Oil Execs Have a Pair After All

A few weeks ago during the last kangaroo court hearing before Congress, I mentioned how much I'd like to see the oil company execs throw the stupid questions right back into their pasty faces.

Apparently they're willing to do some of that.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, Moron-VT, complained/accused (warning, AP spin article) that there's "a disconnect" between normal supply and demand and the skyrocketing price of oil", that it isn't a free market.

John Hofmeister, President of Shell, offered a freshman course on economics in reply, and then agreed with Leahy:

"The fundamental laws of supply and demand are at work," said Hofmeister. The market is squeezed by exporting nations managing demand for their own interest and other nations subsidizing prices to encourage economic growth, he said.

In addition, Hofmeister said access to resources in the United States has been limited for the past 30 years. "I agree, it's not a free market," he said.

The execs all pushed for relief from restrictions that prohibit us from drilling where we have our own resources, "sections of Alaska, the Rocky Mountains and the continental shelf", and constraints on expanded refining capacity.

"The place to start the free market is in our own country," said one executive. [The drilling ban] sets the stage for OPEC to do what we are doing in our own country, and that is effectively limiting supplies."

Of course, it falls on deaf ears. The panel spent the rest of their time engaging in bullshit demagoguery asking them important questions about how overpaid they are and complaining that they're just punishing Americans to reap their evil excess profits.

Supply, demand. I remember studying these things in college. Ok, I'm lying, I would have studied these things in college if I hadn't been emptying pitchers of Miller over at Buster's Pool Hall instead of attending my Tuesday-Thursday economics classes.

I never liked 8 am classes.

posted by Dave In Texas at 04:15 PM

| Access Comments