Republicans certainly have a share of blame for high energy prices because of their insistent meddling in the middle east and the fact that many Republicans joined hands with Democrats to prohibit the drilling of our own domestic oil reserves and the prohibitions on new domestic nuclear power and clean coal burning facilities, John McCain being just one of those allies of the Democrats, there have been many other Republicans in lock step with the Democrats.

Those “speculators” and “investors” you seem to so despise, are America’s pension funds for working Americans. Lower oil prices are lower food cost for the average American and better economic conditions all around translating to “jobs” for the average American. Capitalist profits translate to a rising economic tide that raises all boats that aren’t anchored to the bottom by socialist political stupidity, bribery and pure laziness.

I agree the entire congress has failed us as a nation on energy policy , I believe there has to be compromises made , I think the left will be less likely to compromise

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Aint but three things in this world thats worth a solitary dime,
But old dogs and children and watermelon wine.
Tom T. Hall
http://www.obamatruth.org/

Congress has failed us, yes, but we have also failed ourselves. Who voted for them? Who started the trend, nay demanded, larger and yet larger gas-guzzling vehicles? Who neglected to upgrade their homes for greater efficiency? Who commutes rather than working close to home? Who drives solo the same route day after day rather than ride-sharing or utilizing public transportation? In the 70's there were government incentives to develop alternative energies, but who voted for Reagan thus cutting those incentives? Our excessive demand is a large part of the cause of higher prices, as is our voting record. Voting Republican (at least at the federal level) is a vote for record oil profits, record CEO salaries, and precious little trickle-down. We just keep shooting at our own lead feet.

So long as using the even more expensive oil is cheaper than alternatives, government incentives will simply cost the people even more. Even worse, because it costs the people through taxes, it takes money from everyone regardless of how much energy they use. That's why government incentives are a waste of money. If it would actually be cheaper to use alternatives rather than oil, then that's what people would do, and there would be no need for the government incentives.

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"It is extremely difficult for our contemporaries to conceive of the conditions of free banking because they take government interference with banking for granted and as necessary"

-- Ludwig von Mises

If the incentives had continued long enough perhaps we would have viable and competitive alternatives by now.

Then again, maybe not. We'll never know. They ended over a quarter century ago.

Perhaps you don't know what "competitive" means in the economic sense. When two different goods have the same price in a purely supply and demand sense, then they are competitive with one another because it will cost people about the same to buy one versus the other. If one good has to be partially paid for by the government in order for the price that consumers see to be roughly equal to that of another good not partially paid for by the government, then it is not a competitive product by definition.

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"It is extremely difficult for our contemporaries to conceive of the conditions of free banking because they take government interference with banking for granted and as necessary"

-- Ludwig von Mises

The incentives were intended to be for research and development. This does not imply continued government subsidies.

Where do you think oil companies come up with the money for research and development?

Give ya a hint...starts with a "P."

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"It's the rich people's fault they earn more." - Makedde

There's no way they'll guess it just from that.

Here's another hint, it rhymes with "cough it," as in, "cough it up and quit whining about it."

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"It is extremely difficult for our contemporaries to conceive of the conditions of free banking because they take government interference with banking for granted and as necessary"

-- Ludwig von Mises

If there was a better way to do it, someone would have done it by now.

This is America for cryin out loud!

Americans invented the light bulb, the telephone.

We may not have invented the internal combustion engine. But we are the ones who pioneered its mass use!

Americans have always been the ones to find ways of making life easier.

If there was a cleaner, cheaper way of everyone having the freedom to go where they want, some one would be selling it now.

If there is a cleaner, cheaper way, you can be sure of one thing, an American will be the one to bring it to the world.