April 19, 2011
Sen. Cantwell wants the federal government to simultaneously lower and raise the price of gasoline
Sens. Cantwell and Murray gave a press conference yesterday blaming "speculators" for the recent run-up in gasoline prices.
The Senators didn't offer any evidence to support this theory, presumably because they don't have any. In an earlier report Cantwell's office cited Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Bart Chilton's analysis. But Finance Professor Craig Pirrong, who specializes in the energy markets, has debunked Chilton's claims as lacking any serious evidence. Pirrong published a longer article in 2010 about policymakers' chronic tendency to blame speculators for price hikes: "No Theory? No Evidence? No Problem!"
Cantwell says she wants to "help relieve the burden of gas prices on families and small businesses". Meanwhile she's also promoting a carbon tax , the purpose of which is to raise energy prices.
Doublethink!
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at April 19, 2011
01:37 PM | Email This
1. Why doesn't she stop talking out of both sides of her mouth which is connected to her doublethink brain and get rid of unfair things like AMT, etc. which are hitting people it was never ever supposed to hit. Every year people complain and the senators never do anything serious about it, only pretending to care while soaking taxpayers for every penny they can so they can give Robert Byrd's kids and grandkids $93,000 this budget year to buy fast cars and candy. Never mind that you all thought your money was going to better uses than that. The senators are more interested in enriching themselves and their kin with your tax dollars than taking real action on anything meaningful.
2. I see Patty continues to hold the crown for "Dumbest Person in the Senate."
3. Once again Cantwell and Murray demonstrate their unmitigated ignorance about commodities markets and their role in our economy. Hedging is essential for farmers, airlines, trucking companies, grain dealers, forest products companies, etc. They buy on the current spot market to hedge against rising prices in the future. Hedging occurs in fuels, grains, and many other commodities. Hedging stabilizes prices in highly volatile markets that are facing grave risks and supply problems.
Stupid says, stupid is, describe our two senators to a tea.
4. PS: Speculators in commodities are the likes of George Soros, who prey upon capital markets for personal gain. Soros has shorted the dollar to take advantage of the havoc has reeked on our economy through proxies in political offices, including Congress and our chief-of-state.
A pox on all of them.
5. Senator Can't-do anything-Well. What a buffoon.
6. You guys aren't giving them anywhere near enough credit. They are following the talking points, and doing it very effectively. Endless public statements are made about their concern for the average family and the impact of high energy costs. Which they blame on the oil companies and the rich. Standard class warfare. In fact they want energy prices to be higher, so they back cap and trade. Again they make public statements about how they are protecting the average family from pollution and global warming. And the best part is, they get away with it because the press has their back. The hard questions will NEVER be asked. They will NEVER take an interview with a potentially hostile interviewer. They don't have to. They can get their contradictory but nice sounding messages out widely enough with the media outlets that have the same political and social goals.
It's not a conspiracy. It's just like minded people taking advantage of the situation.
Hairy
7. Btw, it would have helped had Cantwell NOT voted for a federal gas tax increase in the 90's. Then we would have been paying a little less for gas right now. What is she thinking? She can keep doing all this and we won't notice?
8. I own oil futures and I am paying high gas prices along with everyone else. Why would I want to raise the price of gas?
This woman is an idiot.
9. Perhaps we should reduce our dependence upon non-renewable fuels, maybe via a tax on carbon emissions?
Nah, let's keep handing as much of our money as we possibly can to governments which support Islamic extremism. (Especially the ones which deny Israel's very right to exist.)
And, no, it's not "doublethink" to ask the government to level the economic playing field while helping us to end our dependence upon foreign fossil fuels. Duh.
10. Murray and Cantwell need to look in the mirror to see two of the real culprits for the cause of the economic squeeze on Americans. Gas prices are just a symptom of the underlying economic disease inflicting us.
11. Drill..Patty..Drill!! This is the answer!
12. Tensor - I haven't noticed your support for more nuclear power plants. Or do you only support solar & wind, which are intermittent, and require 1 watt of natural gas power per watt of intermittent (alternative) power?
The only non-renewable (reliable) power source is a breeder reactor.
13. Tensor - I haven't noticed your support for more nuclear power plants. Or do you only support solar & wind, which are intermittent, and require 1 watt of natural gas power per watt of intermittent (alternative) power?
The only non-renewable (reliable) power source is a breeder reactor.
14. Sorry for the repost - MT hiccupped.
15. Democrats like Murray and Cantwell also want to simultaneously raise and lower taxes. A great example of poor Democrat overreach that will come back to bite. It never occured to the enviro-crusader Obama that ending all drilling permits and other such domestic energy policy would eventually have a consequence. A consequence nicely timed to coincide with his reeletion bid. You can't make this stuff up.
Smart people are out writing software, building things, running businesses, teaching people, etc. Dumb people are community organizing and taking government jobs where they'll never be held accountable.
16. Tensor....so you should support the US drilling for their own oil. That would reduce our dependence on foreign sources. It would also increase employment and economic growth. Things you say you want.
17. #15: Your second paragraph is illustrated beautifully in the movie Atlas Shrugged.
18. Nah, let's keep handing as much of our money as we possibly can to governments which support Islamic extremism. - tensor
Canada and Mexico are our largest importers of oil. Followed by Saudi Arabia and Nigeria (who just re-elected a Christian president).
While I agree it'd be nice to reduce our take from the Saudis, I do get tired of the masses thinking we get the bulk of our oil from the Middle East.
19. Yeah, let's make fuel from corn. How's that working out for us.
Drill and stop making excuses.
20. To the subject of the post.
Let me see.
There's still no drilling in ANWR.
There's still an illegal moratorium on drilling in the Gulf.
Politicians - like Murray and Cantwell - refuse to allow drilling or exploration off our coasts.
India, China and Indonesia's economies are exploding and their demand for oil is skyrocketing.
Yet, these two doorknobs are blaming speculation as to why we're seeing gas prices go past four bucks a gallon.
I'm not sure if these two actually believe that.
Or if they expect us to.
21. And not a word about Obama's illegal moratorium on Drilling....
As for Cantwell and Murray - two communists talking the party line.
22. That's because governments have a moral imperative to "profiteer" oil resources, whereas "big oil" should not be allowed to make a profit of any kind.
23. The stupidity or disingenuous (I'm not sure which, maybe both) just astounds me but, I have to say, I'm not really surprised. This kind of thing is standard Demorat fare. Obama does it all the time. It's like they think that nobody is listening or if they are, they are so stupid as to not notice.
Personally I think she does it on purpose. Most people in Washington state are just so far from understanding economic consequences that this passes for intelligent governance. She knows that and shovels this crap like there is no tomorrow.
If I'm wrong and she's not doing it on purpose than she's a textbook case for the need for some sort of minimum standard on free markets and economic knowledge before you can run for office. Bumbling boobs like her are killing the country.
24. 10%+ unemployed.
If the rats think this stance will improve the economy, ...well they do like peyote don't they?
Sooner or later, their feckless, useless, incompetent economic stewardship will come back to bite them on their liberal back-ends.
25. It is now clear that Patty and Maria are mathematically and economically challenged, as if it wasn't already. The Democratic Party has been hijacked by the economically challenged/retarded leftists, who are showing themselves to be feckless with lots of bluster.
26. Attila @ #24: I wish the unemployment rate was 10%. If you include those who have stopped looking or run out of their 99 weeks of benefits, the figure is estimated to be closer to 20 that 10 (some say 22%!).
Even at the bogus 9.8% mark, this is the worst unemployment since 1948 and Mr. Obama owns it and the Goofball Sisters (Cantray and Murwell) aren't helping.
27. Patty continues to hold the crown for "Dumbest Person in the Senate, but, the people that continue to put her back in are MORE dumb.
28. #27 you summed up my thoughts well.Warning they might try to do the same with Can't do well too.
29. Dumb and Dumber cant wait until they ruin this economy with their debt, deffecit, massive gas and food inflation, deflation of our dollar, homes and lifestyle. They feast at the troughs of government and throw the scraps to us peons!