Thanks To High Energy Costs, GNP Shoots Up

Elaine Meinel Supkis

Thanks to high energy costs, I see lots of serious economic suffering around here abouts. But using statistics, one can say, the GNP is up and up! This is, alas, due nearly entirely to increased spending on energy and the related inflation this causes. Of course, the GOP claims they are working hard to fix high energy costs but as usual, it is all a Potemkin photo op show.

AP:

By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer 53 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Casting off an end-of-year lethargy, the U.S. economy bounded ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 4.8 percent pace, the strongest growth spurt in 2 1/2 years.

The latest report on the economy, released by the Commerce Department on Friday, showed that consumers, businesses and government all did their part in terms of robust spending and investment to spur a healthy pace of growth in the January-to-March quarter.

The 4.8 percent increase in the gross domestic product marked a vast improvement from the feeble 1.7 percent annual rate registered in the final quarter of 2005, when fallout from the Gulf Coast hurricanes, including high energy prices, prompted people and companies to tighten their belts.

Of course, this doesn't reflect the recent huge price hikes in energy and other related items. And always, one way to raise a GNP is to inflate the currency. Voila! People spend more, faster! The economy isn't healthy at all or we wouldn't care about high energy costs. Why are so many American howling with rage over this? Obviously, according to the fake stats, we should all be overjoyed since everyone is spending every penny they have plus some!

Household debts continue to rise and often on the backs of high interest rate credit cards. I live well outside any metropolitan areas and there is a huge population exodus going on here as poor folk with fat, big, shiny gas guzzling behemoths are abandoning the area and moving into the nearby cities. We don't see much in the way of dropping house values since the well off property hunters are still buying fine properties with gorgeous views of one of the finest landscapes in the USA outside of ocean front property. But the lower working class is suffering significantly and more and more homes down in the village itself are increasingly standing empty. Even if they own their homes, they stop payment and jump ship.

The other thing selling like crazy are Japanese cars. This is bad on nearly every level if we want to consider ourselves an industrial nation! Even if the Japanese and Europeans open factories here, we are reduced to being mere employees of foreign companies. The Chinese are working hard to start their own businesses while we sell off the sad remains of our own industry! And this is healthy? How?

Raw Story:

The Associated Press has photographed Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) ditching his brightly colored hydrogen automobile in favor of a gas-guzzling black SUV after exiting a news conference and photo opportunity at a Washington, DC gas station.

After the conference, which addressed high gas prices, Hastert and other Congressmen had been carted away in fuel saving and alternatively powered automobiles. Just blocks away from the scene, Hastert is reported to have ditched his in favor of his usual official car.

It is amusing that the Associated Press is now pulling back the curtain behind all the GOP Potemkin photoshoots. The GOP has been running this joke affairs for years and the press deliberately enabled this by not telling the truth such as when Bush supposedly built houses for Habitat for Humanity only he spent five minutes, pretending to hammer, hit his thumb and quit. Ridiculous. No mention of what happened in the press only photographic evidence online thanks to nasty bloggers.

The lone Democrat filibustering for an amendment to remove tax loops for oil companies has caused the GOP to flip out entirely. Raw Story:

Domenici had interrupted Wyden's introduction of an amendment under the pretense that he was attempting to ask a question. Rather, he blasted the Senator's plan, after doing so announcing, "I just violated the rules! I didn't ask a question, I gave a speech. I hope you listened."

Wyden had been on the Senate floor for nearly five hours. Under Senate rules, a lawmaker can push a vote on his or her amendment so long as they can stand on the floor.

The Wyden amendment would eliminate royalty relief subsidies for drilling on government land if oil prices exceed $55 per barrel. He has argued that the program was implemented when oil was priced at under $10 per barrel, and have since come to exceed $75 per barrel. President Bush has gone on record stating that these particular subsidies were no longer necessary.

Domenici argues that eliminating the subsidies won't save tax payers any money. Wyden claims independent audits say it could save taxpayers billions.

So, taxing the country's most profitable corporations won't yeild any revenues? This is exactly the insane thought processes that possess the GOP from top to bottom line. They can't cut anything except things helping the poor and they can't tax anyone but the middle class. Who votes for these clowns? Bush has been pushing for better car milage which means, we should all purchase Toyotas. Which is why money is flowing like crazy this month as all the well-off trade in their gas guzzlers for Toyotas. Once they are done sizing down, the poor will grind on, draining their pitiful purses, pursuing a dwindling oil supply, rising in price.

Meanwhile, Russia is laughing all the way to the bank. BBC:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of whipping up fears over Russia's energy exports.

He said calls to restrict Russian energy to European markets made Moscow want to seek new markets for its oil and gas.

He said he constantly heard complaints in Europe that the continent was overly dependent on Russian energy.

The Russian leader made the comments after talks held in Siberia with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In a fierce defence of his country's reliability as a supplier of energy, Mr Putin said even during the Cold War, Moscow had always fulfilled its commercial energy contracts with European states.

When we hear comments like that, Mr Putin explained, we start to interpret them as threats to restrict Russian companies - it makes us seek new markets.

Translation: "China has the world's biggest FOREX. We sell our energy to them. Japan has the second biggest FOREX. Ditto, comrades. South Korea has a bigger FOREX than the USA. Another happy customer. Europe wants to fight Iran for oil? Be our guest! You will all crawl on your bellies to beg for oil from Mother Russia. Remember Napoleon? Hahaha!"

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Comments

[D. F. Facti]

I am so far behind in my Culture of Life reading I fear I may be kicked out of the club. It is entirely pleasant, tho dangerous, to go a couple of weeks without having GWB and the rest of the mob crowding one's consciousness. I woke up today, so I assume that he hasn't started WWIII yet. Must look on the bright side.

Dali says that you were cited in Slate. Wow. How very cool.

I feel like I have an exam in two days and I haven't been to class at all and can't find anyone to loan me the books, and the bookstore is sold out.

Hey, but gas is down 10 cents from last weekend. Bush cares about America. You just don't understand him.

[Elaine Meinel Supkis]

Welcome home! Really do miss you. Love and hugs!