Paris Hilton's Energy Policy

Neither US Presidential candidate has been able to articulate an energy policy as clearly as Paris Hilton, and they sure as hell haven't looked as good as her in the process.

It's understandable if you are distracted and have to watch a few times to actually hear what she is saying. The first couple of times I watched, I thought I was hearing her call my name... : )

How many presidential candidates have their own ideas anyway? They have a team of "experts" around them to give them options and recommendations. All they have to do is make a decision and present it. Paris makes both of these guys look like amateurs with no ideas on important issues like energy.

McCain needs some spark and youth behind him. He should consider Paris for VP, or at least a campaign advisor on energy policy. Whatever happens, we just need to see more of her!

Global Oil Problem Not Just About Oil

The US is the largest user of oil by far, but it won't always be. Nations like China and India will soon pass the US up. Why is this happening now?

I believe the root, in addition to the ignorant policy of the US government to import versus drill, is founded in a series of governmental and private sector failures. Two of the most key are a poor public education system and corporate greed. Schools in the US are not competitive in a local economy, much less a global one. Jobs at the tail end of last century and from here on out require brains and skills. The economy is global. Kids coming out of public schools in the US must compete with the smartest that a number of other nations have to offer. They are competing for a finite number of jobs. Who will win? The smartest, most skilled kids will win.  This is dangerous for the US economy in that it must import knowledge (in addition to oil) from other countries.

This is where lack of education and greed have come together to form the perfect storm. At least 10 years ago, Corporate America (and large companies from other developed nations) began experimenting with shipping high technology jobs to less developed nations. Why pay an American $150hr when you can pay someone from India $20hr? Many would argue that companies now pay 5 times to get the job done, but this really does not matter. The fact is the money is being spent in another country - one where $20/hr goes as far or further than $150/hr in the US. What does any of this have to do with oil?

When a person has money, he or she spends it. In a country where a person does not have a car, what is the first or second thing he will buy? That's right. A car. Cars take fuel and this is where the problem starts to take shape. A number of "developing nations" are now "developed enough" to ignite an expansion which is driving global demand for oil to levels never before seen. It will get worse. It will not stop.  Advanced jobs are now being exported into Eastern European countries like Poland.  It's great for the local economies but will continue to strain the global situation.

Let's get back to the topic of oil. For the past 1/2 century, the US has imported more and more oil. The US does not have the infrastructure to utilize its own resources. The real shame is that the US government will try to pressure Saudi Arabia to release more of its oil to drive prices down, but the US will not drill for its own oil!!! This is a sad state of affairs effecting the world economy.

The solution: take steps to improve the school system by hiring qualified teachers, paying them middle class wages, implementing testing to validate teachers have knowledge in their brains to share, and fire those who don't perform. Provide large tax incentives for companies that utilize American resources. Drill now in Alaska but continue to invest in alternative energy sources and drive down the use of oil.  Educate Americans about the importance of energy conservation and provide rewards to those who do it.  The solution is complex and involves multiple areas - not just oil.

Newsflash: Obama has solution to reduce dependency on Middle East oil

It's simple.  Everyone, please inflate your tires and get regular tune ups.  Now why didn't anyone else think of that?

Drill your way out of incompetance

If the US government were running a business, it would be out of business. Forget the fact that the country is in debt above its eyeballs, and let's focus on the shortage of one of the drivers of the entire country (no pun intended) - oil.

The production of oil within the USA has dropped since mid last century while, during the same period of time, the demand has risen sharply. Making matters worse, many "developing nations" are now "developed" and more will get there one day. This will continue to drive the demand for oil up, even if the demand within the USA falls. Some may see this statement as an obvious, but clearly the US government has failed to understand.

Environmentalists have battled against drilling and refining within the USA, but seem content with doing the same in other countries. Is the damage from drilling in another country not as bad as the damage created in your own country? The environmentalists are actually happy to see the prices increase because they see an opportunity for alternative energy. But what alternative? No doubt the USA needs to do much more to conserve energy, and to develop alternative sources, but we cannot cut off our nose to spite our face. You never cut off one option without having another. We should have been leveraging the oil resources in our own country for the past 50 years. We should have also been more aggressively investing in alternative energy sources while offering healthy incentives to industry and consumers for developing and using them. We did neither of these things!!!

What do we do now? First, we start drilling in Alaska yesterday. With today's advanced drilling techniques, the process will pollute the land with less oil in a years time than what is spilled in a Wal-Mart parking lot over the same period of time. We must offset the demand of developing nations with our own oil. At the same time, we need to invest heavily in alternative energy. By the way, during my last visit to Los Angeles, I saw more electric vehicles on the road than I have seen in all of Europe. In fact, you cannot even readily buy an electric vehicle in Switzerland (correct me if I'm wrong). So - let's not assume it cannot be done!!

The government has failed the American people. Let's hope they grow a brain soon, otherwise prices will continue to rise and will take the economy down...