Bush administration pushes energy bill as solution to high gas prices
American citizens — or “consumers,” as they’re known these days — are irritated about high gas prices, and many of them blame President Bush, whose popularity has hit new lows. Of course, presidents are hardly responsible for short-term swings in commodity prices. Nevertheless, Bush is rising to his fake responsibility with a fake solution. On Saturday, in his weekly radio address, he expressed sympathy about gas prices and said the solution is for Congress to pass his energy bill, which would, in fact, do nothing to affect short-term gas prices. Most analysts say the best way to reduce gas prices is to reduce demand by raising the fuel efficiency of America’s vehicles. But the House blocked an effort to do that last week. Instead, the energy bill contains massive subsidies and tax breaks for the coal, oil, and natural-gas industries, legal protections for manufacturers of groundwater-polluting fuel additive MTBE, and less than $500 million in tax incentives for renewable energy and fuel-efficiency efforts. A cure for whatever ails ya!
