the history of humanity, the President still doesn't have the ability to open up domestic sources of oil or get more refinery output.
The answer should be simple. Democrats want you to pay more for gas.
If I had my way, you'd have to scan your voter id card when filling up. A Republican, $1 off per gallon. A Democrat? $1 extra per gallon.
Despite the greatest bully pulpit in the history of humanity, the President still doesn't have the ability to open up domestic sources of oil or get more refinery output.
The answer should be simple. Democrats want you to pay more for gas.
If I had my way, you'd have to scan your voter id card when filling up. A Republican, $1 off per gallon. A Democrat? $1 extra per gallon.
Posted by: AlexC at April 23, 2006 6:23 PMI think it is extraordinary that the population would blame the president for fluctuation in gas prices, over which he has no real control , and yet they give liberals a pass when it comes to tax increases. Gas prices often go up and then down. Taxes go up and stay there. Blame withholding I guess... if people had to write a check to the government the same way they had to pay their fuel bill every month politicians would be less able to purchase membership in the incumbency class with other people's money.
Posted by: Sugarchuck at April 23, 2006 6:53 PMOne problem, sc, is that the tax rates have become so progressive that lower income people pay little or no taxes. They have no skin in the game. Yet, everybody buys gas.
AlexC is right that the administration cannot make an articulate case. I saw the energy secretary's (what's his name again?) and the President's sound bites on the Sunday shows and I winced every time.
Secretary Samuel Bodman (who comes up fifth on a Yahoo search) said "I wish I could wave a magic wand" and President Bush said "I know it's hard on workin' fam'lies."
NOBODY said what AlexC said or what Sugarchuck said or what the Everyday Economist said or what all the right-of-center pundits on the Sunday shows said. "It' supply and demand, baby, you want lower prices increase supply!"
Maybe Josh Bolton will look into this weakness...
Posted by: jk at April 24, 2006 10:00 AMAnd it's not just supply and demand of unleaded, mid-grade and premium. It's the difficulty of delivering the dozens of special formulations of each of those for each geographical area as dictated by EPA. Just this morning I read a report in the Loveland (CO) paper that 8-hour ozone levels in northern Colorado cities are now higher than the (recently lowered) EPA standard, and one of the expected remedies is a low-volatility fuel formulation that local county governments are colluding with EPA to mandate.
This is not so much a criticism of creeping environmental overreaction, but of the market inefficiencies that are an unavoidable consequence of our government "fixing" things.
Posted by: johngalt at April 25, 2006 2:51 AM | What do you think? [4]