Saturday, Jul. 05, 2008

Letter: Blame for oil prices

Editor: I find it hard to believe that some Republicans are blaming Democrats and environmentalists for the unbearable increase in gasoline price.

The current Republican administration with a Republican-controlled Congress from January 2001 until January 2007 sat and watched oil and gasoline prices climb for over six years.

Just a few months ago when George W. Bush was asked what he thought about gasoline prices exceeding $4 per gallon answered that he had not heard about it.

One of the main causes of the huge increase in price is the ongoing massive federal budget deficits that have resulted in an increase in our national debt by $5 trillion to a staggering $10 trillion.

The Republicans are responsible for this by borrowing and spending when they had total control over the budget.

In fact, Dick Cheney is on record as saying that he believes deficits do not matter. This is totally contrary to any serious economic debate. The massive debt has caused the U.S. dollar to lose 50 percent of its value since the Republicans took over both the executive and legislative branches of government.

Oil is priced worldwide in U.S. dollars so when the dollar loses value, the price of oil goes up.

Even John McCain is on record as acknowledging, "We all know that when the dollar loses value, the price of oil increases."

Oil company profits are at astronomical levels and the wealthiest 1 percent of our nation has seen their assets increase by over 14 percent. We have not seen this concentration of wealth since the Robber Barons of the Gilded Age.

The bill has now become due for the Republican economic policy of borrow and spend in the form of runaway inflation that always hurts the working class and poor the most.

AL KELLEY

Merced