"What do you do for the person who just saw gasoline go from three and a quarter to three fifty on its way to $4?" [CBS's Scott] Pelley asked.
"I would love to tell you that I have an immediate answer for that. And I don't. The only way we are going to fix it is to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. We've got to have a crash program, a all out effort," McCain said. "But, I can't give you straight talk and tell you that tomorrow I can change the price of a gallon of gas." Now it wasn't as if they couldn't see this coming, particularly with Bush's bomb-the-Middle East cowboy diplomacy.
Plus, automakers are perfectly capable of making cars that are more fuel efficient, but attempts to do anything about Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards have been minimal and fought all the way. Congress passed and Bush signed The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which requires in part that automakers boost fleetwide gas mileage to 35 mpg by the year 2020.
35 mpg?! 2020?! Well, that's our government at work at a snail's pace.
While the eco-folks out there think it's great that gas prices are rising -- because they are low in comparison to other countries and encourage less driving, more carpooling and use of mass transit -- they fail to recognize the serious problem for people who live in areas where there isn't a decent transit system, none at all, and no organized efforts encourage ride-share.
The burden of higher gas prices also inordinately affects the working poor, many cannot afford to live in expensive metro centers where they work, and must commute by car to work and to obtain goods and services easily available to city dwellers, draining low-wealth wallets even further. The problem of rising prices is complex and reflects a complete head-in-the-sand attitude by our elected officials in DC and effective lobbying by the oil and auto industry. That it is all results in a rise of inflation shouldn't be a surprise either; those costs have to be passed along eventually.
For either Bush or McCain to say they can't think of any impact they can have on this issue shows an inability or unwillingness to lead.
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Hey folks, did you notice there's not a peep from the free market folks who complain about "socialized" medicine and government programs to help the poor? Do you hear any screeches of "let the market work things out" when Bush decided to bail out Bear Sterns, which experienced a good old run on the bank situation that "required" the government to step in.
Oh that's right. It's "too big to fail" -- you're going to hear a lot of that in upcoming weeks and months as Bush's and McCain's big money backers are going to show up with their hands out. |
