L.A. Liberty

Oil Prices →

laliberty:

libertarians:

If I hear one more thing about Obama attempting to lower the cost of oil, I am going to scream. Here are a few things he can do in order to lower the amount we pay at the gas tank:

Remove all oil regulations in terms of their composition content.

Remove all bans on drilling.

Privatize land so that the environment isn’t screwed by public leases.

Quit enhancing conflicts in the Middle East.

Retire.

We will never have an oil crisis. We need to let the goddamn oil be influenced by one factor: the free market price system. If we’re using too much oil at the low prices, the price will increase, and we’ll stop using as much. In the meantime, companies will expect no bailouts and no subsidies and no protection from the government against these rising prices, so they’ll invest in new technology.

The end.

Exactly. But, don’t forget:

cut all oil and fuel “taxes and government fees and surcharges” (in many states this may be a third of the total price per gallon)

end the fed (which has accounted for the dollar to lose nearly all its value since the Fed’s creation, and is greatly responsible for the increase in prices of food, oil, and everything in between)

i feel like every single post about this is completely ignorant of the fact that oil goes on the world market, thus meaning that increasing drilling at home gives us very little in terms of price reductions

I’m certain you noticed that this was but one bullet point among many listed.

But as to your objection: an increase in the supply affects the price essentially commensurate to the increase. There is not an insignificant amount available within United States territory that is closed off to producers and thus unavailable for consumption. As such, there could potentially be a not insignificant increase in supply. Further, the fact that the oil would be domestically procured would mean that the very considerable costs of transporting the oil (and insuring said transport) over (or under) seas would be essentially eliminated from domestic consumers. Therefore, its availability in - using your term - “the world market” is countered by the producer’s ability to reduce overhead by selling domestically without eating into the profit margin that incentivized said producer to make the oil available in the first place.

(via apartmentcomplex)

Posted April 19, 2011 at 1:20pm in ∆ | comments || home