Obama: Gas prices long-term problem

Thursday, April 7, 2011

FAIRLESS HILLS, Pa. (AP) — Pitching the promise of energy independence, President Barack Obama cautioned Wednesday that it’s going to be tough to transition from America’s oil-dependent economy and acknowledged there’s little he can do to lower gas prices over the short term.

“I’m just going to be honest with you. There’s not much we can do next week or two weeks from now,” the president told workers at a wind turbine plant. It’s a theme Obama’s struck before as he tries to show voters he’s attuned to a top economic concern with gas prices pushing toward $4 a gallon.

Obama said he wants to move toward “a future where America is less dependent on foreign oil, more reliant on clean energy produced by workers like you.” That will happen by reducing oil imports, tapping domestic energy sources and shifting the nation to renewable and less polluting sources of energy, such as wind, the president says. He has set a goal of reducing oil imports by one-third by 2025.

But the president said it won’t happen overnight and if any politician says it’s easy, “they’re not telling the truth.”

“Gas prices? They’re going to still fluctuate until we can start making these broader changes, and that’s going to take a couple of years to have serious effect,” Obama said.

Obama needled one questioner who asked about gas prices, now averaging close to $3.70 a gallon nationwide, and suggested that the gentleman consider getting rid of his gas-guzzling vehicle.

“If you’re complaining about the price of gas and you’re only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know,” Obama said laughingly. “You might want to think about a trade-in.”

Gasoline prices rose another 2 cents Tuesday to a new national average of just over $3.68 a gallon, according to AAA and other sources.

Obama’s visit to Gamesa was his fourth energy event since March 11. He’s scheduled a fifth for Friday in Indianapolis.

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Graceful 2 years, 1 month ago

A long term problem he'll ignore for the long term. What a totally irresponsible individual he is.

bluesfan13 2 years, 1 month ago

Says the man who advocated a year or so ago that Americans should be entitled to start up their gas-guzzling SUVs and drive from one end of Wildwood Crossing to the other to save themselves from having to walk from Barnes and Noble down to MC Sports.

After all, why should Americans conserve energy when we can just whine and complain about the cost?

local4 2 years, 1 month ago

What about the people who can't afford a trade in, they are not cheap. Maybe he should buy everyone in the US a new vehicle!

jarvfam5 2 years, 1 month ago

I wish Obama knew what it was like to be a middle class citizen who has to worry about the price of gas. Oh wait, I am sorry ...I am not considered middle class anymore because everyday the gas prices go up so does the price of groceries, utilities, THE COST OF LIVING! Do you think that my salary increases OBAMA? No, I have been in my line of work for 16 years and just got the worst raise of my life 10 cents this past year! Your answer is to buy more efficient vehicle....I can't afford a more efficient vehicle and by the way if you live in northern NY where it is winter 9 months out of the year then you need 4WD that guzzles gas so that you can get to work. Would your suggestion then be to move south where I might not be able to get a job?

bluesfan13 2 years, 1 month ago

Dramatize much? 9 month-long winters?

Have you even looked at what it would cost to get a more efficient vehicle? I'm guessing not, because for many people the savings of cutting their gas costs in half and selling their current vehicle would more than pay for a smaller more efficient one.

bluesfan13 2 years, 1 month ago

?? I could easily save $200-$250/month by having an economy car instead of what I currently have. I could also buy an economy car for about the price that I'd get for selling my current car.

bluesfan13 2 years, 1 month ago

Yes, I spend about that much on gas, and no, not a Hummer.

3blindmice 2 years, 1 month ago

gas prices are high because oil is disappearing. your previous source of oil is now being sold to china and india. perhaps if our government would tax companies like GE the economy would be in better shape.

online_editor 2 years, 1 month ago

I'm not seeing anything in the removed queue, but I'll take your word for it that you experienced a problem. I don't have an answer but I have seen quirky behavior from time to time, like the spam filter blocking administrator posts. Now that was amusing.

3blindmice 2 years, 1 month ago

it's a fact. gas prices will continue to rise no matter who is in the white house. our only recourse is to either drive very efficient vehicles or develop a mass transit system that people can actually use. Take a look at what Denmark is doing. That is what we should be striving for.

JCLifer 2 years, 1 month ago

Obama is no different from the other politicians who want to keep Big Oil happy so the campaign donations keep flowing in.

Big Oil is making record profits and the CEOs are making more money than humanly possible to spend, all on the backs of the middle class.

JDub 2 years, 1 month ago

Oil shale is an evironmental train wreck, just as the tar sands have been. Supply has stagnated, while demand around the world continues to grow. US production peaked in 1970, and while it's crept up the last few years, we don't have enough to supply us even a few months a year. Here's the kicker - the world's largest supplier, Saudi Arabia, is exporting less because of growing demand in their own country, something that's occuring in other OPEC countries. Prices will continue to rise for the forseeable future. Obama talks about conservation because that's the reality - we'll have to get by with less. Period.

3blindmice 2 years, 1 month ago

according to wikileaks the largest oil producer in the kingdom has reported it has reached peak oil.

3blindmice 2 years, 1 month ago

the oil in the us is a option but it wouldn't last long. americans use more oil than other country. the taxation was a reference to the fact that a large number of corporations pay no taxes at all. congress, who apparently work for the lobbyist, have made soo many loopholes that corporations end up paying nothing and its the middle class that is left footing the bill. If taxes were enforced, a: there would be a reason to reinvesst in the company, and b: you would stop seeing CEO's making multi million dollar salaries as compensation for what they do to their workers

justaword 2 years, 1 month ago

Amazed2 references giving up energy use as in "refusing to drive" and "live[ing] outdoors." If wage and salary earners don't stop seeing our standard of living decline, we may not have a choice. We can only afford to give up so much. The well runs dry.

“From 2005 to 2009, the largest oil companies have made a combined 485 billion in profits.” Watching CNN a few weeks ago, we learned a barrel of oil is speculated- changes hands- many times in a day. Last week, the Wall-Street Journal says Israel has found in shale gas the energy equivalent of all the oil reserves in Saudi Arabia. In the USA drilling rigs operate 24/7 finding more natural gas. Physical supply of crude stored at Cushing, Oklahoma is at an all time high.

So why is gasoline so high? Why was it so high before the Great Recession? Apparently the economic law of supply and demand has become disconnected. Not withstanding OPEC, does Big Oil USA have its own cartel and consumers are the victims? Or is the high cost of energy due to excessive speculation driven by free money given to investment banks and hedge funds?

We don’t have the answers, but we should have suspicions. We do know that with so much profit it influences our political system. Recent congressional voting well indicates Republicans are 100 percent supporters of Big Oil. But, we must not forget our current President took almost one million dollars from BP to run for his first term. Big Oil or Big Energy has its own best interest in mind, no doubt.

JCLifer 2 years, 1 month ago

$3.799 a gallon this morning! Woo-Hoo- we'll be at $5.00 a gallon by July at this rate!

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