jonreagan

McCain's Economic Plan: Um, Where's the Rest of It?

Not everyone agrees with your assessment on lifting the offshore drilling ban:

"But it's well known that it could take a decade for such efforts to alter the balance of energy we use and cut back on oil we import from "countries that don't like us very much"

I've heard several estimates that significant results could be reached in as little as five years. But either way, I find your line of reasoning bizarre. Using such logic, we would never plant trees....or begin large infrastructure projects such as bridges and roads.

Beyond that, it's fair to say that we can't drill our way out of the energy crisis....but neither can we "wind" or "solar" our way out. Because any single measure cannot by itself solve a problem, does it need to be rejected?

In short, Senator McCain favors increasing the supply of energy: pro-drilling, pro-nuclear, pro-clean coal. Senator Obama is opposed to all of those things, and declared on PBS last month that "he wanted to have a conversation with the American people about energy". At this point, most would agree we've had enough conversations on this topic. Even the Chinese Communists understand that to lower the price of oil, you have to increase the supply.

McCain is also strongly if favor of free trade, and lower taxes. Sounds like a pretty coherent economic program to me. Just this year, Senator Obama has opposed free trade agreements with Panama, Columbia, and South Korea (gotta keep Big Labor happy, ya know!). This kind of protectionism will choke off the one thing that is really ripping right now in our economy, exports.

We've obviously reached a rough patch in our economy....but hopefully people will avoid knee jerk reactions that take them toward a candidate like Obama, who babbles mindlessly about "change" and "hope". Times like these require well thought out solutions, not slogans.