Mixed Emotions: $94 Oil

[Person Man]

It's really time to start rolling out fission, fusion research and solar technology. Also, compressed natural gas and hydrogen fuel cells could do the trick too. Oil prices will come down if they have to compete with other energy sources.

You've got that reversed.  The costs of other energy sources will come down if the current high oil prices create sufficient demand to jump start the needed economies of scale needed to make them affordable.

Exactly, which is why I wholeheartedly endorse attempts to raise gasoline taxes and encourage high oil prices.

Should the US bomb Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Lybia all at the same time? That way oil prices will be $200+ for ever.

Let's not forget Nigeria, Russia, and Venezuela. All of them shady as hell.

What's wrong with those people? They all act like they need to get laid. ...maybe then they won't be so wierd and then they will be normal and friendly

[Verily]

It's really time to start rolling out fission, fusion research and solar technology. Also, compressed natural gas and hydrogen fuel cells could do the trick too. Oil prices will come down if they have to compete with other energy sources.

You've got that reversed.  The costs of other energy sources will come down if the current high oil prices create sufficient demand to jump start the needed economies of scale needed to make them affordable.

Exactly, which is why I wholeheartedly endorse attempts to raise gasoline taxes and encourage high oil prices.

But where the car is so prevalent, doing so places an even more regressive tax on the poor, who likely cannot afford more fuel efficient cars.

I agree, higher gas prices, while unfortunate in the short term have beneficial long term consequences, but I'm not sure accelerating the process is worth the burden on less well off members of the economy.

I mean, its a trade off either way and I guess I could be convinced to switch sides, but, i don't see it right now.

Our bus system is not so run down that, at least in states other than extremely rural ones, it would infeasible for those who cannot afford more expensive gasoline to use the bus system. In fact, in the long term it's an even greater benefit because it encourages the mass transit culture.

Now, I am generally very leery of regressive taxation, but in this case I feel the benefits outweigh the costs to such an extent that it is worthwhile. Moreover, the pressure would be so great on the automobile industry to offer efficient vehicles cheaply that we'd see them within five years, I guarantee. (They could do it now, they just don't see the benefit.)

In this situation, the US should be following a 1980s-Japan model of shunting industry in the proper direction. Industrial technological development works fastest under pressure, the more pressure the faster.

It's really time to start rolling out fission, fusion research and solar technology. Also, compressed natural gas and hydrogen fuel cells could do the trick too. Oil prices will come down if they have to compete with other energy sources.

You've got that reversed.  The costs of other energy sources will come down if the current high oil prices create sufficient demand to jump start the needed economies of scale needed to make them affordable.

Exactly, which is why I wholeheartedly endorse attempts to raise gasoline taxes and encourage high oil prices.

Should the US bomb Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Lybia all at the same time? That way oil prices will be $200+ for ever.

LOL. Actually, I'd rather we imposed tariffs on oil imports, which gives the added benefit of encouraging energy independence and denies funding to all of the nasty nations listed above. Oil tariffs are the only tariffs I support, incidentally.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Listen, I'm not crazy about oil pushing $100 a barrel—I mean, it sucks having to drop $30-40 to fill up my tank.  But I don't really use that much gas, and there wouldn't be a significant dent in my lifestyle if gas were to suddenly jump to $5 per gallon.

But maybe that's because I wasn't stupid enough to buy a Hummer and because I don't have to travel 60 miles to and from work every day.

[Person Man]

What car do you have?

[StateBoiler]

It's really time to start rolling out fission, fusion research and solar technology. Also, compressed natural gas and hydrogen fuel cells could do the trick too. Oil prices will come down if they have to compete with other energy sources.

You've got that reversed.  The costs of other energy sources will come down if the current high oil prices create sufficient demand to jump start the needed economies of scale needed to make them affordable.

Exactly, which is why I wholeheartedly endorse attempts to raise gasoline taxes and encourage high oil prices.

Should the US bomb Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Lybia all at the same time? That way oil prices will be $200+ for ever.

Let's not forget Nigeria, Russia, and Venezuela. All of them shady as hell.

What's wrong with those people? They all act like they need to get laid. ...maybe then they won't be so wierd and then they will be normal and friendly

It's been stated by academics and politicians that the reason oil-producing countries are shady and corrupt as hell is cause of the oil, not necessarily that they were predisposed that way. Both foreign governments and private oil companies in the past have openly encouraged coups, corruption, graft, civil wars, etc. as long as it helps their bottom line and geopolitics. When it comes to oil, companies and governments don't want something as stupid as an election shifting the power to who gets the oil.