Obama Doesn’t Care That Keystone Pipeline Is Key For Middle Class
December 22, 2011 8 Comments
Obama has spent the better part of his three years in office claiming to for the poor and middle class. His economic policies haven’t exactly helped the middle class, but that hasn’t stopped Obama from claiming to love and support middle class Americans. Obama and the GOP are fighting over a minor tax cut extension that amounts to around $20 a week for the average American. No doubt preventing DC from getting any more money is a good thing. But let’s put that in perspective. Americans spent on average over $4,100 on gas in 2011. That’s nearly four times as much as it will cost Americans if the government fails to extend the payroll tax cut.
The average price of gas was around $3.50 this year, an all time record. It’s slightly lower right now as December has historically seen lower gas prices because of lower demand. What has Obama done to reduce the cost of gas for middle class Americans? Obama will of course point to increased fuel standards for automobiles. But of course we have to acknowledge that with increased fuel standards there is a trade off. You’ll pay less at the pump but you’ll pay more for a car. At best the trade off is equal, in which cases no one is better off financially. Obama will also point to the failed Chevy Volt, which has cost taxpayers a fortune while failing to win the hearts and wallets of average Americans.
There is of course one thing Obama can do to reduce the cost of gas. He can approve the Keystone oil pipeline from Canada. The Canadians have oil coming out their ears from the oil sands in northern Canada. By approving the pipeline, Obama can immediately reduce the price of oil on the world market and thus the price of gas. The mere prospect of more oil on the market causes the price to drop as futures markets anticipate the new source of oil. We’ve seen this happen before, particularly when the strategic oil reserve is tapped.
There of course is another thing Obama can do to reduce the price of oil and gas. He can allow more drilling in the Gulf Coast and in Alaska. This coupled with the Keystone pipeline could nearly eliminate our dependence on middle east oil. We would produce oil ourselves and obtain oil from friendly Canadians. Yet Obama refuses to do any of this.
Obama has two main political groups fighting to prevent us from having cheaper oil. He has the environmentalists demanding higher energy prices to fulfill their socialist, anti-freedom agenda. He also has your run of the mill top down socialists who want Americans dependant on government and see high energy costs as a means to that end. Obama himself has talked about $5-10 gas in glowing terms.
For someone who claims to support the middle class, Obama is doing the opposite in refusing to approve the Keystone pipeline. If the price of gas were cut in half because of increased supply it would result in $2,000 in the pocket of the average American. That’s twice as much as the payroll tax cut extension. And thus you see why Obama doesn’t want to approve Keystone. The middle class is dependant on Washington for a measly $20 a week in tax cuts and Obama right now has the middle class begging him to extend it, be it for two months or a year. Keystone would put twice as much in the pockets of Americans, all without direct government involvement. And thus we see why Obama refuses the pipeline.
About Steven
Of course Obama has no intention of seeing something like the Keystone pipeline come to fruition. It would go against everything he espouses and if he says anything different, he is telling a bald-faced lie. His actions speak volumes, much louder than his words.
His support of the middle class goes only far enough to get himself reelected. He is very adept at spouting rhetoric against the “rich and wealthy”, mainly because he has the ulterior motive of gaining a second term. Other than that, he could care less.
That is absolutely correct. It is Obama’s goal to create a permenent underclass that re-elects Obama and Democrats for generations to come. Obamacare, the Stimulus, his tax policies, Keystone etc. all show as such.
One other thing about Obama. He uses a lot of rhetoric against the rich and their perks, but he needs to look in the mirror. He isn’t exactly a pauper and it shows.
Gasp, I thought he was one of the 99%!
Oh yeah, he would like Americans to believe that, but nothing could be further from the truth. Once again, he talks a good talk, but his walk betrays him.
At 55 i never dreamed that the state of our Country would be in such a mess when i was a child !! But we must stay the course,, and keep the faith!! And Pray God is aware of the evils of our day!
But exactly, how would the Keystone pipeline reduce gas prices in the United States? Transcanada has acknowledged in their 2008 permit application that the oil would be exported out of the United States – so if it’s exported to Canada and Latin America as the company themselves have stated – how would exporting oil help Americans struggling with gas prices?
Transcanada’s 2008 permit application states:
“Existing markets for Canadian heavy crude, principally PADD II [U.S. Midwest], are currently oversupplied, resulting in price discounting for Canadian heavy crude oil. Access to the USGC [U.S. Gulf Coast] via the Keystone XL Pipeline is expected to strengthen Canadian crude oil pricing in [the Midwest] by removing this oversupply. This is expected to increase the price of heavy crude to the equivalent cost of imported crude. The resultant increase in the price of heavy crude is estimated to provide an increase in annual revenue to the Canadian producing industry in 2013 of US $2 billion to US $3.9 billion.”
The company has stated that it would drain Midwestern refineries of cheap Canadian crude into export-oriented refineries in the Gulf Coast, and increase the cost of gas for Americans. Do your research and check out Transcanada’s 2008 permit application for yourself.
I’m not so sure that’s correct. But let’s assume it is. The sooner Canadian oil is on the market, the sooner oil prices and gas prices drop. The pipeline is going to go through the United States and will directly fund 20,000 jobs. It will indirectly create 100,000 jobs. We have a President who spent the fall running around the country talking about jobs but he opposes something that will create tens of thousands of jobs. It will also reduce the price of gas and oil by getting Canadian oil on the market sooner.