SOUTH DAKOTA STRAIGHT TALK

When the U S Senate recently recessed the Parties could not agree on voting on an energy bill. Essentially Republicans favored more exploration to increase supply and thus lower prices while the Majority Democrat Party wanted to curb speculation in the financial markets to lower energy prices.

Unfortunately because it is an election year political pontificating seems to be more important than actually doing anything and the Democrats led by Harry Reid refused to have a vote on the GOP plan. Reid allowed not vote despite arious public opinion polls say a large majority (upward of 70%) of the American people support more drilling.

The Senators left town and oil prices fell. Why did they fall? The simple reason is that demand has lessened and those awful speculators at the New York Mercantile Exchange consequently bid prices down. Yes, those same awful, greedy people who the Democrats wanted to restrain.

Another maxim – the markets can sort out what people want far better than more laws and Legislatures.

Economic Endbar – Point of Information – Without those dreaded risk takers otherwise known as Speculators, Consumers of energy could not contract for their future needs and thus know what their cost are going to be. You don’t have to be Einstein to understand that there probably would not be for example any long term road construction projects or be able to purchase an airline ticket more than a week or two in advance.