Jim,,,,,<<< Bush missed some opportuntities. Gore clearly say one way to attack the energy crisis was to reduce consumption. I'd have taken him to task on that and ask how he prosed to do it accusing him of wanting to raise taxes on fuel.<<
Personally, if govt. raises my fuel taxes, but lowers my Fed. taxes by a similar amount, I would prefer a gas tax on foreign oil, so we can get started conserving gas, looking for cheaper alternatives, pay for higher drilling and exploration costs. Ted was right several wks ago when he said we need to get started. However when Al wussed out on a excellent opportunity to introduce a plan, Ted also wussed out. Achieving the goal of energy independence isn't going to be easy; you certainly can't do it easily and in a short time, and will require a great deal of cooperation between big oil, consumers, govt., and science. GW's plan of increasing exploration and using clean coal is a start. Al's plan of conservation is a start.The country needs both.
I thought GW's plan on social security, letting people invest some of their money directly was far better than Al's proposal of locking away the trust funds. I certainly hope Al would do better on that than he did on saving the oil reserve for a crisis. Never underestimate the ability of politicians to spend our assets and make up an excuse later. It seems every asset govt. has,(white house,camp david. oil reserve) has been for sale for a donation or a vote. I wouldn't trust my money for a minute with either of these guys. A 2% return is a joke, how many people couldn't beat that; in addition, a lot more people would take an interest in their retirement savings. We need a reason for young people to believe Social security will be alive and well for them also. |
