Congressional Insanity: Sue OPEC over Oil Prices

In a veto-proof margin, no doubt enhanced by election political pandering,the House passes bill to sue OPEC over oil prices.

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure. The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust laws that U.S. companies must follow.

The measure passed in a 324-84 vote, a big enough margin to override a presidential veto. The legislation also creates a Justice Department task force to aggressively investigate gasoline price gouging and energy market manipulation.

The White House opposes the bill, saying that targeting OPEC investment in the United States as a source for damage awards "would likely spur retaliatory action against American interests in those countries and lead to a reduction in oil available to U.S. refiners."

Bush Correct Again

Bush was correct in threatening to veto housing legislation, and this veto is clear cut as well. Ironically, after having nothing good to say about President Bush for nearly 8 years, I am now defending him in back to back issues.

Congressional Arrogance

The arrogance of Congress is amazing. Congress actually thinks it can pass legislation the rest of the world must follow. Imagine the outrage if China passed laws and told the US what to do! China, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Iran, and five dozen other countries should all issue a joint statement.

It should read as follows:

If you are wondering why oil prices are high you should look into a mirror. You are blowing $trillions in Iraq, wasting countless billions on housing bailout plans, you have troops stationed all over the world, wasting energy at great expense.

The taxes you are collecting do not meet your expenses, on anything. Look at your latest farm bill, your tariffs on ethanol and your policies on grains, all of which are driving up prices. It's no wonder the the US dollar is falling.

Your president and treasury pay lip service to a "strong dollar policy" but the actions of Congress and your administration are doing everything they can to destroy the dollar.

Instead of trying to write laws for the rest of the world, please take care of your own business.

Instead, everyone tap dances around the issue, attempting to be as diplomatic as possible. Clearly diplomacy is not working. And it's no wonder that diplomacy is failing given that Congress is practically brain dead. A nice well deserved "Go To Hell" message just might wake Congress up. I doubt it actually, but it sure can't hurt.

Mish Oil Plan

• Eliminate ethanol subsidies (Brazil produces ethanol at 1/3 our cost but we will not allow ethanol imports)
• Eliminate crop subsidies
• Eliminate all tariffs and all subsidies
• Adopt a balance budget (This will strengthen the US dollar, dramatically)
• Get out of Iraq, Europe, Japan, and damn near everywhere else (This will ease geopolitical tensions and have Iraq pumping oil within 4-5 years or less)
• End US imperialism (This is very dollar supportive)
• Legalize hemp for fiber production and biofuels (This will reduce the need for petroleum based fibers, and hemp will be far better at producing biofuels than corn)
• Let the free market find a solution (If Congress would get the hell out of the way, the free market will find a practical solution)

Instead Congress wants to sue OPEC. In a way, suing OPEC is innocuous because it is a pointless waste of time and going nowhere. I talked about this idea recently in Congress Whistled Offsides. However, this is very frustrating to me because the answers are so easy.

I am all in favor of being able to tell OPEC where to go. But the plan has to start with free market principles, not US imperialism or Congress attempting to dictate laws for the rest of the world.

Comments

[Joe Six Pack]

Could we just get this over with and elect a Ron Paul-type president? Both parties are full of complete idiots. This country needs more than a band-aid, we need a complete blood transfusion and it starts w/ cutting spending at least 50%.

2008 May 23 04:50 AM

[GMC]

Great article. Congress just wants to point fingers away from themselves. They are the problem. When you spend too much money in your own budget you cut back, I know I do. So why is it so hard for the American people to adopt a similar program in our national economic plan? The answer is because our government leaders (politicians) keep throwing up smoke screens like this lawsuit against OPEC or congressional "investigations" into excessive oil company profits. The old addage applies: Tell a lie often enough and loudly enough and soon people begin believing it.

2008 May 23 08:16 AM

[Mike Cooper]

You're absolutely right, but I wouldn't get to worked up about it. It's an election year, and one in which the left has the wind to their backs. It is akin to legislating while intoxicated. Personally I just glad Congrees is wasting their time on symbolic fluff like this rather than attempting real legislation.

2008 May 23 11:05 AM

[Rikiki]

Our intelligent public servants elected by our educated populace at work! There should be only be two absolutely mandatory requirements before running for public office in both Federal and State governments.

1. Every public elected individual must personally prepare his own income tax returns within 8 clock hours and be audited by the respective Federal and State taxing authorities.
2. Every public elected official must take and obtain a certified "B" or better grade in college level "Economics 1" and in high school level "ethics".

There should be also a limiting of terms of office for these arrogant condescending twits.

Rikiki
MN, CA, HI, WA, TX

2008 May 23 11:37 AM

[jackooo]

Rikiki
You are wiser than the twits. You have my vote...
It's a shame that that is the best this country has to offer.
The bright side is they are not messing with the electorate if they are spending their time with OPEC.

2008 May 23 01:24 PM

[rbblum]

Maybe it is the US Congress that should be considered in violation of the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1961 - 1968. . . being bankrupt in acting responsibly, providing appropriate oversight and providing long term leadership to act . . . whether it be an energy policy, securing the national borders, failing to maintain the integrity of the US dollar, not curtailing waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayers' monies, physical properties and institutions.

Have a safe and pleasurable Memorial Day.

2008 May 23 03:07 PM

[User 137542]

Might be interesting to hear comments from our 3 leading Presidential candidates regarding this action. Any chance one of them would exhibit some intelligence?

2008 May 24 03:04 AM

[jjason]

Mish,

I agree with everything you said BUT... "do not make OPEC illegal under US law"

In my Websters dictionary, cartel is defined as: an association of industrialists, businesses, etc., for establishing a national or international monopoly by PRICE FIXING; SEE MONOPOLY.

Under US law, monopolies are illegal.

I am fed up with the cartel that we refer to as OPEC. OPEC is part of the problem with high energy prices.

Not that the other problems you mentioned should be ignored.

So, let's start somewhere.

For example, In my garden I grow excellent tomatoes, beans, cukes, squash and other veggies and flowers and I use no fertilizer, bug spray or weed killers. I can cut all my grass in 15 minutes using one pint of gasoline.

I can walk to the park, bank, supermarket, post office, tax collectors office, cable TV office and pay many bills online.

I have not filled up my 250 gallon heating oil tank since April and will leave it empty until, maybe, November. I heat water using solar bags ( two 8 gallon water bags ) and I am building a low tech, solar heater ( free plans from mother earth news ) to help heat my house.

You see...SCREW OPEC, and 400 MILLION DOLLAR pensions to BIG OIL executives, and the OIL SPECULATORS, etc.

Hopefully, my fellow Americans will be as pissed as I am and do something about it.

OH, I left out Bush, Cheney, Halliburton, the Bush family and those sonsofabitches who voted for this FxZ%ing war in FxZ%ing IRAQ.

2008 May 26 12:36 PM