Oil and the price of Freedom
The price of a gallon of regular gasoline is about to break $5.00 here on the South Plains. But wait, it’s already above $6.00 in California and various hot spots on the “Least Coast.” Why are we writhing in acute hip-pocket pain as gasoline for that trip to the mountains just doubled in price during this year? Rumors abound as to who has put a knot in the hose.
One of these rumors is pure nostalgia. Those of vintage years (and cars) can remember those good old days when leaded gasoline cost twenty-five cents, and your oil was just pennies per quart. By rights, with inflation shrinking the dollar’s value by a factor of twenty in the intervening seventy years, the math says that the same gallon should cost five bucks today. Our increase in both the supply and production of oil over the years is directly responsible for the price at the pump remaining relatively stable, in terms of purchasing power. So have many other products where the market has responded to demand by inventing new ways to get the goods to market faster, cheaper, and of generally equivalent quality. Some of these methods have put the American production line at a distinct disadvantage, as with cheap foreign imports made by poverty-bound workers in “emerging” economies. I bought a really great pair of shoes fifty years ago, made in the USA, and the price was $100.00. That same hundred bucks would buy me a reasonably good, foreign-made pair today. The argument holds that these cheap models don’t hold up like our good old, union-made goods, and I would definitely agree. The quality of foreign goods is often inferior, but we keep buying them, don’t we? For most of us, price rules.
People in the oil business will point to the government, and accuse them of manipulating oil prices by cancelling active oil leases,and making “special deals” with OPEC. That may very well be true, but at the same time the Administration is loudly calling for the industry to ramp up production to meet an alleged supply crisis. The industry itself is just as guilty of price manipulation as anyone else. When prices at the pump increase because of insufficient product on the market, they do so in advance of any choke points in the supply chain. Then, when supplies increase to meet the demand, those prices mysteriously remain at the increased level. I hesitate to bring up the ethanol boondoggle, but that particular handout to the agriculture industry has never resulted in the promised decrease in prices at the pump, much less an increase in mileage-per-gallon. And why does the “oil depletion allowance” continue in effect, when proven oil reserves are now pegged at over 200 years’ worth, at the same time when alternative energy sources are now beginning to have an effect on overall market supplies?
There is a valid point to be made in acknowledgement of the temporary need for increased oil prices. The Ukraine-Russia war is no doubt affecting the stability of the world market. Our country has placed embargoes on Russian natural gas and oil, and many major countries will no longer accept payment from the Russians in rubles, further choking down on their ability to purchase and/or manufacture war supplies. The weight of the resultant increased oil prices is being borne more by Europe than anywhere else, since they more heavily depend on the Russian product to get through their winters. The price increases at our pumps are minimal by comparison, and we’re being asked to “suck it up” in support of the beleaguered Ukrainians.
The possible loss of this war has been discussed at great length by military experts everywhere. The consensus is overwhelming:
that a victory by Russia will never satisfy their lust for control over all of Eastern and Central Europe. So, in the face of a nasty inflation rate and a looming recession that will likely result in a change of U.S. parties in power, is our sacrifice worth the inconvenience or should be let Ukraine and our NATO allies fend for themselves? It is, without doubt, a momentous point in history, and the fate of an important set of allies literally hangs in the balance of our support levels.
To this observer, it is unthinkable that a 21st Century clone of Hitler should be permitted to bully his way into European (and even world) prominence. In this respect, how important does our support become when viewed through the lens of an existential European struggle between freedom-loving people and a delusional dictator? Yes, I despise the inconveniences that this war is causing us all. But I’m willing to choose delayed gratification as the price of freedom. In the final analysis, the alternatives are too grim to contemplate And lest we be further deluded, this won’t be the last time in your young lifetimes that we’ll be asked to give a little to gain a lot. Otherwise, the defeat of Hitler would have put an end to authoritarianism forever.
Sadly, there will be new challenges to freedom at fairly regular intervals, because evil never learns. Neither does ignorance, but we can no longer use the copout that we were taken by surprise, as in Pearl Harbor. This time the scenario has been writ large for us.
George Thatcher, 2022
George is an American Bad Ass. He grew up in Jersey, flew B-52s in Vietnam, taught English, Spanish and other languages to children around the world, makes his own salsa, has been known to enjoy a beer or two and has called Lubbock home for a few years, just to entertain the locals. Welcome to Raiderland, Major. We are going to feature some of his writings going forward. Some new, some old. Some rhyme, some don’t. When it comes to George, there’s no box. So… enjoy our friend and enjoy his writings! – Hyatt
