Comments on: Dependence on Foreign Oil and Other American Economic Myths

By: CheeseDuck

CheeseDuck — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:39:00 +0000

Doesn't it, Byrd?

By: rintrah

rintrah — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:37:10 +0000

Byrd, I think that's part of his point. Despite the non-correlation, though, desire for lower oil prices is often used (or at least, I've seen it often used) as a political talking point by both major parties as a means of playing on the concerns of people (read: voting demographics) who are otherwise apathetic. Both sides twist the argument to their own platforms, but essentially the outcome of both sides is to provide a pretext for intervention under the guise of saving the American economy, which the U.S. government seems to invariably bungle when it comes to the region of the world in question.

In the following page, the U.S. department of energy blames OPEC's adjustments to oil prices as the catalyst for recessions:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/oildep.shtml

But recessions are the result of the prices of *all* commodities being retroactively adjusted for inflation. Therefore, the adjustment of oil and other major industrial sectors right before a recession is to be expected. Does OPEC have an effect on our economy? Of course. But addressing OPEC over the devaluation of the dollar as ways to prevent recessions is like treating a runny nose on a patient who has cancer.

There are other, more valid arguments against importing oil from certain regions. Not wanting to indirectly bankroll terrorist groups through oil producing nations is another argument altogether (which doesn't have much to do with "dependence"), as is the argument of energy sustainability (which doesn't have so much to do with dependence on *foreign* oil as it does dependence on all oil, foreign or domestic.) But this guy is addressing the argument that the American economy is floundering under the pressures of foreign influences, when that is a drop in the bucket compared to what we do to it ourselves.

By: Byrd

Byrd — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:57:07 +0000

This guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Wanting to get away from foreign oil has nothing to do with wanting to lower oil/gas prices.

By: Dandy

Dandy — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:19:20 +0000

We can actually produce all the oil we need. The majority of Alaska's oil can't be sent to the U.S.

And Canada is the biggest importer of oil into the U.S., NOT Suadi Arabia. Check the US sources for imported oil.

By: sparge

sparge — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:31:51 +0000

Yeah, free market theory doesn't really work when the market isn't actually free...

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:48:20 +0000

Strictly speaking, not true. While the argument on foreign oil is true, speaking as someone who has lived through a couple OPEC production slowdowns that were designed to artificially raise prices, I can also see that that the fact that we import our oil does have an effect on the price we pay.

By: Pol x

Pol x — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:12:21 +0000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_von_Mises_Institute

Liberatarian think tank.

Hmmmmm

Surely the point here is not "dependency" but the potential for volatility in the commodity pricing.

At the mercy of Opecs price/production decisions.

Also if the oil you pay the Saudis for in US dollars is then handed over in part to fund religious intolerance and terrorism whouldn't THAT be of greater importance than some semantic double talk about the myth of dependency?

Just a thought.

By: Peeves

Peeves — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:47:34 +0000

Foreign oil is fairly cheap considering the demand and the whole 'dependency' on it is definitely a political maneuver used by both sides..although I do think many actually believe in it. It covers all bases, the xenophobes love it as well as the anti-war people. While I don't mind drilling here if people here want it, let's not fool ourselves into believing this would stop our import of foreign oil..too many people in power in the Western world would lose too much. Just look at their relationships with Saudi Arabia to see how desperate they are for it. If there's more, people will make more (not just switch sides) and we will use more.

By: EvilCornbread

EvilCornbread — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:24:55 +0000

Uh, we can't domestically produce all the oil we need. Therefore we have a dependence on foreign oil.

It's not complicated and has nothing to do with protectionism or the price of oil at all. And it definitely doesn't have anything to do with our national central bank, even though cooky libertarians love to rant about this.

This guy's just dumb. Or not addressing the question. Or both.