Quote:
Originally Posted by mike3fan
Americans elected a oil man form(from) an oil family that has close ties to some of the biggest players from the largest oil producing countries in the world are then upset because the oil companies get their way?
|
GMan said;
Quote:
I think increasing our drilling domestically could lower prices. The main reason is because OPEC would like to keep prices below what it would cost us to become more self sufficient. I recall a few years ago when oil was around $25/barrel. The U.S. was talking about pulling oil from shale and the cost threshhold along with the cost of efficiently producing alternatives using ethanol, etc., Prices dropped just below the cost of producing these other alternatives and extracting from shale. This worked for several years. They would go beyond the threshhold and when the talk started prices ebbed just below that figure.
I do agree that much of the reasoning for drilling domestically has a lot to do with keeping money within North America. It is in our interests to keep our money closer to home. Canada and Mexico are two of our largest trading partners. It would be much better to keep that money within this hemisphere.
I also agree with Stan about ownership of most of the major oil companies being foreign owned. Prices escalated dramatically once these oil companies were allowed to merge with foreign oil companies. They don't have any loyalty to U.S. interests. Something so vital to U.S. security should not be controlled by foreign entities. Congress has been asleep at the wheel. They should never have allowed these companies to merge.
|
While Mike3 is right...America elected George Bush to the office of President of the United States......President Bush had nothing to do with the majority of the Oil Company mergers. His administration didn't even have a hand in the approval process. That fell to President Clinton...and the head of the Federal Trade Commission....whom was appointed by G.H.W. Bush, in 1990, and whom Clinton left as head of the FTC, the entire time he was in office.
And that right there is what excuses Congress, in GMan's statement. If Clinton had appointed someone different to head the FTC, while he held the position of POTUS, all those mergers may not have been approved.
Unless Congress specificly takes action to stop a merger, it is all handled by the FTC.
G is also correct about Foreign Oil Companies not holding the best interests of the United States in high regards. National Sovereignty does not count with a foreign company. America's natural resources should be handled in the manner as Mexico's natural resources, or Spains natural resources...or Saudi Arabias natural resources.
