What Are We in For?

Before looking to the government for solutions to our financial problems, maybe we should look at the track record of government for solving other problems in the past.  In 1973, there was an OPEC oil embargo which led to an energy crisis.  Because of our being “caught over a barrel,” President Carter put the government to work on the energy problem.

The Department of Energy Organization Act (passed in 1977, signed by Carter) was based upon Congressional findings that the United States faced an increasing shortage of nonrenewable energy resources, thus increasing our dependence on foreign energy supplies, particularly oil, and presenting a threat to national security…

The 2009 Budget request for this department (which began in 1977 to resolve the “energy crisis” and make us safer) is $25,000,000,000.  Wouldn’t you think that for 25 billion dollars per year, we could supply our own energy?  Well, we are actually doing much worse now than we were in the 70’s.  U.S. Oil production peaked in the ‘70’s and has remained flat or declined ever since.  Meanwhile, our consumption has increased.  So, the result? 

We are more dependent now than we were when the “crisis” caused the government to intervene.  This government department made the situation worse, much worse.  In 1975, we imported about 36% of our oil.  Today, after the government got to work on the problem, we import more than 56% of our oil.  As it stands now, we may be on a course to be 70% dependent on foreign sources in the next 15 years.  About 25% of that foreign supply comes from Arab countries who fund Islamic terror.  According to this web article, we spend about 100 million dollars a day on oil from these Arab countries. 

So… to wrap it all up: The DOE, created in 1977 to get us out of the “energy crisis” has now made us more dependent on unfriendly oil sources.  We produce less of our own energy now than we did before the department was created.  We spend 100 million dollars a day on oil from people who fund terrorists that want to kill us.  And this department costs taxpayers 25 billion a year to operate. 

What a deal!  And we want the government in charge of banking and healthcare?