Hilary is asking for a cut in gas prices/taxes:
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton lined up with Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, in endorsing a plan to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline, 18.4 cents a gallon, for the summer travel season. But Senator Barack Obama, Mrs. Clinton’s Democratic rival, spoke out firmly against the proposal, saying it would save consumers little and do nothing to curtail oil consumption and imports.
While Mr. Obama’s view is shared by environmentalists and many independent energy analysts, his position allowed Mrs. Clinton to draw a contrast with her opponent in appealing to the hard-hit middle-class families and older Americans who have proven to be the bedrock of her support. She has accused Mr. Obama of being out of touch with ordinary Americans who are struggling to meet their mortgages and gas up their cars and trucks.
Mrs. Clinton said at a rally on Monday morning in Graham, N.C., that she would introduce legislation to impose a windfall-profits tax on oil companies and use the revenue to suspend the gasoline tax temporarily.
“At the heart of my approach is a simple belief,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Middle-class families are paying too much and oil companies aren’t paying their fair share to help us solve the problems at the pump.”
Of course this sounds great - who wouldn't want cheaper gas and soon cheaper food? But such an act only delays the day of reckoning and makes the final price too great. My bet is that politicians will try this for a while and then of course fail. The political cost will be huge. People will feel betrayed because they thought that politicians can hold back the tide.
Both the people and the politicians hope that we can keep the kind of life that we have now. But I fear that this is no longer possible
Food will get expensive.
There is no substitute for cheap oil.
Life and every aspect of how we live will have to change. We are going to have to make our local community as self sufficient and resilient as possible.
In some ways this could be very exciting as it will mean that we all have to get together and help each other
More later
