Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.

The left dont want to hear any of that. It seems they only want to bring this country down to its nees.Steal from the rich and give to the unwashed unwilling to work for it.So they can get their votes.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

What about the Picken's plan of refitting our large trucks to run on natural gas?

How come we have not seen the government show more interest in this? Much cleaner fuel in great abundance that would have a significant impact on our oil imports.

RMM Loc: Suburban New York

Wonderful suggestions, worth looking into. However, dpullum is pointing out the possibility of an embargo which might occur next month or next week. You'd be lucky to get the first shovel into the ground in a year. To make a serious dent in our situation, you're talking about quite a few years.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

I forgot about natural gas.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2012/11/13/guest-column-the-shift-to-natural-gas-vehicles-is-happening/

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

You need a brain transplant.

Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.

Typical responce when they heve nothing intelagent to add.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Well, there isn't enough time to do anything if an embargo occurred in a week or a month. If you had read this thread, you would know that in two different posts I advocated keeping all oil drilled in the US and in US territorial waters in the US. It would not require nationalizing the oil companies to do that.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Responce? Heve? intelagent?
Thanks for your brilliant comments professor.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

I am not so sure that you could do that unless there was a state of emergency. We have had such instances in the past when the government suspended business as usual and if things deteriorated enough in the middle east I would suspect that we would see such measures again.. In the mean time it matters little if we import a barrel for a barrel that we export, there are reasons that this is done but it has little impact on our balance of trade. One poster here pointed out that logistics plays an important role in why this is done... The price is set by world markets and is so it really does not matter if we use it here or export it... as each barrel we export pays for a barrel that we import.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Correct grammar would be the left doesn't want, not the left don't want. And it's knees not nees.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Nationalize oil? If oil was then run as efficiently as the Social Security Administration, we'd be lucky to have gas.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

No kidding, the worst afternoon I have had in sometime was replacing a lost social security card last year.... It was a bad experience that took several hours, I was actually told that I could not stand in a particular area of an open room, it made no sense other than it made the statement that we are in control so tough shit!, the people who worked there seemed to take little joy in their work other than when they were giving their fellow citizens a hard time. I have given little thought to since, but I think that you are right, I don't want the federal government to run anything...

RMM Loc: Suburban New York

I've read the thread. If keeping oil drilled in the US within the US isn't done by nationalizing the oil companies, what law would you pass to accomplish it? And what would be the legal foundation for the law? "I want" usually doesn't prevail in the courts. Such a law, even if you could figure it out, probably would lead to an increase in prices, not a decrease. As Blurryeyed pointed out earlier, petroleum and its products are fungible, i.e., easily replaced by a different source. And one consequence of banning oil exports would be to launch a trade war. (Blurryeyed, I was the one who brought up the logistics issue.)

Artsmith Loc: Grayson, Georgia

I think dpullem is seriously pulling our leg or he has been inhaling too much funky smoke. Our government running anything is a joke. Give them the oil producers and refineries and in five years we will all need camels.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

No, Artssmith, it was dead serious subject for discussion. Typically nationalist movements start when producing countries realized that the oil companies are has been the case in the USA exploiting them lied to the government and invest in the favors of the legislature.

"National oil companies Really Big Oil Sluggish behemoths control virtually all the world's oil; they should be privatized" http://www.economist.com/node/7276986

The article states ... "Big Oil is pretty small next to the industry's true giants: the national oil companies (NOCs) owned or controlled by the governments of oil-rich countries, which manage over 90% of the world's oil"

We have few real friends in the world, like the old game of "king of the hill" every one tries to pull the king off the hill. We have done a lot for the people of the world, surly they have gratitude, surly! Gratitude unfortunately is the most short lived human emotion, especially for the self-aggrandizing politicians. To them charity begins in their pocket and what is left over goes to nationalism.

We obviously would not be alone in owning the riches of the oil wealth. Give the Economist article a read, interesting.