Comments by wld4tatas (page 33)

This is fantastic !

^ Good for him. He probably could have made a fortune in the private sector, but instead he dedicated his life to public service.

On a scale of 1-10 for mark94's latest attempt to make the US government look bad, I give this post a 0. Reliance on imports of potash and semiconductors seems more like a private sector issue. As is often the case with private sector shortcomings, the government is taking action to help. For example- the USDA recently announced a $250 Million investment to support American-made fertilizer. The baby formula manufacturer (Abbott) made the decision to shut down the plant, after the FDA issued a public warning about some of their products manufactured at a facility which had evidence of bacterial contamination. Lastly, the administration is rightly moving to shift energy dependence to renewables, which most Americans support. The common thread in all of this is the US government stepping in to prevent or mitigate harm to the American people.

>The f'in world is collapsing and Brandon along with all the f'ing woke MFs are precipitating the collapse - all they care is that they remain in power and increase their power which they can likely more readily achieve if people are scrambling just to get their basic needs met and thus don't have the ability/resources to stand up against the government - straight out of the totalitarian-playbook - make people totally dependent on the government and that way they won't be able to stand up to the government @Papi_Chulo: Geez, crack open a cool one and relax. It's Trump that tried to remain in power at almost all costs. The Democratic party is not about creating government dependence, it's about having a strong government to address needs that are not adequately addressed by the private sector.

Here is the so-called capital discipline that Big Oil "investors" are clamoring for: Exxon and Chevron, Buoyed by High Oil Prices, Shower Investors With Cash https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-giants-buoyed-by-high-oil-prices-shower-investors-with-cash-11651231218 In simple terms: money out of the pocket of average Joe ---> money into the pocket of the wealthiest 1%. Please spare us the next talking point which is that average Joe 401ks will benefit, that's a silver lining but on balance this is a classic, huge net transfer of wealth to the richest. Remember that the next time you spend $100 filling your tank.

>“When asked why they aren’t raising production more, 59% of respondents said it was because investors are pressuring them to maintain capital discipline.” @mark94 -Glad you read the article and I expected you might quote that statement. However, you do realize, investors = Wall Street millionaires and billionaires. And this so-called capital discipline involved returning huge profits to shareholders, including corporate executives, instead of keeping it to survive while their industry is being threatened. The translation of that statement is "Millionaires and billionaires pressured Big Oil companies to give them their record profits, instead of drilling more to bring down the price of gas for average Americans."

For the record I am not 100% convinced of climate change. We have incomplete understanding of long-term patterns and variations that would be normal regardless of carbon emissions. However, you have to admit there is some plausible science supporting it. I say the prudent thing is to take action rather than wait until it may be too late. There is a growing percentage of conservatives who have a similar viewpoint, but unfortunately, ignorance and anti-left hatred and still holding most conservatives back.

Maybe the populations of Texas and Oklahoma would rather be roasted to death than admit Joe Biden is right ? Potentially deadly, record-breaking heat continues to bake the central US https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/heat-wave-texas-plains-west-oklahoma

The Uvalde gun massacre in May killed 22 and made global headlines. I was in Poland at the time and visited one of Warsaw's top strip clubs a day or two after. In talking with a young, beautiful blond dancer the topic came up. She couldn't comprehend why gun violence was so out of control in the US. I explained to her, in the US guns are popular and a symbol of freedom for many people. But along with that freedom comes a large number of gun deaths. She absolutely could not make any sense of it. And I was unable to help her make more sense of it either.

^ oops accidently clicked the "post" button too early... where's the "edit" button Meant to add-- In a recent survey of oil and gas executives, only 6% said government regulations were the reason they weren't drilling more than they are. See the above link I posted. This pretty much puts your theory in the certifiably bogus category.

@rickdugan: You are pulling from the right wing playbook that whenever the government comes across as antagonistic to an industry, that industry is justified in taking whatever measures are appropriate to protect itself. It certainly sounds perfectly logical. But is it really the case with Biden and the US oil industry? One has to (or should) dig a little deeper. I have, and I can't find a single example of an actual or proposed regulation that has expert concensus while significantly impact Big Oil profitability. Care to share an example? In fact the Texas Survey Shows Why Oil Producers Aren’t Drilling More https://www.barrons.com/articles/texas-survey-shows-why-oil-producers-arent-drilling-more-51648145290

>.. why do you think BIG OIL gave millions to the BIDEN campaign.. do you think BIG OIL enjoyed the low oil prices of the last admin or do you think they gave money to biden to get elected so the price of their commodity would finally go up in price? @desertscrub - The political donations have pretty much zilch to do with the point I'm debating which is the false and absurd right wing narrative that Joe Biden is responsible for the high price of oil. In the link you shared, Big Oil gave much more to Republicans than to Democrats; and Trump received $1,873,342 while Biden received $769,956. The donations to Biden and other Democrats only have one purpose which is to curry favor (or limit damage) if they get elected. It's all self-serving, obviously.

Big Oil is profiting wildly from the current situation. Claims of "uncertainty" about profits when oil projections are >$100 for the foreseeable future sound like just the spin (excuse) that Big Oil and the financial sector want everyday folks to believe. Rick are you really that gullible? Big Oil Spends on Investors, Not Output, Prolonging Crude Crunch https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-07/big-oil-spends-on-investors-not-output-prolonging-crude-crunch

What about the other ~ 100 Americans that were killed by guns on Sunday?

>Video of Biden guaranteeing to put an end to fossil fuels Basically irrelevant, except for being a distraction for political and corporate purposes. Why are the rig counts going up? That's costing a lot of money. Of course, because there is money to be made. Oil and gas are going to be around and profitable for at least decades to come. We were energy independent without Keystone, without the new leases that are being requested today. Heck big oil was stockpiling leases before Biden. All the ingredients already exist for the US to become energy independent again, Biden isn't blocking any necessary element. The only rational conclusion is that high gas prices today are almost entirely the result of the pandemic and the actions of the private sector.

I just posted a link to an article on CNN, and gammanu95 goes off suggesting I'm a mindless fool incapable of critical analysis... LOL. He needs to look in the mirror. I've had political debates with right wing believers like him before, despite comments like this I often continue because it's too much fun poking holes at their bs arguments. Have a look at that CNN article, you might learn something. I agree they have been infiltrated by left wing activists to some extent, especially on social issues. There are a few personalities there I can't stand. But in general, CNN's news reporting is much less biased than Fox News or MSNBC. Here's a few quotes I found interesting: "Like many industries during the pandemic, oil producers are struggling with a shortage of workers. They're also having trouble sourcing some of the equipment they would need to ramp up production, including pipes and specialized sand used in fracking to extract shale oil." "They can't find people, and can't find equipment," said Robert McNally, president of consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group. "It's not like they're available at a premium price. They're just not available." "Oil and gas companies do not want to drill more," said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James. "They are under pressure from the financial community to pay more dividends, to do more share buybacks instead of the proverbial 'drill baby drill,' which is the way they would have done things 10 years ago. Corporate strategy has fundamentally changed."

Gammanu95 says I admit I make shit up, which I did not, so in fact he is just making shit up. He's too full of hot air to realize that the US rig count, which he dismisses as "useless trivia" is in fact a key component of US energy independence. The rig count plunged because of Covid, just like mark said. Not Biden. And the point is Biden is not obstructing their return. Apparently, many of the drilling permits held by industry sit unused due to lack of investment. Here's a good read: More oil supply could stop massive price spikes. But US producers won't fill that gap https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/02/energy/us-oil-production/index.html

Read carefully... "on Biden alone". His policies are only one element, just as the war in Ukraine is one element as well. The pandemic had a major impact on the industry as has lack of investment from the oil majors. But feel free to continue pinning this all on Joe Biden.

"Joe Biden is on record as saying he wants to eliminate the fossil fuel industry in America. Is that what you mean by the right balance ?" Biden said he would transition from fossil fuels, but that it would take time. He was not going to open up more federal lands for drilling. Seems reasonable to me. The private sector is still free to drill; the latest Baker Hughes numbers show the US rig count now at 756, up 272 in the last year which is +56%. That's the free market at work under Biden. Pinning the spike in oil prices on Biden alone is disingenuous, his policies are just one of many factors.

Notice how gammanu95's post is completely devoid of any actual argument or analysis. Just a dumb, empty bash and personal attack, like he probably sees on Fox News every day. I actually don't watch a lot of MSNBC, I formulate my assessments independently. Most Democrats want a strong private sector and a strong government. That's not socialism, despite the endless fear-mongering from the right.

"Way to show your ignorance of basic economics. The definition of inflation is too much money chasing too few goods." Completely irrelevant, you are pivoting. My comment was about Cuba and Venezuela not being models which US Democrats aspire to, as implied by another poster.

US Democrats want the right balance of free markets and government regulation. Totalitarian government control is not the objective. Pointing to Cuba and Venezuela as examples is simply right wing deception and fear-mongering I mentioned above.

@Tetradon, I would agree Biden may need to make a temporary, short-term adjustment to energy policy. But the long-term direction is correct if the US is to remain a world leader. The conservative alternative of consuming US oil reserves as fast as possible and not stimulating and supporting the renewable energy sector is downright scary.

The 10 year charts for health care coverage and renewable energy provide clear evidence that progressive policies are moving the country in the right direction. We only have a limited progressive agenda in place however, due to efforts from the right, which often depend on deception and fear-mongering. Distrust and fear of the government are convenient political tools, but distract from the fact that only government can address the tremendous issues of economic inequality that free markets have created.

I'm reasonably satisfied with how Biden is handling things. He generally has sound judgement on the direction of the country. Unemployment is at 3.6%. Inflation is due to many factors over which the government has limited control. Biden's positions on energy transition, infrastructure investment and upper income tax hikes are the right policies, I haven't heard any better ideas. US oil rig counts are steadily returning to pre-covid levels, but "drill baby drill" is not a long term sustainable energy policy for the US.