By Bill Baker, J.D.
Editor and Publisher, The San Bruno Beacon
Let me start by saying that one of the main reasons the United States has so many problems is that voters continue to elect tax and waste, all sizzle and no steak politicans like Speier to higher levels of public office. During her years as a California State Legislator, Speier was instrumental in creating California's Budget disaster that we are now suffering through. Now, with all of the problems facing the United States, that require real solutions, the best that Speier can come up with is legislation to lower the National speed limit to 60 mph for freeways in urban areas and 65 mph in less populated areas.
It is quite clear that Speier does not understand the economic mechanisms driving the prices of oil and gasoline. The price of oil or gasoline will not go down based on how fast or slow people drive their vehicles in the United States.
Speier's limited understanding of finance and economics does not allow her to understand that the price of oil is being driven by increasing demand for petro based products in countries like India, China, Brazil, and Russia. In these countries, their growing middle class is now able to buy more vehicles and use more products requiring oil based energy and their hyper-active industries are devouring oil based resources to crank out more products.
In addition, the escalating price of gasoline, in the United States, is also the result of static US oil refining capacity resulting from the inability of oil refiners to open new refineries; ever increasing taxes on gas; and the fact that oil companies cannot drill for oil in oil rich areas of the United States.
The fact is that stringent environmental regulations coupled with modern oil exploration and development technology have now progressed to the point where oil resources can be developed without destroying the environment and refineries can be built that won't lay waste to the environment. However, luddites like Speier, who are stuck in the 1970s, don't realize this and are still against expanding the oil and gas exploration and development infrastructure in the United States for "environmental reasons".
If Speier really wanted to bring down oil prices and make transportation affordable for working people, then she would support increased oil and natural gas exploration and development and the building of more oil refineries. Otherwise, it won't be long before we may be paying $10 per gallon for gas. Of course, Speier doesn't care how much gas costs because she's a "let them eat cake" limousine liberal, multi, multi millionaire Hillsborough socialite who could afford $10, $25, $50 per gallon gas.
We need to increase oil exploration, oil development, refining capacity, and renewable resource technology.
However, because we have politicians like Speier, who are obviously still living in the 1970s (when national speed limit legislation was originally proposed) we can't move forward with energy independence programs that will significantly lower the price of oil so the US economy can grow its way out of our current economic problems. As far as gas taxes are concerned, you can thank tax and waste politicians like Speier for jacking up these taxes.
Speier and her non substantive side show solutions to the real problems facing the United States hurt you and your family. 