Why aren't we drilling for oil?

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by zimmy

Most people don't own cars in Norway because gas is so expensive. The g.d.p is higher per capita, but it is a socialized country. The ones who are stupid about oil are not the democrats. The republicans want their followers to believe that gas prices would be lower if we drilled more. That is not true. Exxon and bp would increase their profits. Gas prices may drop a few cents on the dollar. Norway has the highest standard of living because it is a small country with government owned oil. I will ask the question directly Jim, do you want government owned oil in the US and 48% federal income tax rate for wealthiest citizens? Norway is a tax and spend country. It seems like the antithesis of what you have indicated you want in all threads but this one.

Zimmy, I'm trying man, I really am.

"The republicans want their followers to believe that gas prices would be lower if we drilled more. That is not true. Exxon and bp would increase their profits."

Please support that statement. In Alaska, the citizens (the regular folks) have made an absolute fortune thanks to the drilling. The state has zillions of dollars to fund needed social programs, and there are almost no taxes. Zimmy, you go tell the folks in Alaska that they haven't benefitted from oil, you go ahead and do that. For God's sake, every citizen in the state gets a check from the oil companies every year (thanks to Gov Palin).

"Norway has the highest standard of living because it is a small country with government owned oil. "

Agreed, Norway and the US are very different...

"Jim, do you want government owned oil in the US "

Maybe. For damn sure I'd rather the govt be exploiting it than having it sit there collecting dust! My answer is this...we might be sitting on trillions of dollars worth of oil, and if we are smart about it, we could do an awful lot of good with that money. Do i want the govt to run it? Probably not, but I wouldn't want the private companies to run wild, either. That oil belongs to the citizens of the US, not to any company. We could do so much good. I just don't see what the liberal concern is, I always thought it was the environment...

Zimmy, can you answer a direct question? Why are you opposed to drilling? Don't you see any potential benefit? Adding jobs, generating God-knows-how-much revenue, which could feed hungry kids, improve schools? Eliminating our dependence on the Middle East? Why aren't those noble goals?

Heck, I'd support a proposal that said that every cent of revenue would have to go to anti-poverty programs. i just think we could do an awful lot of good, and I don't see a downside. You might say that if a few fat-cats get rich, we shouldn't do it. But if we can help millions of Americans who need help at the same time, who cares if a few jerks get rich? That doesn't hurt anyone...I'm thinking of the good we could do with a huge windfall.

"Norway is a tax and spend country"

That's true. And they are a fabulously successful tax-and-spend country, thanks to oil. My original point was this...the Norwegians have found a way to capitalize on their oil deposits, and they are doing it in a way that (1) makes them rich, and (2) has no impact on their environment. Why can't we do the same thing? I'm not saying we need to become socialist to pull it off, I'm just saying that if they have had amazing success with their oil deposits, why don't we do the same thing?

If a few fat-cats in this country get rich along the way, that's better than making some Saudi princes rich, isn't it? That's what we're doing today...

What do you think?