That is a real head-slapper, Shoebox. I originally was going to just do this as a comment, but there’s simply too much to say, partly because Matt Lewis pointed to something in today’s Wall Street Journal that causes me to radically extend the time frame that the Neroes have been fiddling.
Before I get to the fresh material, I do have to comment on the Pelosi (lack of) plan:
– Filing lawsuits against OPEC acting as a Cartel"¦.
It’s not a new idea. I took a whack at it back when Herb Kohl (D-Nobody’s Senator) introduced it as a bill last year, and those words still stand. Do note who voted for it in the Senate; 2/3rds of the Three Nominating Stooges voted for it (McCain wasn’t around).
– Continuing to chase gouging Bogeymen"¦
– Chasing more gouging Bogeymen"¦.
Bogeymen is precisely the right term. I’ve lost count of how many times “Big Oil” has been exonerated in those witch hunts.
Forcing renewable energy into the marketplace…
I’ve taken so many whacks at the bad effects of “renewable” energy mandates, I’ve lost count.
That serves as the launching point into the fresh material. Back in 2000, then-Illinois state Senator Barack Obama pushed through a sales-tax holiday on gasoline sold in Illinois. The WSJ article failed to state why this was an issue back then. In 2000, Chicago and Milwaukee were the only two areas selling a particular formula of reformulated gas. The spring of 2000 saw a convergence of that and three factors that drove gas prices up above $2/gallon when the average price was $1.52/gallon:
– A switchover between the winter and summer blends of that extra-special Algore Memorial RFG, which included, going into 2000, the only widespread use of ethanol.
– The extended shutdown of one of the two refineries that made said RFG.
– A brand-new mandate by California that MBTE be replaced by ethanol.
Ed Morrissey also notes that these factors were never addressed. Hence, we are where we are.
I will say that the gas sales tax holiday indeed worked in reducing gas prices for the summer of 2000. The prices in northeast Illinois were, for a time, significantly lower than that in southeast Wisconsin, and were roughly the national average. Because the Illinois Legislature made it a statewide holiday, prices downstate were close to the lowest in the nation. However, once again, Ed notes that it was and is a temporary fix.
Happy to do the leg work for you! :)
I was thinking all the things you had put as NP counterpoints, I just feel redundant at being redundant as she continues to look at the symptoms rather than the causes.
In fact, the reason Sensenbrenner voted to Corn-a-Hole the country was exactly that: the boutique RFG fuels required in SE Wisconsin.
Those were eliminated with the 2005 Energy Act.
[…] everywhere. Are you SERIOUS?? How exactly are you going to do this? It’s been proven a bogeyman over and over. But wait hasn’t this proposal passed already? Oh that’s right it was realized to […]