Rikiki

Grand Energy Debate Warms Up in Washington

>>Paulk8756

It is nice to know that someone can still read and analyze. Thanks for your comments.

Clarifications:
1-- As you surmised, my point was about raising the price of fuels. Whatever the political systems exist in Europe and for whatever intent they had in taxing fuel, the (perhaps unsought) consequence of reduced consumption and higher efficiency resulted. I have great negative feelings about socialism. I am foremost a Libertarian by philosophy and a Republican by party. I am a native American citizen who grew up in a family where "waste not... want not" and "eat all you put on your plate" were rules of the day.

2--My parents were immigrants from Germany in the 20s. I was born in the Midwest, completed most of my graduate studies in CA and served my country for 6 years in the Navy. I earned the right to b*&^ch about conditions caused by the current "dumbed down" voters and political "leaders". For nearly 40 years since I became a Republican in college years, I have observed my fellow Americans slip into the morass of more government.

3--I concur that we have tried to support a more stable world and tried to keep the inter-country slaughter to a "minimum"... to our loss of precious young men and women in the military and to our financial detriment caused by hijacking a large portion of our GNP. We still have troops in Germany, Korea, and the Middle East. It is expensive to be the last line defenders of the free world. Because of our "Protector of the Free World" syndrome, we do not have the resources to spend on our own population.

4-- Having lived in MN, CA, HI, WA, TN and TX, I can assure you my observation of not only government waste but also of individual's waste is valid. . And, I was speaking about mainly scarce resource waste
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>>JHM47
If you could not READ my post try this.

1--I did not condone any sort of European governance. If you were an economist, you would immediately note that Europeans who raised taxes on fuels for whatever reason garnered a welcomed collateral effect of reducing consumption. If you are not familiar with that language, then try this.... Reducing consumption and raising efficiencies was a side effect of whatever their intent was. I simply do not care what European intent was, as one who has had scads of college courses in economics, only the consequence matters.

2-- So Europe is becoming a "third world country. Who cares? I never took a pro-European stance in my position.... merely an economic observer of facts. Emulate?? Read with your mind and don't presume to be able to vet my stands on economic issues or political systems.

3--DA you are probably too young to remember what people burned in furnaces during winter for millennia. Wood, then coal, then heavy petro and now natgas. As a matter of fact many people do buy wood or harvest wood each year for the winter months. In many parts of this country wood pellet stoves are gaining popularity, as are high efficiency wood stoves. When the folks in Boston are paying $1,000 per month for winter fuel oil., those folks in Wisconsin, Maine, Washington, Idaho, Montana and New Hampshire. will be better off.

4-- I have been a proponent of Nuclear powered everything since my first college course in physics that dealt with the matter. I have followed the Nuclear Navy since the USS Nautilus was launched. We Americans have acted like a bunch of sheeple with regards to nuclear energy generation. The US Navy has had well over 100 nuclear reactors in ships since the USS Nautilus. Nuclear Works.

5-- I have a long-standing proclivity for diesel vehicles not electric. Next car,, I think CNG and maybe in a few decades a truly satisfactory hybrid diesel/electric. Electric... maybe like the early 1900s electric trucks... only in cities, I don not foresee an electric traveling from Austin to El Paso on one charge any time in my lifetime.

READ, THINK, THEN REACT.
Rikiki

PS I support certain government projects especially the Interstate highway infrastructure, the TVA, BPA, and certainly government power infrastructure for power transmission lines. T. Boone has it mostly right in my opinion.