We do with oil what we do with most things. We only look just past
our nose and see ho much it costs me.
My in-laws in Canada have been paying higher gasoline costs for
years. My relatives in Germany pay exorbitant prices for oil as
compared to us.
Part of the reason behind this is taxation. It is how governments
make their money. Their systems demand that they tax all these
things to cover the costs of government providing and securing it for them.
We do not always see these things and do not want to recognize them.
Take the case of education. In our area we will be voting on wether
or not to raise our property tax rate (local) to allow us to build a
new high school. The present school is 50 years old, is out of date
and needs a lot of upkeep. It could be remodeled but to keep it in
compliance with the ADA it would cost almost as much to refub it as
it would to build a new one.
Many folks say we don't need it. The school was good enough for me,
and good enough for my children it should be good enough for your
children. Of course if you ask there where are your children they
will tell you Montgomery, Birmingham, or Atlanta as that is where the
jobs are. You see we want low prices but do not realize that our
pushing for constant low ball prices short changes us in the
future. We tend to be short sighted and stingy.
Everything we get and do is subsidized in some way or another. We
just do not realize it or are willing to pay what it really costs.
Ask a truck driver how many taxes and fees he has to pay to travel on
the interstates. Then ask a passenger car driver if he pays the same
and the answer is no. Would we be willing to pay the same type of
fees for the same access?
Some municipalities have done this over time with sewer hooks ups
etc. You want to hook into our sewer system the price is $xxx this
is just the tie in fee, you pay the actual cost of the work that is
done to do so, but in order for us to provide you this service it
costs $xxx amount of dollars to hook up. Usually when we buy a
house this has been part of the cost of constructing it or born by a
previous owner. But it is the actual cost of doing this.
Until we start looking long term instead of short term we will always
have this problem.
Stewart
At 11:43 AM 5/28/2009, you wrote:
I think you are ignoring the *and not be a net drain* part of the
argument.
Right now we heavily subsidize oil and all its derivatives through
general taxation to support our military which supports an aggressive
foreign policy intended to secure the supply of oil to the US and much
of the rest of the world. Whether or not we should have such a
security policy I leave as an exercise to the reader, but it is clear
that we do not build into the cost of the oil the cost to secure it.
By subsidizing oil we distort the market for everything that relies on
oil, and everything that would compete with those market spaces.
Furthermore we over use oil and its derivatives with other downstream
consequences (paper or plastic?).
Markets work, but as with technology GIGO applies.
Matthew
Rev. Stewart A. Marshall
mailto:popoz...@earthlink.net
Prince of Peace www.princeofpeaceozark.org
Ozark, AL SL 82
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