My Energy Plan

Watching Fox News this morning, the pundits debated the issue of off shore oil drilling, and congress failing to lift the ban. The ban will expire anyway in a few months unless the Dems are bold enough to vote on a continuation, further cementing our dependence on foreign oil, although they state they are for energy independence (just not OIL independence)

The Democratic line is "we can't drill our way out of the energy crisis" yet they want to penalize oil companies with taxes both on the incentive side as well as profit taxes. The Republicans are not much better, they are so afraid of the environmental special interests, they won't propose anything, much less point out the illogical and outright misinformation that the Democrats keep pushing.

Here is my energy policy, and why it will work:

Make a deal with US oil companies that we will allow off shore oil drilling, and drilling in ANWR provided they agree to hold actual oil production and delivery. In exchange we will not tax there profits nor withdraw tax incentives. This will put domestic oil within reach of our shores in the future, with only a switch needed to be turned on when the need arises. The oil companies will see the future potential of having these reserves online, and there stock prices will soar, while they don't even need to pump a single barrel of oil.

This provides 3 key points of national and economic security:

1. We insure we have a domestic oil supply at the ready baring any future instability in our foreign supply chain such as conflict, embargo, or countries such as china monopolizing supplies.
2. We send a message to the oil exporting nations that we currently want their oil but we don't NEED their oil. This will change the tone of negotiations when it comes to issues like Iran's nuclear ambitions, and the Saudi influence in our foreign policy.
   
3. This will bolster the US economy by creating jobs now, while eliminating uncertainty of our future energy needs without softening our current focus on conservation and alternative fuels.

Additionally this policy makes sound domestic sense. By doing so, have planned for our own future, by the time all this oil is ready to go online and into production we have eliminated our own need for it by conservation and alternatives. We should become an exporter of oil to nations like China and India, improving our trade imbalance that has been a leading cause of our current economic declines.

Unless you ride a bike to work, this issue effects you. China is fast becoming the the largest consumer of oil and energy, and they have none of the hurdles that we face, yet we continue to cripple our own nation as if we alone can save the planet. If we truly wish to be an effective environmentally conscious society, we need to strengthen our country, and demand the same environmental protectionism of China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Africa. Before we allow the Environmentalists to bankrupt our nation, cripple our defenses, and be bought out by China we must act. Many of the European nations have already embraced offshore drilling, and nuclear energy. Why we have become a follower rather than a leader? Because of people like Nancy Peolosi. If she wants to save the planet, she needs to run for the president of the world, then we can get a speaker that wants to save the Untied States of America!