
 |
|
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Sept. 28, 2005
/ 24 Elul, 5765
Market protects us better than politicians ever could
By
John Stossel
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
"It's going to be a catastrophe!"
So I keep hearing.
The damage from hurricanes Rita and Katrina will send gas prices
through the roof and destroy the economy!
"It's inevitable that this is just the beginning, it's not the
end, of this gasoline crisis!" Sen. Charles Schumer told me, as Rita
approached last Friday. The New York Democrat went on to say that we're
"twiddling our thumbs while Rome burns ... we are weakened in every way!"
He is eager to spend your money to cure his panic. Schumer wants
a new "Manhattan Project" that would use huge amounts of your money to fund
"independent energy sources." I reminded him that the last time government
tried that, it wasted billions on the totally failed synfuels project.
Schumer said that was a failure because "political leaders" chose synfuels,
but this time Congress would have "non-politicians" decide what projects to
fund.
Sure they would.
If non-politicians are going to decide what projects to fund,
why do we need Chuck Schumer? We already have a system in which
non-politicians decide what projects to fund. It's called "the market."
If the price of a barrel of oil stays above $50, lots of
entrepreneurs will scramble for ways to supply cheaper energy. They'll come
up with alternative energy sources or better ways to get oil out of the
ground. At $50 a barrel, it's even profitable to recover oil that's stuck in
the tar sands in Alberta, Canada. As Peter Huber points out in his book,
"The Bottomless Well," the Athabasca tar sands alone contain enough oil to
meet our needs for 100 years.
| BUY THE BOOK |
| Does this book sound intriguing? Click HERE to purchase it at a discount. (Sales help fund JWR.).
|
|
But Schumer and other politicians don't trust the market.
After Hurricane Katrina, he and Sen. John Corzine, Democrat of
New Jersey, invited reporters to a gas station where they said gas prices
were rising not because demand exceeded supply, but because oil sellers are
doing something fishy.
"Up 50 cents one day, down 25 cents the next, then up another
30!" Schumer told the cameras. "Something's wrong with the market!"
Something's wrong with the market? I'd think "up 50 cents one
day and down 25 the next" shows the market working very efficiently. The oil
business is hugely competitive. Gas station profit margins are paper-thin.
Station managers have to adjust prices constantly to keep from losing
business to a station down the block. Any of us can see the posted prices
without even having to leave our cars, and people often drive blocks just to
save a penny.
Despite Schumer's complaints about "catastrophe," today's gas
prices aren't especially high. Even after the price increases of recent
years, and after the high gas taxes imposed by our bloated government,
today's price ($2.75, for regular, according to the AAA) is still lower than
it was in 1981 ($2.86, adjusted for inflation). The politicians won't tell
you that, and neither will most of the media. When they rant about "record"
gas prices, they usually forget to adjust for inflation.
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly last week also ridiculed the idea that
competition sets gas prices. On his popular TV show, he said, "Somebody
tells your local gas station owner exactly what to charge! Somebody does
that!"
Really? There's a secret price dictator?
Why don't people trust the market? Schumer thinks
congressionally appointed "experts" are the answer, but imagine how much gas
would cost if the government produced it! At least $20 a gallon. Gasoline
isn't easy to make.
First, the oil has to be found, and then sucked out of the ground
... sometimes from deep beneath an ocean. The drill may have to bend 90
degrees, dig sideways and bend down again, sometimes drilling through 5
miles of earth. What they finally pull out of the ground has to be delivered
through unbelievably long pipelines or shipped in monstrously expensive
ships, converted into three different formulas of gasoline, and then pumped
into trucks that cost more than $100,000 each. Then your local gas station
has to spend a fortune on safety devices to make sure you don't blow
yourself up.
Even after all that, a gallon of gasoline still sells for less
than the equivalent amount of Evian.
The price will go up and down, and we can count on the market to
protect us better than politicians ever could.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
STOSSEL'S LATEST
Give Me a Break
Stossel explains how ambitious bureaucrats, intellectually lazy reporters, and greedy lawyers make your life worse even as they claim to protect your interests. Taking on such sacred cows as the FDA, the War on Drugs, and scaremongering environmental activists -- and backing up his trademark irreverence with careful reasoning and research -- he shows how the problems that government tries and fails to fix can be solved better by the extraordinary power of the free market. Sales help fund JWR.
|
JWR contributor John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC News' "20/20." To comment, please click here.
Archives
© 2005, by JFS Productions, Inc.
Distributed by Creators Syndicate, Inc.
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
A. Barton Hinkle
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|