The Blue Board

its a federal regulation, not State.

Point 1-
Federal Ban on offshore drilling (within 200 miles of the US coast) until at least 2017

http://oilandgasdrilling.blogspot.com/2010/12/obama-freezes-until-2017-expansion-of.html

This is important because the last study by the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) estimated undiscovered conventionally recoverable resources in Atlantic federal waters to be 7,200,000,000 barrels (1.14×109 m3) of oil and 27.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF) gas.

Again as mentioned by me earlier, this does not count in your little 2% figure because without the ability to do exploratory drilling, these resources can't be counted as "proven". So as I mentioned earlier, continuing to use that 2% number as compared to our 20% usage is very disengenuous. And since this seems to be the basis of your argument, we have differing reality assumptions.

As for the idea of the US being spoiled by low gas taxes compared to the world is silly, we have the lowest tax rates in general BY FAR in the world because we are still (At least for now) not socialist in nature. So it is not silly if we feel that our government is again overtaxing something....

Yes, you are correct Gas prices typically rise every year at this time, and then are reduced, but the alarming trend is that unlike years past, over the past 5 years, Gas prices have risen at a much higher pace, and when they drop, they drop to a rate that would have been considered high to start with. So The spike up has been higher and the adjustment back down has been less dramatic so that steadily the prices have been rising as a whole, much faster. Again, this IS a function of supply and demand and the policies that our government has put in place.

IT is very simple, yes oil prices are determined by financial markets and demand, but they are also determined by Supply, which is largely dominated and controlled by middle eastern countries, many of which do not sell to us, but do to Europe and China. The only way to stop this is to change the supply diametric, and the only way to do that is to drill. The only way to show what potential we have and are not tapping, is to do exploratory drilling the amounts that are potentially at our fingertips would move that 2% number up to a much more effective percentage with respect to supply.

Only an apologist of current policy could make your last statement, that the increase of Oil to its current level is an indicator of the US and European economies improving. This is a sign of markets being concerned over supply due to the unrest in Syria and Iran NOT an indication of increased demand that an economic spark would indicate (especially since you yourself also pointed out that overall demand has DECREASED in the past 5 years.

No you didnt call Republicans heartless, what you said was: "Ironically, if Republicans had their way and there were no regulations and safety regulations" this implies that the heartless republicans want to openly and carelessly destroy the environment, and the claim is ridiculous, even the most openly capitalist GOP doesn't believe in ZERO safety regulations, but the inferrance was there. Just like a few years ago, when republicans wanted more budget cuts including cuts in the growth of the school lunch program, all you saw were dems out saying that heartless republicans wanted kids to go hungry....

I grew up in a small Mississippi town where International Paper had a large mill occasionally youd smell it, it employed a good bit of the town, the other main employer was Armstrong Rubber... Both of those companies are gone, and the town has gone to hell, most folks I talk too say they wish the mill was back.
And now, 30 years later I live on the Chesapeake Bay in Southern Maryland, less than 5 miles from a Nuclear power plant, and I am fine with that, even though there is a huge lobby here to eliminate it. Not surprisingly these are the same people complaining about mean spirited energy companies gouging energy prices in Maryland.
As for refineries, there are plenty of areas proposed for refineries that are MILES away from residential areas, but are still being protested into oblivion, not by locals, who would appreciate the employment, but by professional protestors. Think these don't exist? Pick up a copy of the Washington Post and look in the classifieds under "Activist"...

Nice observation retards. Do you know the reason for this? Its because the country was founded up North, has more population, and was the center for the industrialization of America. If the damn pilgirims would've landed in Georgia or South Carolina it'd probably be reversed. Not to mention the destruction of the civil war set back the south in almost every way possible. So congratulations on being the recipient of things from hundreds of years ago.

Liberals are the ones sitting in the middle of Wall Street saying give me, give me. Democrats are saying lets just give all these lazy wastes of life whatever they want, hell while we're at it why don't we just join the EU? Since that model has worked so well for them. Since we're doin that, let's just do away with immigration laws. Open up the gates and let whoever in. It doesn't effect you guys as much right? Being in the North mostly and all they won't take too many of your jobs or start another Mexican Mafia or cartel. Maybe all the problems that comes with them will stay in Mexico.

I'm all for a person coming in to our country to better themselves. This nation was founded on it. But why is it such a big damn deal to do it the right way?? Go through the process and become a citizen. Pay taxes and don't rape the country of all its benefits if you aren't prepared to give some back since it has given you so much. End of rant.

Being on the left has worked out pretty well for Canada lately. The argument that handouts are the reason the EU struggles just isn't accurate.

Because of all the blacks and Mexicans, get rid of them and our nation is great again

How is that blowing smoke? Gas was lower than that before Obama was elected.

Words of wisdom from a 20 yr old that has never paid a single tax in his life. Tell us more!

You must be living in your parents basement.

The United States has far more oil reserves than 2% because that only represents the oil production. If the oil was not available why would companies wish to drill for it? Oil is not the problem, this administration is and this administration talks out of both sides of their ass. Open the new pipeline from Canada if it doesn’t matter, and stop saying we can not drill our way out of this. We know gas prices are high now so let’s try to drill more, because drilling more sure has lowered natural gas prices even with a rise in demand.

As far as the temporary ban that you say ended to Oct 2010, I call bullshit. Oil rigs are still departing the Gulf due to permit restrictions by this administration. Oil rigs will drill somewhere on the globe, and if we run them from the gulf it makes getting the oil more difficult.

I do not think Obama is a Nazi just a liberal that has said he does not mind gas prices going up. What a heart for the poor, because they can afford higher gas prices better than anyone.

Okay, I wont say you made that up, but if you go to OccupyWallSt.org it is clearly stated that there is NO official list of demands (which is typical for protests of this nature, because if they have no official demands, they cannot be addressed), but there are many blogs that are put forth, and here is a very popular one (front page of the website forum section), here are the 13 demands made:

Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending “Freetrade” by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.

Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.

Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.

Demand four: Free college education.

Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.

Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.

Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America’s nuclear power plants.

Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.

Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.

Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.

Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the “Books.” World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the “Books.” And I don’t mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.

Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.

Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.

It is very clear by looking at these that the folks who support these demands have absolutely ZERO underestanding of economics... and are clearly looking to be "given" a living.

uh huh...

are you an economist?

occupy wall street people smell really bad. occupy lost all creditability when they decided to steal, do drugs, damage private property, and rape their own.

I did say it, in my original post, go reread..... I can't help it if you missed it.