Editorial for May 31, 2007 edition:


Slicky business

Odds are, many Americans did more driving than usual this Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer vacation season.
More driving than usual is one of the main reasons that America is smack dab in the middle of an energy crisis. If the price of gasoline doesn’t take a dive very soon, the U.S. economy, despite its purported strength, probably will. Consumers can take only so much financial pain.
By now, Americans have had six frustrating years in which to realize that with two oilmen in the White House, record-high gasoline prices are no coincidence. What did people expect when George Bush and Dick Cheney took office in January 2001? Does anybody in the real world believe that their friends in Big Oil are not laughing their way to the bank, with record profits of their roaring ’00’s? Does anybody in the real world believe that a sharp drop in gasoline prices right before last November’s congressional elections was purely coincidental, and not an attempt to placate the motoring public? If so, we’ll sell you a piece of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge for a dollar.
What are the solutions?
Windfall-profit taxes on oil industry profits, off-shore oil drilling, alternative energy sources and, most importantly, energy conservation. To those Northeast residents who drive to and from their 9-to-5 jobs in Center City every day, we say shame on you. Leave your car at home and take SEPTA, the best-kept secret in the Delaware Valley. For neighborhood errands, let your feet do the walking and the talking.
Americans shouldn’t have to mortgage their homes to feed their gas tanks. They should, however, demand that members of Congress show some spine. If the House and Senate send Mr. Bush legislation that would outlaw gasoline price-gouging and he vetoes the legislation, override the veto. Mr. Bush was elected president, not king. He and his pals in Big Oil need a reality check. ••

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