Did the market decide whether or not the U.S. was the first to land on the moon?
You clearly don't understand the nature of leadership and the paramount need for a direction on this issues from our leaders. Your thinking is very short term. But let me spell it out for you. If our leadership would galvanize American citizens to get behind a comprehensive, massive, and sustained program to make us oil-independent, we could accrue the following benefits:
* national security: 1) hundreds of billions of dollars a year would no longer flow from US citizens to Middle East Islamofascists who fund terrorists who strike at our country whenever they can, 2) instead that money would flow into the pockets of American companies creating the alternative fuels and vehicles of the future, 3) our economy would no longer be subject to oil shocks or the whims of a bunch of 8th century Islamo-idiots who run OPEC
* national economy: 1) less use of oil will decrease our trade imbalances to the tune of $300-400 billion per year, 2) all that money would fund new entrepreneurs who'd hold the patents of future technologies that can help our economy grow as the rest of the world follows our lead to get off the oil
* environment: use of environmentally neutral alternatives would mean we are no longer a factor in global warming, which means fewer and less severe hurricanes, sustainment of the polar caps, smaller ozone holes, less volatility in global climate, and all the other benefits of a stable global climate
It's a no brainer that needs governmental leadership. Already, Silicon Valley has invested billions in this, but we have big incentives going to oil right now that makes it an uneven playing field for alternatives. Get rid of those oil incentives, so that alternatives can compete. And even give more incentives to alternatives, so that we can purposefully get off the oil. |
