March 02, 2008
Talking is better than doing
I listened to some of Hillary Clinton's stump speech (as much as I could stomach) delivered during a campaign swing through Ohio this morning.
It was filled with a hoarse-voiced catalog of all that's wrong in Ohio, thanks to Pres. Bush and the GOP.
Clinton said she'd seen gas prices topping $3.90 on her way to the rally, which made her realize that somebody needed to do something about this problem.
She trotted out the patented blue-collar, workingman's lament to illustrate her point, telling of an Ohio resident who commuted 70 miles each way for his $5-and-change-an-hour job. According to Clinton, the man said he didn't know if he could afford to keep paying for the gas.
Sigh.
Times are tough pal; have you considered getting a job closer to home? It's not as if minimum-wage positions are rare as hen's teeth. In the alternative, how 'bout looking for a better-paying job?
But then, I'm a mean-spirited conservative, not a Democratic politician, so what the hell do I know.
Clinton reiterated her belief that she wanted, needed, deserved to be president because she would do something to fix the problem. Because, you see, it's the job of the federal government to dictate the price of a product, just like in other successful command economies.
Like the U.S.S.R.
Playing along with Clinton's can-do-something spirit, I thought to myself, "Well, what would I do if I wanted to lower gas prices?"
I harkened back to my college Econ-101 days and the mysteries of supply and demand, a theory so easy to grasp even a caveman could do it.
Hmmm. Prices are high. That must be because demand is high and supply is low. The demand variable is difficult to drive down; high taxes and high prices might serve to lessen the pressure, but at a cost too high for consumers -- like the blue-collar worker Clinton supposedly wants to help.
If we can't lessen demand, the other half of the equation is increasing supply. Given that Democrats -- and many Republicans -- believe that we're too dependent on foreign oil producers, finding a domestic source would seem to be rather promising.
So, is Clinton going to back drilling in ANWR? Support tapping vast new reserves in the Gulf of Mexico? Push for new refineries to get the fuel to market?
All this could help reduce the price at the pump.
I can't rightly say, because Clinton never offered any -- what do you call them? -- SOLUTIONS, just a seemingly-endless litany of economic tales of woe.
Listening to all this happytalk, content-free gobbledygook was both infuriating and depressing, mainly because so many in the audience seemed to enjoy Clinton's "plan," such as it is, for fixing our sputtering economic engine.
Even Obama's got more specific solutions. Like building more unicorn factories and new EPA regulations requiring that cars run on rainbows.
This is the best the Democratic Party has to offer us?
We're doomed.
Posted by Mike Lief at March 2, 2008 09:53 PM
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Comments
Classic Leninist communist tactic - create class warfare between the "haves", and the "have-nots", and provide only one alterative. More government.
Government causes the problem, and then offers to solve it with more government.
Posted by: sonarman at March 3, 2008 01:19 PM
Actually, in Ohio, it is not hard to find areas with no jobs available. I know people who drive 50-60 miles for 9=10 dollar an hour jobs.
I doubt if it is funny to them.
Posted by: augustr at March 4, 2008 10:22 AM
augustr --
I agree that feeling trapped in a low-paying job -- or having trouble finding work -- isn't funny.
What's hilarious is the position of Democratic and GOP Populist candidates that the federal government has any business interfering in the workings of the free market.
To the extent that the feds can do something about high gas prices, they can push to increase domestic oil production, as I thought I'd said.
Attacking eeeeeeeeeevil oil companies run by their eeeeeeeevil capitalist CEOs is just idiotic and demonstrates economic illiteracy that ought to disqualify the speaker from any public office higher than school counselor.
Posted by: Mike Lief at March 4, 2008 08:27 PM