The Other Bush Legacy: Our Crumbling Infrastructure, Booming Oil Company Profits

With the collapse of the Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis there is renewed anxiety and focus on the condition of the nation's infrastructure, especially its highways and bridges. Concerns continue to be voiced about the condition of the electric grid, and recent sewer explosions and subway tunnel flooding in New York speak for themselves. The list could go on for pages. Or for that matter, just ask the good people of New Orleans. Maintaining plant and equipment is an executive responsibility, and the nation's infrastructure is our plant and equipment. If an executive's competence is to be judged in this context, then here too is failure on a massive scale.

But wait, it becomes more ominous yet. Gas taxes are the single largest funding source for the nation's highways. Americans pay an average of 47 cents a gallon for fuel taxes. In Canada it comes to $1 a gallon, $1.90 in Japan and $ 4.50 in Britain, all according to the International Energy Administration.

In the wake of the deadly 35W collapse the House Transportation Committee called for a fuel tax hike. More specifically, Congressman James Oberstar (D.Minn) indicated he would introduce legislation to fund bridge repairs and increase their inspections. According to Oberstar, a 5-cent increase in the gas tax would pay for a three year program that would generate some $8.5 billion a year. I repeat, we are talking about a five cent increase on the gas tax, in order to tackle an urgently needed and clearly dangerous infrastructure problem. A problem that should have long since been the focus of remedial government action.

President Bush's immediate and intemperate reaction to Oberstar's proposal was to dismiss it out of hand, admonishingly lecturing Oberstar and his Congressional colleagues, "Before we raise taxes, which could effect economic growth, I would urge the Congress to examine how they set priorities."

It begs the question, what are the president's priorities? Well consider this. In 2001 when the president took office the average price of conventional retail gasoline was $1.45 a gallon according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. By mid July 2007, the price was $3.05 per gallon, a difference of $1.60 a gallon or over 100% , or more to the point , by a factor of 32 times the five cent increment in gas tax proposed by Representative Oberstar to deal with a critically important issue. Here is a problem, tax foe or friend, that needs fixing. And yet President Bush is determined to continue on this course of obstruction if government taxes are the remedy. In contrast, over the past six years, he has done virtually nothing to arrest the egregious excesses of an oil industry empowered to tax each and everyone of us with runaway cartel manipulated prices.

The jump in gasoline prices is the direct result of the tripling of oil prices since Bush's inauguration in January 2001. Only two days ago William Ramsay, Deputy Director of the International Energy Agency urged Opec to increase production. He said oil prices in the region of $70 a barrel were too high and a threat to the world economy. So too did Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown exclaim his impatience with Opec manipulation while still Chancellor of the Exchequer, accusing Opec of doubling the price of oil within a twelve month period by withholding production from the marketplace. He went so far as to call the Saudi Ambassador to voice his displeasure. By contrast within the last six years our White House has done nothing meaningful to signal our displeasure if not disgust with our Saudi friends who are in effect the putative leaders of OPEC.

This in spite of the fact that we are the de facto guarantor of Saudi independence as clearly evidenced by the massive US fleet sailing the Arabian Gulf to protect Saudi shipping lanes, and if need be, Saudi Arabia itself. The US Arabian fleet is now at its greatest level of strength ever, and at a cost of about $100 million a day. That comes to some $35 billion a year to American taxpayers.

In this madhouse relationship, the President's initiatives are not limited to the shores of Arabia but extend to our shores as well. Congress has passed resolutions to nullify the sovereign immunity that Opec state companies enjoy in our courts, that will make them subject to laws of the land much as any other commercial enterprise. Yet President Bush, in support of the Saudis and in turn Opec, has made it be known that he would veto such a measure.

All this, and the administration's myriad tax breaks for big oil, its near giveaway of oil leases, its appointments to both the Interior and Energy Departments of oil flacks and oil hires, its support and protection of 'K' Street lobbyists, have all created a dramatic disequilibrium. Representative Oberstar is lectured by the President for asking for a five cent gas tax that would fund a program to rebuild our bridges. Yet where is the presidential hectoring when Exxon-Mobil cashes in $40 billions in annual profits lifted from a phony oil market which in and of itself has become a massive tax on the public weal.

The handling of this issue alone borders on the catastrophic. I don't know what they taught Mr. Bush at Harvard Business. But such levels of intransigence, tunnel vision and partisanship would have found a swift exit from the corner office in the real world.

Comments

[sockdog]

Thanks again sir for more illumination of this matter. That the traditional media won't touch it amazes me.

[Pneumaticus]

It's the oligarchy. They do as they please, and the rest of us can just eat cake. What's it going to take to make the break?

[Misanthrope2]

You say you want a revolution?

[Joeseo]

Probably nuclear energy as developed worldwide by France/Ger­many/Russi­a.

[Misanthrope2]

Like at Chernobyl?

[Merrysunshine]

In Matthew 7: 15-20, Jesus Christ says: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

[castlerider]

Are you saying Bush is evil? because that's what I get out of your comments.

And yes, Bush does send our soldiers to die for corporations and oil. If it makes you cringe, it should. If you can't agree, then you're blind. Stone cold, f*cking blind... Because actions speak louder then words, and to look at what is really happening, look at who benefits most from all this bloody mess.
Some people don't even realize their own actions when they have built a pathological stimulus around them; Like Bush convincing himself that his mission is honorable, but it really consists of manipulating resources he has been programmed to understand this nation must have to exist. All the support for this pathological mechanism is already entrenched, and has been for years. Bush is stuck in this mindset that cannot be relinquished.
Bush will never let go- not because he is not a good person, but because he is a fake. A guy who thinks he's courageous but actually hid behind daddy's trousers so he wouldn't have to go to Nam; actionspeak: Coward..
A guy who thinks he's a good president because he believes "his ends will justify the means" which is a horrible and historic miscalculation tragically espoused by Napoleon, Hitler, Nixon, Many others; actionspeak: destined for the trash heap of history. A guy who thinks he's smart, but whose actions show he is actually a fullblown friggin IDIOT.

[Utopia]

Your article was well written and to the point. However, you stopped short indicating there a lack of reason for this moron's actions when in fact there is a reason, or two. 1)Bush headed 5 companies during his business career, all went broke. 2)Who bailed out all 5 of the companies? Saudi Arabia, the Bush family's partners in bucks.

[Misanthrope2]

Yep, the purpose of the war was to help oil businesses and Saudi Arabia raise the price of oil.

The Iraq war was to stop Iraq from increasing oil output from 3 million barrels a day to 12 million barrels a day (Saudis produce 9 million barrels a day) as soon as the sanctions were lifted.

Iraq was ready to amp up oil production and had signed contracts with French and German companies.

We attacked and oil production never went up. In fact, it is down from 3 million to 2 million barrels a day.

[esquire07]

Uninsured children, failed infrastructure, exported jobs, environmental destruction, dead troops... who cares, so long as Bush/Cheney and their criminal compadres in the Oil and Arms industry are making money it ok.

America flushed itself down the toilot long ago - in 2000 and again in 2004. The Iraq bill will soon be due - Depression­-Bankrupcy­-Riots-mar­tial law.

There is really no way to get out of this one. Bush's best bet is to bomb Iran and start World War III.

Sad to say, but America got what it deserved by electing a lying, murdering, dry drunk to a second term.

What an absolute mess this Nation has become.

[gakabani]

Your words are just the tip of the iceberg. Wait and see my friend what is next.

[JackMehoffer]

All your talk of opec price manipulation is laughable. Havnt you heard about the crazy growth in China or India? Thats a couple billion people even if say just 10% become a middle class and are able to buy cars thats almost an entire us population worth of gasoline consumption coming online in the space of only a few years. An attack on Iran could mean $150 a barrel oil, perhaps $10-12 a gallon gasoline prices in the event of Iranian retalition on oil infrastructure in middle east.

[baylaw73]

No citizen of a country that awards no-bid and/or cost-plus contracts to companies who do terrible work, if they even do the work, has the grounds to complain about OPEC nations controlling the price of the oil that THEY own because it's THEIRS. Price-fixing and anti-competition is what I'm driving at. We endorse it in Iraq, why bitch about it when OPEC does it. What do they owe us?
The hard truth is that we, as a nation, have had over 30 years of ample warnings about the dangers and costs of staying "addicted" to oil. To then whine about what your dealer is charging is stupid.

[Newvoter49]

Right on, Oogabooga!

[realitytrumpsbull]

Remember, Curious Bush IS your globalization buddy, if you're not triple-mortgaged for 1/2 million or more, you're just not doing your part, 'citizen'...

[oogabooga]

This is so typical of this goofball regime of Bush/Chene­y/Wolfowit­z ad nauseum. These jackasses seem to misunderstand how a modern economy works. Without reliable infrastructure, the economy goes into decline. Infrastructure includes rail, highways, bridges, education, pollution controls and competition in the marketplace. Bush says Congress needs to think about its priorities because a 5-cent gas tax increase will hurt the economy. Mr. "President," your wars and relaxed antitrust policies have doubled gasoline taxes in six years. So whose priorities exactly are endangering economic growth?

[worldtraveller]

oogabooga, I promise you they understand EXACTLY what they are doing. That's the sickening part of it.

[TexasDem0]

worldtraveller, “I promise you they understand EXACTLY what they are doing.”
I agree, but just look at all the comments by those who DON’T understand. They follow the lead of Dubya and “misunderestimate” the entire issue.

[boldtimer]

In 1971 the Nixon Administration unregulated the value of the dollar by decoupling it from the Gold Standard. It's value was floated on the world market. A few years later we experienced a massive shortage in oil that resulted in a sharp increase in the cost of oil related products. This was the introduction of the Petro Dollar system. Working with OPEC, we insured that the US Dollar became the international currency of trade and any foreign government that bucked this trend paid a high economic price.

Since the introduction of the Petro Dollar, US Administrations have been able to finance all sorts of misadventures and just put the cost on a credit card. Essentially foreign countries have been forced to pay our bills by trading exclusively in dollars. This has worked for a few decades but the Bush administration has tipped the balance with unrestrained spending and borrowing; the Fed is printing money faster than he can spend it. These policies have created hyper inflation trends and a decrease in the value of our currency which will give foreign countries justification to move to a stable or rising currency such as the Euro. Some of the nations moving to the Euro include Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and Indonesia; countries that Bush has on his hit list.

[cmaurand]

Those high gas taxes in other nations are used for paying national health care, not just infrastructure. Italian Auto Strasse's are toll roads. 8 billion is not enough money to make any real difference, its nibbling at the edges. Spending more on plowshores and less on swords would go a whole lot further.

[Badwater]

Harvard Business awarded Bush his MBA because of family connections, not because he earned it.

[whatajoke914]

prove it. Dont blather on with baseless accusations, show some evidence.

[Yukon Jack]

If you question the validity of George W. Bush's degree, I hope you will be just scrupolous to question Al Gore's expertise on climatology.

[Newvoter49]

Maybe if people were allowed to keep a bit more of the wealth they create (raise incomes) instead of giving it all to incompetent CEO's and their cohorts they wouldn't mind paying a little more in taxes to maintain the infrastructure, pay teachers and nurses better, take better care of our veterans.......I could go on but you don't want to hear me whine! Wasn't it W who wanted us to 'keep more of the money we make'?

The examples of European countries with better infrastructure at every level enjoy it because the people pay for it with taxes. Nothing's free, not even lunch.

[FlowerGirl]

First things first; Dubya was chosen because of the frienndship he was known to have with big oil, so naturally oil profits must rise under him. And as for that infrastructure, let the next guy do it. That and getting us out of the mess in Iraq should keep him busy so he won't do anything we don't like.

[blu2purple]

He is doing exactly what he intended the day he stole the White House. Raided the treasury and is raping the rest of our bank accounts. I don't think we have had an American in the WH in a long time. Someone is telling him what to do because the only focus he has is in the Middle East. Everything else is crumbling down around us and he doesn't seem to care. Makes you wonder if he is being blackmailed somehow doesn't it, because you would sure hate to think he is that void of conscience. It’s all about the money. The oil. Business contracts for his friends. Look around. Where has ALL of America’s wealth gone. In the pockets of his family and friends…Am­erican…and not American. NOW what would give your dad a reason to break down in public. Fear. If someone told one of those “ice cold people” they would lose money or a family member. Maybe…his next assignment…will be…King of Iraq! Look at his progress there.

Just think where would be today if Gore had taken his rightful seat as president when he should have…where would we be today? If that doesn’t make you mad as hell….

[CaseyBabes]

Whew, where do I start? Reading your blob I picture you as San Fernando Red with the bullets flying all over the place. In my book you could not be more incorrect about Bush but I'll give you credit for the apt description of the USA treasury and wealth disappearing. Want to know where? Mostly to Europe!
The USA's wealth and resources have been re locating to overseas locations, particularly Europe, since WWII. But so much worse, is the loss of our youth dying or with egregious wounds, fighting to save various countries independence and safety, or attempting to solve their problems. For years we've all been fools as we hand over our coats for holding while our men and women risk their lives for those holding our coat -- not fighting themselves, but fooling the USA into doing the battling. And our wealth has disappeared into Europe as the countries there grew very prosperous as our standard of living has diminished, and today only day-to-day grinds along.
So all you lefties and righties, get off the duffs and come together, stop the stupid jostling and fighting amongst yourselves. Demand the USA come together, come home, and tell Europe to fuck off while our country heals itself.
And blu2purple: Gore would have done the same thing all presidents have done since WWII, except Eisenhower, in the shifting of wealth and blood overseas.