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Ben Lieberman: High gas prices: Fuel for thought
WASHINGTON -
When it comes to soaring gasoline prices, we need a federal government that does less. Less contributing to the problem, that is. As lawmakers and presidential candidates offer a number of proposals to lower pump prices, they should keep in mind that past laws and regulations have made matters worse. Washington ought to eliminate these mistakes rather than repeat them. We need fewer restrictions on domestic oil drilling. America remains the only oil-producing nation on Earth that has placed off-limits a substantial amount of its energy potential. ... We also need less regulatory red tape affecting refineries and gasoline supplies. Though the jump in oil prices is far and away the biggest culprit in the recent price rise, tight refinery capacity doesn’t help. It would be worthwhile to streamline the regulations that make it all but impossible to build a new refinery and more difficult and time-consuming to expand an existing one. Simplifying or eliminating the federal requirements that dictate the recipe (actually a dozen different recipes) for fuel also would help. ... Read more at www.heritage.org. |