Reformation
The Real Reason Gas Prices Are Going Higher
Recently Bill O’Reilly and Lou Dobbs ignited a national debate about rising gasoline prices. Dobbs stunned Fox’s “humble correspondent” by stating on the “O’Reilly Factor” that the main reason for expensive gas in the U.S. is excess “supply” being sold to China and India. That made O’Reilly upset and he spent much of the week blaming the “greedy” oil companies for our woes.
Remember this is Fox News–not the mainstream media. Usually liberals blame the oil companies. However, oil prices are an area where Bill O’Reilly leans left–he really believes the oil executives are “hosing the folks.” He’s believed it for years. He may be partly right.
But I don’t think it’s the best answer.
So why are gas prices are so high, and what can we do about it?
First of all, let’s bring the current administration into the equation. When Barack Obama took office in January of 2009, the average price of gas was $1.85 (seems like an eternity ago). Today prices are closer to $3.85 (depending on your region and state taxes)–a 120 percent increase.
In his Saturday, February 25 radio broadcast, the president said there was no easy answer to the problem and blamed Republican complaints as gimmicks: “We know there’s no silver bullet that will bring down gas prices or reduce our dependence on foreign oil overnight,” he said.
The president suggested that the Republicans have only one answer: drill. But earlier in the week he scoffed at that suggestion: “You know that’s not a plan, especially since we’re already drilling. It’s a bumper sticker.” One journalist wryly commented, “Speaking of bumper stickers, remember ‘Yes We Can!’ Mr. President?
Indeed we do.
After filling up the car this weekend–$45 for three-quarters of a tank–I’ve done some research on rising gas prices. Here’s what I’ve found, with a special eye to the bigger picture.
SHORT TERM PROBLEMS
First, let’s look at our immediate predicament. In February 2012, we have record price levels and a threat of four of five dollars a gallon costs hitting us during the summer months.
Why? Here are what most experts say:
1. Gas prices tend to rise every spring in anticipation of increased demand during the summer driving vacation season. As a result, gas prices hit $3.50 a gallon by February 15, two weeks earlier than in 2011.
2. Global demand is raising the price of crude oil— It stands at $109 a barrel. This accounts for 55% of the price of gasoline. Distribution and taxes influence the remaining 45%. Usually, the latter items don’t change much, so that the daily change in gas prices primarily reflects oil price fluctuations. Right now there is growing demand in the developing countries of Asia (India and China) and the former Soviet Union. Their populations are rising out of poverty, and buying cars and heating oil in record amounts.
3. Commodity trading fear – Oil prices are set by commodities traders who buy and sell futures contracts on the commodities exchanges. These are agreements to buy or sell oil at a specific date in the future at a specific price. Commodities traders can create a self-fulfilling prophecy by bidding up oil futures prices. Once this starts, it can create an asset bubble. In April 2011, fears about unrest in Libya and Egypt sent oil prices up to $113 a barrel. In May 2011, as oil prices dropped, gas prices stayed high. Why? Commodities traders were concerned about refinery closures due to the Mississippi River floods. In February 2012, concerns about a potential military action, by either Israel or even the U.S., against Iran caused high oil prices.
4. Lower US consumption – Oil consumption in the United States is down 15% this year (we’re driving less and experiencing a warm winter). Usually this is a good problem that lowers prices, but this year it was so severe that it led to problem number five.
5. Refinery shutdowns and shake-up – This is probably the most unusual and significant short-term reason for higher prices. On February 23, Bloomberg reported that the U.S. had lost 5 percent of its oil refining capacity in the last 3 months. Over the past year, refineries have faced a squeeze. Prices for Brent crude have gone up, but demand for gasoline in the U.S. is at a 15-year low.
That means refineries haven’t been able to pass on the higher prices to their customers. As a result, companies have chosen to shut down some refineries rather than continue to lose money. This month, two large refineries outside Philadelphia shut down: Sunoco’s plant in Marcus Hook, Pa., and a Conoco Phillips plant in nearby Trainer, Pa. Together they accounted for about 20 percent of all gasoline produced in the Northeast.
Bloomberg gives further insight into the refinery problem:
“The U.S. refining industry is being split in two. On one hand are the older refineries, mostly on the East and Gulf Coasts, that are set up to handle only the higher quality Brent “sweet” crude—the stuff that comes from the Middle East and the North Sea. Brent is easier to refine, though it’s gotten considerably more expensive recently. (Certainly another reason for higher gas prices.)”
“Then there are the plants able to refine the heavier, dirtier West Texas Intermediate (WTI)—the stuff that comes from Canadian tar sands, the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico, and the newer outposts in North Dakota, which just passed Ecuador in oil production. These refineries tend to be clustered in the Midwest—places such as Oklahoma, Kansas, and outside Chicago. While the price of Brent crude has closed at over $120 a barrel in recent days, WTI is trading at closer to $106. That simple differential is the reason older refineries that can handle only Brent are hemorrhaging cash and shutting down, while refineries that can handle WTI are flourishing.”
“’The U.S. refining industry is undergoing a huge, regional transformation,’” says Ben Brockwell, a director at Oil Price Information Services. ‘If you look at refinery utilization rates in the Midwest and Great Lakes areas, they’re running at close to 95 percent capacity, and on the East Coast it’s more like 60 percent,’ he says. This is primarily why the cheapest gas prices in the country are found in such states as Colorado, Utah, Montana, and New Mexico, while New York, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C., have some of the highest prices.”
These five seem to be the current culprits. Steve Maley (Tulsa World) writes a good article on ten ways to deal with these problems in the short term. You can read it here.
But there is a much bigger problem we desperately need to solve.
THE BIG PICTURE
First let’s talk about the the destructive power of inflation. In fact, price inflation is such a “normal” and insidious thing that we barely notice it. We’re used to things going up in price. We’ve been told by the powers that be that rising prices are standard fare.
They weren’t normal in America for our first one hundred and fifty years. For a majority of our nation’s history, our currency remained as “sound as a dollar” and prices changed little from decade to decade. Then in 1914 we created the Federal Reserve and on January 5, 1933 we went off the gold standard. For the past eighty years, we have been systematically devaluing our currency.
The greatest decline of the dollar has happened recently. In the past six years, the dollar has decreased in value by 40%. When you hear wind of QE2 (quantitative easing) and other methods that the Federal Reserve uses to manipulate our currency, don’t rush to applaud them.
We are flooding the world with fiat dollars to stave off default and pay for our massive government debt. Remember when a $20 bill seemed like a decent chunk of money? Remember when coins or change were valuable? We hardly keep them or use them anymore.
The inflationary spending of the Fed is practically criminal–and one reason why some Republicans are voting for Ron Paul. He’s one of the few politicians willing to be honest about it.
Think of monetary inflation as a game of Monopoly. When you “empty the bank” to all the players, you have more money to spend on “Park Place” or anything else–so prices go up. Why? Increased cash in everyone’s wallet “bids” up the value of everything–which devalues the currency. In my brief driving career (1969-2012), monetary inflation has increased gas prices from 25 cents to almost four bucks. That’s a 1600% increase.
We live in a scary time for inflation in America. Food price are up 30%, gasoline 120% in three years, and run-away inflation could be in front of us. But there is a primary reason for inflation. It comes down to a nation’s faith and morals.
America used to be a nation of faith–of forward-thinking, God-believing people. Our faith produced morals, i.e. hard work, financial prudence, self-control, and a greater concern for “posterity” than for ourselves.
Then the Baby Boom and subsequent generations came along. We rejected God’s authority and cast off all restraints on morality–including financial prudence and debt. We became a “consumer” society where meeting my needs was more important that saving for our children. We used credit cards and risky mortgages to fund our immoral (non-right) attitude of living beyond our means. And we elected officials who did the same thing on a federal level.
Faith, morality and freedom produce hope. Unbelief, immorality, and bondage to debt create “uncertainty.” The biggest problem contributing to rising gas prices is uncertainty, i.e. unbelief.
The American people need to turn back to God, restore faith, stop their reckless spending and demand that their leaders do the same. Then, we must elect leaders who have the guts to reign in the Fed, stabilize the dollar, shrink the size of government, pay down the debt, get off the backs of business, protect the environment, and drill bay drill!–for the sake of future generations.
Prudent faith and actions can bring real long term hope–including cheaper gas..
Is God Using the Catholic Church to Awaken America?
One of the biggest stories in the U.S. this past week has been the uproar over the Obamacare provisions being handed down by the Department of Health and Human Services. The new mandates force religiously-affiliated organizations to dispense contraceptives against their consciences in violation of long-held religious freedom.
All week national Christian leaders decried the action. On Friday, radio commentator Sean Hannity held a “Crisis Forum” on the issue. The nation’s most watched cable network trumpeted the danger against religious liberty almost every hour. And yesterdy, I attended a private gathering of Washington State leaders to hear a major Republican presidential candidate speak to the issue.
Do you know what these national leaders, Sean Hannity, the cable news network and presidential candidate all have in common?
They are Catholics.
Is God using the Catholic Church to awaken America?
If He is, it would be quite ironic.
The first three spiritual awakenings in America history were led by fervent Protestants whose Bible-based convictions called the nation to repentance, faith and active involvement in the moral issues of their day. During America’s first two hundred years, it was the Protestant side of the Church that promoted strong families, railed against the excesses of alcoholism, and led the charge against the evil of slavery.
There was a reason for this. At the time of the American Revolution, Catholics formed only 1.6% of the population of the thirteen colonies.
But by 1850, Catholics had become the country’s largest single denomination. Between 1860 and 1890, their population in the United States tripled through immigration. By the end of the decade it reached seven million. This influx would eventually bring increased scrutiny for the Catholic Church and a greater cultural presence which led to a growing fear of the Catholic “problem” among America’s Protestants.
In fact, it was quite common in the 18th and early 19th centuries for Catholics to be marginalized in American society as heretics, Papists, and condescendingly described as “anti-Christ.” Some anti-Catholic political movements like the Know Nothings, and organizations like the Orange Institution, American Protective Association, and the Ku Klux Klan, actively persecuted Catholic believers.
In fact, for most of the history of the United States, Catholics were victims of discrimination and persecution. It was not until the presidency of John F. Kennedy in 1960 that Catholics were broadly accepted in the US.
The Philadelphia Nativist Riot, Bloody Monday, the Orange Riots in New York City in 1871 and 1872, and The Ku Klux Klan-ridden South discriminated against Catholics (as they did the Jews and African Americans) for their Irish, Italian, Polish, German, or Spanish ethnicity. Many Protestants in the Midwest and the North labeled Catholics as “anti-American Papists,” “incapable of free thought without the approval of the Pope.”
During the Mexican-American War, Mexicans were portrayed as “backward” because of their “Papist superstition.” In reaction to this attitude, some hundred American Catholics, mostly recent Irish immigrants, fought on the Mexican side. However, the majority of Catholic soldiers (primarily the Irish), along with their chaplains like John McElroy (Jesuit), who later founded Boston College, proved loyal to the American cause.
In 1850, Franklin Pierce, the US Attorney for the District of New Hampshire, presented resolutions for the removal of restrictions on Catholics from holding office in that state, as well as the removal of property qualifications for voting. But these pro-Catholic measures were soundly defeated by the Protestant population.
If you were a Catholic back then, you couldn’t even run for office!
As the 19th century progressed, animosity between Protestants and Catholics began to cool off. Many Protestant Americans came to understand that, despite anti-Catholic rhetoric, Catholics were also people of faith and were on their side of the issues. Another reason was that many Irish-Catholic immigrants fought alongside their Protestant compatriots in the American Civil War.
In the 20th century, and culminating in JFK’s election, Catholic believers moved into the mainstream in American society.
Today, according to a new 2011 study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, the US Catholic population is currently 77.7 million. The United States has the fourth largest Catholic population in the world, after Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines. In fact, in 2011, there are more than four times as many Catholics as Southern Baptists and more than eight times as many as United Methodists.
I understand some of the past suspicion over the Catholic Church. Hundreds of years of European Church corruption and persecution had fueled a Post-Reformation hatred of the Holy See. The church’s focus on rituals, perceived idolatry of the Virgin Mary and other patron saints didn’t sit well with Protestants. In the 20th century, evangelicals insisted that followers of Christ needed to be born again and follow the teachings of the Bible–not a fallible Pope.
But today, the tables have turned. It’s the Protestants who are asleep and the Catholics that are living out their faith.
I noticed the change in the 1980s while living in Washington, D.C. After the infamous Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, my young family attended many of the large pro-life rallies that marched against abortion. I expected to find my fellow evangelicals leading the procession.
Didn’t happen. What we did find was a passionate and powerful Catholic Church that was leading the way. In the early days, the Protestants and evangelicals were AWOL. Today they are more involved, but the Catholic Church is still the champion against abortion in this nation.
And when the brouhaha broke out this week over the Obamacare mandates, it was the Catholic Church that rose to speak for religious liberty. New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan said that he felt betrayed by President Obama and vowed that the Catholic Church would fight the new regulations even if they had to do it “in the streets.”
After President Obama blinked and modified (but didn’t really change) the rules, Archbishop Charles Chaput had even harsher words for the insurance-company-as-middleman approach. “Many Catholics are confused and angry. They should be… The HHS mandate, including its latest variant, is belligerent, unnecessary, and deeply offensive… We cannot afford to be fooled–yet again.”
Protestants and evangelicals are now joining the issue, but it is the Catholics who are really taking up the prophetic mantle. It’s as if the evangelical church–pre-occupied and neutralized by trying to be seeker-sensitive in the modern world–has abandoned its prophetic call and commitment to be salt and light in the culture.
So the Catholics have arisen to awaken the nation and Church.
- The national leaders I mentioned at the beginning are primarily Catholics. Many read a letter in their parishes last week calling the people and nation to fight for freedom of conscience.
- Sean Hannity is a Catholic believer. He hosted a leader’s summit on prime-time television that was primarily manned by Catholic clergy.
- Fox News was founded by Roger Ailes, a Roman Catholic, and many of its commentators including Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and Megan Kelly, are Catholics.
- And Rick Santorum is a rising Catholic Republican presidential contender.
C’mon my Protestant and Evangelical friends! The Catholic Church is putting us to shame while we twiddle our thumbs and tip toe around the great moral issues of our day.
Maybe Penny Young Vance is right: We’re all Catholics Now. Or maybe we better be.
Because God seems to be using the Catholic Church to awaken America.
Time to Unite Behind Mitt Romney for President
I serve on the board of the National Association of Evangelicals–the largest leadership consortium of churches and Christian leaders in the United States.
Nine months ago the organization sent a questionnaire to its members asking us which person we favored for president of the United States. At that time there were twelve different candidates in the race–plenty of good people to choose from.
This may surprise some of you, but without hesitation I voted for Mitt Romney.
It looks like the people of Florida agree with me. Because of their decisive vote, and what will follow in the month of February, it is time for people that care about America’s future to unite behind Mitt Romney and propel him to the White House. Here’s why.
First of all, let’s mention the qualities that are crucial for a US president or any elected leader. I believe that two areas are paramount:
- Good Character–including experience, competence, elect ability, judgment and associations. A person’s character includes faith, but it is not the defining issue. We are not electing a pastor. We are electing a leader who is proven, trustworthy, and competent in the area of governing.
- Right Policies– on economics, foreign affairs, and moral/social issues. This is the leader’s worldview which flows from their faith and character. These policy principles should be based on the biblical understanding of God-given rights, faith and morality, free enterprise, hard work, personal responsibility, compassion for the needy, and a strong national defense.
Now let’s look at the three major candidates that have risen to the top of the Republican field. I have met one of them personally, have carefully followed the career of another, and have grown to appreciate the candidacy of the third.
Rick Santorum
I met Rick Santorum in the mid-1990s when he was a young senator from Pennsylvania. We worked on some projects together and I enjoyed spending time with him in his office on Capitol Hill. I admire his strong faith (Catholic) and firm commitment to family values. His own personal family is both a model of grace and good example to the nation.
In policy areas, Rick is a steady conservative on most issues–probably the most principled of the three. He has his weaknesses which include a penchant for earmarks, his support of labor unions (Pennsylvania is not a Right to Work state), and tendency to some big government solutions.
His biggest weakness is his lack of executive experience and national stature. He lost his last senatorial election by double digits. And until recently, he was nationally unknown–which is one of the reasons for his lack of a credible organization and fund-raising prowess.
Rick Santorum’s day will come. But he hasn’t paid his dues yet to claim the prize of president of the United States.
Newt Gingrich
I’ve never had the privilege of meeting Newt Gingrich but I have followed his career and love his boldness, big ideas and clarity on issues. But his volatile personality and marriage failures are a major weakness. He was involved in a number of affairs, two failed marriages, and was forced to leave his House leadership due to character issues and poor leadership style. He paid a $300,000 fine for one charge of ethics violations.
Newt is a gunslinger that left some collateral damage from his years as House Speaker. To his credit, he now purports to have experienced salvation through his Catholic faith and I have no reason to doubt him. We Americans believe in redemption.
But forgiveness and trustworthiness are two different things. One is immediate and the other is earned. Newt may have found his way back to national popularity, but his potential violatility is a gamble for all who vote for him. Time will tell whether he has truly matured or is just doing a good job of covering his weaknesses.
His experience in government is vast. The Contract with America, the four budgets he helped balance as Speaker of the House, and his championing conservative principles are laudable. But he has no real executive experience. Well–he has a qualified version as House Speaker, but his record there was mixed at best and destructive at worst. And his judgment should be questioned for things like working with Fannie Mae, supporting global warming, giving lip service to Cap and Trade and a healthcare mandate, and numerous other political indiscretions.
Elect ability is the biggest issue. I believe he could beat Barack Obama under the right circumstances, but his unfavorable rating of 57% is a potential albatross. Even if he made it to the White House, would an unpredictable President Gingrich make some mistakes that would discredit conservatives for decades? It’s a big risk. Don’t forget this fact: He is the ultimate Washington insider. Is that who we need in the White House in 2012?
On the other hand, Newt would probably be the boldest president of all with a consistent conservative agenda. He’d fire the czars, dismantle Obamacare, change the tax code, and go after big government entitlements. He’d be tough on Iran and move the Israeli embassy to Jerusalem. He would also lead the charge against anti-Christiian bigotry in the nation.
He would probably make a great president–if he didn’t make a disastrous one.
Mitt Romney
That brings us to the man I am growing to appreciate and believe is our best choice for president. He is probably not my natural pick, but I believe he is right for America at this crucial time in our history.
First of all, let’s mention the negatives. His Mormon faith is not as “clear” as evangelical faith, but it’s God-fearing and family-centered. Mormonism is outside the Christian mainstream, but it often produces hard-working, moral, and family-oriented people who make good leaders. He should not be rejected for his faith.
Mitt Romney also has past moderate views. But to be fair, that’s also true of Newt Gingrich who began his career as a “Rockefeller Republican.” He changed–and Mitt Romney did too (so did Ronald Reagan). It is no small feat that Governor Romney was elected governor in one of the bluest states in America and led that state in a variety of conservative successes.
Today, Mitt Romney stands squarely behind the Judeo-Chrisian principles of life, liberty, marriage, economic freedom, and national security.
“Romneycare” is a problem. It takes away a big issue from the debate with Obama. But I agree with the governor that state choices are different than national ones. Mitt Romney has promised to give waivers on Obamacare to all fifty states his first day in office and work to repeal it. There are enough differences here with Barack Obama to give Governor Romney an edge–but not a pass.
So what are the main reasons to vote for Mitt Romney?
1. His national stature. Romney has earned the right to represent the Republicans this year. He came in second to John McCain in 2008, and has used his time since then to build a national organization and campaign that is without equal on the Republican side.
The other campaigns can complain about the inequality of money and organization. But that’s the same argument as Barack Obama’s class warfare rhetoric. Mitt Romney has the money and professional team because he earned it--he built it from the ground up and attracted the support. National stature is earned, not inherited. He’s the only R that has it.
2. His business experience and background. This election will ultimately hinge on the dismal economy. Mitt Romney is the only man in the race who is sharp on economics, was immensely successful in the private sphere, and will have the authority to speak and lead on these issues. In the economic debate, he will clean Barack Obama’s clock because our current president has never had a real job nor knows how to generate them. Mitt Romney is a wise and successful businessman who can turn around an Olympics and hopefully do the same for a nation.
3. He is the only Washington outsider in the race. Think about that. Rick Santorum has spent most of his adult life among Washington elites. Newt Gingrich is the poster child of a Washington insider. Barack Obama knows nothing but government service–and community organizing.
Mitt Romney is a business leader and governor who will come to a city he has never lived in to take on the powers that be. Yeah, he may not be a pit-bull like Newt, but despite his wealth, he is one of us. He has never resided within the Beltway.
4. His elect ability. The polls have consistently shown that Mitt Romney has the best chance of beating Barack Obama. And that is the number one goal. I have nothing personally against the president. He seems to be a nice man with a good family and he excels behind the teleprompter and on the stump.
But President Obama lacks executive skills and his quasi-socialist policies are killing this nation. The Democratic Party, in control of the US Senate, has not produced a budget for over 1000 days. The president has no idea what to do about creating jobs, he’s tearing down the Christian fabric of the nation at many turns, and he’s emboldened our enemies around the world.
Barack Obama is a great politician but an incompetent leader. Mitt Romney has the best chance of stopping the damage.
5. And for fun, let’s throw in one more: Romney looks presidential. Hey, in the age of 24-7 media, that ‘s a pretty big deal. Can you imagine Mitt Romney, his family, and his policies representing the United States around the world? I can–and that image will benefit our nation.
Now that Romney has decisively won Florida, it’s possible that he may run the table in the coming month. Key primaries and caususes include Nevada, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado and Arizona. After that, he is the only Republican candidate with the money and organization to compete on Super Tuesday, March 6.
We must get behind him and stop the in-fighting. We also need a Republican (conservative) House and Senate to complete the change in direction. We need to focus like a laser beam on building a movement that can bring some hope to a nation that is running out of time.
There are no perfect candidates. But we have a good one in Washington outsider, successful businessman and governor Mitt Romney.
It’s time to unite behind Mitt Romney for president.