Gingrich Showing His Big Gov't Colors, You Think That $2 Gas Comes Via A Free Market?

[wkmac]

In a speech last week Newt Gingrich exulted that the estimated Bakken shale oil reserves in North Dakota had recently been revised upward to 24 billion barrels. So much, he said in a tone of patronizing dismissal, for the “Peak Oil doomsayers.” These remarks by Gingrich, who also says he’d lower gasoline prices to $2.50 a gallon as president, were just the latest version of Sarah Palin’s “Drill, Baby, Drill” theme of “domestic oil (or natural gas, or coal) production” as the solution for high energy prices.
It’s interesting that politicians who so tirelessly proclaim their opposition to government meddling in the economy, and deny the effectiveness of such meddling, would express such hubris on the ability of activist government to solve an economic problem.
Not only do these people fail to understand the nature of the problem they’re promising to fix, but the promised fix itself is chock full of government intervention.

Big Oil, Big Government, and Big Hypocrisy


And if you think we got to where we are by pure free market means and not by crony capitalism and it's silent partner, THE STATE, you might ponder another way to think.

[video=youtube;4Xg8h9kPfaQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xg8h9kPfaQ[/video]

Beginning in the 1920's, however, the trolley companies (all privately owned) began to face a number of problems. This was a time expanding automobile ownership and increasing automobile traffic. Furthermore, local governments were becoming increasingly hostile to trolley operators. Track repairs were often hindered by demands on transit companies to also repair adjoining streets; simultaneously, municipalities made additional claims on their revenues. In New York the nickel fare was mandated despite inflationary trends, making once profitable trolley lines (and subway and elevated lines) into money losing propositions. Of course, shortly after the city took over transit operations, the fare was raised.

When we discuss what is often called public transportation, it might do us well to understand the real history and roots but then the favorite narrative of bothsides would seem to get turned on their head!